Indiana, B-C, 1884-1997, Undated

Online content

Fullscreen

sie Mente

ROOKS, Jerome,

ede Sa en
See

me eee

white,

22, hanged at

“Tndden

Delhi,

ober 27, 1871s

ectéd © Miscel

HOR, TRUNDLE-BER. 55:

ae Peta a!
rummaged through the garrety ¢),..g%.\4
st’ning to the falling rain: 5" 44*ra re F
\ peneees on the shingles,:: wes aa,&
id against the window pane, - rot

ring over the chests and boxes, . + «0.55:
hich with dust were pTeadacar »
I yn thie farthest corner’ “"'~) 4-82 SS
hat was once my trundlg-bed.” *4"S**

‘ ‘: rag Tera seth veal
I drew it from the receas, 4s...
here it had remained so tong,
. ing all the while the, m
“S my mother’s voice in song,
1e@ sung the sweetest accents, .
hat I since have often read,‘ ,” Dei
sh, my dear, lie still and slumber; sy:
ly angels guard thy bed.

ena

alee wt

listened, recollections» *%°°¢sl -9 ae
at I thought liad been forgot; rae pt
2 with all the gush of memory, *.:“°™""

shing, thronging to the Dod

wandered back to childhogd,
those merry days‘of yore; ‘+
n I knelt beside my mother,’

es
Rsk

Reka
this bed, uport the floor. ’ one, WE '

usr oe 8 le agen

. it was with hands so gently
: /.ced upon’my infant head, ” » =:
» sh@ taught! my lips touted! Vet" 8s
refully the words shé said. TU1iM >”
rt Gan —_ be forgostens¢ «er fyduigs tt
ep are they in memory, graren-~n, ;151':
lowed be thy name, O Father ! pecnvting

-y cher! thou who apt ig, Heaven.”

Sea OS Latie R

eh
H

ibe Ps cbt
ae

Fass THA Wald sash oM S:

go yebo a heh = #2 . ae

i rie

JAMES B, SCOTT, Proprietor. see seo io ak Family. Newspapét.i~Devo
VOL. XXI. 4 “8. DELPHI, INDIANA, WEDNE¢

—

And coolly placed the noose over his
head. He then shook hands with all
present, when his arms were pinioned,
and he was again asked if he had any-
thing to say, to which he made no dis-
tinct reply, hanging his head and mut-
tering these words: “But I’ll never for-
give Bringhurst.”. The black cap was
then placed over his head, and at seven-

| teen minutesto eleven, the spirit of Jer-

omeéiW.! Brooks,

wa§ laudtched into etern-:
pity. eee F

74°: There were no convulsions of the body,

LEP Oa -., | his neck having been dislocated by the
: Sin SBS sha tight me, chad aodoCEIAG ETA fall, which was nearly four feet. The
We ute Sa whiok L'iecrned eapebws Pos iar ‘ pulse at the wrist ceased in five and a half
ward ee sleet “> “| minutes. The Sheriff then appeared up-
~ gd in accepts soft pd wilde aTT on the platform, and asked, “ Physicians,
Ire hp ag Tg ered ‘ether, His he dead?” To which’ Dr. Beck re-

r do thou, bless my child.” _ aaa : : ”
a ea oo eis | plied, “ His heart is beating yet.” In
5 have passed, and that dear mother fourteen minutes after the fall, the heart
1g has moldered ‘neath the sod AA oe 1 to: a Hy init fter
aN { trast her sainted spirit’, Sf OWT eased | beat, and at ‘two minutes after

vels in the house of God, |
“ON gRreaEoeRegshat scene at Summer twilight |: > >.
. Nerhas from memory fledj’,.% ; os
**t comes in all its freshness, ,.) ¥--+-.--.
von Lb sce my trundie-bed.* 7 Qf,

Dying Words
ment of HisConfed-
ute, Charles, Cary...

TOA Tee ee Lig Sey

So Particulars;

At Havecution

e. There. was no excitement

few pore people jin i than

on’ What merchants @it a good

Saturday, 200°) 't Yatdabesers #

\ rvernér having Geclined’ to” in-
ith the sentence, Jerome Brooks
utast for the’ mnupder. of “A.W.
i hich occurred on the 19th of
; t; at: Logansport. '.Our -teaders
“ly eonversint, with the feels at?

“5 Mertrial, ‘and. we ‘iil ‘ut onee;

“with the particularsaf’y 455. os,

> Whe Execution?” 5 pe adh

wey was raw and cold, and by

oo ed oeks the north’ side of the square

“sy well lined with people, cager

~-limpee of the prisoner, gs he was.

“ron the’ Jaik;his mother! accom.
» S SMTA Se

iy sta H

Wil Confession aia,

eleven he was taken down, and placed in
the coffin, which was of black walnut,
yarnished. His faco was almost natural,
there being but- very slight discoloration.
' Tho remains wero taken in charge by
the sorrow-stricken mother, whe took

;} hem to Logansport for interment.

» Thus ended the first execution that
ver occurred in Carroll County, and we
hope itapay; be the lashes 2) vey
In the performance of so grave a duty,
Sheriff Fry is entitled to great credit
for the good order preserved, and for

{the systematic manner in which he ar-
»{ ranged and carried out his plans.

Confession of Jerome Brooks,
The following is the -confeasion made
by Brooks three days before the execu-

| tion, and taken down by Mr, M. R. Gra-

ham, cditor of the Times :, oe

j My name is Jerome W. Brooks. Born
in Cincinnati, Ohio, I am twenty three
years old the dd day of July next. My
father has been dead seven years. My
mother is living. I have two brothers and
four sisters; one brother and three
sisters reside in Logansport, Ind. My
first offense is known asthe “Davis scrape.”
At about 9 o’clock Pp. uw, in March last,
myself and » man named Charly West,
made an entrance in a gun shop, belong-
ing to a man named Davis, and took from
his shop four revolvers, valued at $12
each. We were arrested and E.was taken
as a witnessfor the State, and upon my
evadence West, was;convicted and sent.to
the Northern State Prison for twa ysars
and I-escaped further prosecution.

About the 18th day of April last, Carr
came to me and said he had. béen think:
ing of “gaing through.the old man Slater.”
lig said-that Slater had some money, and
wanted to know if I'would help him get
it’; and said himsélf and another man- had
thought of it fora long time, but ho was
afraid to trust bim, and said the, other
man wanted to go for-it.in day time, but
he, Carr, was afraid they might be caught,
and thatthe qther man would: “squcel”
on him. Carr said the way he knew
Slater had money he sold him a bucket
of tard, and that the old man and his wife
hod a quarrct over it.." Slater wanted ‘to
pay for it out of the drawer, ana his wife
refased, siyilig it “would take all’ the
change.’ I told ‘Carr't did not' think it
would pay—I thought it would be 4 fail-
ure.” ‘Carr said wheit Slater came out? of
the front door and wont to close the win-
dow blind to hit him. Towards evening

, would shake everything off the shelves.

_/ him, and placed in a carriage.

ae oF oat tg?

on the 19th inst., we went past his house

could look into the window of the store
room. Atter we had been there a while
the. .fire bells. commenced ringing and
from the church we went over tothe
Fifth Ward Engine house. While there
some one struck a match, and Curr said
let. go of the rope, we don’t want to be
seen here, From the Engine house we
went over to Spears street ;then we stop-
peda little while and. turned and went
back past the Engine house again. “This
time the engine had gone, and I said to
Carr let. us go to the fire and let the
darned thing go, as it may be my mother’s
house. Carr said there was no danger of
thut as the fire was not jn that’ direction.
I told him we could not tell where it was
at. We then went upon ‘the Seminary
steps so we could sce where the fire.was.
Could see no'fire, ‘and. in a little’. while
ths engine came back,’ We then went
back ta the Mission Church where we had
left.our bucket aud club, We stood there
a while and then made up which shauld
go in first.’ After talking over the mat-
ter, it was thought best for me to-go in,
ag I was not known, and he was, I went
in and called for the molasses, and while
he stooped down [ hit him. Carr was to
do the rest of the work. I had no idea of
killing the man at all. When Thit him
he fell over towarda the stove and was
getting up, when Carr came running in
and. said two men: was coming up the
street. Slater was then getting up. Carr
said hit him again, don’t lct the old son
of ab—h get up, and snatched the club
out of my hand and hit him on the head,
and Slater raised'up and fell back to
wards us, Carr said you go through his
pockets.and I will go around. the ather
way. and get what is in the drawer. When
he went around he turned the. light-ont.
I searched his pockets but.could not find
anything. Carr told me to lvok in his
vest pocket—it.was in a piece of ‘newa-|
paper—that was the way he carried 4ti I
told him I could not tind any thing, and
he said what in the h—l1 has the old
pup done.witl { anditold:meto be atill
that Twas” shaking thé house down ; I

Carr said he had everything out of the
drawer and that wo would gg, We took
up the buckct and club and came out and
met two fellows on the sidewalk. Carr
ran ap the street and [ ran down‘and met
some one whom Ithought was Carr, and
thenI turned off on Fourteenth street
and went over to Spear; from Spear I
went over across the: Commons on to
Twelfth strect bridge, over on the Wa-
bash railroad, on Ninth street, and then
threw off my: overcoat into theold Beoria
shops, and threw the bucket away. I then
came over from Ninth strect to Eighth
strect bridge and over to town again,
down to Sixth street and met Carr at my
house setting on the hall door steps. Carr
said he thought I had “jumped” the town
on him: We then went together und Carr
wanted to divide the money that night,
but [ told him to wait till morning, We
then went up Letweem the river and race
and hid the money under a log, We then
returned down ‘town, and I went home,
and Carr eaid he would go oyer to, the
Unton Ilouse and go to bed.. This was
the lust I seen of him that night. This
was about half past nine o'cluck.. . +
‘Next morning I went up town “and
heard some men talking: about a‘hourder
that was committed the night before.
They said the murdered man had bisskyll
split open with. a hatchet.;. I asked who
it was; told them I didn't believe it;
that I thought they bad made: if up.
When tlicy said Slater, I didn’t” believe
it, ag he was alive when we left lim. 1
did not believe it until. I weut home and
came down town again, when I met Carr
coming down Sixth strect, aud he told
the same story.” I told Carr, that we
would go upand see When we went up

to Slater’s house, they were holding an

ing out of me. He-said’ he would sec
these men and have them sign a contract
and have it stamped. That night Col,
Bringhurst and Carney came and got mc
out of jail and took me to the race, as be
fore stated, and showed me the contract
and read a part of ittome. Bringhurst
held up bis right had, swore as an honcst
man and yood citizen, to give me a fair
trial on condition that I would tell or be
x State witness against the others. That
if this would not do he would have Gov-
ernor Baker sign the contract, and on his
word, as & man of honor, I told him all 1
know ofthe murder. Z then went and
got the money and gave it to thems and
told them who my {accomplices were in
the murder. Iwas then taken back to
jail and told tosay nothing to any per-
son about what had been said. ‘This was
at about 11 o'clock at night They then
took, Carr out und said they would give
him ten minnt«s;to cunsider in; if he did
not tell where the. money was, he would
never get back alive. ete
From the Cass Circuit Court a change
of:venue wus taken to the Carroll Circuit
Court, and the result is familiar to all
I,ag advomed being, feel under obli-

gations to let the world know, as well asfodeiauniseeaes

I can, bow I. leave it, also-how I have
been treated since my imprisonment, and
who, I think, have been my friends dur-
ing my imprisonment and trouble. The
first I, shall mention is Mr. David Turpie,
who was my counsel.:' I belicve he is a
gentleman of honor and integrity; that
he has done wllin his power to at least
have my sentence commuted, and for such
he has my -heartfelt. gratitude... May, he
always succeed in helping the untfortun.
ate.“ ! : Ton,

In plain spev king, I will just say that
Mr. David Middleton, Chiet of Police of
the city of’ Logansport, was ‘the only
white witness there was against me. As
a gentleman he has my thanks.

I would be doing a gross injustice if I
did not express my thanks to Mr. John
K. Fry, Sheriff of Carroll county, for the
kind treatment he has given me, as well
as other unfortunate persons: committed
tohis care.. May he be rewarded more
than it is in mortal power to give.

[Me here returns,thanks. to those who
called upon him’ while incarccrated, and
to friends in. Logunsport, and - closes as
follows ] ee on d es ¢ oat '

T express my warmest thanks to the
ministers of Delpliiand Logansport for
the.interest they have takcn in. regard
to the future welfare of my soul. May
they. always, prove.good ‘shepherds over
the flocks intrusted to their care whilst
in these low grounds of sorrow. -:

T now feel. that I am drawing my earth
ly career to a close, a sad close, too; cut
down as it were in the bloom of youth—
an end which I sincerely feel I. do not
merit; batIam willing—let the worst
come... I feel-tlint Iam ready to mect it.
And in so ending my life, I leave an nw
ful warning tu all young persons to shun
eyil company, and to turn in ‘with the
overtures of mercy before it is forever too
late. - Farewell to one an all.

rhs cates ** « denome W. Drooxs.

‘Statement or Carr.,

“Tho statement of Charles Carr, admit
ted us cvideute on the trial of Brooks, is
evidéntly thé niore reliable history of the
murdcr, It is as follows:

The? budiness*;was s:tatked about and
made up some time, before it was done,

pe rs 3 IRL

SENS es feats

On Wednesday ,evcning before it was
done Brooks and I started up to Slater's, |
On. Eighth’ street, near the corner of
Broadway, ut Nathan ‘Aldridgo’s stable,
Brooks took .a..dray-pin from a dray
standing there, and I picked one up from |
the ground.: We*went ‘up and passed |
SIgter’s housé and‘store | looking around. |

~ eee - we TS ee oe oe ee os oe oe OEE RE

-< “J. U. Willams, 24 “ad ouse:. Morton, |- OS ee ee -- i OUT there: { went. to ery ftther:| would-go the- next. day and see. my “MuDéiald ea eine: to meaca
5a o*. a elegy 7 | 4 inand'saia
a. Weds 54; Williams, 41: "Worton's ie ra a “ CONFESSION., a) oe Liaw 3. in Pikeville, Pike Cow Here brother in law, Edward Gore, cand see “Now! ‘int you" ‘Haver. ae ride ‘of ‘thie
= tv enorme ballot, 12 ee I was. a ‘in Warrick county. T met witu Jol R. Bilderback, Sheva he would not Jet me have some] maré2twill- eave“you- ‘and youmy =
OO 5 ok i Tad: ue near_l ynvl ille, Oct 19th YS5L, et “This was on-Wednes-{/vouug catile, und (I. would” ‘Secure | go home.” But Lwehtsto- a man =
a . Now we hops: the~ emoerac Yr aver Am a son.of William O. and Mahala/d ay, the t 2th day-ofiduly. ; He, sent Gore-with sone property... Thisavas | house’ in Posey, near the Wabush, by
ne aes " satiated. et ee eae ee a ‘Camp Phe-sixthser ins family of for NIes 3 PS wegt te wee himr- au t Piston ‘Sunday; as -Then-on-Munday,, July: Ho ‘large “bridge” ‘AcYOSS a bayou, ‘aad
{5 /31, we started. Sale Mr. Gore's On| stayed all: night.’ 4T- toldthe-man.-

5 3 ee cet Coe ee ae thirteen. ‘children. *;My_ -father_has barroont in Pikeville
maar. -—heantiai “of Thomas Camp.’ “7 | béen dead 14 years, and” my |mother He proposed to’ sell>me a couple of the way Bilderb gaid- he“ wonld most’anything. ‘T'told him Thad ‘a.

¢ ofhas died-since my conviction, ~She;¢ cap horses:--itold-him I-was not{/Swear that ‘T-yot: horses on falge saddle™and’ bridle belon, ing “to”
ees: ee gan F b ~ | wassa member of the Regular Bap ;avle ts purchase them. Then Bilder- elie, om and that Broadharst would | murderéd' nani TA fact, oot Wass ae -
o:clock Sheritf:.Hauss, asaiste J | tist?Chaéch. -{ haveReurd my. good Baise and L wentcfi in the woods to-; swear he-bad never. told the anything, troubled‘that T wouhd talk with avery

ir —Dejiuts Shes JuoBinghu_mmogher poug-yetanpzrligiow seai~'gotbor and stayed near) aay —=Ttabout a gang of thieves. {man that T met;“and talk‘of.dhe arur-
Sa ~~ the Jailor <‘Uischarged_ their. solemn | ing-hasnot-heen ofa high orler. .. | Here I told Bilderback of my conaoee-| We went about four miles towards der.” PS RG i ek + Race re tke ey
executing ‘Thomas Camp, = ae | ESCe; ‘veda yery ordipar ¥ ¢ommon | ‘tion with the gang, and gaye him a! Gere’s before [ would auree to £0. to “Wednesday ¢nofning othe: Sencha.
achout epee yer. cae and tist ofthe u ames, cc. He drew otf| Haubstadt with Bilderback. TL turn: dsyof August, F feft'this man’s house |
= : write.- My-occupation has.been that | the list ——_—— ed back home-and-changed- -tlothes; Hor-homes--E-wej jack by thé place-—
eee c
- =ofJohn R: Bilderback-In-. August-off, ofa farmer. I have taught. Eictns| “Now,” said Bilder back, “ns thete and agreed to meet: Bilderback- at | where the ardét @ wid lay,” ¢ pace —

a-- _last-year near the town_of Haubstadt} school.in the country; generally. of | is another Bilderback’ $name on the; John Austin’s, From hera we lett killed; to-see how-thttigs: were, and Ao

duty of
Z * _ gentenced to be hung for the murder

in Sle county. After the reading of nights, ‘but sometimes of “Sun ndays. | | list T will keep it, and Tmay go inte together andcwent,. perhaps, . about | see how the dead maw tooked. Hcquat
2 the Slst Psalm by Rev. Dr. Me- it have never been a swearing man,:the yang my self. Then I agreed to one hundred yards, -1 told him: that ~~ WellF want there -wheru YT had left ~
ane es TG! | drinking or, playing cards. These |. | purchase the two horses on, nate; pro} |I was going te geta revolver; | that Z Him! and. he _.wie!-net- at! thetree
a Master, and prayer by Rev. "1 | things I have never been ‘guilty of. | vided. Bilderback wauld give meth thought they. intended to kill me, bat} where: we.left him: looked around 4
. ___ Beharrel, and after being asked it be! 1 Bas narried. to-Mise Mary F_ aad_not pash’ ‘me aitht the law. _T @|Lcoul d_not:precure one... suk vound ahr antsoes ner
e —~—“-had-anything to~ say, Caen -BTOse, McRey nolds,--Aug. 25th,1870,--by | note was written’ by Hiram. Williams _ Themext place we met-was-at EL. the- -edge-of-a log; atife-‘clothes being a

— ‘Stepped forward, and spoke as fol |’ Se@uire “Freneh. i: lived” fiappily on Mie 12th! tof Jaly, aecenipe hwo hu Afartin’ s blacksmith — "shop, in ‘exposed to fair: ‘view, go] Kicked up —

: i a ae with my wife until my arrest. [ |} months afcer date. Anadif I could Lytnville. From here. we went to some leaves.and! dirt. on ‘thei dlothes

oe an ais aohiiia anne | don’t: think. we ever had a. harsh not vet the money I might pay it in Haubstadt. On the way Bilderback | to: hide them from views" -t:far woo
cS young ve: nttle or hogs + tried -to-berrow—a—horse-for—me-te| [Then T-looked'towards'thi top" of

pend war you Ghave not done right. T ‘confexsed %O * word; —-----———- M
crime that I was not guilty of, bi:t | wax there whea | My: frst-bad act was with a base i I took the horses. and moved my ride, but did’ not get any. ar the tree, -a- largei oak, und : saw the

it waa done, xuowlng toit. i'm going home, on|
the way to my mother, who has gone before me. | girl, . Thal criminal in- [wife from [linois to Indians. |. Ty} We arriy ed at Haubstadt about. 10 ‘body of the murderet-: man; Bilder:

He lost his utterance aiter speak vercourse with ber in February, 1870, i passing to and trom Mlinois 1. met/o “clock at night, went. clear’ thre ugh back, laying. on the topofthe ground —
>. ing thé word friends, but rallied and! previous. 9 aM marriage. About “si aun ee Ope Paates ee eae pgstts /8C oor Be perfectly naked,'.s6° that the. ody.
: : three months after my-marri in | Kemp of Princeton, ind., wao were} house. - “Heré thou woul L mnt astro Hau
“pronounced, the rest in clear and i tise vetaber, this Migs gave birth t's boarding at James Knight's, near the| leave him, for I was ope uneasy... I A ie wa was —¥
tinct tenes. . a Oa ¥ Sein and said.J was thefatiier, -Lwaa|depot. This John W. Brown und | went back into town.to Fred. ;Mon- ‘Wednesday about ll o'clock. ae
~ We learn that the body exhibited | sick when I heard the news. 1 Tay she two Kemps- ‘wanted me to ceme/ roe’s store, to atay-all night.” ‘Hes ‘was After: ‘giving the body- a- ‘alight ‘
signs of life for seven minutes and ae | sick about nine weeks, but I don’t; ~° Princeton, for they had particular, my. wife’s cousin.. | knew he’ Would’ giance:I. -tety eotbad that ‘Qorwsir ay =
r half after.the tatal drop fell,-yet-the ; recollect much about it. __As.soun. pe stuess-for. me..Ou Mouday_week aot charge_me anything. — He told. hhoree-and ahidme.to.s0t. itey-
as-I was able te travel I jeft.the /2{:er the trade, I’same to Princeton.| me he-was fnll and could not Keep me. |'wife.’- “Dwent-ta tly: andle’sto get? -
_-body:s deg left suspuuded fifteen min- Gounty-(Wartjick). and went to Spen- | ;On going down Main street I--met! Bilderback- was “atill-at the’ ‘schoo! dinner: about two-and*'a-half mites”

a ee ce ee ee cf éer.—-1-was-goue abdtit three -weelga, | Joan We “Brown: He-ssids-that—in house,--L. then—went—back tothe) from-Hanbatadt:Mr.- William: ‘Mons a

Se). pe Wile ently oe ie * hen [weit back home, in thetatter the business he wanted ame_for. ~ my {school house and found: him rand two! roe! iss ase Cee eee

“'. partof February, 1871. I stopped; )orse, which Thad putin the livery|more men with him talking. These! :T-left-soen: aie Sinner fae ane
= ed Friday over a: successful corncrin gt Taylorsville. Warrick k county, : ata. Hable. ; would | veda the vay... - He!men were Charley Kemp and Astho- When near: Lydnville; “a MroTaylor
: Northwestern by Jay Gould and his” Hotel where three carpenters—name- , 38id that he would take the horse and! ‘ny Heminger:” Yrom~here“we went} evertook me; and. he andl talked, 1.
ee ~glique. ~ Later im the day Mr. Gould-1y,—-Nathaniel _Broadhurst,WJ._F. ae gines his nate poe F iP This was; down the. “Evansyille_ road . towards’ told hitaabeut:-Mire- Bilderback:--{

5 as Q = th di rEist ~thonrec’s:—F
atmeett was surprised with an arrest; romamarst and Edward Cox—were | a ol uuly ‘ ee tito j his—was-abont} fold that | wentoll with bim, but did
t work repairing. It was Badger’s en Brown proposed to zo down! 1. o’clock-at night. ‘On the: Toad’! not- knew- where he-had-gens--Thens

from the Erie Company, on a charge: antl I got there on Tuesday in| among che negroes on the Hats. and: Bilderhack “proposed tome iochangert we Went--on -home; gol there oa
of embezzlement, &ec., to the extent February, 1871, and stayed there til] 2icehhorses, « cattle, or_any bing —we paiits, as he thought he would go'to| Wednesday night about 12 o’viock..
. ees itioms.—tte appeared Sararday “Eivey wintod 1G “Stay oa aa old y ie that. was. she! E yvansvillenext: morning on the train, +My wife was-not at-home;-but at —
; ina Se ee with thenr: STearn the trade, and | yay he did when he gothard up. { jand his pants Were not ag : ood: as ‘my uncie's-close by. 2 Shedame home
ee re the Sh , at see tien they wal lente imc Bbw to| was to nelp stca stock in connection; mine. So we changed pan 2 {in the morning. ‘Stayed home nearly

er on one million dallars*bail” make an easy living’ without work. with Anthony Hemminger and the! Then we came to a road be oem ‘all’ day: ‘Thureday: and traded - the
— or “They said, first-I had to promise to | vwo Kemps. We wentdown in the! west from Haubstadt. —We propo horse off toa Mr. 8,
eas 2d : A HOME’”’ , Keep everything to my & + bottoms, and -ve separated at Harvey to turn aside in the woods and 3tay | a cow and siamo. Tt ktat
ee ea a ADA BARGAIN _._. Ltold theur te tell me whatit Was, Mel ve Mc 2 were to sneet au) till tN yruing, So we turned west) went ' “Pikeville, to 2 father | in.
* 3 Located two blocks from the Public. andif kalid not like it I would not :'¥elve 9 ack that aight at J. W. about taifa mile, and stopped in allaw’s, or 3:
say-anything about itto any one, [) Brown's th any thing we could get. little patch of woods about fifty vards; Here iimet some of” Bilderba is
4 Square. — Wood shed, stable, well ici Siem on- Saturday und. went I went to. "Fake ‘MeCarty’ 3 anil Louk] from, the road. went and got. some | relations....Being very exci: erick’
ei ae sore and cistern. >Fences. in geod repair, | home; and the next Tuesday 1 went | Lis yellow mare and three voits. 1, wheat from a stack near hy to feed! most anything. They Ped me tl
: Lot high and dry. Will be soldi back to Taylorsville on my mother's ‘rode the:mare about a: mile anda-half,, the horse, and when 1 vot back anoth- would go with them t ‘ind Bilder.
bac ste C. BROWNLEE. ; mare. aie - and there just about sundown | met er inan sas present who gave mé his hack... Ltold them that | would if
1 ‘At this place-I- moe” “hen above the owner, and as I passed I heard, nume as John Me ‘Donald. I gave the. they would: comedown. Theylcame —:
‘ £@~ The Commissioners who 10 have: named three: gentlemen;¥and | ‘Nat. bina Say there goes my mare, * | wheat to the ‘mare, and _orie' pulled —=8 brothepand:: 4. brother: inlaw—_. .

aie aw ee | Broadhurst hired a borsazout ‘ofta I run the mare about one hundred} out’ ‘some “whisky and ‘Bilderback
been inv estigating the . depredations| fee F l weghs oud (Moris lend sas n—theldraiten val angel went with them towards Haub-

) onthe Rio tcrande border, PEPOTlLe ay ; Linto-the-catintr}-about_three_milas. woods and-then.to the. railroad. and| gave {it to’me. He then put the horse} this-time: I-had. not given them much———

the total” loss te Americans by. the! Then he told. me all about jails and | | tuen to Princeton. Herel met the blanket around his own shoulders, | satisfaction as to the pocrcabouts: of

Mexican and Indian raids, will not! prisons, and-said he could get out, | Kemps who bad broken into g water-| laid his head’ on his saddle. and soon Bilderback. = je > >
Then he gaid he | Melon car, or anlocked the car with} ay asleep. Here’ Mr. Hemingey said! . On Poeiy: morning I: told uene

I
}
|

ES ee SRNR BO bY

ws ail ie

Peete

a : fall short of ©$100,000,000. They! when he pleased.

% —- arge an increase of ¢ avalry,on the. 5; could make-and- use.counterfeit-mon-/ “te a Soames a ee ue me i Bilde: rback_out.of the lwhero-the-mar row a8,-and-went-and——

a “border. ~ 4 ‘ey when he pleased; ¥said be hid’ ‘old me that I must go to Mt, Vernon feray to keep him from making ‘an got her. Then adeputy sheriff-and . .
. +Killed a-couple of men in the ‘State and get two horses and a two year} expose, and as TI had told him the! Bilderback’s brother, insisted:that 1.

secret, I must do the killing as a/

ae 17 Mr. Buskirk hae introdnead w Bue Ohio; saidthere was a “gang of. old: mule that was therein the woods.

«RRC PE tae pme td pods a RE eee

aud Gus pnust Kilt [Beldler off (Le cersiing 2 Jk conyersien Ha Lif
lh & ctu and SHarnltd le lo [Fe pot ar Wu 0 et an OCW Da
Oriel hu cute put Strep, Bean pcan bat Ger weit ate [he #. Lbtyg ctivizg
of a Tu (Cary } Lut Lote Lhe seysonss Cn Cerin beg Lp L909
Gorn cast Cass SAAS Crt Ge a) A ts ainrck [Pree Lot [ke
Pfu tk And Alpe he Lhe yatat (Cte,

(Bn bis dbhiengye ox Dai Conger is arvy [Grown wes Qrelid Leet Gad’
Ho ohffrtuib- wu Previvg av Rt ba Cruse ag lev werch £00 4
fron get; SY ber tv dnidwints Aud the £ Cee ELt LOAD COYVEUA
Wale Unt ¥ tects Copp WAY 2 prow? cow Clad Cri1t Ligfere
tawe-~, hn Meted ger God oly tu Ze eat Lat Loy

Li SM of J poipuceds oe had cli Ce Onerw Lak ¢ CLs aera rage

o - ~
Odgrerk titaci Crud Cra Got WL Ate Leen bee pew oe
J yi

Sher, And 2 aa Ha rlee 1 PULP Seniet Leer Gehken

fv
Bs, LIAth Qs Lip HOARD Lit Cnet out #0781 and (Kar tiene >

Anoticer ; Bh ane fide Caing Codes Lu ee Bley Sealeen Wk
Lig sherds ” S4archeel. the [OP PES t 4
Bronol> af Lic Locafrct PVISCMe? at cw fo a tt eget Mend ek: o>
thing Hen are: CaN e bc SHAN ANA Bitsy Ly = wen Ve, Peas Leow
Lxb a Dover Zaiddemdn tee Fart Bed pas areoled Cy je
4

fornlachy 4l4 ers lees Od Q Perey Chg Bol ples cel Aa poe’
at c Ye G'

Butriolore, & J Y Yoon linnt ALAA Lg Fieact Lh Au
Pre cena cust Teun S1OGeers Ca112et reuse Cats Dex < of Z>
Vroiretiin~ Lo atwatl<trenchin,

CF
eA 41, we Ceneltinntd AHeat 712140 ele eer [eta Cor Seater

_- bf —

SSS Se ee

wo Wd A4aly Lear SMaljwenl (2 Sateh Lijal of tr litolertoack |
pinto Sef he “a arnt And 2A ttc final bicidar Back hilt
et Gu We Bacar re ke

“

Ot, Aan Cv Cu Fiawr glen At ky lhe sae

et iz? jen Se a Ata

OVE be ote Ain 4 acerbic SWS ftv hes

“ a

Lhe Etro © Devi Cu Lugivate te ienefu. eve ¥ a Bye 1 Vee pwrgy Lf SC
. Z “

Lee Wart A ole Zs hiynerpoler ra Liarvifs 9 LUOLILNA S/o 3 Bre Contig cée

Comh Ban's o Lu ame Lote $0 ana LAr Cie woe SL201 CHK
: we
oe, Wweo ALLEAF A274 CLA CLE le

ent (Bho Gti neg) om th ate bs jie "o phme.
| AD a Ln Lies ovina dtr J Smee LU Cua Vale Ce tia fren [ie SAarofs

or ee, Cr Ltew Liv L002 [Pt atee C1 E
ate" [Frown on F Pos O04 E/

2d Eat Creu cy, KM

| oti” LL02 Wee 17 Ce sinpe ce

Latet Show cop, hen HA Con ctin ced &

ees ot eA a Coke, a, WED ae 1 [oe > x.
L # ‘ 7) vA gi, me c 4 pf. ;
| Aw (17 /ynctter~ ae inerifs Lr,
yo?’ Fr 2. ope A - oo ayn £4 alegperent f ES apy x
| iC [SPRRA MA Cemtt_rnntu& te erv7 tis GAZ ag

“j Se ae
| | Levees its er -gper ar ge ‘CLZe SCL411cr 2fetur Pte Gpofar weer

CH Cen

Bs Bf Evita ek cna

Aeaol eongesrect 0 SOU Dainback pus,

Chtinres, 4 og cep Eee” Lic Leiter dente a= fete, e

2atLn Bei devercet ert fuer

Wea Le, Btepde & Cie AdtenA OA Cota

| Scena” Cee LEO ALA 1 (e Sates Ci atk (Leg

Livi Cath (Atte
hcl Cutaad % Tate gor 4 X42 awd he fipecte Pie xe ala oe
F aa
. “BD -
See oe rreehths Sere iets. 7 7 i wephacsrampr meus cca ren ee
Se eee er te Se Se ee Sioa Sree * —
nee ape cendenenes Ys te 1a See
_ . = nose: :

ee ees : m = > a , : : = A es a :

ee eng Seer = r 7 : oe : : —- ma . - g a : : : ~ e a * a ie

= eee = 72SPrineeton- Gariog, | ee ON OF THOMAS CAMP: | inet Broadhurst a again, 18. shes — le-ex rOMOMItT Sof ind vul$3.600 fem £

i ieee ee = eS E Me 7 oe © Wie te = a iday,-where 1 was,and trom mother’s his peredhe. ¥ ‘and 4¥ hn MeDonala

a +i “a d-CALKINS, —— Eperont Keb a me fe joln_ shat: E. oti we went te ny house, On the -way.| got onst travalad tillnear--

=i — Seauae | ee tien oh Os aoe Her. Uo. Tg robberste which" Je"agreed. “Hes hé wid" ma that! he Had told this, tien: rdavlight: and stopped: aad Union=
oa =EBINGETON, ANDIANS ae vs Friday: Uetober din, 1872. proniised: thay i d- ‘wouldsticiy ta | him about thig;-and that I had! to get tlie ‘Chutth at thé“lorks’ ‘of the! road“ in 4

Se Saas =i for'stx: qnonths.- Garh-the enrpenter’s: money for-Hestas wanting it“ L told: Posey: ‘cCounly>“Here we: separated, = $

aan lteade and: was he wanted: ine-toy be hin thea that “hE would: try. bo, get. tt, and were not tobe: ‘seen—wiy: more =
Rel $f oe 189th: yal was toatl by ewe bwonid give mn@s500.- “Andt-as> soon ranthrud-to-pash: -Oir mesfor- e-note: together that dayi-b toukthe mare
: Et J e 3Qeokins,. of: Princeton,' and . ajas f could go to jilinois “and: move} was not yetdue. Then he told: me and crossed the Wabasl* ‘river tito =
ce he: Se jemmeras “3 n sby2Rev. Je Phil wy Wileto W arrick Coin owas ttarirh wou goto au bstadt—o b/ Grayville, Illinois. Here 1 ‘stopped
~ozableste th By lip st ng DS a ; Ttu have $250 down. >‘ Ne-gave>me-r} Monday night by (fees a ema al ae old triend’s about three hours,
to: an-election toe United. Stites Sen: py. es | printed listofthe: naines-of ‘the: mem-the yang would. meet. us...there..and \then: re-crossed: the. Wibash. river-to:”

Elaion oi SegatoEa

one we

ee oo ~~» ator sSenator O-- -Pi-Mortotr was put| 2 eens rev fe. as | [bers of the gang, und. ulso--piinted pay ib;- that Lsheuld-not- he out any> the Indiana ‘side to New Harmony, in*
i “Gn @omination by the; “Republicdus: oS es tao st rayer was! 0 une trules, and- gave mea rule how, when |thing; that he (Bilderback)- “was go: ‘Pusey county: “Here I tried. ee
me ee DeWitltums;of Kwox cour ‘by’ Rev..J. E.. Jen ins, after Ww jel Hie. et-amian—who—had plenty of] ing From: there to: ‘Evansville an? ‘I/the'mare, bat did notsacveed. Bit.
| ee Seomeecient ame a ‘Thomas: Camp. expecting-- -o. -autfer- money. byw, to ‘vet it. without a MUU Coulee. his horse. back... [about ’three. miles. up. the: Wabash!
EEE tyechg— thee dg mocrais. ; _The- vote the. death.penaity withina few hours, Ine Naw which as” tu: yels him. tol told him; tifat I was aftaid_to go; | traded: the:mate to. a young mad'for-
: > -siq@od—Senate:—O- >" Morton,—27;, +hnade tie s Tollowitig ~ -—f Hiriok-deugged-s#lisiss————____that the and_anight kill-me;-that_I/ fing Wowse;-8 ter thie trade, Jolin
= Z J-D-Williamns. aA -House:. Morton; — 8 ~ CONFESSION. oTosy} -Fromthere-f went. to my" ftther:| would-go the next-day and see my “MuDéiald came to me@again and'saia-
me 54; Williams, 41 “Morton's majorit (5. 2° ~."3 a ce ‘in: law's.in Pikeville, Pike Cow Here brother in law, Edward Gore, and see “Now? ’that you” “have got-rid~of: ‘the
a : t-ballot, 19. eo I was . born ‘in Warrick county. T met with Jolin R. Bilderback, the if he would not, let me have some] marézkwill- Jeave-your “and youmuys
ee: ar? a a bY. -onjoin ae Tad) wear rny ille, Oct, -19th,. TS5h4 murdered man. This was on-Av. édites young cattle, und. (would secure oro hone. But LE “wehtsto- acmdn’s-
ie ; Now: we: hope: the~Democracy-are Am a son. Pera at ei QO. and Mahala} dy, the T 2th day: ofvduly. ; Hu. sent Gore-with sone property.,. Thisavas house’ in Posdy, 1 near the Wabush, by 7:
(og " satistied. oe ee ee ‘Camp Phe-sixth-somin-x family of for me; = =e wegt te. see him - at : bis on Sunday: — Theron Munday July wlarge “bridge” across a “bayer. ed
a ae Sates cemet ye * | thirteen. children oly -father_has barroont j aD Pikeville. - :,°3 431, we started. Mr...Gore’s” On stayed all night +1 -told“'the-man.

; | Car
—~Exetution of Thomas Camp.” béen dead 14 years, and my | ‘mother! He proposed ‘to’ selltme a eau, of the way Bilderta tk gaid- het wonld mostdnything. ‘T'told him Ivhad ‘a. ©
Frid Merncon “at 2 ythas died-since my conviction. “She; cheap: horses:~-i-told-him I-was not|Swear that -I- Ot: horses on false saddle“ and’ bridiébélongine te.“ 5 =
- ‘On reget ~} was. member of the’ Regular Bap ‘avuleto purchasethem. Then Bilder- pete and that Broadharst would | murderéd'imani'' TA" fact: LD’ “was? ‘30°
. o:elock Sheriff, Hauss, assisted :by Y | fist?Chatch. - -[ havesheurd my’ good | back and wentcfl in the woods to- swear he-had never, told me anything | troubléed‘that I would talk: with ever

ee
: * : I : us
ro

' { Noe

a Deputy. Shesit Jolin Binghap aul smothogpgayyyetimyirdigious seain~ gcthorand stayed neariy all” day— —=tabout a gang of thieves, —_- .) man that a ‘met, “and talk’ of. vhe nr
—— - the Jailors <lischarged | their. solemn | | oe een ofa high orler. .. | Here I told Bilderback of my conoee-| We went about four miles towards der.” DP GREE UT OR 2 Re TERS ER Sines

2 duty of executing ‘Thomas Camp, | cd received'a yery ordinary ¢ common | ‘tion withthe gang, and gave him a/Gere’s before I would agree to go to “Wednesday. 4nofning g,' thie! Second
a 3 ec{ to be hung for the murder schout éducation, yetIcan réad and) tist ofthe u ines, ke. He drew otf|Haubstadt with Bilderback. TD turn: duy. of August, Fleft'this man’s house -
a0 . sentenced to be write. - Afy-« occupation hasbeen that thc 1elist _--—--. ----}ed back home-andt-changed- -clothes: Gr thome wen jack by: the Tee
qo Sof John Re Bilderback-in- August-off, ‘ofa farmer. I have taught. singing ‘Now,’ said Bilder back, “ag there and agreed to meet~ Bilderback- ati where ‘the “Hard re 8 tidh lav,’ 6 or-was.. -
Fd is another Bilderback’s name on thej John Austin’ 3 From heré we, left killed; “to-see- how thitigs weres and ee

= last-year near. the towD_ of Haubstadt school-.in the country; : generally. of |
in this county. After the reading of nights, bit sometimes of ~Sundays. | | ilist f will keepvit, and Imay go inte|ltogether andéwent,. perhaps, ; caboutt soe ‘how the dead maw tooked 72": A

" Dr. Me-| 1 ave never been a swearing man, ithe yang my self. Then I agreed to one hundred yards, -1 told him: that} “Well Ewaent there’ where ‘I had left >
the dist Psalm, by Rev. nets | dripking or, playing. cards. These |. | purchase the two horses: on note, pro3}|I was going te geta revolver; that I Aim! ant. he wee net até: ‘thetree

Master, and prayer by Rev. .T. G. | things 1 have never been guilty of. vided. Bilderback wauld give me tpg thought whey. intended to kill me, but} where: we.left him. looked around * 4
Beharrel, and after being asked if ‘he! —— | -was married. to Miss Mary” F. and_not ptish ‘me with, the law. hale | sme -Dot:precure. one Hela atid-found-his-ahirt-uhd'shoes“onder——_
—“-had-anything to- say, Camp -arose, McRey nolds,-—Aug. 25th,.1870,--by | note was written by Hiram Williams! ..Themext place we.met- was.at El. the- -edge-of-a log; etieclothes being "=
Squire “French. [> lived” fappily on Mie 12thof Jaly, amid payable 21 wo ure Afartin’s | blacksmith (shop, infexposed to: fair view, ‘90 ] kicked ips
with iny wife until my arrest. - I }months after date. Andif I could Lyenville. From here. we went to sdine leaves. and! dist on’ the! dlothes |
pact A : rn ae — | don’ t-think. we ever had a| harsh not vet the money I might Be it in}Haubstadt. On the way Bilderback | to: hide them from views" “0 soo
“pat Bisson Leeman ees 1 word. — = young enttle or hoge-—- ——-——-" tried to -borrow-a-borse-for-mé: 46 ~-"Thei't looked ‘towards"thetop"of ~
crime Pn Ta pai ‘omy | My: frst-bad act was vith a base; | I took the horses aad moved my |ride, but did not get any. the trée,-a largeioakytund saw the
the way 10 my mother, who has gone before.me. | girl, . Ihal criminal a wife from Illinois to Indiana, |. Ty] We arriy ed at Haubstadt about. 10 bedy of the murderetman; Bilder:
He lost his utterance aiter speak} tercourse with her in Pebriarg 187% ), | passing to and from Illinois [ metjo’¢clock at night, went. clear thre ugh ‘back, laying. on the top ofthe ground
ing His worl friends, but rallied and! previous, “O mY marriage., About with: mndcem Kemp and Chartes the town and stopped at” ‘a: “8c ool perfectly n aked,* 86“ that: the ody.

h n clear and dies ee months after. my-marriage, in | Kemp ot Princeton, Ind. wao were|house. - “Here I. thought i. would mike be: easily destroyed. = Hecwas |
“pronounced. the reat in cle Noveiaber, this Migs ‘gave birth to-a boarding at James Knight 4, near the | leave him, for | was very uneaay.. TI) killed ow Montayralght, and this was ||
tinct tenes.-. 3. nod -=lgonand Sida was the fatlier, ‘Twas |depot This John W. Brown _und| went back into town.to Fred. Mon-| ‘Wednesday about Ll o'clock. a j

she two Kemps- wanted me to ceme!roe’s store, to stay-all night.” He was | ---after: ‘giving: the: ‘body-a- ‘alight '
: signs of life for seven minutes and a. sick about nine weeks, but I don't taper for =— - omnes me magrangs jin aS sold glance’. tel eo*bed that: ‘poten ay ~
a ata} drop: fell,- -yet-the} recollect. much about it. _ As__soun f eaeeibas pairs a i ame clad fuahas = arpe Ine an Peele ato ;horse-and lidme to.s66 ey
half after.thet UTO} as-I was able to travel I jeft.the 2 er the trade, I’same to Princeton.|/me he-waa full and could not. keep me. | wife. 3f went-ta: ‘aly: niéle’s to’ getmy:
E - body- was , left suspauded fi fifteen mjn- gounty-¢ Warrick). and went to Spen- | /On going down Main street I--met/ Bilderback- was “atill-at the’ ‘schoo! dinner; about two-and*a-talf: ‘titles
a utes before-it-was. gutdodn. =. --}¢er-—L-was.gone about three weeks, | John We Brown: He-said+-that_-in|house—1- then—went.back-—to-tlie, from-Haubstadt;= Mir. Williane: Mons
—-- re aocbwhen. I weit back! lorie, | in the tater & hd business he wanted a Or,” ip ;{ school house and found. him-and two: eroe's 7: tout Oe aes A a ae
eer Wal ll street was greatly exc part of February, 1871. I stopped iorse, which Thad putin the livery more men with him talking. These] :I-left: Boeai after dined ster! thome,
: ed Friday over a successful coruer in at Taylorsville. Warrick county, ata 3 table.sould | bedn the vay: - Helmen were Charley Kemp and Astho- When near: Lyinville; ca Mro is
——: Northwestern byJay Gould and tits ivtel where three carpenters—name- said that he would take the horse and/ny Weminger:~ From here*we “went evertook ie. aud: be and'I talked, -
-~alique. ~ Later in the day Mr. Gould’-!y.~ Nathaniel “Broaduarst, WF. give me his note for.315...This was; down the_ ~Evanayille_ road . towards'| told: hite-about}Mr:-Bilderback:— T
i Mae Sroadhurst and Edward Cox—were | JS ‘th day of Joly. [Crores Monrec's-—Fhis—was-abont told that | wentolt with bim, bat did
= ‘imseli_was surprised with an arrest; | at work repairing. It was Badger’s | ‘en Brown proposed to zo down) 1] o'clock -at- night. "On: thd road] not: knew-whers he-had-gene-—-Then
from the Erie Company, OD 3 charge: hotel. I got there oo Tuesday in | a8 Mong the negroes on the Hats. and! Bilder! M Ack “proposed tame ioohanget 2° 'Went-on shome;:: : s got there oR

of embezzlement, &c., to the | extent i ebruary, 1871, and. stayed there til] 2+ zt.norses, cattle, or_any: big cwepaiits, as he thought he would got = | Wednesday night: about 12 ovivck..

Stepped for ward, aid apoke ns tol-

1
i

ent haddcomn ge e °

‘a

H pee.
|
1

ata ~ he

~ We learn | Laat t the body aehibited sick when I heard the news. I lay!

ey ied

ane could vet hold of, for that was ihe! Gikan ayilies jarWaaabhake Rave mar¥e

ah eT. i Pa co

ye Se

To The Man With

HERNIA

Who Can Not Submit
To Surgery

The man condemned to live with rupture

There is only one known cure... surgical

correction. Yet, for many, this relief must be

Less than two years ago a man who had suf-
fered from hernia himself devised a new kind
of support. It is revolutionary. There are no
steel springs. No leather. No hard, gouging
knobs. No unsightly bulk. “RUPTURE-GARD”
is suspended from the waist. It is comfortable
to wear as a pair of trousers —and just as easy
to slip on or off,

You'll like RUPTURE-GARD. If you have
hernia —or know someone suffering from this
affliction — won’t you do yourself a real favor?
Write Today!

THE KINLEN CO., Dept. MG-125W

809 Wyandotte Street, Kansas City 5, Missouri

Mail check, cash or M.O.

» tot
Master Detective, 205 E. 42 St., N.¥.C. 17

ow to Make Money with

Lehi Simple Cartoons’

” A book everyone who likes to
J draw should have. It is free; (PRee
Sees no obligation. Simply address

fr ——
UARTOONISTS' EXCHANGE
Dept. 5812 Pleasant Hill, Ohio

tations, try CYSTEX for quick, gratifying, com-
forting help. A billion OCYSTEX tablets used in

RUPTURE!

An amazing Air-Cushion
Invention allows body
freedom at work or play.
Light, neat,cool,sanitary.
Durable, cheap. Day and night protection helps
Nature support weakened muscles gently but surely.
No risk. Sent on Trial! Write NOW for free Booklet and
Proof of R its. All cor di fidential

Brooks Company, 392-G State St., Marshall, Mich.

AMAZING NEW PSE" RADIO
Really Works—Small as a Pack of Cigarettes!

; : TUBES, BATTERIES OR
vary Ae od NO oT RiG |“ PLUG-INS.”
59 UL €

Amazing Television Invention!
Fits Into Palm of Your Hand
AS CLEAR A PICTURE AS [onty

*) WITH $35 ANTENNAS! 5 | 00
/] yy

ier antennas. Weighs only few ozs. Works
on all frequencies, Sensational value, $1.

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

Jank that old i k-pulling TV Ant for this
handy, newest Evans All Frequency TV Antenna. See the
difference immediately. So low-priced you can’tafford to be
‘without this‘ Midget Wonder.’Mechanism fully concealed.
Perfect forapts. where outdoor Antennas are prohibited.

Clip This Ad and Mail with Only $1 plus Dime for Postagé
3 ° with im:
Weill SN ootere to 1 a9 a full rotund. Order poe pesreot and

THE KILLER STAYED FOR SUPPER

(Continued from page 47)

abruptly, ‘Have you checked on Bill?”

Voit wheeled in the doorway. “You
mean William Agrue?”

Carter nodded.

“We'll get around to him,” Voit
said. “But why did you mention his
name?”

Carter seemed to hesitate. Then he
spoke reluctantly. “Well, I happen to
know that Bill was supposed to go to
the old man’s place on Friday and
help Leo plant the corn. You said
that the supper table was_ set for
six. Well, if Bill took his wife along
that would account for it.”

Voit returned to Lawrenceburg and
reported this conversation to the sher-
iff. Winegard said, “That checks. One
of the Agrue sisters I talked to told
me that Bill was supposed to be work-
ing on his father’s place that day.
Moreover, Bill hasn’t communicated
with any of his relatives since then.
He must have heard of the killings.
Fie radio’s been broadcasting nothing
else.”

Voit returned to his car and drove
to the small settlement of Homestead,
a few miles north of the county seat.
It was there that William Agrue lived
with his wife.

It was now 7 o’clock in the evening.
Mrs. William Agrue did not own a
radio. She knew nothing of the kill-
ings. When Voit asked for her hus-
band, she said, “He’s not here. I
haven’t heard from him all day. ’m
beginning to worry about him.”

“When,” Voit asked, “did you last
see him?”

“Yesterday morning, about 6. Leo
Agrue arrived here about 5 o’clock
to pick up Bill to work on their
father’s place. I gave them breakfast
and they left an hour later.”

Voit told Mrs. Agrue of the tragedy
at the farm. First she was incredulous.
Then she became almost hysterical.

“Tf the rest of them are dead, Bill
must be dead, too.”

Voit assured her that no trace of
Bill Agrue’s body had been found.
Mrs. Agrue looked at the deputy
shrewdly through her tears. “Then if
you don’t think he’s dead, you’re here
because you think he did it.”

“It’s just a matter of talking to
him,” Voit said. “He may know some-
thing that’ll help us.” ~

Mrs. Agrue shook her head. “No,”
she said, “I just know Bill’s dead, too.

It’s true he didn’t get along with Leo.

very well, but, Bill’s no murderer.”

Interested, Voit inquired as to the
differences between Bill and Leo. He
learned that Bill Agrue was in fi-
nancial trouble. He was earning little.
He envied Leo’s security, living at
home. He also resented the fact that
Leo had managed to save more than
$100 while he, Bill, was deeply in
debt.

A thought flashed into the deputy’s
mind. “You say Leo had saved some
money. Do you know where he kept
it?”

“Why, yes,” said Mrs. Agrue. “He
kept it in a wooden chest in his bed-
room.”

“Did anyone else know where Leo
kept that cash?”

‘Sure. The whole family did.”

Voit thanked the woman for her
information. He said, “If your hus-
band shows up, tell him to get in touch
with the sheriff’s office.”

Mrs. Agrue nodded — unhappily.
“Look,” she said, “promise me one
thing. I just know Bill’s dead. Will
you please search the farm for his
body?”

Voit promised, although perhaps he
did not quite share Mrs. Agrue’s feel-
ing. From his viewpoint, William
Agrue was the number-one suspect in
the case although if either revenge
or robbery were the motives it was
difficult to understand why he had
slain his father, mother, brother and
niece.

On the following morning, Mary
Elizabeth’s parents arrived in Law-
renceburg. The mother was a daugh-
ter of Johnson Agrue. The child had
lived with her grandparents since the
parting of her parents.

Winegard interviewed the pair but
they could throw no light on the
mysterious murders. It was Deputy
Cook who picked up the sole im-
portant clue. He learned that Johnson
Agrue had been paid on Friday after-
noon. However, no money had been
found on the corpse when the sheriff’s
men had searched it.

On the following day, Winegard,
his deputies and _a volunteer posse
began a slow and careful search of
the Agrue property. In a heavily
wooded area some 300 feet from the
spot where Leo Agrue had died, they
found the body of his eldest brother.

William Agrue, clad in work
clothes, lay on his face. He, too, had
been shot in the back. Dink Carter, a
member of the party, identified his
brother-in-law. Coroner Moon was
sent for. He stated that William _ob-
viously had been the victim of a shot-
gun blast. He ordered the body sent
to the Moon Funeral Home in Law-
renceburg.

The sheriff, his deputies and the
state police went into conference. Bill
Agrue had been their principal and
only suspect. The fact that he too had
been murdered had removed him for-
ever from that category.

The fingerprint experts had been
unable to discover any alien prints in
the Agrue home. The murder weapon
had not been found. Jefferson Peet
told the sheriff that he knew Johnson
Agrue possessed a shotgun. However,
it was not in Agrue’s home.

“It seems clear,” Winegard said,

“that the killer used Johnson Agrue’s
gun to murder the family. Then, ap-
parently, he ate his supper and hid
the gun.”

“We have no clues and no sus-
pects,” Captain Eckert said. “I'd sug-
gest we give the case the fullest pub-
licity. Ask the press and radio to
appeal to anyone who perhaps saw
someone in the vicinity of the Agrue
place at the time of the killings. It
seems to be our only hope.”

This was promptly done. The In-
diana newspapers and the radio sta-
tions willingly cooperated. Within 48
hours two men visited the sheriff’s
office.

The first was a truck driver of
Aurora, a town some 15 miles from
Lawrenceburg.

“I picked up a guy,” he said, “who
was hitchhiking out of Aurora last
Friday. I drove him along Route 50
and dropped him at the dirt road
which leads to Johnson Agrue’s farm.
It must have been around 1 o’clock

when tl
“Can 3
asked.
“Well,
six feet :
sandy hz
old any\
The s
farmhar
“It mi
o’clock :
“when ]
raining
along |
yards fr
to the 4
Aurora.
His de
lied wit
Unfor
were qu
many r
munity.
Mrs. W:
gard an
She r
death ¢
tremely
“I we
said to
who di
want y:
“Whe
“Whe
time of
him?”
“Why
had nc
Carter.
derer?”
“T do
mad at
cially ;
I’ve he
record.
Mrs.
Carter
cause ¢
the n
ground
of the
becaus:
more r
“He
us,” MW.
wouldr
week <
his not
Johnsc
Win
notebo
record
“We
I’m nc
ought
The
it rig
inforn
“Mi
not sa
ing y
about
The
reque:
the F)
dispat
talk 1
aware
of the
Whe
in Au
wife |
Cincir
bs. 4
alarm
of rou
relati
where
killin;
last F

CARTER, Virginius ("Dink"), electrocuted Indiana (Dearborn County) February 10, 19))2,

SECRET

by Tony Lubino

BLOOD BINGE AT |
THE OLD FARM

HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE MAGAZINE, APRIL, 196h.

HE TWO FARMERS walked down the dirt road that
led to their newly cut hayfield in Dearborn County,
Indiana. It was a lazy afternoon in May, and Samuel and
Bertram Piltern were anxious to get their first crop of alfalfa
in. Not a cloud moved in the clear sky. The slanting shafts
of the sun poured a flood of warm gold over the hills and
fields. It was a typical Spring afternoon, peaceful and quiet
and serene. There was nothing to give the two men a hint of
what they were to find in the next few minutes.
They turned off the road, opened the fence gate, and

‘went into the field. From this vantage point the men could

see the mounds of cut and ranked hay curving in rows
around the foot of the hill. But they glanced at each other
in wonder at the unusual sight of several cows grazing in
the field.

“That’s some of Agrue’s stock in there,” Samuel said.

“Funny he’s ‘not out after them. That’s not like him.”

Johnston Agrue had always been a good neighbor, care-
ful to keep his livestock off land that was not his own. Yet
here were his cows feeding undisturbed in the Pilterns’ hay
field.

“Must be something wrong,” Bertram remarked. “Let’s
chase the cattle out and get up to his house.”

The two men hazed the cows out of the hayfield. The
afternoon silence seemed to hang heavy as they moved on
down the hollow through a small copse of trees that flanked
a shallow creek. Samuel stepped across, and then halted in
mid-stride, staring in disbelief at a body huddled in the
weeds beside the path.

“Good Lord!” he yelled. “It’s Johnston. He’s been shot!”

Blood had darkened the weeds and rocks around John-
ston Agrue’s head and shoulders. Stooping closer, the two

The corpse of Leo Agrue, one of the five victims of the mysterious butcher who ran amok on the Agrue farm.

lentless scythe
corn fields,

HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE

eee ee

iappily.
ne one
d. Will
for his

1aps he
’s feel-
Nilliam
‘pect in

ace the

air but
on the
Deputy
le im-
ohnson
- after-
d been
heriff’s

legard,
posse
ireh of
leavily
om the
d, they
2r.

ad
irter, a
ed his
n was
im ob-
a shot-
ly sent
. Law-

ad the
ze. Bill
al and
oo had
m for-

i been
‘ints in
veapon
n Peet
ohnson
wever,

1 said,
\grue’s
an, ap-
nd hid

Oo sus-
*'d sug-
st pub-
dio to
Ss saw
Agrue
ags. It

he In-
io sta-
thin 48
heriff’s

ver of
s from

, “who
ra last
yute 50
t road

‘m.
ck

EE ——EE_—

when this guy got off the truck.”

“Can you describe him?” Winegard
asked.

“Well, he was a big fellow, around
six feet and broad shouldered. Sort of
sandy hair and young. Under 30 years
old anyway.”

The second witness was a young
farmhand.

“It must have been a little after 7
o’clock on Friday evening,” he said,
“when I gave a lift toa guy. It was
raining hard and he was walking
along Highway 50 a few hundred
yards from the dirt road which leads
to the Agrue place. I drove him into
Aurora.”

His description of his passenger tal-
lied with that given by the trucker.

Unfortunately both descriptions
were quite general; they fitted a great
many men who lived in the com-
munity. But on the following day,
Mrs. William Agrue called on Wine-
gard and made a specific charge.

She not only mourned the violent
death of her husband, she was ex-
tremely bitter about it.

“T want that murderer caught,” she
said to the sheriff. “I don’t know
who did it. But there’s one thing I
want you to find out.”

“What's that?” :

“Where was Dink Carter at the
time of the murder? Have you asked
him?”

“Why, no,” Winegard said. “We’ve
had no reason to suspect Virginius
Carter. Do you believe he’s the mur-
derer?”

“IT don’t know. But I know he was
mad at the whole family and espe-
cially so at Johnson Agrue. Besides,
I’ve heard talk that he has a prison
record.” ’

Mrs. Agrue went on to explain that
Carter was a heavy drinker who, be-
cause of this fact, had lost his job at
the nearby Government ordnance
grounds. He owed several members
of the Agrue family and was angry
because they refused to lend him any
more money.

“He quarrelled with almost all of
us,” Mrs. Agrue said, “because we
wouldn’t give him money. Only a
week ago Johnson refused to endorse
his note. Carter threatened him and
Johnson ordered him off the farm.”

Winegard jotted these facts in his.

notebook. “And what about his prison
record?”

“Well, I just heard talk about that.
I’m not even sure it’s true. But you
ought to check it.”

The sheriff agreed. “We’ll look into
it right away. And thanks for your
information.”

“Mind you,” said Mrs. Agrue, “I’m
not saying Dink did it. But I am say-
ing you ought to at least ask him
about it.”

The sheriff did more than that. He
requested the state authorities and
the FBI to check Carter’s record. He
dispatched Deputy Voit to Aurora to
talk to Dink Carter. He was quite
aware of the fact that the descriptions
of the hitchhiker fitted Dink Carter.

When Voit arrived at Carter’s home
in Aurora, Dink was not there. His
wife explained that he had gone to
Cincinnati in search of a job.

“I don’t want you to become
alarmed,” Voit said, “but as a matter
of routine we’re checking every Agrue
relative. We want to know exactly
where they were on the night of the
killings. Was your husband at home
last Friday?”

“Why, no. He was out looking for
work. He’s done that every day since
he lost his ordnance job.”

“What time did he leave and what
time did he come home?”

“I don’t remember exactly. Usually,
he goes out around 9 in the morning.
He gets back in time for supper
around 6 or 7.”

“Think hard,” Voit said. “Try to
recall last Friday night.”

She frowned. “I recall it vaguely
because Dink wasn’t particularly
hungry. But he isn’t involved in those
murders. He couldn’t have been. He
was down in Rising Sun talking to a
man about a job. That’s in the op-
posite direction of my father’s farm.”

Voit said sharply, “You said you
remembered this because on that night
Dink wasn’t very hungry. What did
you mean by that?”

“Oh, nothing. Usually he’s a big
eater. But that night he said he
wasn’t hungry. He just had a cup of
coffee and a little piece of pie.”

Voit returned to the sheriff’s office
and reported this interview. As he
concluded, he said, “I suppose you can
figure why Dink wasn’t hungry that
night.”

Winegard nodded slowly. “Maybe
because he’d already eaten his supper
at Johnson Agrue’s house.”

“Right. Have you found out if he
has a record?”

“Yes and a long one. He served two
years in a Kentucky reformatory. He’s
been arrested several times on bad
check charges, stealing cars, adultery
and drunkenness. He’s also served
three terms here in Indiana, once for
statutory rape, twice for assault and
robbery.”

“That sounds as if we have enough
to bring him in.”

“Right,” the sheriff said. “Take
Cook with you and go back to Aurora.
Wait for him to come home. If he
doesn’t, we’ll have the Cincinnati po-
lice look for him in the morning.”

Voit and Cook climbed into a county
car and headed for Aurora. This time
Dink Carter was there, having ar-
rived a few minutes before the
officers.

Carter accompanied the deputies
back to Lawrenceburg. In the sheriff’s
office he flatly denied all knowledge
of the murders.

“I. was nowhere near Johnson’s
place that day,” he said. “I was down
in Rising Sun talking to a guy about
a job.”

“What guy?” the sheriff asked.
“What was his name?”

Carter pondered this question for
sometime. At last, he said, “Fellow
by the name of Smith.”

“What kind of job did you talk to
him about and what is Smith’s
address?”

Carter was vague about the job and
he had no idea of Smith’s address.

“Carter,” Winegard said sternly,
“we have two witnesses who, I’m sure,
will be able to identify you. One of
them drove you from Aurora to the
dirt road which leads to Johnson
Agrue’s farm. The other picked you
up near there and took you back to
Aurora.”

Carter shook his head emphatically.
“They’re mistaken,” he said. “I was
nowhere near the farm that day.”

“All right,” said the sheriff, “Ill
send for them. In the meantime do
you deny that Johnson Agrue refused
to endorse a note for you shortly be-
fore he was killed?”

“T don’t deny that. But I sure deny

. not everyone does as well, but E. O. Lockin, who,
= started a business of his own, reports...

for 12 months I’ve averaged |

$() (PER Monti

INCOME —

most of it clear profit for me!

@ Many men have discovered how to be
independent, to be free of bosses and lay-
offs. L. A. Eagles grossed more than $200
his first week. Others report gross up to
$12,000 per year. How much you make
depends largely on you. You need no
special skill, no large investment.

No shop necessary. Our ELECTRIC RUG
WASHER cleans rugs, carpets right on floor
...helps to show their natural color and
beauty. So efficient and safe, used by
largest hotels and railroads. »—=-""

You take no risk,
Machines fully guar-
anteed.

Write for fullinfor-
mation including how
to make big profits in
YOUR OWN business,

MAIL COUPON TODAY FOR FREE BOOK

@ VON SCHRADER Mfg.Co., W28W “PL”, Racine, Wis. @
® Without obligation, send your FREE booklet contain- *
® ing information about your ELECTRIC RUG WASHER and ©
5 how I can start myown permanent, profitable business. ®

ae
Z Hom
3 Addr 4
$ City. Zone...-State. pe
POCO COOOHEHETEOO OOOO OOOO OOS EOEO®

BECOME A DETECTIVE

Men, women, learn secret service, fingerprint work
at home in spare time and earn while you learn.
Write Associated Special Investigators, Box 434,
Saint John, N.B., Canada.

FREE BOOKLET

Here’s the real inside story—
just published. Amazing facts!
Vital information for turf fans.
You need this booklet. It’s free.
Write today.

MONTEE PUB. CO.
Dept. C,, Balto. 12, Md.

BE A-CLAIM
INVESTIGATOR

INVESTIGATE ACCIDENTS! Many M hs
earning $750 to $1000 a month, Thousands of insur-
ance panies, airlines, hip lines and Govern-
ment Offices need Claim Investigators. Also big oppor-
tunities for your own spare time business. We train
you at home. National Placement Service FREE of extra
charge. Bill King writes: ‘Your course has paid off for
me with large earnings. You can quote me—your
Adjuster Training Course is worth many times the
cost."" Write TODAY for FREE book.

UNIVERSAL SCHOOLS
University Park, Dept.M-12, Box 8202, Dallas 5, Texas

Complete New §

FALSE
PLATE:

FROM YOUR OLD - IN 24 HOURS
fan vent ata toon ee 1 h:
LO °

cracked or loose plates W
into new lightweight AS
plastic plates. oe

NO IMPRESSION NEEDED
Let us help you enjoy life again. You will marvel at this rev-
olutionary new method. Using your own old plates, we will
remake them completely in only 24 hours, Missing teeth are
carefully matched and replaced. Work is done on an absolute

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE,

—Just rush your name and address to
SEND NO MONEY us for full FREE DETAILS, If your
teeth are loose, we'll tell you how to tighten them before du-
plication, Act now. Quit suffering!

Tru-Grip Dental Labs. 7th Fl., 127 N. Dearborn St., Dep. 86, Chicago 2, til,

Sow

Tw. Z. GIBSON, INC., Dept. K-636
| 500 S. Throop St., Chicago 7, i.
| Dear Sir: ] WANT A MADE -TO-MEASURE SUIT TO WEAR

Vll Send You This Handsome
SAMPLE CASE-FREE

<i and Show You How to Make
‘ Up to $30.00 in a Day

7 quality madde-to-mensure clothos.
Pocket big cash profits in advance,

coats brings more orders, we mal
for you to got yo" own clothes without le cos
experience is necded, 8
SEND NO MO.
WwW. Z. GIBSON, INC., 500 peer Throop Street
.

DEPT, K-636
Reed
1

—— —

Sir:
AND SHOW, without paric 1c for it. Rush details and Sample

Kit of actual fabrics, ABSO JUTELY FREE.

Amazing Opportunity To
Earn Spare-Time Cash!

Rush name and address today for
FREE money-making information:
Subscription Agents Division
MACFADDEN PUBLICATIONS
205 E. 42 St., N. Y. 17, N. Y-

cedure with ‘Record of Invention” form will be
forwarded to you

CLARENCE A. O'BRIEN & HAR VEY JACOBSON
otto Patent Attorneys
K

District National Building
Washington 5, D. C.

Learn how to protect your invention. ‘Patent Guide”
= information on patent protection and pro-

FASCINATING NEW TRAINING FOR
KNOWING THE CRIMINAL M ND

———

* S
fication with grapho analysis. Here is a thrilling,
exciting new profession where you use what you
{now to help others, earn fees, protect us
and loved ones from possible harm. Bend NOW for Trial
Lesson. FREE. Give nee.

IGAS, Inc., 508 Witholt Bidg., Springfield, Missouri

PARTY PAX

UNUSUAL FUN PACKAGE
12 POCKET SIZE CARTOON BOOKLETS
8 CALENDAR GIRLS S

4 “HOT-SHOT”’ SHEETS bal
cius wenatngier ATR
EACH ORDER. ALL THIS— only

. PARTY PAX ». 0. Box 3

298
DEPT. 2 Hollywood 28, California

Xmas give an AIRWAY COMPASS:

SELF-LIGHTED—THE PERFECT GIFT
FOR A MAN AND HIS CAR

Same guaranteed Sherrill pere
formance that won Army-Navy
award! 7 pastel colors: blue, gray,
tan, green, white, yellow, coral,
FITS ALL AUTOS, BOATS, PLANES.

— INSTANTLY INSTALLED, NO WIRES
At dealers, or Sherrill Products, Mexico, Ind., Dept. G95

DISCOVERED wo0.000 trons

USIC!
Ves 900,000 poor. turned to this famous home-stud)
Course to make thet
don’t know a note now, you
favorite instrument quickly. ona No boring exercises.
Play delightful pieces RI HT AWAY—from. very first
son. Only few cents per lesson. r

WRITE FOR FREE BOOK

Seng, postcard for them NOW. See for youre
self how EASY it ts. No, opligation. No sales- &
mafi will call, Us S« SCHOOL OF music,
Studio AS212, Port ‘Washington, N. Y-

everything else and I want to see a
lawyer.”

Carter was permitted to call a
lawyer, then he was escorted to a cell.
On the following morning, the truck
driver and the farmhand confronted
the prisoner and swore Carter was the
man who had thumbed rides from
them.

Asked by Captain Eckert if he
would submit to a lie detector test,
Carter hesitated, then said, “Why
not? I’m an innocent man.”

Captain Eckert arranged with Su-
perintendent of Public Safety Don F
Stiver for Carter’s removal to State
Police Headquarters at Indianapolis,
where the necessary equipment was
kept.

The test was given by Robert Bor-
kenstein, a police technician. It was a
most unsatisfactory test, probably be-
cause Carter was completely illiterate.

He could neither read nor write and
had difficulty in understanding sev-
eral of the key questions put to him.

On the following day he was re-
turned to the Dearborn County Jail.
There he was interrogated in relays
by the sheriff, his deputies and sev-
eral state officers. At 6 in the morn-
ing, as a gray light filtered through
the prison bars, the officers were ex-
hausted. Dink Carter seemed quite
alert.

Just as the policemen were about
to give up, Carter sat upright in his
chair and said astonishingly, “I’m sick
of listening to you guys. So I killed
them. Now get out and leave me
alone.”

Carter was immediately assured
that he would be left quite alone if
he would fill in the details. He sighed
and agreed.

“I was mad at them. I was mad at
Johnson about the note and I was mad
at Leo. So I went out there that
afternoon and sat around in the
kitchen with the old lady and the
kid. They asked me to stay to
supper.”

Mrs. Agrue had told Carter that Leo
and Bill were out working in the
fields. Carter went out to see them.
Leo had Johnson’s shotgun with him.
Carter said, “I hit him on the chin
before he knew what I intended to do.
Then I grabbed the gun and shot at

him. Bill Agrue started to run. I ran
after him. He didn’t get too far be-
fore I let him have it.

“After that I went back to the house
and had a cup of coffee with the old
lady. About the time I knew Johnson
would be coming home with his
week’s pay, I left the kitchen again.
I went down toward the main road
and waited. When I saw him I let him
have it, too. I took the money out
of his wallet.”

Again Carter had returned to the
house. This time Mrs. Agrue had
heard the shots. She asked Carter
what had happened. He replied by
raising the shotgun and murdering
the old lady.

Mary Elizabeth had screamed at
that point and raced out the kitchen
door. Carter called to her to come
back but the frightened child ran
toward the barn. Again Carter lifted
the gun and fired.

Now he felt hungry. He sat down
at the table and ate the meal Mrs.
Agrue had prepared. Then he broke
open Leo’s chest and took the money
hidden there. He left the house, con-
cealed the gun in a hollow log and
hitchhiked back to Aurora.

When Carter’s confession was done,
Prosecutor Lester G. Baker was sum-
moned. Carter repeated his story to
a stenographer, before several wit-
nesses. He signed his “X” at the bot-
tom of the paper.

The next day he accompanied the
sheriff to the Agrue farm and pointed
out the log in which he had hidden the
gun. It was still there.

Virginius Carter was brought to
trial on October 13th, 1941, in the
District Court before Judge Morris
McManaman. Exactly one week later
the jury delivered a verdict of guilty
of first-degree murder. Judge Mc-
Manaman imposed the death sentence.

On February 10th of the following
year, Virginius Carter sat quietly in
the electric chair at the State Prison
in Michigan City and died, perhaps
more mercifully than had his victims.
Certainly with less surprise.

Eprror’s Note:
_The name, Jefferson Peet, is fic-
titious.

SECRET OF THE GOLDEN KEY

(Continued from page 51)

find out from the local liveries.”
Wren’s endeavor was only mildly
successful. At a downtown livery
stable, its proprietor told the detec-
tive that on Friday evening, at a little
before 7, he had rented a buggy to a
man who was a stranger to him.
“Somehow,” he was told, “I got the
jdea that this fellow wasn’t from
these parts at all. But I didn’t think
much about it one way or the other.
He brought the rig back around mid-
night but I never did ask his name,
and all I can say about his appearance
was that he struck me as pleasant
looking and was well gotten up.”
The reply from the Roanoke police
which both Epps and Wren believe
would make the case one for routine
solution, was a crepe hanger. They
had scoured the town, the Roanoke
cops reported, and had found no
Merton girl missing at all. For that

matter, no missing Roanoke girl of any
name. “Suggest Roanoke hotel entry
false,” the wire concluded.

“They’re telling us,” Wren observed
dourly. “This leaves it to us to back-
track on her movements as best we
can from here. She told the hotel
clerk she’d gotten into town on a
3 a. M. train Friday morning. Maybe
someone at the station can tell us
something about her.”

It turned out that no one at the
station could
passenger on a 3 a. M. train Friday for
a very good reason: there had been
no such train. “There wasn't a thing
that rolled in here between 10 Thurs-
day night and 7 Friday morning,” the
stationmaster informed Wren, with

ositiveness.

It took no great powers of deduction
for Wren to realize that the girl had
told the hotel clerk a phony story

oo |

rota reo Ms

2 DATLG—$ Grete
-BATLADAY—i0 Crete

ne! | tarneys, to gee wal
“SUNTe hsible |

hear ‘ ity.
Forfelee

ring on several ‘closely: re
The sy ed with: which the

ime employment! ‘and what ohare?
ot icing fed a ola turn-?

isin 68. a here and. elsewhere An the ‘Nation can continue: to ce eT “A
“dau thet oj

musters up reelerg
Year's colebrtgts

in the doesnt tevel a

high ingethe per

DS iingtie wf Fold wi wna. wipeatog” io. oa ar We: hi) 24 alo ig High ty esard aS? at a in eh ecrn bE eee
Bay. Whe dark Thee: a Rosen frig ; ager vh. HtvemiEe cell NBs beri PD ogk Maes etn wie va
$ wias te. thee woah ak Prego ot i , APCS . Leta Wy Ne ake as) ; isi ii sf Kotty yi ‘¢ Wee
da teas trendiie. arouivd eur ikke dink LWaphere Parti my oe aT an yea: a aschm ota "A : ty
Phe. Mating tethers the low. prethage. ih scona ay oe tha) : , ets phijpie ee
fy “Siow, wih Ft aah fone a arty

o a ea ee Teele stem hdd Seeeaes fe bi ner ye ath i!
) he Bort as. inti Atie bi
an pianos ih he Ashe
pr to Lovestigatey: Malas arr Gf = wtsyerct ts AE it nad gi tas a oem prety as Bis ites eat
puddle Death’ iy ER Mech Tika pee Gates ye ih pest a (se at) : i rb eben lt LY ai i
ji fi ; i . . i \ ” y Pp Neiday . tei p ri * hg Wek it ‘ e +i} Hl (aint: tiewdl
Bear: Mendengatit Miler Pi es a eninmen ei eroe Mara Const wt ts to withesn heite vite ted data) bl Whe Wass Ne at td! mene pre

a is ideal Cui Add: Tbe 3 TARY: mttaer saayit a atladeutg enone we Sci ahha cs i ea
Bo ase to Re RIE TORE coe ak ta Unpeersity, Role atv In in a Sabah Si maint, be el! peak HA hey
. ae an nn, aunts fart tae Lary jy ru oe there th i eating the Conine TAU e Pp Bn: ni a ‘Wan’ werseigte Dus Aung t west “ai jetta; al igh is sic,

Dhabi ald Rat sani Pal Ne i, ‘that Frotes. ineloping: thaease aualivet” CGM Day, of cone Hin | im That Hick ine Age vt Pen rie .
ede» sty eee, ‘vdntacathaltd rebat duis icfaea, Again BArore loacing herk Shevitt zeit Paving Fd Yay “aks Bisa Sart: Heirleas) wedtinawn ads Yibwen sea med
Lancet eee Cait mh An ie firestiom: i con NA at Click hia given the nates perien, 16° fortinn igaident laf xe: Or Re ical tual Seed ce ae Ey
fp tS! Gy eke err igshon’ ay ship be ean ee : beh bt Re Sheehy Mistatethent, Pe

Van. ewe , 4 ” hey. ‘ste freinds to” At nemn bib 2 che fe “ee ER, € SIRES Ras if He A “Hafived haw bapa Gdviky
Batic. Pleiades at Sere bah ston tld Ney Tata ‘Pegule tions, BR. Corts ‘ihitted Phe: Reale,’ YA Av tlact, Ming: Py eabdngte ag ban hy bs,
“thay Wale erie Hak ver! to Horned an tnual grant pepenle 4 ly ay Wiad scinilend Att MIRON A ay Wile. tas.
a Ao 5 fern Faint th tie Pion foo ny but affieial witneines | Aran ge WEN ie. Beli Hig pelea! pAbAes, budied asoheray
Rrteyt adel Hd fee Wher Vulecia fring |i) be presé At atthe Exectitiin, The: j WUT the! ata Fina oC Nia! bonis! Lyihd, wht AS Pebsid Adar’
aay vble iid the fobiaiving |etl hn Hi Wi tne ann wre, Liye” Pertsott tv, Mtn Ketett, and isa Lith oo, LE WAL TE vee gt Ee as en
We Toke ti sind tor hike weenie Only!” j Witte Bnd deputy 'warted) the Hit later < repudiated i ac nag OTE shitininh ti WAhaheng) hadi
ol Vi era Chek olor AW Dhyana WF ut. tha teblertlibon et inion ies ct

aor Bit (bene geneh bank ertiesini Ant pirvxldiancthe ehiplaln, pitd Csi ahd: he untied Yo tig, HoH’ Leta Ne wt or a t
tee aa) ET ee ee bap HA agi! Tt. HiePAt wv Pity? f ca in Giddy te rina blk ek a reopened ig Wes ViMdhd te ee tn hit

; } Minetenn Heh dae” Organs) i ti Putty. Rca ti! ath hala }
ms UN Auge ni wis fi 1 aie ein. att sy hyies tee! volticlialy. Satine ras oO biiin! st Nisa Ok 1 DOO Yh, bi Mal i bevaluthinacy, .: ait

ah ea yi Hehe Vanaagh ol tired }’ LO phasis toss eds,
¢ Fort Waine at faa), LOG ys aM rbwatda Wiriehe ih ay we
tae oa tanta ee hat nee aQOME RNY hich. Kinonbut, isla they arrived | for: RK Heit Ya ‘Sy hare: Maxine, | hint Re Oi és v ii hy fi
Meritage tay Peri Ha iiey "BE, enireh. et , he! ra tah « a ‘4/4
pele Kaho wie ds viata tein’ try TA atthe: prion ae fevirnoments Lib i LG Kahl he Hiotht hes woul sat i%
BE AS TR RYN store the eketiClon.) ie déneriteot got iy: THe MARLenee fot Iie Sparks? > My Ly m ii eCrTtLTS are
i yy Peat aie wet btster a trotitidenetys h 48 f hy th
St ee ube seahiohla ii’ thee Mig EI aad Nanploasant duty’! cise anyway ah tbat bey woul , We aes Serer
: ance Ath Bie offing ind SOME ook tane BNesioraE by! apimpitthiony, Tighe Fovk ‘ws vue ‘Witea ta et

Vecurmhtiyt bal 4 net bo the: ie, ah hi DUNO abana ey yt Mae
TUE Pie Py thar te dest: ite et Wei ne ion: with e jal ith e * Ae Micdich wei Hs We nde is x Aaday
on ast pe re i A heat rier it “had eon feared - shat ‘Bubaequenitty,’ es ae eset hy the YAS Porta dntad Vee! Ai,
Gath Rm, pedal hainveeibieg,| He: onteet: Hearing’ on, ‘Altoyney,| the isteihap ienge ti I thier etihed Kok toue Pini d ith
het th binds Gatto b: tf pane: aby nA AVIEN VALE Halil petition for. wrt ert Whe Cink wiht 19 Se: RT Ane: Ai Woricd etd astute
savin mn) EFM GE atin a inte das wart For bOTR A habia might bontinue 44 he pant the CHAD RIE wh, ti! Dacklnid AF By obs ir’ Rete eine | ‘
wie 1 ahi f pidity Mypiiyes.! PU eet! Yon king AP iinposalble for Labalyh nie prey iguely Wie pete | eaten ag TO
aN Mite sic St wt ri Py Bs iE aun tlen: ER thaltaa ‘trivtataa, whe lwihte! Ath Need tet tiaith Tat Yh Saying Of). Ne ssid ‘ine ysl te Ainge’
\ blade! ‘ i FASC ie hed WAR rearidia site pendent ae Miinessed, to Natt re the’ Misa! ‘KRagxett a Lehn crn om Wty AM. Baghiku Adopt ee
iiGfoin. 2 pubieily matin Sab iputhinnsy, BelWOt ui MS FG hy g ad crt Lo Sib Net SOMME Shaking event’ PY Ajmetiny| Na a
mi we a tities re tated ia ewe) eo tee ahi BO CN a aT! Ath Lis titi hia Mey: ere Masriltere hee nse | t2n, ‘ity |)
(gts hie Bt nana Ade At i the pe: ak hretelibotven: thi Pe CWO din TDS: Were eritistind Priddy seed boshan a
oe Nal nA, apenas iby y padaiiray ais leptin Jelitha ced alone fight on, the bs Mohaueh | ‘hos: “ep ay on LeU Atria and. Abe: BG CoR ey ie" ‘
set al Hoviythe ;# ear noite, Yo Stare or tint ney -Buihiee ts eave! femeee atid Geile Phe Cris OH PS Lat Pade. Figen het aré ‘i ciety: ha ee (toe
cyan ised Phi ae afi ‘yeni Ay, (iivuta? hananee Of, HCH front executions | Buhler hed! was’ Tsentinced : te) dealiy’ Bee, ‘pr Wien apts piste: iis hi Aims Rapid
ite aye Heri ery, Meas PALE? Wave aBpe ato, Chidk’s.orainal conviction | te aL ee mailtye pihay bie hak es dep fe 18) Spe ee
repleised hess a Pair sel, adit, Carhutelsncin: Wito the > tndlena, Heipreme, Cort, eay ned’ Cant BEN Of exec vy oe a ws here oo entty ean
ent bie iy leadarie® Prekaat seit, Diaga rie Cand JA thor, le aypesl war o.ornuléd Jn jon. He tho ie weteduled 4a diet P nie tah oe HOY yy
“i seri tt Mratonll ohott’ Prot gata hiiany: Aiea ‘Na Loral Notwinber: ‘Huhiet initiated ‘netion May: "DAY. here Gutter, CAIEM OEE: M4 ea pee
a it vany idea’ Caleta) purkthea Lion Peer sh a (ote Hat ards Y i Writ of errar and tei hae anroinedd | thal ie wall mols om 10 dy ¥ POS t ad aM it
Seen Laity The sa reit he k “briat lane Cy Hey, Speatediy: asked. the Governor for &i permit Lrbatlgh to die The tev.) 3 "isla am,
"ita thon ian iY beet ee pa Fee ipeehyitin Yh: ital ‘Presitenvant] stay bf exnouticn’ to perraik Rare ev' fice. eA that while che: 449 won; i ty.) \ aa Msi here ond Rorarh ag
OLY RAE Ea a Weekly | ‘pletion of. he précwotlinigd,: Vitieed! ‘Lbbavigh. ‘ha! tad eullty vat} wha 4 +
; i panty Asdnéad bi they Jenuity Hee RE ee pe Governon: Schrichker denied the! ‘die er berate: ie which chee pene) f MELT yV ‘POST ays muted
mt eM AaaAY thine 1 LG) gai ulvg, CK eatin CCuintipy stay on Hires nuectdalye cca guns, | Merielnd “ites: vi Herts ‘belligeed the ie ‘
perl kort ot METER bike pach iain ASS metic heh critical Of) Vrlday the Allen Cheeult Court a former Koko Si arbnd A sete ji ; ale ee chide Corte ne Seni
abort be fread,’ 24 ioe a ta et
OAL fae la] compared Wot ho oriyol bois tion: form. vit ot BITOr; designed In) consequehoe” Dohaugh's. (us Pe: rit
eenitas, Vlei eA peaiod OF, Ay Ww. Sind Ha bbtain a thew trio) tt liek, ‘but ture totlay wae Ungértaln Rigi 2 ay te
thes Mos trp ot Wher hog sich: ‘toute. aicne ‘Afe nitich ot ic ot ay ae WY dey free A thivel A Wea mnie in Lhe
Naeotbe P adeuirte) hditws. of » Mrolestants| Dichering Wetween ds et, WO tangled” pitsumlanerkt at, ifheil
er etek Wine, mia ‘Catholic Ine seoirg aay be. guon: | deyniling OF the Al torney. Jetietal,|oriteny Sw wren Hobert ¥, Giax hy.
Be ‘yeotne: Kinky) 16+) Linded Dit They do” wullioate at? AN La Mani and Frank B, Ceuign: Crormee Pag t" Wak ie" desig’ store Grae

tetas

fp cheney.

. y

f gif eae

1] cb tiie taal ay eh,

Piel tak Fay wn at COMM Ne aca Mate a te omarkiia. ‘humed Pur iediotlon oveg tha Betis
am , a

thy nt

Eeeas Hh Chas [s, he fd Faw Apook ina i, WhO th Proseeiitor Alteg Corky Wat Mhrdaned tae: (ie put |
Bis Write handled by: Cupalile: OA via fees Aignifty Hiowrn,: repbesented The Stata, AD OEM OWE. the Avia ies
Nerd Jerse, ‘ one Hive. ry hn t MTA ONG LAC ae 0) The petition wid not fenced | 20} te inigmononrnient ‘ards
: ; Berns Nt Wiad UU tara ee “Haweyed ii “Things ohdtee ENE Vote
Piacy bE render And the chaplain: Of it. s6601 beedine. evitlent ithint Rulier. ‘Whitled: Oléenit" Batt, AN the!
Bit) RAADE Beh ne nen eS MA continuing theaction until he cipt., Supeethe Cour onttened 8/4.
BAY aL te Putelnn of Ad Horie’ dunn wii be’ “peated codnlt Feira heat! -the Gaver nett ot iy): tharos, Reainet white wert” BS
peal thene, the Rested i Pie Pome Sh tring squad from!) wold do regarding we stad. 0%’ pthenatssed far Place of, aed iohal
Ofhictating — Bipaab mes Mie Hat Niatit tie Of thes ALS pin. Butter went Schricker: Vero Sarid Chriateh Went Tred
Pedi: Vesmetney iii oe Hodetaby) Halbearelc afew! tele Kram stating that’ Vite Nea... Mins.) Oeste ands Ptinned > dead
BOA Are at Wns euage Nat CoRinandare, Tyat ay Dear. ie was in) progress. and asking blidzeeniod’ and appatently riper, 3,
Behcnee, 5. and ls tour AES oat 8 eee, NAH Voit ®rthat #0. dai wthy be atantid ini. p Ut: Dike); Rost about? BIRD
p Arar. Bortweyd fda ® IOP VEE Hoga MET advert om bet op ri He fete Tbe Une” aetlot (0 ube, Cp Hilek NOL Webt av homes he
4 Che pe redity NAD hh, AE thie Sail Att Was RL HES) bteded) iti hee stated hiv Wontiletion /4 144. Hie’ Rint.’ Seni hy Site tanh
ak beat sat NaI eA ON Bay i A Etch 9 tiiiienar yar Rate Tegal Ga uattah chabert ronishi
y Mil avehicly SEL etiin ae tly? be cons debial ot executive clemeney, hot (oot few thew fof 4y oe
ER MBER, aVibteed ? dex thes Lien { HR rund eprive: Ck ‘OF Ns, Me é a ign The Muyins ue Mink. ‘onine Ace
Seanticdn a) Pat yy att Synete WHI they! ‘due prooras. OE Taw aie Wertivet’ es duobwagh fee anny ©
Fineral Werbelray es irate sie I Nite J Alter he! mde ‘larmed thal modthpe atte: Ane bata teascay the Aa pt a iy
Hite cn: V nan miuntehe' { Hi yes, haat he: te: fs CaaS cs La :
phen? Lah, | si ahs wi ha "te ni bd il ; i. - Ma XEREH A TMs cht
Pam inday det § txpl lore. ‘our. lind 2 “tered bf We a a fe y : ‘ MM aad" “epi Bit UKE tp rds Siti
«Pe, “Alena t EDWARD Wied, pk Be " YO While Bianlor Tirade Ba uMiteh ctheied i
. and es wih aie ning” a & a alae es . *y

ntouncements)

bi Rae ake:
+ PAinerat: :

ge i at Ftypb gate
M48 aw Tee ' | im my ete sone dungty
a Ht cites 5» ahbtidy ae

: f 5 G ‘ 7" ee hd rin to, re ar)
tS iy) Hiton fa tarps , Wek rig white ee se MD ed he "a th Fh bias
F Sheri Belk. was ‘orien bl typos) darn sted fo eva tha 4 Ping} ” AEs

* sleertht? eerie oe

i; Ati bh eee, aie ‘yererds: ¥ phahe i baitd tek Ae ty MY Prachi ets

dpa Hirth Ae rune”, teeta ‘gover Cliele,| fikecPrealdent ta

eohtith. aacerding to taj Corr UP eame Waaeiateet, Wink pe?
Would hae drdigaied (Hoek a hone; Cpreii Pewee 2% sie” fia

: ring the Ke CURALA GA WHEEL Iya “Aube etic net hy ReGmar.s Hise acai

hen ty the courtiooett Wicd, Sanvice ‘auehle gts me on tes
iy ; i ia it bs SE rioesa ft plea Bite? TR) py a fered add his x ee irri eee net will
ah sadn re A AUB Fede Gaby WAN Fe Pah erie wees nat trivaditeed otVianlhi.” Malt: & Negro, wre, picked f it + i ea
5 aR! iid ae Ria aad NS TO Me le tp da -, ¥ a vOtthetala ofthe drset a nde! i feuding “fate Re i pas (ct Ma unbaa ie c
od salainccoionn pie fis iabolit the becohitinig Weacht Tnfotel yet without ‘Phares et, salar ht Mt iy PY

wre ts

eae nsec ne
: ea ‘ timally etter Pie heaving wns halted
fo wan dapeetied:ta vat it roi oped ta : a "
ss lowy ini, Pee | fieqtveinie a wy Fefwiand: carpe th) er at vd Beast ns sudan oe noe doth A Rate mil hy Oe vai : :
ei ak bf boast 0 saya A Nigg eg
sada unddaaterh of ASW Ltt. § Hale alr, Aer Aen t Manat { bee DOP ,
Boi the takes aad Bind Chitin Valk! Pact fy cloudy shied poi d ORCS ci bale e He pales et Sina
: “The dow jprebaure Cielo’ we Beart ra. Moogle th is wae t iran apie oh an es ie We me mal hos bade ate
“oll fiwchan i bslinsed one TW. ‘gae Mer bee bane ¢ H ‘ i‘ st nie Apt ay ies he RADIA er bf iat + ke ‘ee ais ere he 2
shee eA NOREN IN a Yb ( Taig BUY ehh Wad LAR a AE ON a es
me "i ea Ley. eee ‘wer. acid then. handed bn. Perens: a ¥
‘ 4 he eS, e ri hy ties & ear yk tye) iets gil ta he Prine tn; te chal ‘aba CN? bya ;
Hcy Barer put the PeVolvet TO thane.
miles Tae a sa aie Pirie: 1S oiyiyt

2 fis

_ he nokta Show Aa. Vis sie i of slr ane es

: Vey bi th hes hs er fe ayy iy ‘aitgik ‘ ae rig MM

ale
.

w ut CIVAGOL Des ww ikwhusiest.s§ Wivttg ite ae Nabe? ‘ of ie Me ‘ 47 ‘ i elie a kd
nee ne Set at a: aA Linveetalts raga pre uy “i te i aie Apert eat tahinbtay fell fda ies ei fest
a stile St ey, Thao aay thered fe) ® | Aetna Le, ee tie our gh stvind Wha Yate he srr tat parte Gi igtl ALLA bee bw TSF int) i: bi ie
q ie chin cent eae eat rat Oe 7 ‘vehi rade wyaliigt Glick: add, hin matinee tilts Math Rete itd: rf Foils od ate ideg yall Ai inet gen ag a ree
Bas sing ye CARTE atone relations: ‘ere: havin Hofire leavin beer, Shevitt Pelaklvanitin. Ed ta di AM, A huielide 2) Net i PV kn) we, ack day ts he Meat iy A
Bs) tahiti ane Ligh hide ae if cane “ed that "Mele had. Rivert, the intes| Sparkes, sterner tebden mi td nsicke’ La tal yk A Ae, yekuged adr yd hi ¢ ee
ta Py ti Sth 1 Sets AUBASaRy, “peraniantoit foe the tw ate Taito AR age i vtten, Aertho grata fie Arcee} Hibeatat eg hee! ie) uty shige ae ‘aie ae:
aiitime sc ERA nitty Drone woviotni ce teu fois, dav tern the vbxbeution, | weverat, he? detpotar 4 sty ie nee tie ple ah ted falucitetel ee fe ths ioe?
the Anabel ant Ch othe Pe Frdiavleg Atyder Indiand teautations, # cab: ‘riled “Uje cawen Uli IAreaie hs SR that aay Tren, By Fig ee “yaar! ail
P geasyrita, CET TL Na nen f pict hae Teh ‘denned, sical bitty nik pecrinie. Sth: Wee schol! af: ai erect TERY ek LE HHO hand tawny. Binet ere) ep “He ait tb
anda See ano ih ae eden to. Hse matty’ have ity ur ore Wu Lact (sangre witty ih bent: Oe, eats fT (itch A hud grt sayrest hai paras ion i ae (y!
Henk wid ite (bites oho fray (10 DF Hirekent atthe Keecition, The admitted Lhd ela ying ‘st SS OO: yal a dO Aandi £ ficenine ww + aR
Porn, RRA ML? a Te TESTE the padtyweing (OPTIC, witnesses, abe tie Prien | asim, Abia Reinott, ari Mike Hiei Ete WLI writ Hike 9 nbepige fe» me he weit 9, 4 i CO:
valhyeogee fen Dien TO file LW fe WORKER. Mid), depity oathden, Ate pit Taler., deggie tent poritent ob) Oye wiberapt fo’ henmdbetl hte sy: Ria nea.
s: i “reblet. cléek)./a phy aren, an Aa*) ue the daiiee Mires ‘ened’ € f AeRhniin te Prem bea
Ep.ch. ioe A beat ‘seller baile porttay ing t phys th sty phadin, aay dunt mys vale th det Wakhingnon } Nth
Rake ta. the Cathal: Mera cote a8 tiirent | ut Pyxncdgry Habe Pp “2 Mg Mek, Wutedk: bre contesing tothe! ik spopatedly win ide ty Pancwcre lis
Sees, and.to Arberlcan treedoety,. Uyprangin 11) Lratsa. net ci a terlanes contre Wy Rada Bc Witeh SF “hd Pier ion’: Pbeare UM Fonaglint o/s
aa Fe Toe officials: Rctlitned tin}a wheal rdorg there serg00) A arty iihevntotionary, Rreup 4b
it. Wayne al 5a Aodey Sand: trewn tide: Vaueh a heen: Sh Gbne PS a cf Wai eR '
Hit’ “plmeribut ‘gaid. they atrtfeds fie va cqulution te dhe hOx ‘slag iiie: ‘ Uae
1 thé panne few andipenta bee Ciel: tala be ieticht, Te, Pia in cyt © Enlist
j cant { wthoke wakes Thee teachy tore ther? TeRSeUtigty, y ie) Apaetibed | ark f Vide fee ele rity: Cae thas "9 k
Pt ater pibiig. Sasa ith: theirs the tele Rae pie tilt ewatint Matyi, Pe eh eee Lh. 8 Aya bbe paver 4) 4) Ma cx
hates,” Wien leek Mebbte: Tike of fie bpd PON: ih Mare, AM y worng. | b RODE, oka Rt Na Oi i Pa eae iets
Pha prtkverv ts not tithe: sided he. velention with The: cinbec sh WO het ee erie 2s) Pind ikiei: Tito ae vy ve en i a Le Ue
set puddetina gy pallor At Had’ Koon (eared Atal Supeedeenhty,.. he Bi ten AS Mine SATE, Forde what, nee’ Ait} ae, ic uh ie ) oe
Cai nisienl live nite: rildoth(les, liye Hight Wee Gling.” On, Atidiney te i idininy), come. see, three. signed fig Lon tia toe veel We " :
ate. Dior! Hnithile, dee TR ACL Builllagte petition fo: welt wf ere). Wihely Clink ‘cal taht eles "Alki Rocce ahd inh ie ben ent the i
(nie fh: wore wheasieur th Spot Corny ini might: ‘continiie th: the. ipansed (the Seti Peectablis We 104 arch ah prt ash Alitenlont 10)
; Bete, Page ite, és jpndnlght, iaking bb inyrandai ble: fee iba gh, he, prenatal’ a Meh + j'Ter. ie ie ha th a ‘thas Wy oa
oSyatertentas we twiiettonr and the two ‘oltictalaa, | Who ene: sub tenured to death’ foe the: AANith: og rhe: men ‘oth dee i} jen i Re '
tHe a domed thn pe lO pene undue pena Aa. yitneews, to. ae to the) Miss Karelf and fins Haakace : Artaotal “Willis” Wi Fisher, Angola} Mier ig
bho: jt Cat holie py bear | print bes ' fot Mek. Docathen “Hows td Boor tel | tan Sherman Pedant, Plerceton {iy
nil tee a eine a” Sacedle| hy Climates Long he he es oot al “agin alley: heres Prechliters: Rére® edi 116° row |
on tet terneen he eit thootenel be. The driimatio hearing in Geral tn 194a°.\ aan Avene emisted? Filddy’ trons Invern cab
soiled pred fa alae ee dige/ Court Chiaxed a tong’ fight, on the | Dobpigh. hae, Ea pan pepe the Atmny and Alp Rote, phat A
vit } pact, of LAttorney Buhler ‘toy AAV, feaaed and Aerited’ tive Wr idrieas Co Te | tintaent. fatten harote: Ghristertan : mee
Kahy aed fri, Ain cuit jen nha of Click’ trom exopution 9 Bublet Had | wae’ wm hateoed te. Pegile nite Hal Panes ‘sprain Hy, loyer the Arty ited 063
AU RaR OA Ca tatC Meany PAGS Co “any & (appealeet, Ciick’s orginal MN VICLION Tent a wiliity: “pleas it te ae , an a Vs sree
tXdeys

Paid aE a workin Rn
Prot eatans nhd sehen, Amseciaiir! Be
vantted) Tents RO Rae there: af churn Ch
a halter Pi teed Jertinta lion to. yee |

ana ot

a5, “ono pm mina amy vie

7 44 tiyeril-
Mar, ard

ona St,

+ ye

neta: bet Cob hints Helga hh GO UE lndiann Supreme’ Court, ered, Hlimetind Ata Ce Ye

thule re Pri vtavant writ wd kage | ane After tiie App

4) way Dvetruled Ih tion.” He nowolt kchediaied. to, die | Ph ig Nod di ‘ my NO NICE: la Bi

About Protests stan it a “auonal Movember, ‘Rubler initiated petlon May 26). hat Gevennt . gohbick er en "y ‘ A
Caliole spublication: & neh aay? towards fe writ Ot oF hot) and rey hak ‘anihouneed that. hes Wall tba i uli
Then are thie Chtiatian Cegtury.| | beatedly’ asked the: Cuvertiot for A permit Lohatigh i¢ did: bj “The, Gove ie We

au Intedencminalicnal Protestant (stay of execu
workin: and: Nonet ion. ae weekly’ moletion of tbe

joo td permit, COM.’ echor said’ that while, the te CON Mambots, and sprue Memb ers

Prowtedingsy >" |vinted “Lobaligh ” ts mat: tuilty et! oe
pruatriiatied toy: the Penuiie oS oo b Gavertiot Sthricker denied the) ing ‘crimes, “for whiet Je wad shins | ior AT POST 67 SUR. J

He said tie Chirtatiaat Century Atay an three subceanive decd giorix tered, he oddde hot: “helieve ithe x
viblished Adcom ticles” (ritical of): Fridley: Inchon, ont Pe Bee | forint “Kb kermd: factory wore 57 hg
peli+; é

f Castalia in the: frst | sind | us arlic

i rn! Ji aed A bow i)

qe Pe

ta tit be. treed; 5

win Unilorm For, Gorket hat va Sy

“Th ‘Fonaemiienes, Yohaugtia tis. i shits Vi bs GHER
“ CAS

a a 2 MINS atlntasyn o,.2

Pertinent F acts

a : In My dex, Cases

In as bizarre arf Mnhtastic a series of criminal and legs) +

as are likely to occur, the names of four men have been ja

in the slaying of four Fort Wayne women. Three of the men are
now under sentence for these slayings—two protesting their inno-

Apts ut cence and one, Ralph Lobaugh, in a surprise move Monday, again

0 OL ee admitting his guilt.
‘ Bayne ci. | "Sha ee j Franklin Click now faces execution for the slaying of Phytlis
<. ne NE & k : ~ Conine. Ralph Lobaugh, after nine stays of execution, js sched-
Seale eat a : - led to die in the’ electric chair May 20, 1950, Tor the murders of -
: ey Wilhelma Haaga, Anna Kuzeff and Dorothea Hownrd.

Robert V. Christen, former Fort Wayne drug store operator, is
now serving a life term in the Indiana State Prison for the murder
of Mrs. Howard, His plea for a retrial is scheduled for hearing
3 : 3 : befure the Indiana Supreme Court Dec. 1%

} i Charles Dodson, former Reer Field soldier, although Indicted for

at ; _ the murder of Mrs. Howard, had the true bi against: him dis-
i ia Prd ie ; > missed at the request of the prosecution.

E * To provide some sort of chronology to this grotesque series of
évents, thefollowing timetable of the criminal and legal history of
+ - ‘the whole story ia printed below:

\ . ‘ Feb. 2-Wilhelma Haaga wanders into farm house dazed and
an P 5 bleeding and dies in hospital three days later from blows on head.
ETNA AE ASN CE RES : May 23—Anna Kuzef{'s body found, believed strangled and raped

* the night before.
Aug. 6—Phyllis Conine’s ravished body discovered near the

» pitch Road. .
Ol yoas

a ; March 6—Mrs. Dorothea Howard found badly beaten in down-
town alley and dics 11 days Jater in hospital, of pneumonia. Chris
> ten later picked up as suspect and cleared In Chicago lie-+letector

test. erate i :

: 17
June 10—Ralph Lobaugh confesses to Kokomo police and is
returned to Fort Wayne; admits Haaga. Kugeff. and Howard
slayings. Dodson identifies Lobaugh from photograph'ns man with
Mrs. Howard the night she was slain. :
June 12—Lobaugh signs confession, Bae y
: , June 14—Lobaugh repudiates confession... i t
hele? ; : ~~ June 16—Lobaugh taken to Chicago for Ie detector test.
. June 17—Lobaugh changes again and admits murders—lie detec
tor tests results revealed to he positive. »
- Juna 19—Chicago criminologist confirma Lobaugh’s guilt on basis
of lie detector tests. Ss kur 2 hee '
Oct. 27—Judge 8 n sentences Lobaugh to the electric chair
: after he pleads guilty to three killings. Vapi
k Oct. 29—Lobaugh switches again and says court plea of guilty
5 - was during “crazy spell.” ;
re Nov. 1G—Lobaugh taken to prison, ; ;
i - Dec, 15—Governor Gates denies clemency petition for Lobaugh.
P 1948 ‘

. ‘ ui v

ma)

{

‘ : - : / March 13—Fort Wayne -o give Lobaugh truth serum test to
ick - Indiana State Prison which They claim shows him to be not gulty.
: ' April 9—Judge Schannen in Cirenit Court denies Lobaugh re
hearing in court here. ‘
ae Pa an We A Nov. 6—Charles Dodson taken to Denver by police and identifies
0 bo NAL ee LES NER AR Christen a2 civilian in alley with him and. Mrs. Howard.
J ; Nov, &-Robert Christen arrested in Denver on a grand jury
“ f-indictment charging him and Charles Dodson with rourder of
Rigom ‘ Mrs. Dorothes Howard,
Noy. 11—Indiana Supreme Court reverses lower court ruling and
okays new trial for Lobaugh. <
Dec. 22—Charles Dodson enters not guilly plea to charges of
murder in the Dorothea rama” ame
1949 :
March 18—Murder charges against Dodson dismissed at request
of prosecution.
P April 7—Lobaugh dismisses plea for retrial and throws himself
_ on the mercy of Governor Schricker.
April 18—Christen trial opens. 7
April 22—Christen found gullty and sentenced to life in prison.
Aug. 17—-Leona Sparks kidnaped and attacked; Franklin Click
arrested for the crime.
Aug. 13—Click confesses Sparks crime.
Aug. 21--Click confesses after lie detector test to Conine, Haag
4 and Kuzeff slayings. , PAs
i ; Aug. 25—Christen case taken before Indiana Supreme Court ta
Dat PN Biante ett wt _ attempt to get re-trial, :
ree aaa iB geeiaites on, ee Aug. 20-Click denies Howard murder.
Sept. 6, 7-Click given truth serum tests.
Oct. 8-Click Indicted by grand jury. Z
Oct. 11--Click pleads not guilty to murder and kidnaping churges,
Oct. BX—-Click gets Hfe sentence for kidnaping After reversing
former xtand and pleading guilty to kidnaping charges.
Nov. 25-—-Click’s attorney claims truth serum tests proved his
client innocent.
Nov. 28—Trial of Click for Conine murder begins with Click
denying carlier confession. — ,
Dec, 1—Click sentenced to electric chair. *
Dec. 5—Lobdnugh after ning stays of execuilon reaffirms hie guilt

‘
2

‘
y

Niet ts ttn aR eR aA mae me me

\]=warden—and confesses Conine slaying.) oo \yiiu ilo SNe

In three of Fort Wayne's four sex Murders. in ietter ta prison.

CLICK, Franklin, white, 30, electrocutkd Indiana SP (Allen County) December 30, 1950.

Lin wads aren toe eS ce

reld as
int for
Vanted
-isten’s
to the

‘rgeant
eather,
s, ask-
4d been
n 1948.
No one

id been
1 out of
e truth
for writ
yaugh’s
>a full-
ed that
of nar-
fe when

emurrer

effect:
t has no
hannen,
lurrer—
s death

ptly ap-
1e Court,
ath «date
and later
the case.
essly on
evidence
e Robert
»

preak, In
arrested
natter of
nt to the
=rt Chris-

ef Eisen-
lire, Ser-
and Dod-

i released
eing kept

the In-
detectives
hey called

wup with
ming that
Hoosiers

iid quietly

hed me in
lared.
Christen
eed a mur-
ieed to go

sight,” he
raced back
’ was con-
red all the
ise.

d jury re-
ndictments
vodson, de-
nat he had
d her civil-
ghtened by

s promptly
at Denver.
watch con-

stantly. He was immediately arrested.

Inspector Garmire and Sergeant
Walker made a flying trip there. Chris-
ten did, indeed, fight extradition—but
uselessly. He was brought back to Fort
Wayne.

As this account of the police investiga-
tion in the case is prepared for publica-
tion, Christen and Dodson are awaiting
arraignment, Both have employed coun-
sel, Neither has admitted the crime, and
the evidence against both -is entirely
circumstantial. Only a full trial can deter-
mine their guilt or innocence. In Decem-
ber, Judge Schannen changed the date
of Lobaugh’s execution to May 26, at
the request of Prosecutor Bloom, who
said he wanted to try the Christen-Dod-
son case before the Lobaugh hearing.

But whatever happens in that case,
Chief Eisenhut and his men, who cou-
rageously accepted their duty to protect
the innocent, are reasonably certain now
that Ralph Lobaugh will not die in the
electric chair for murders he probably
didn’t commit,

On November 16, the Indiana Supreme
Court sharply reversed Judge Schannen’s
ruling sustaining the state's demurrer to
a writ of error. In no uncertain langauge,
the court declared that Lobaugh had not
received “due process of law.”

Pointing out that the state, by demur-
ring, had admitted the truth of Attorney
Buhler's allegations which had been
“well or sufficiently pleaded,” the court
declared:

“It follows, therefore, for the purpose
of this appeal that we must consider as
true that allegation .. . which reads as

follows: That the defendant was, on Oc-
tober 27, 1947, under the influence of
benzedrine, a hypnotic drug, self-ad-
ministered, making him not responsible
for what he said or did in court when he
entered his plea of guilty to the three
crimes and did not, in fact, comprehend
the full import and consequences of his
acts on said day.’

“A plea of guilty under these circum-
stances would amount to a denial of due
process of law.

“Tt was error to sustain these demur-
rers, The judgment in each of these cases
is reversed, with instructions to the trial
court to overrule the demurrer... and
to investigate the truth or falsity of the
matters alleged in each petition, and for
further proceedings therein not inconsist-
ent with this opinion.”

In view of that ruling, Attorney Buhler
believes he will, in time, be able to obtain
for Ralph Lobaugh a full-scale jury trial.

“In such a trial, we can prove beyond
all doubt that he had nothing whatsoever
to do with any of the murders,” Mr.
Buhler declared.

Lobaugh, meanwhile, remains in death

row until the legal technicalities of his’

case can be unsnarled.

But he is a much more reassured Lo-
baugh today than the Lobaugh of last
March who was pumped full of sodium
pentothal with the chair only two weeks
away. He owes that new peace of mind to
a gutty, courageous chief of police, Les
Eisenhut.

(The name Georgta Hilton is fictitious to protect
the identity of a person not directly involved in the
investigation.--The Editor.)

SILENCE THAT
CANARY !!

{Continued from page 43]

down. The other one had his back to me
and I didn’t see him good. But that first
one was about 5 feet 9, medium weight,
black hair that was thin on top. He was a
mean looking devil. But rato A that was
because he was hopped up.”

“Do you remember anything else?”

Jimmie snapped his fingers. “Sure,” he
exclaimed. “I almost forgot the most im-
portant thing. The guy who knocked me
down had a tattoo on his upper left arm.
One like you see in the tunny papers.
Jiggs, you know.”

Agent Peets questioned the newsboy at
length, but he could remember nothing
else. ‘

“You've helped me plenty,” the investi-
gator told him. “I don’t say this is the link
we need to weld our case together; but I
do say it’s a big step forward.”

The treasury man was pleased with
developments for the first time since
going on the case. He contacted Captain
McLeMore in Atlanta.

“We've got to go through the files,”
Peets told the Cectate bureau chief.
“Every man with a record in the South-
east is filed according to fingerprints. I
know we haven't any prints, but we've
got to put men enough to work to check
every card for identification marks.”

Captain McLeMore knew that this task
would take days. But he also knew the
importance of cracking this enigma.
Twenty men were assigned to checking
every record card. Three days later the
hunt produced results.

“We've got a card for a man named
Dave Walden, of Abiline, Tex.,” Captain
McLeMore told Agent Peets. “He's
listed as:5 feet, 9 inches tall; weighs 135;
black hair; blue eyes; occupation, lab-
orer.”

“Sounds good,” the treasury man ex-
claimed. ‘‘What about identification
marks?”

“That’s the clincher,” the Georgia chief
answered. “Walden has a tattoo of ‘Jiggs’
on the upper part of his left arm.”

When Peets and McLeMore reported

their find to Solicitor General Wohl-
wender everybody agreed that results
were showing up at last.
.“There’s little doubt about a tie-in
now,” he said, “between the disappear-
ance of Stringfellow and the Foster girl.
Walden seems to have figured in both
cases, And Sheriff Howell’s files have a
gas station stickup listed that could add
to our case. It took place outside Colum-
bus right after Lonnie Foster left home.
The gas station man gave a description
that fits our man Walden perfectly. He
also said that a girl waited in the car
while the two bandits stuck him up, and
that one of the stickup men called the
other one ‘Johnny.’ For all we know the
holdup Johnny might have been Johnny
Stringfellow, but I doubt if he was.”

“If we can find Dave Walden we'll be
getting somewhere,” Agent Peets told
the others.

Wohlwender went to work. Queries
were sent throughout the Southeast for
the tattooed Walden.

Twelve hours later, Supt. L. F, Chap-
man, of the Florida State Prison at Rai-
ford, was on the wire.

“We've got your man Walden here,”
Chapman told the solicitor general, ‘““He’s
in on a narcotics charge. Entered on No-
vember 18, 1946.”

Wohlwender told the Florida official

PLASTI-LINER

Cakickr
\

ONE APPLICATION

Makes False Teeth Fit
For the Life of Your Plates

If your plates are loose and slip or hurt, use this
amazing, pliable, non-porous strip to refit them

ourself, for instant and permanent comfort.

t's easy. Just Jay the strip on 4 upper plate
or lower plate, then bite and it molds per-
fectly. Hardens for esting fit and comfort. Helps
stop the embarrassment of slipping, rocking plates
or the misery of sore gums, Eat anything and talk
freely without fear your teeth will loosen. Ends
forever the mess and bother of temporary ap-
plications that last only a few hours or months,

Easy to Re-Fit and Tighten False Teeth

PLASTI-LINER is tasteless and odorless. Won't
injure your plate. Guaranteed to give satisfac:
tion or your money back. Removable as per direc-
tions. Users say: “Until I used Plasti-Liner }
used several kinds of liners without success. Now
‘Ll ean eat anything.” H. H. M. “‘My plates are
now better fitting than et B." H.C.
hy ler a $2.
SEND No MONEY: Facts LER
es, or $1, reline one plate,
pees 3 eeeer Wik ph go when he aeaver. OF send
a be td Row, and seve ¢.0.D. charges, Generous sam-
ie 0;

PLASTILLINER CO.,Dept. 48-1, Buffalo 15, N.Y.

I \NDIANHEADS #50.00: DIMES
Wg +1000.00. SEND DIME FOR
WAFOLDER OF PRICES
Ny WE PAY.

2B LINCOLN COIN CO.
806 E.indiana Avenue
ELKHART 6, INDIANA

Buy Direct From Factory
Write for free booklet $ i
and price list up

INDEPENDENT IRON WORKS
2416 East 23rd Street Dept.
Los Angeles 11, Calif.

icky VANISHING CARD

“The MAGICIAN Fp

BRAGS KENSINGTON AY, PHILADELPHIA 25 PA.

& LEARN MEAT CUTTING
At Home —In Spare Time

cee re Training based

met!

Genuine High Quality

\ Dress

1 GABARDI Trousers
BEM Best genuine virg }

HAne-spun rayon bie
resists wr

AIST: 28
soe atta mame, waist oi
SEND ONLY $1 fet and 3d slo vale:
or sen 0:3 materiel.
Money hack i
LINCOLN Linceln, Nebr.

—

G \. PIMPLES,
ee BLACKHEADS

CES 7 CAN BAR YOU FROM
ROMANCE cetcs)

4
Why put up with a bieleny complexion? Rid yourself of
unsightly blenishes—quickly—easily by doling as other
men, women and teen-age boys and girls have done—USE
“C-43"" ALBLO CREME, joy & good, clear, healthy
complexion.

IT'S A MEDICAL PRODUCT!

Do not confuse ‘'C-43"', a doctor’s prescription, with or-
dinary cosmetics or face cremes, Generous trial size $2.00,
Triple size $4.50. Cash orders sent postpaid. C.0.D, Or-
ders are plus charges. Bold on a money back gusrantee!

RALEIGH PHARMACAL CO.
Box 2491-D Raleigh, N. C.

Does GARLIC

ALLIMIN Garlic Tablets
ILLUSTRATED COMIC
AGOKLETS

THE KIND MEN LIKE!

MAIL COUPON
FOR

FREE BOOKLET
THAT TELLS THE

FACTS ABOUT
CANCER

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
47 Beaver Street, New York 4, N. Y.

Please send me free the booklet con-
taining vital information about cancer.

NOM covcccvcccccccacecreccccccsesesovece
Address ...cccccvccsecccecvessererseeeee ""
GU: occscevdgeceres Saves State ....e008

and other substances, During the second
rung race, he gave Aknahton too much of
the mixture. This had the effect of making
the horse attempt to outdo itself. As a
result, it bowed a tendon during the race
and pulled up, permanently lame.

The track officials became suspicious.
The lame horse: was impounded. It was
unmasked as Aknahton. Then, because the

- injury could not be healed, the horse was
destroyed. Rumors of fixed races were.

flooding the country. Public confidence
in the sport of kings was at a low ebb—
all because of the Irish knave who was
too clever for honest men, Something had
to be done.

The Pinkertons swarmed all over Miami
in a hunt for T. P. Walsh, the name Bar-
rie had used at Hialeah. They found the

_ name on the register of a Miami Beach

hotel. But, worse luck, Barrie had gone.
A clerk at the hotel recalled that KE P.
Walsh had been having trouble with his
car—a black phaeton with red wheels and
California tags.

The Pinkertons located the car in a
Miami garage. They hung around until
Barrie, who had holed up in a rooming
house, knowing the heat was on, called
for it.

Then they put the finger on him for
Miami police. Barrie was picked up to face
deportation proceedings. He put up bail,
smart enough, and gave sleuths the slip
during the night.

In his haste to get away, Barrie had
left behind a brief case. The brief case
contained vital information. It contained
the names and addresses of virtually avery
gambler and bookmaker and other croo

who had been associated with the Irish- -

man in a ringing.

As a result scores of the crooks were
picked up for other crimes. Photos of all
of them were sent to all major race tracks,
from which they were banned for life.

Largely as a result of a study of Bar-

rie’s methods, the Pinkertons began to
devise a secret system of horse identifica-
tion which, now put in practice before
each race at all major tracks, makes a
ringing virtually impossible. The Pinker-
tons had turned disadvantage to advan-
tage; they had utilized Barrie’s methods
in devising a system designed to make
such methods ineffectual forever after-
ward.

Barrie himself faded into limbo after the
Hialeah disaster. The Pinkertons picked
up information about him here and there
throughout the country for two years. He
couldn’t get near enough to a track to
perpetrate a ringing, thanks to the Pink-
ertons.

In August, 1934, more than two years
after the Hialeah ringing, :.u alert Pinker-
ton operative, looking over the spectators
of the race track at Saratoga, New York,
noticed a small, red-haired man wearing
nose glasses. The face was somewhat fa-
miliar and the man’s quick, jerky actions
more so.

The detective wanted to get a look at
the-man’'s fingernails, to see if they were
deformed from the acids of-many ring-
ings. He couldn't. The man was wearing
gloves—gloves in August. The Pinkerton
man grabbed Barrie’s left forearm with
his left hand and with his right hand
yanked off a glove. Paddy Barrie had been
able to cover his black hair with red dye
and change the whole appearance of his
face with nose glasses. But he had been
unable to do anything about his deformed
fingernails. ‘

This time, when Barrie found himself
arrested for deportation, he didn’t get
away. He was ordered deported. Two
Pinkerton men stood on the dock in New
York when the ship bearing Barrie back
to England weighed anchor. The greatest
threat that honest racing has ever known,
or is ever likely to know, had come and
gone,

IN THE
SHADOW OF
THE CHAIR

[Continued from page 9]

civilian the night before. Shortly later, a

car driving into an alley nearby—but not
where she was found—flushed a tableau
near a back stairway. In the car lights,
the woman driver saw a soldier flee. A
civilian pulled the woman to her feet and
together they walked away. Mrs. How-
ard was found next morning a block
away.

Lobaugh’s confession of this murder
followed the known facts, but vaguely
and with an element of confusion.

In all this, Inspector Garmire and Ser-
geant Walker found enough conflict to
send them on the delicate task of quizzing
Lobaugh’s men friends.

When the officers explained what they
were doing, most of the men talked. They
offered plenty of opinions—but no facts.
The opinions agreed unanimously:

“Lobaugh? Hell—he wanted nothing to
do with women. They disgusted him!”

At the time of the Haaga and Kuzeff
murders, Lobaugh had lived with his
second wife and her family in Churu-
busco, sixteen miles northwest of Fort
Wayne. Later divorced, he'd married

again-—-thirty-five days before confessing
at Kokomo to three of the slayings.

Inspector Garmire and Sergeant
Walker went to Churubusco. They talked
to Florence Bunyan, Lobaugh’s ex-wife,
and her father and mother. To them, Lo-
baugh was dead history. They bore him
neither affection nor animosity. But what
they said startled the officers:

“We know he didn't kill those women.”
Mr. Bunyan said.

“How do you know?”

Florence Bunyan picked up the story.
“He was with me the afternoon and eve-
ning the Haaga woman was beaten!”

“How can you be sure?” Inspector
Garmire asked. “That was four years
ago?”

“We checked the dates. Late in Janu-
ary, 1944, I had a major operation at the
Luckey Hospital in Wolf Lake. That's
thirty miles from Fort Wayne. I remained
in the hospital until February 8. I’m sure
Ralph and the family visited me the after-
noon and evening of February 2—the day
Wilhelma Haaga was beaten.”

“And even if we didn’t go to the hos-
pital that day, we know for certain that
Ralph was here, in Churubusco, with us,”
Mr. Bunyan said. “During the time Flor-
ence was in the hospital, he never visited
Fort Wayne.”

“What about the other cases—the
Kuzeff and Howard cases?”

“He was here those days, too—with
us.”

The family added one more queer fact.
Lobaugh, they said, had a psychopathic

fear of the dark, At night he wouldn't

a ee

even go to th
one went wi

Yet Anna
utterly dark

Chief Eise

aides were

baugh’s new
they had scar
would stand
not enough t

reopened inv:

They turn
Attorney Bu
operate. ‘The

tests for Lob
which indicat
But even
baugh had a
time of his co
arde Keeler, i
who develope
“We've got
said morosel
into his mind
And then s
pentothal.
Now, in th:
the voices fro:
corridor were
questions, W:
breathing, lis
“Did you
Ralph?”
“Sure—lot
“Why?”
“To see mu
I looked
winced and
questioning
question.
“Did you
Wayne?”

“ Om’ D

revoke
_ “But lots o
licenses,” Dr

“Not me! |
_ From a gt
irony.

The quizzi
They pursue
lessly, trying
gestions. Lob:
didn’t drive a

Billy Haag:

Chief Eise:
whispered, ‘}
family told u
where after h

Now came
floated this qu

“Did you k:

“Naaaaaaaa
stantly. “I dic
her. That’s a]

“Did you ki

In that corr
six men stop
utter silence.
which had be
The silence ex

“Naaaaaaaa\
sounded like
foolish lie~s}
Someone in t!
low whistle.

Once again
studied all thre
were trying t
tricks, traps an

In not so mt
he contradict

Gradually, s
tioning shifted

“Did you e
Wayne, Ralph

“Why woul
Wayne?”

Pree eae TT eee ae SPRL ORC IR

answered firmly: “Why don’t you talk
to Bob Christen. He knows plenty about
the Howard murder, Talk to him!”

“How do you know that?”

“T heard, that’s all. I heard—and
women are his specialty!”

More than ninety minutes had elapsed
since Lobaugh had been carried by so-
dium pentothal to that thin brink where
the conscious mind sleeps and the sub-
conscious answers. He was getting
drowsy. His answers began to come more
slowly.

Then Lobaugh slept and the rest of us
compared notes, Not once, in nearly two
hours, had Lobaugh contradicted himself
in the smallest detail. That was the im-
pressive thing—not just the pentothal, a
relatively new drug with no legal stand-
ing. Of the eight men who'd listened,
only one expressed any doubt of Lo-
baugh’s innocence. Deputy Prosecutor
Bloom said, “This is only one of many
tests.

But that was understandable, It was
only natural that he’d want certain, legal
proof before admitting that his office had
joined in the error of putting an innocent
man, no matter how screwy, in death
row.

I didn’t stick around long. I had to get
to a telephone. I’d tipped off the wires
and the metropolitan Sunday papers what
was coming. They were waiting.

Next morning the story of Lobaugh’s
truth serum test splashed all over In-
diana, and Chief Eisenhut and his men
went to work harder—and more openly
now.

“There’s one sure way to clear Lo-
baugh,” Chief Eisenhut said. “That’s to
find the real murderer!”

ti WAS no easy ‘task, he knew. The
most recent of the murders had oc-
curred more than two years before. Mem-
ories would be hazy, clues obscure. But
Chief Eisenhut, Inspector Garmire and
Sergeant Walker were determined. They
firmly believed it was their duty to protect
the innocent as well as trap the guilty,
and they went to work.

They selected the Howard murder be-
cause it seemed to offer the best possi-
bilities. It was the most recent. Several
persons had witnessed its preliminaries,

The officers went first to Elmer Keirns’
tavern, 120 Main, from whence Mrs.
Howard had gone to her death. Elmer
Keirns and‘his wife, Velma, had not for-
gotten the night, nor the details.

Mrs. Keirns said that late the evening
of March 5, 1944, a man brought Mrs.
Howard into the tavern. She was intoxi-
cated. The tavern was crowded. No tables
were empty. So the man sat her down ata
table occupied by a soldier and civilian.

Mrs. Keirns said she remonstrated with
the man who arrived with Mrs. Howard,
saying, “Why don’t you take her back
where she got her liquor?”

She said the man replied: “I’m not
with her. I just brought her in out of the
rain.” Then he went to the bar and ig-
nored Mrs. Howard, who soon began to
talk to the soldier and civilian at the table.

Mrs. Keirns signalled a waiter not to
serve Mrs. Howard anything. When the
waiter obeyed, the civilian at the table
pushed his beer bottle and glass in front
of: Mrs. Howard.

Mrs. Keirns said she got up from a
nearby table where she was sitting with
friends and took away the beer, Angry,
the civilian stalked out.

Mrs. Howard remained with the sol-
dier, talking for perhaps thirty minutes.
Then both got up and started out. Mrs.
Keirns said she stopped the soldier and

2 on RENEE Re

told him, ‘We don’t allow a man in uni-
form to take a woman out of our place he
didn’t bring in.” The soldier, she said,
replied: “I can take care of myself.” He
sie out, a moment behind Mrs, How-
ard.

Of one thing, the Kiernses were certain.
Ralph Lobaugh, despite what he’d con-
fessed, hadn’t been in their tavern at any
time that night of March 5, let alone at
the table with Mrs. Howard. Both had
known him as a patron for several years.

They didn’t know the civilian who'd
sat at the table. But the soldier was
known—as Charles Dodson—stationed at
Baer Field.

Baer Field had long since been inacti-
vated and before trying to locate Dodson,
Chief Eisenhut and his men questioned
Georgia Hilton, who had driven into an
alley a half-block from the Keirns tavern
and come upon a tableau.

When her car lights picked out the
scene, she said, a soldier ran away and
Mrs. Howard was on some steps. As Mrs.
Hill got out of her car, a civilian, clad in
a leather jacket, approached her.

Something about his manner fright-
ened Georgia Hilton. She began to shout
for police. The civilian turned, jerked
Mrs. Howard to her feet and together
the two walked out of the alley and dis-
appeared—headed toward where Mrs,
Howard was found, nude and half-frozen
next morning,

Through army records, the officers lo-
cated Dodson, now discharged, at his
home in Memphis, Tenn. They made a
quick trip there. ;

Dodson talked freely, and with appar-
ent sincerity. He said he’d met the mys-
terious civilian, a stranger, in the tavern.
Later, as he walked away from the tavern
with Mrs. Howard, the civilian, who'd left
the grog shop in a huff, rejoined them.

“He asked me where I was taking her,”
Dodson told the Fort Wayne officers. “I
told him I was taking her home, that
she’d had too much to drink. He said,
‘Let’s take her in the alley, instead.’ ”

He’ said that when the car drove into
the alley, the civilian stranger was stand-
ing nearby,

“The car scared me,” Dodson insisted.
“T got out ofthere fast, and I didn’t come
back, I got a bus and went back to the
base,”

He insisted he never again saw the
stranger, nor did he know his name.

“But you identified Lobaugh as that
man,” Chief Eisenhut said.

“Only his picture. The officers came
here, told me he’d confessed and showed
me his picture. I said it looked like the
man, and they were satisfied.”

At this stage, no picture identification
would satisfy Chief Hisenhut. He asked
Dodson if he’d go back to Indiana and
view Lobaugh in person. Dodson agreed.

Both Dodson and Georgia Hilton were
taken, then, to Indiana State Prison, Lo-
baugh,was put in a lineup with several
other men. The ex-soldier and the woman
viewed the line-up separately.

“It’s none of those,” both said.

Then —. was brought out alone
and viewed. Dodson shook his head
firmly.

“That isn’t the man!”

“Absolutely not,” Georgia Hilton said
a few moments later.

Back at Fort Wayne, Chief Eisenhut
got a dozen different rogue’s gallery mug
shots and scattered them aimlessly on his
desk. Then he sent for Dodson.

“Is that civilian who was with you
among these?” he asked,

Dodson studied the photographs. Sud-
denly he pointed at one photo. “That’s
the man, That’s him, I’m sure,” he said.

Chief Eisenhut nodded, After Dodson
left, the chief shuffled the photos around
and called for Georgia Hilton.

She promptly pointed at the same
photo. “That’s the one!”

The Poste was Robert Christen’s!

Chief Eisenhut ordered Dodson held as
a material witness, and now the hunt for
Christen was sharply intensified. Wanted

‘circulars were distributed. Christen’s

fingerprints and record were sent to the
FBI, with a pickup order,

Inspector Garmire and Sergeant
Walker began to wear out shoe leather,
checking Christen’s former haunts, ask-
ing questions. They learned he’d been
around Fort Wayne until early in 1948.
Then he’d abruptly disappeared. No one
knew where he’d gone. ;

Meanwhile, Attorney Buhler had been
battling in court to keep Lobaugh out of
the electric chair. Even before the truth
serum test he had filed a petition for writ
of error, seeking to withdraw Lobaugh’s
plea of guilty and open the way to a full-
scale jury trial, The petition avowed that
Lobaugh was under the influence of nar-
cotic8 and in deadly fear of his life when
he pleaded guilty,

he prosecutor’s office filed a demurrer
to that petition, which said in effect:
“What you aver may be true, but has no
bearing on the case.” Judge Schannen,
in due time, sustained the demurrer—
extending, as he did, Lobaugh’s death
date to May 24,

ATTORNEY BUHLER promptly ap-
pealed to the Indiana Supreme Court,
which advanced Lobaugh’s death date
again, this time to November 15, and later
ad ie 2 15 while it considered the case.

hief Eisenhut worked tirelessly on
the case, digging always for new evidence
and hunting a lead on the elusive Robert
Christen.

In late September, he got a break. In
far-off Denver, Col., a man was arrested
in a petty larceny case. As a matter of
routine, his fingerprints were sent to the
FBI at Washington. It was Robert Chris-

ten!

The FBI quickly notified Chief Eisen-
hut who took Inspector Garmire, Ser-
geant Walker, Georgia Hilton and Dod-
son to Denver immediately.

Christen, meanwhile, ead. been released
on the petty charge—but was being kept
under surveillance. Soon after the In-
diana officers got there, Denver detectives
picked him up again, for what they called
a “routine showup.”

Christen stood in the.showup with
several other men—never dreaming that
behind the blazing lights were Hoosiers
close to the Howard case.

“That's the man,” Dodson said quietly
but firmly.

“He’s the man who approached me in
the alley,” Georgia Hilton declared.

Chief Eisenhut was certain Christen
would fight extradition. He’d need a mur-
der warrant. To get it he’d need to go
before a ae jury.

“Don’t let him out of your sight,” he
begged Denver detectives, and raced back
to Fort Wayne. A grand jury was con-
vened in October. It considered all the
new evidence in the Howard case.

On November 8, the grand jury re-
turned first degree murder indictments
against both Christen and Dodson, de-
spite the latter’s statement that he had
not rejoined Mrs, Howard and her civil-
ian companion after being frightened by
Georgia Hilton’s car.

A telegraphic warrant was promptly
sent to waiting detectives at Denver.
They’d kept Christen under watch con-

stantly. He

Inspect:
Walker ma
ten did, in
uselessly, H
Wayne.

As this ac
tion in the
tion, Christ
arraignment
sel, Neither
the evidenc
circumstanti
mine their ¢
ber, Judge
of Lobaugh
the request
said he wan
son case bet

But what
Chief Eisen
rageously ac
the innocent
that Ralph
electric cha
didn't comn

On Nove:
Court sharp!
ruling susta
a writ of err
the court de
received ‘di:

Pointing
ring, had ad
Buhler's a!
“well or sut
declared:

“Tt follow
of this appe
true that al!

[Cons

down. The ot
and I didn't s
one was abo:
black hair tha
mean looking
because he w

“Do you re:

Jimmie sna
exclaimed. “I
portant thing
down had at
One like yor
Jiggs, you kn

Agent Peet
length, but h
else.

“You've he!
gator told him
we need to we
do say it’s a |

The treasur
developments
going on the
McLeMore in

“We've got
Peets told tl
“Every man w
east is filed ac
know we have
got to put men
every card for

Captain McL
would take da
importance of
Twenty men v
every record c
hunt produced

began to
dentifica-
-e before
makes a
e Pinker-
to advan-
methods
to make
ver after-

after the
ns picked
and there
years. He
track to
the Pink-

two years
‘rt Pinker-
spectators
New York,
in wearing
newhat fa-
rky actions

t a look at
i they were
many ring-
‘as wearing
e Pinkerton
rearm with
right hand
rie had been
ith red dye
-ance of his
e had been
is deformed

und himself

didn’t get
sorted. Two
lock in New
Barrie back
The greatest
ever known,
ad come and

re confessing
layings.

id Sergeant
They talked

igh's ex-wife,
fo them, Lo-
rey bore him

sity. But what

rs.

hose women,”

up the story.
noon and eve-
is beaten!”

e?” Inspector
as four years

Late in Janu-
peration at the
- Lake. That’s
yne. L remained
ary 8, I’m sure
d me the after-
ary 2—the day
ten.”
go to the hos-
or certain that
susco, with us,”
» the time Flor-
Le never visited

her cases—the

lays, too—with

more queer fact.
a psychopathic

zht he wouldn't

a a RR a

even go to the outdoor privy unless some-
one went with him.

Yet Anna Kuzeff had been seized in an
utterly dark and deserted area!

Chief Eisenhut and his hard-working
aides were beginning to believe Lo-
baugh’s new story more firmly now—but
they had scarcely a shred of evidence that
would stand up in court, and certainly
not enough to warrant the uproar that a
reopened investigation was sure to create.

They turned to science, with the aid of
Attorney Buhler, who was anxious to co-
operate. They arranged new lie detector
tests for Lobaugh—those aforementioned
which indicated innocence.

But even these weren't positive. Lo-
baugh had also run guilty tests at the
time of his confession, one given by Leon-
arde Keeler, famed Chicago criminologist
who developed the lie detector.

“We've got to be sure,” Chief Eisenhut
said morosely. “If we could only look
into his mind... .”

And then someone thought of sodium
pentothal.

Now, in that taut, quiet prison hospital
the voices from the darkened room off the
cortidor were murmuring toward critical
questions. We were all bent forward, half-
breathing, listening... .

“Did you ever go to Fort Wayne,
Ralph?”

“Sure—lots of times.”

“Why?”

“To see men!”

I looked at Attorney Buhler. He
winced and sadly shook his head. The
questioning went on—to the first key
question.

“Did you ever drive a car to Fort
Wayne?”

Oe i hound lost my license. It had been
revoked. I couldn’t drive!”

“But lots of fellows drive cars without
licenses,” Dr..Zeller pursued softly.

“Not me! I wouldn’t break the law!”

From a guy in death row, that was
irony.

The quizzing doctors didn’t stop there.
They pursued the car business relent-
lessly, trying trick questions, traps, sug-
gestions. Lobaugh remained adamant. He
didn’t drive a car.

Billy Haaga’s murderer had!

Chief Eisenhut leaned toward me and
whispered, “He's telling the truth. The
family told us he refused to drive any-
where after he lost his license.”

Now came drama. Out of the room
floated this question:

“Did you know Billy Haaga?”

“Naaaaaaaaw,”’ Lobaugh replied in-
stantly. “I didn’t know her. I read about
her. That’s all.” :

“Did you kill Billy Haaga?”

In that corridor off the darkened room
six men stopped breathing. There was
utter silence. Even the outside sounds
which had been filtering in were gone.
The silence exploded as Lobaugh said:

“Naaaaaaaaw, I didn't kill her.” He
sounded like a little boy, caught in a
foolish lie—sheepish, embarrassed, coy.
Someone in the corridor let out a long,
low whistle.

Once again the psychiatrists, who'd
studied all three murder cases beforehand,
were trying to mix up Lobaugh with
tricks, traps and indirection.

In not so much as the tiniest detail did
he contradict himself.

Gradually, slowly, smoothly the ques-
tioning shifted.

“Did you ever carry a rope to Fort
Wayne, Ralph?”

“Why would I carry rope to Fort
Wayne?”

“To strangle someone—a woman, per-

ps ”

“Aaaaah! What would I want to
strangle a woman for? They revolt me.”

“Then you never carried a piece of
rope to Fort Wayne?” ‘

“Nol”

“Did you know Anna Kuzeff?”

“Only what I read about her in the
papers.”

‘Did you kill Anna Kuzeff?”

“Naaaaaw, I didn’t kill her.” Again
there was that sheepish embarrassed note
in his voice. :

at was the same with Dorothea How-
ard.

“Naaaaaaaw, I didn’t kill her!”

Dr. Coats took up the questioning
then, fishing deep into Lobaugh’s naked
mind. His voice was suave, coaxing,
gentle:

“We believe you didn’t kill these
women, Ralph,” he began. “But you're
keeping something from us—some crime
you committed, some other murder. Who
did you kill, Ralph?”

“T never killed nobody.”

Dr, Coats went on, relentlessly—and I
shivered. You could feel his questions
probing deep, deep, deep into the obscure
recesses of Lobaugh’s brain.

“Maybe it was a man, Ralph. You
killed a man. Who was it?”

“T never killed no man!”

“Perhaps a boy, then—some boy you
lured.”

“T never killed no boy.”

“Maybe it was a young man, then—an
older boy?”

“T never killed nobody!”

“But you're holding something from
us, some old crime, something you've
tried to forget. What crimes did you com-
mit, Ralph?”

“IT guess I committed an unnatural act.
They fined me for that. And I used to
turn in fire alarms, ’cause I liked excite-
ment.”

Dr. Coats was satisfied. Dr. Zeller
picked up the questioning again, going
back over and over and over the key
points of the murders, In a moment, Dr.
Coats came out of the room to re-fill a
syringe of drug. He was solemn.

“There’s no doubt whatsoever,” he
said. “The man is telling the truth! I’m
certain he didn’t kill those women.”

In Chief Eisenhut’s mind there were
still a few puzzles. Deputy Prosecutor
Bloom shared them. They asked if they,
too, could quiz Lobaugh.

“Certainly,” Dr. Coats replied, and the
two officials slipped on tip-toe into the
darkened room and stood at Lobaugh’s
bedside. Soon we heard their questions.

“The police said,” Prosecutor Bloom
began, “that you picked the Kuzeff comb
and belt buckle from among several simi-
lar items. How could you do that if you
hadn’t been there? They were never pic-
tured in newspapers.”

“They showed me one comb and one
buckle. I figured they were the right
ones,” Lobaugh replied readily. “That’s
how I got.the mame of the comb—when
they showed it to me.”

“Why did you insist on a quick trial,
and insist on pleading guilty—even
though you were warned what might re-
sult?” Chief Eisenhut asked.

“T was full of benzedrine, and scared. °

The prisoners were going to get me in
the shower and cut me up! They told me!”

“If you didn’t kill those women, who
did?” Chief Eisenhut asked.

“T don't know.”

“Can you give any lead, any help, any
ideas?”

For the first time there was a tiny pause
before Ralph Lobaugh replied. Then he

Reprints of Regular $2 Books at the special vaiue of
ALL 4 For Only $1.00

Hi ‘ee
Bea cael P

r, Wile 4 U fj} Joan Denison and Carter

The Wife and the UOTE Ac ea

; Xhey “were. both smart and

her pictures R.
PLEASURE AFTER HOURS
By Florenz Branch

utwardly, Ronald and Jean

’ 2

in his absence.
These four books are so thrilling that they were ‘‘best-
sellers’ at $2.00 each, Each one pac! with romance
ritts.

arately; Not
or sent

NIC!
120 Greenwich %

Your Name Here

NAME RING

serena ae

SEND NO MONEY! ofoupsrTorthe ring
See aarae woke he Pct
STEWART 00., Dept. N-370, 626 Walant St, Clelansti 2, Obte

TALK ANYWHERE

Instantly To Anyon

Take “0.8.R."" If you lack Pep, Energy, Vitality and don't
have natural desires for fun and good times, if you suffer
from aches and pains, coated tongue or bad skin this may
be due to Tou elimination, HELP NATURE by taking
.§.R., an and Vegetable tablet, as directed and love
fe again. Pay 42 for a Big box of 160 Tablets

postman $!.
—or mail only $1.00 NOW and SAVE 42¢.
WRITE TODAY!
STANDARD REMEDY COMPANY, Dept. FM-3
Baltimore 2, Maryland

00 TRICKS FOR FUN OR PROFIT

Amaze your friends by making cards
and coing Lr Also Learn *‘Mind
Reading,’’ Ventriloquism, Sleight of
Hand, etc, from the fascinating maga-
zine *‘MAGIC IS -! Get feos copy
FREE by ring our large filustrated
catal ‘of magic equipment for only

5O0c DAY. Your money back if not
satisfied.

D. ROBBINS & CO., Dept. J-12
152 W. 42nd S¢., N. Y. 18, N. Y.

DEAF ence

NOW HEARS CLOCK TICK

A. M. Beetch. Newark, N. J., writes
“Before using Oretune Ear Drops, | was so deafened
that | could not hear the clock tlek. After using Oro.
tune, | ean now hear the etock tick with both ears.”
Thousands now hard-of-hearing would hear clearly and
distinctly again and also get relief from buazing, ring-
ing head noises, clogged up feeling in ears, if impacted
wax that blocks ear canals and presses on sensitive ear
drums were removed. Orotune Ear Drops as di-
rected. They are safe and contain an ingredient especially
SEND NO MONEY.
Pay postman $2 for 3 months’ hag oad plus postage and
C. 0. D. charges. If you enclose $2 with order, we pay
all postage. HARVIN CO., 3560 Broadway, Dept. 42-D
New York 31, N. Y.

BUTLER, Charles W., white, 27, hanced Columbia City, Ind., 10-10-188).

i —_o—-

Ae coe |

| monument marked the grave of the donor, Samuel Braden.
| Another large monument marked the grave of Andrew Scott
who was accidentally killed during a wolf hunt, Feb. 1, 1854.

Broxon cemetery has been raided by vandals upon several
occasions. About two years ago several Allen county youths
admitted carting some of the tombstones, which appeared on
the grounds of a Fort Wayne high school. Due to the secrecy

“A imposed by juvenile laws, none knows how they were dealt
' with. No restitution, even partial, was demanded by the court,
. however.

If editorializing is permitted, it might be well for members
of the Historical Society to remind legislators that stiffening
of penalties against cemetery vandals and judgments against
them for monument desecration is long past due.

COUNTY’S ONLY LEGAL HANGING
AN OCTOBER EVENT 82 YEARS AGO

\ EKighty-two years ago an air of foreboding hung over Whit-
\\ ley county as people talked of the approaching hanging of
\ Charles Butler, 26, convicted wife-murderer.

The hanging of Butler took place in the Whitley County
jail yard on Oct. 10, 1884. The execution took place at 12:08
p.m. in an enclosure built to screen the execution from public
view. Details of the hanging had to be supervised by Sheriff
Frank P. Allwein, who sprung the trap.

Indiana’s laws soon afterward were changed so that ex-
ecutions now take place in the Indiana State Prison at Michi-
gan City.

Butler, a resident of Columbus, Ohio, followed his wife
to Pierceton. She had fled from his butality. He shot her
dead as he had threatened if she left him.

After being confined to the Kosciusko county jail, War-
saw, for a time, he secured a change of venue and was brought
to Columbia City. He with others broke jail but Butler was

| recaptured near his home at Columbus, Ohio. A copy of the
| reward poster follows these paragraphs.

Butler was put on trial Monday, May 12, 1884, before a
jury and with Judge Van Long presiding. He was convicted
and sentenced to be hanged on October 10, 1884, which sen-
tence was carried out.

~—

ANECDOTE OF THE MONTH
(By Ralph F. Gates)

One of the characters of Columbia City in years gone by
was Ed Carter, who in the last years of his life was night clerk
at the Clugston Hotel. He had lived in Columbia City all of his
lifetime. His father was the sexton of the old Methodist
Church. Their home was located where the Walter Meyers
home is now located on Jefferson street, (formerly the George
Pontius home). .

It was said that Ed as a boy would tell his parents that
he was retiring for the night and would go upstairs and then
go out the upstairs window and slide down an apple tree and
spend most of the time downtown. As a result, he was in
trouble most of his lifetime and spent a good deal of time in
the Columbia City jail and also served at least one or two
terms in the penitentiary for thefts and other crimes of that
character.

When Charles Butler was brought from Kosciusko county
jail to the Whitley county jail to stand trial for the murder of
his wife at Pierceton, Ed Carter happened to be one of the
inmates of the jail. Butler was the son of a wealthy doctor
at Columbus, Ohio, and his father was making elaborate
plans for the defense of his son on this murder charge.

Ed Carter happened to tell Butler about a soft stone
which was in the stonework of the jail. Ed Carter had helped
build the jail as a young man and knew the location of this
soft stone. As a result, Butler, Carter and a couple of other
prisoners conspired to break jail. They dug out this soft
stone and the four of them one evening escaped from the
Whitley county jail.

One Sunday afternoon I stopped at the Clugston Hotel
and Ed was on duty and I asked him to tell me the story of
Butler’s escape from the Whitley county jail. After he es-
caped, Butler was later re-captured at Columbus, Ohio, and
brought back to the Whitley county jail and stood trial and
was convicted of the murder of his wife and was executed by
hanging. The hanging took place in the jail yard. A high
board fence was built around the portion of the jail lot where
the scaffold was erected and tickets were issued for people to
gain admission to see the hanging.

On this Sunday afternoon Ed proceeded to tell me the

tere,

a“

story of the escape. He said that the four of them after they
escaped in the early evening went north from Columbia City
on State Road 9. As it was becoming light they hid under
the hay in a barn adjacent to what is now the state highway.
Ed said that they could see the sheriff’s deputies driving up
and down the road hunting for them. They remained in the
hay mow all day. When night finally came they then went
on north and were able to get to Burr Oak in Noble county
and this happened to be Saturday so they broke into the
school at Burr Oak since they knew that there would be no
school that day and hid in the school house all day. When
night again came they were able to get to the B&O
Railroad at Albion where they boarded an eastbound freight
train. When they arrived in the vicinity of Columbus they
went to a wooded plot and established a camp.

Ed was elected to go into Columbus and contact Dr.
Butler and get some money for them to live on. Ed called
upon the doctor and the doctor gave him a considerable
amount of currency. Ed said that they spent part of the
money for groceries and a great deal of it for whisky.

The four of them at the camp then decided that they
would split up. Ed took his part of the money that was left
and headed west by freight. Butler was left alone in the
wooded plot. After he ran out of food and liquor, he
decided to go in and see his father himself and when he did
the officers at Columbus, Ohio, arrested him and he was
brought back to Columbia City where he then stood trial and
was convicted. History records that he was the only person

ever hung by the officials of Whitley county.
NEW MEMBERS
Name Sponsor
Alexander, Mrs. John, Dallas, Texas
Baird, Hugh (student), Pomona, Calif. Royal Blake
Briggs, Donald E., Richfield, Minn, James S,. Briggs
Hollenbaugh, Mrs. Kermit R., Roanoke William Yaney, Jr.

Norris, G. F., South Whitley Marguerite Stultz

YL
YY

“gE TE
iY (YHAY Ul pip

Viens

Lp
ith

igieyy

“po

clean and neat, nestled in its frame of
green vines and flowering trees. It was a
peculiarly isolated house, three miles
from the nearest highway and half a
mile from the nearest country road. Few
except those in the Laughery Valley even
knew it was there.

At first glance everything seemed as
usual about the old place this morning.
Then, suddenly, Farmer Sellers saw some-
thing amiss. “Look, Junior,” he said to
his son, pointing. ‘What are those cows
doing in the yard?”

They looked at the cows, grazing con-
tentedly about the house, and “hallooed”’
loudly, but got no response. Then
Junior noticed something else decidedly
unusual. In a field beyond the house a
team of horses stood hitched to a corn
planter. The horses looked as though
they had been standing there all night.

“Something’s wrong here,” decided
Sellers. “’Tain’t like Johnson to let his
cows and hosses stand around thataway.”

He pushed open the gate and started

AGRUE FAMILY WERE SLAIN ON THE PEACEFUL INDIANA FARM!

A The Sellers, father and
son, neighbors of the
Agrues, discovered the
multiple murders. Fearing
that the slayer might still
be in the house, they noti-
fied the sheriff before in-
vestigating further.

SEPTEMBER, 1941

along the flagstone pathway that led to
the quiet old house. Abruptly he stopped,
with a sharp intake of breath, and stood
staring aghast at something beside the
walk.

It was the body of sixty-year-old John-
son Agrue, sprawled face down on the
grass in a wallow of blood.

Sellers and his son knelt beside the still
form. “He’s dead!” said Sellers in a
shocked whisper. “Stiff, too. Prob’ly
been layin’ here all night. I wonder now

. could he have killed himself?”

“No, dad.” His son pointed to an ugly
wound in the dead man’s back. “He
couldn’t shoot himself this way.”

“You're right, son.”’ The senior Sellers
looked about. He saw an_ overturned
lunchpail lying nearby, but no sign of a
weapon. “Thére’s no gun. I reckon he
was murdered.” They stood up and
walked on toward the house. .

The house, an old fashioned frame
dwelling with a high gable at one end and
a lean-to at the other, wore a deserted

The Agrue farmhouse
was in a secluded spot
near Laughery Creek,
in Dearborn County,
Indiana. One of the
victims, Mrs. Agrue,
was found inside the
house, and the four
others were outside.

CARNIVAL —

look. It was wrapped in silence, the

“

shades were drawn, and except for the.

cows in the yard, there was no sign of life
anywhere. They knocked at the door and
called “Halloo, inside!” but there was no
answer.

‘“Where’s Johnson’s folks, I wonder?”
muttered Sellers. “Something mighty
strange here!”

He walked around the side of the-

house, looking at the darkened windows.
His son walked after him. They looked

toward the barn and saw a flock of °

chickens scratching in the dirt. Every- |» =

thing seemed as usual. ;

And then, when they walked over to’
the barn and looked inside, they were’
violently startled by an even more horri-

fying discovery. :
Lying just inside the barn doorway was

the body of Johnson Agrue’s little grand- iz
daughter, twelve-year-old Mary Elizabeth ~

Breeden. She, too, had been shot in the

back and killed, in precisely the same

manner as her grandfather.

Leo Agrue, one of the
sons, was found ina thicket
near the field where he
and his brother had been
working. His faithful dog
led officers to the spot
where the body lay. Leo
was shot through the back,
like the rest.

hoe allie el

i % RAY
perenne.

haps. What was the murderer looking
for when he broke open that trunk with
an ax?

Sheriff Winegard, revolving these ques-
tions in his methodical mind as he ‘mingled
with the curious crowd, heard a slow,
sleepy voice say to him, “Sher’ff, who
d’you reckon could ’a done this yere
turrible thing?”

“I don’t know,” said the sheriff, and
turned to look at the speaker.

He was a tall, stoop-shouldered man of
thirty-odd, with a wispy moustache and a
long nose. His slouch hat was shoved back
on his head and his shirt was open at the
chest, revealing a snarl of ‘damp hair. He
wore no coat and his shirtsleeves were
rolled far up on his hairy arms.

“Have you any ideas on that?” asked
the sheriff, j

The man shook his head. His eyes,
noticeably small for such a long face,
narrowed to angry slits.

“Naw,” he said, “I hain’t got none.
But,” he added, doubling a brawny fist,
“T’d jes like to git my hands on th’ skunk
what done it! Jes once! I’d choke th’
livin’ hell outa his dirty, stinkin’ hide!”

Sheriff Winegard looked the man over °

curiously. “You seem to feel pretty
strongly about this.”

“I reckon I gotta right to be. Ain’t I
a son-in-law o’ th’ old man what was
killed?”

‘HE NOT ONLY was a son-in-law

of the murdered man, the sheriff
learned; he was a double son-in-law. He
had married, first, Mary Agrue, eldest
daughter of Johnson, about four years
before. The girl was then just emerging
from her ’teens. After a few months they
were divorced and he married her
younger sister, Leona.

His second marriage proved happier
than his first. He and Leona had not
Separated, at any rate. They had two
children and lived in Aurora, Indiana,
about seven miles west of the Agrue farm.

The man’s name was Virginius Carter, |

commonly known as “Dink,” and he was
employed on a construction crew of the
Indiana Ordnance Works at Charlestown.

“Ef they’s anythin’ I kin do to he’p
you, Sher’ff .. .”

The sheriff needed all the help he could
get. He enlisted the aid of Virginius
Carter, as he had that of all others who
flocked to the farm.

Joseph Schmidt, the neighboring
farmer, told him of hearing the five shots
the. preceding afternoon before the thun-
derstorm broke at 5:30.

That, at least, established the time of
the triple murder, but Farmer Schmidt
could offer no further clue.

“From my place,” he explained, “I
can’t see over here, so I couldn't tell
what was goin’ on. Anyways,” he added,
“I didn’t pay much heed to the shots.
I thought mebbe it was just old Johnson
Agrue shootin’ at crows. Then the storm
come along and I forgot all about ’em.”

“Did Johnson Agrue own a gun?”
Sheriff Winegard asked.

“Yep—a 12-gauge double barreled shot -

gun.”

A search was started for the weapon.
But it could not be found, either in the
house or the barn, or anywhere else, Nor
could any shells he found. Shotgun and

SEPTEMBER, 1941

shells had disappeared as mysteriously as
the person who had used them.

From another farmer the sheriff learned
something that put a new slant on the

- case. Johnson Agrue’s two grown sons—

William, age thirty-three, and Leo,
twenty-one—had been working on_ his
farm yesterday. The brothers. had been
seen driving to the farm early yesterday
morning and later were in the field plant-
ing corn. Neither had been seen since.

This ended one mystery—and immedi-
ately opened another. It explained two of
the extra places set at the supper table,
but—what had become of the brothers?

A call at William’s home in Harden-
town elicited only a mystified answer
from his worried wife, “Will told me
when he left he’d be back: last night for
sure. But he never came home and I’ve
had no word from him.”

“What time did he leave?”

“About six o’clock yesterday morning.
Leo called for him and they went away
together. That’s the last I saw of them.”

“Where does Leo live?”

“He lives on the farm with his folks.
He’s not married... . Oh, I do hope
nothing’s happened to him and Will!”

A search was started for the two miss-
ing young men, and at about the same
time the sheriff learned that their father
had not been working his farm of late,
but had been employed at the Govern-
ment Armament Proving Grounds near
Madison.

That would explain the lunch pail
found near his body. He had been re-
turning home from his government job,
the sheriff reasoned, carrying the empty
pail, when the killer crept upon him from
ambush and fired the fatal shot into his
back.

Then, as the sheriff further recon-
structed the crime, the murderer had en-
tered the house and killed Mrs. Agrue as
she prepared supper in the kitchen, and
then had gone outside to the barn, where
the little girl was playing, and had killed
the child in the same manner he had slain
her grandparents. After that, he had gone
back to the house and climbed to the
attic. He had dragged the musty old
trunk from its corner, smashed it open
with an ax and had searched through its
contents till he found what he wanted.

What was he seeking in the trunk?
Another unanswered question. But what-
ever it was, he apparently had committed
three murders in order to get it.

With the object in his possession, and
still carrying the gun, he had stolen from
the house and made off through the raging
storm. There was nobody to see him; no-
body to give the alarm. In that remote,
deserted section he was safe from any
prying eyes, and all three of his victims
were dead. His escape in the storm could
not have been more perfectly timed.

While the sheriff’s posses were making
a house-to-house hunt for the murderer
throughout the whole countryside, as well
as in all the adjacent towns, the sheriff
himself was concentrating on:

What had happened to the murdered
couple’s sons, William and Leo?

Both had vanished as completely and
mysteriously as had the murderer. Could
it be possible that they were involved?

It seemed unbelievable. Yet in a case
of such grave importance, no possibility

could be overlooked. In any event,
whether they were involved or not,
Sheriff Winegard was .convinced that
when he had found either or both of the
missing brothers he would be able to find
an answer to the question:

Who murdered their parents and niece?

He started his hunt for them at the
spot where they were last seen—in the
ficld where they were planting corn. The
horses were freed from the corn planter,
to which they had been hitched, appar-
ently, since yesterday afternoon, and the
hunt went on, directed by Sheriff Wine-
gard and Deputy Voit and joined in by
a dozen or more farmers.

As the men started for a thicket which
skirted the field, they heard the low whine

of an animal. Drawing nearer, they saw .

a dog watching them and whimpering
piteously.

“That’s Leo’s pooch!” said one of the

farmers. “He tags after Leo wherever he
goes.” a"

“Then Leo must be close by,” said the
sheriff, and strode toward the dog, snap-
ping his fingers and calling to him, “Nice

- old fellow! Where’s your master?”

The dog whined and looked up at him,
then turned and trotted into the woods,
The sheriff followed him. A little farther
on the dog stopped with uplifted paw,

emitted a half-human cry of anguish and ‘

looked anxiously back at the man

There the sheriff and his aides saw the
body of Leo Agrue, clad only in shoes and
trousers, lying face down on the blood-
soaked ground! He had been killed in
the same cowardly manner as the three
other members of his family—with a
shotgun blast through his back.

The others came crowding close behind,
to stand and stare in stupefied wonder,
stunned to silence by what they saw. Only
one was able to speak.

“Waal, this (Continued on page 36)

Little hha Breeden was the second

victim to be found. She had been
"visiting with her grandparents.

a f t mn J

WO SHOTS. ... A pause.
T Another shot. Another pause.
Two more shots. ... Then a sizzling,

jagged flash of flame that illuminated the
whole countryside. A thunderous roar
like the crack of doom. And the electrical
storm which had been brewing all day
broke in all its fury.

Joseph Schmidt, back country farmer
of Indiana, heard the shots. They came
from the direction: of Johnson Agrue’s
farm over near Laughery Creek. ‘“Reckon
Johnson’s shootin’ at crows,” ‘mused
Schmidt. “Hope he got ’em.” When the
thunderstorm crashed and swept across
the country, ending a day of stifling heat,
Farmer Schmidt forgot the five reports.

That was about 5:30 o'clock the after-
noon of Friday, May 16, 1941.

At nine o’clock next morning William
Sellers, another farmer, and his , son,
William, Jr., chanced to pass the farm of
Johnson Agrue. It was a lovely May
morning, the air was fresh from last—
night’s storm, and the farmhouse looked

FIVE MEMBERS OF THE»

A This man, who was eager to
‘help the sheriff, was a “double”
son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs.
Agrue. He was guarded from
threatened mob violence.

The tablé in the farmhouse
was set for six. Five of the
persons were murdered—the

sixth place must have been
intended for the killer!

BY EDWIN BAIRD. ~

14 r HEADLINE DETECTIVE

wv ee ei A a! ane nn

“All right men, | done it," said the

confessed slayer (right) after long

grilling. Sheriff Winegard is at left.

By now Sellers and his son were all
but speechless from shock. Who could
have committed such an atrocious double
murder on this remote farm? This peace-
ful, pastoral spot was certainly the last
place where one would expect to find such
grisly horror, .

And where was the wife of the slain
man? :

Sellers and his son looked at each other
in speechless astonishment, then turned
and stared fearfully at the silent old
house.

What dark secret was hidden there?

“Look, dad,” the younger Sellers whis-
pered, “the killer may be hiding in the
house. right now. He may be peeking
through a window, watching us at this
very moment.”

“You're right, son. In any case, we'd
better get away from here and notify
the sheriff.”

They hurried from the place of death,
with scarcely a backward glance, and sped
to their home nearby. There, Sellers, Sr.,

‘telephoned Sheriff William Winegard at

Lawrenceburg, the Dearborn County seat.
“There’s been a double killin’ at John-
son Agrue’s farm, Sheriff. I just now

’ found him and his granddaughter shot to

death. Both bodies outside the house. I
think maybe the killer’s hidin’ inside. You

"better come prepared to smoke him out.”

THE SHERIFF gathered together some

tear gas hand grenades and summoned
his deputy, Arthur Voit. The two piled
into the sheriff’s car and went tearing
through the Indiana countryside toward
the backwoods farm of Johnson Agrue.

Arriving there, they found the place
basking in the May morning sunshine,
with no apparent sign of anything amiss.
All seemed peacefully normal.

But when they beheld the body of
Farmer Agrue lying in the bloodstained
grass beside the froht walk to his home,
and later saw his slain granddaughter,
they knew they were confronted by a
grisly murder case.

Keeping under cover of the surround-
ing trees, they approached the silent old
house obliquely, advancing with caution
and warily watching the door and win-
dows. They stopped a little distance
away, and Sheriff Winegard cupped hands
to his mouth and shouted, “Hello, in
there! We’ve got you surrounded. Come
out before we start firing!”

The cows, still grazing in the yard,
lifted their heads to stare curiously at the
two strangers. A robin sang blithely from
a treetop. No sound came from the
house. The sheriff repeated his warning.
Sull no answer.

“Let’s give him the gas,” said Deputy
Voit. “That’ll drive him out.”

“Right.”

They pulled the caps from their hand
grenades and hurled them, one-two,
through a window. There came the tink-
ling sound of breaking glass, and the
robin hushed his singing. Only silence
came from the house.

“Here goes another dose” said the
sheriff, and threw a third grenade inside
the house.

They waited several minutes, watching
the door. Nothing happened.

“He’s not coming out,” the sheriff de-
cided. “We'd better go in and get him.”

The two men deployed and sidled to
the door at the sloping end of the house.
The door was unlocked. They shoved it
open, stood aside, waited for the escaping
gas to rush out.

Then, with handkerchiefs pressed to
their faces and revolvers ready, they
stepped across the threshold and walked
inside—and stopped dead in their tracks,
staring popeyed at a ghastly sight that
transcended in horror what they had al-
ready seen.

The door opened directly into a large
room which served as dining room and
kitchen. Near the center of the chamber
was a massive square table. And beside
the table, huddled on the floor, was the
body of Nina Agrue, 58-year-old wife of
Johnson.

It required only a glance to see she was
dead, murdered in the same shocking
manner as her husband and _grand-
daughter. Her life blood had seeped out
in a widening pool, staining the linoleum
a dull red. The rigidity of her ‘body
showed that she had been dead for many
hours.

Recovering from their shock, Sheriff
Winegard and his deputy swiftly searched
the other rooms, revolvers in hand, ready
for an ambush. But the house, wrapped
in deathly silence, was deserted. The mur-
derer had fled.

In the attic they found’ their first
clue. An old-fashioned iron-ribbed trunk,

securely locked and covered with dust, -

had been dragged from a corner and
smashed open. Its contents had been
dragged out pellmell and strewn about,
indicating a.frantic search for—what?

“Here’s what he broke it open with,”
said Deputy Voit, lifting an ax from. the
littered floor.

“Handle that carefully,” cautioned the

sheriff. “We'll want to have it-examined

for fingerprints.”
After another searching look about the-

attic room, he went back downstairs to —

the kitchen, with his deputy tramping

after him, lugging the ax. by the blade..
He stood near the kitchen door, care- ‘

fully scanning the room with narrowed
eyes, keenly noting every detail—the
wood-burning cookstove, the almanac
hanging from a nail in the wall, the side

table with its tin washpan and galvanized -

iron bucket of water, ‘from which pro-
truded the handle of a metal dipper. But
what particularly interested him was the
massive square table with its thick round
legs and checkered tablecloth. Upon this
he bent a special scrutiny. He turned to
his deputy and asked, “How many in this
family, Arch?”

“Just the three, so far as I know,” said
Voit. “The old man and his wife and
their little granddaughter. And now all
three are dead!”

“But look at this table,” the sheriff
went on, with a wave of his hand. “How
many would you say were going to eat
there?”’

The deputy looked at the table and |

slowly nodded. The table was set for six
persons.
“T see what you mean,” he said. “They
were expecting three guests for supper.”
“Exactly. And the guests were no
doubt here when the murders were com-

mitted.” Sheriff Winegard walked across: .

the floor to the stove, looked at a skillet
of fried chicken, then opened the oven
door and saw a pan of biscuits. “In fact,
Mrs. Agrue was just about ready to put
supper on the table when she was shot
down and killed. Her husband and grand-
child were no doubt killed immediately
afterward.”

“All of which,” said Deputy Voit,
“adds up to the fact that the Agrues
knew their murderer—or murderers.”

“Right. Knew and trusted them. Asked
them to supper. Fixed something special
for them. . . . Well, we’ve got to get
busy. Every second counts. These people
were murdered more than fifteen hours
ago—time enough to give their killers a
long head start. Assuming, that is, they
wanted one.”

Sheriff Winegard went into action.
Another of his deputies, Ted Cook, was
summoned from Lawrenceburg, as was
Coroner Harry Moon.

While the coroner took charge of the
three bodies and arranged for their re-
moval to his Lawrenceburg mortuary, the
sheriff and his deputies organized posses
and started a systematic search of the
countryside.

Reports of the triple tragedy had
spread through the whole community by
now, and the once secluded backwoods
farm, which normally few people ever
saw and fewer still ever visited, was
swarming with curious countryfolk, all
excitedly talking and speculating on the
identity of the murderer and his motive
for the cold-blooded. crime.

Both questions were peculiarly baffling.
Who would want to wipe out the three |

members of this peaceful, kindly family?
Evidently somebody they knew and
trusted. But why had they been mur-
dered? Did the rusty old trunk in the
attic have something to do with it? Per-

. HEADLINE DETECTIVE

Don’t ENVY the “Lucky”
Fisherman...Be One!

Penetrates Water Up to 75 Feet to
LURE FISH TO YOUR BAIT BY SMELL!
Now fortified with QUMOX, new hormone attractant.

NVA

per tube fish,
3 for

$2.95

NORKIN LABORATORIES
809 WYANDOTTE ST.

Getzem is a highly concentrated blend of food odors fish
- omy love. Each of the seven varieties contains from 17 to 34
different scientifically formulated ingredients to attract the
fish you want to catch. Based on old-time professional
recipes, but concentrated into a paste form so powerful a
single drop equals a pound of old-fashioned odor-producing
recipes. Not an oil! Will not float on surface. Getzem
is an emulsion with a special “dispersion” agent that
makes it penetrate water in ever:
is the original concentrated bait odor—now proved by
1,000,000: fishermen!
Contains no anise oil. Legal in every state.
Order by flavor for the type of fish you're
after: Cat, carp, trout, all other fresh-water
salmon, all other salt-water fish.
There's even a flavor for ice fishing. $1.25
per tube, 3 for $2.95. Send cash, check or
money order and be sure to specify flavors |
wanted. 30-day money-back guarantee.

direction. Getzem .

Dept. BK-34N
KANSAS CITY 5, MO.

But who had it been and why? There
seemed to be no logical motive outside
of a hundred dollar pittance for the
mass slayings. Agrue and his family
were well liked in the community.

And why the murder of little Mary
Elizabeth Breeden? Had she been killed
because she witnessed the crimes and
could identify the slayer?

It was a weird riddle that seemed to
have no solution. Even Dink Carter,
who was as well acquainted with the
family’s affairs as any man_ present,
could offer no explanation for the mur-
der rampage. :

“If we could find the weapon he
used we’d have something,” the deputy
said. “We might be able to get some
fingerprints from the axe used to break
the trunk lock.”

His idea was good, but a search
showed that the axe, too, was missing.
Relatives and neighbors asserted that
Johnston Agrue had owned a .12 gauge
shotgun, but a search of the house
failed to disclose its whereabouts.

“From the looks of things, Agrue
was shot with his own gun,” Weingard
said. “And if the killer was able to get
into the house and obtain the weapon,
he must have been known to Mrs.
Agrue.”

“If he came to the farm unarmed, it
would seem that this idea of wholesale
murder was decided on the spur of the
moment,” Voit mused.

The sheriff shook his head. “Not

necessarily. Particularly if the boys
were shot first. In that case, the killer
deliberately took the shotgun and went
hunting for them.”

“That extra place at the table stumps
me,” the deputy admitted. “I’d like to
know just who they were expecting for
the meal. Whoever it was could be a
sixth victim—or the murderer.”

“Pve been thinking about that,”
Weingard said slowly. “I wonder—with
Agrue so shorthanded that he called
his boy home to help out with the
work, it’s possible he may have hired
another farmhand.”

“You might have something there,”
Dink Carter said enthusiastically. “I
was in Aurora yesterday morning and
some fellow at the bar asked if we
knew anyone who wanted to hire some
help.”

The sheriff glanced at him sharply.
“What did he look like?”

Carter shrugged. “I honestly don’t
know, sheriff. I didn’t pay much atten-
tion, but he seemed like an ordinary
farnthand to me.” He named a local
beer parlor and said, “Maybe some of
the other fellows there could give you a
better idea of what he looked like. I
doubt it, though. No one seemed to pay
any attention.”

“Pll check on it,” Weingard prom-
ised.

Identification men photographed the
various scenes of darnage and pro-
cessed the house for fingerprints. The

bodies were removed to an undertaking
parlor for post mortems.

B*s in Aurora, Weingard and his
deputy stopped at the beer parlor
where Dink Carter said the transient
farm hand had inquired about work.
But luck was still against them.

“I don’t remember half the fellows
who come in here,” the bartender said,
“I do know that Dink was here for a
while yesterday morning, but he’s a
regular customer and I know him
pretty well. I didn’t notice any stran-
ger.”

his office and picked up a telephone
directory. “I’m going to call. every
farmer in this section,” he vowed. “If
there was anyone going around look-
ing for a job, it’s a cinch he stopped at
several places before reaching the Ag-
tue farm. It doesn’t seem natural that
he would go there first.”

Half an hour later, however, the
sheriff was forced to admit himself
stymied. No other farmer had seen or
heard of the mysterious stranger—and

around Aurora then it was difficult for
any stranger to pass unseen.

That sixth place at the table, Wein-
gard felt, was the clue. to the entire
mystery. Since no more = bodies had
been found, it was reasonable to sup-
pose that it had been set-for the mur-
derer himself. But just who had the
elderly housewife been expecting?

With sudden decision, Weingard
turned to his deputy. “I want you to
find out a little more about Dink Car-
ter,” he said quietly. “I’d hate to think
that a son-in-law would murder _ his
wife’s entire family, but I can’t think
of anyone else who could just barge
in there and sit down to a meal!”

Checking on Dink Carter’s reputa-
tion wasn’t too difficult. By the follow-
ing day Voit was able to provide his
chief with plenty of information.

Carter, it appeared, had married into

the Agrue family twice, divorcing one
daughter ta marry another. His second
wife was a twin sister of William Ag-
rue.

“Dink isn’t very well liked,” Voit
related. “A lot of people consider him
pretty much of a trouhle-maker. He
was always quarreling with his in-laws.
And he served two terms of less than
a year each in prison. One was for car
stealing, and the other was a statutory
offense.”

“The fact that he is a trouble-maker
doesn’t mean he’s a killer,” the sheriff
said, “but at the same time I'd like to
hear his alibi for the time the murders
took place.”

There was no hesitation on Carter’s
part when the sheriff questioned him
concerning his whereabouts at the time
of the killings. “J was in Aurora,” he
said flatly. “I told you that once before,
sheriff.” 1

“You said you were in town during
the morning,” Weingard corrected.
“Just where were you during the after-
noon?”

Dink thought for a moment. “No-
where that I would be remembered,”

HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE

Discouraged, Weingard returned to

EXAMPLES: ON THE D

Airplanes $159.00

Bicycle $5.50 Pa
Leather a
Boots 65¢ ©

Carbines $20.00 7"
Telescope $4.00

Pass. Bus $208.00
Refrigerator $5.00

OLLAR, D

V’T SURPLUS

SELLING FOR ONLY A FRACTION OF ORIGINAL cost!
THOUSANDS OF ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR ONLY 2c AND 3c
IRECT FROM GOVERN

MENT

30 DAY FREE HOME TRIAL COUPON

= Surplus Bargains, Dept. SG-4A-HD

Power Mower $7.50
Mimeograph $23.00
Generators $2.68

Separate 52-page

FREE i FREE 1 FREE g a?. O. Box 50939, New Orleans 50, La.
€ ry e@8

a
ml enclose $1.00. Send both catalogs immediately.=
! understand that my money will be refunded if®

I Sed 8 -
Pabtetean when “yeu ead s am not completely satisfied. Also | will receives

FULL PURCHASE PRICE OF $1.00 REFUNDED WITH FIRS

section with pictures and =

ices of
and thousands more! . : DIRECT BY MAIL seen i es es

T ORDER OF $10.00 OR MORE

PLUS a list of 1000 loca- $1.00 for the surplus catalog. Examples: 2. full refund with my first order of $10.00 “2
tions where you can \ Parach a m4 esis * fore. :
purchase surplus Walkie- Holsters Silverware N .
on the spot! were ers — di : a (Please Print) *
H jothing cols renades 2

Full Details— Goggles fei Gua hack Address s
How, Where to nae Hats Combat ond “City pas 2
a s

Buy Only $1.00 Cos outinatie ame. <8 ens :

he admitted finally. “I had a lot of
time to kill so I just drifted around

_ from one bar to the next. In the eve-

ning I went to a movie.”

“You're sure you didn’t go out to
the Agrue farm?”

Dink nodded emphatically. “I didn’t
know a thing about the murders until
my dad told me yesterday _ morning.”

When Weingard dismissed Carter,
he turned to the reports just completed
by the identification men. Fingerprints
of two individuals had been found on
the kitchen doorknob: his own and
Dink Carter’s!

Excitedly, the sheriff called Voit into
the room. “Look at this,” he said. “And
Carter claims he wasn’t at the Agrue
farm at the time of the killings!”

“Neither were you,” Voit argued,
logically enough, “and your fingerprints
are on there!”

The sheriff leaned forward. “Sure
they are,” he admitted. “I opened the
door after we threw the tear gas bomb
inside. Dink Carter came in later—and
I swear he didn’t touch that door knob.
There was no reason for him to; it was
standing wide open!”

Voit was interested now. “I remem-
ber that,” he declared. “But no jury
would convict a man of mass murder
simply because his fingerprints were
found on a door knob. Especially when
he can claim that he touched the door-
knob during an investigation. They’ll
never believe that Dink was out at

HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE

Agrue’s place earlier in the day. You've
got no proof.”

Weingard got determinedly to his
feet. “I know that,” he said, “but
they'll believe it when I get Dink Car-
ter to admit that he didn’t touch that
doorknob while I was there. I’m going
to stick with him until he starts telling
the truth.”

But Weingart didn’t count on Car-
ter’s tenacity. Dink stubbornly refused
to admit that he had been at the Agrue
farm on the day of the crime and with-
out sufficient evidence on which to base
any charges the sheriff was compelled
to let him go.

“I know he’s guilty as hell,” he told
Voit. “Carter doesn’t own a car. That
means he probably hitched out to the
farm. There’s a possibility that some-
one around town picked him up. We've
got to find that person.”

EVERAL days passed before their

search was rewarded. Finally Wein-
gard located a Charley Campbell who
admitted driving past the Agrue farm
on the Friday afternoon of the murder.

“Did you pass any hitchhikers at the
time or did vou give anyone a lift?”
Weingard asked.

“That I did,” Campbell admitted
frankly. “It was Dink Carter. He got
off at the road leading to the Agrue
plate.” .

The sheriff promptly called in Carter
and confronted him with Campbell’s

story. “Got anything to say, Dink?”
he asked.

“Sure I have,” Carter answered.
“The guy’s telling the truth. I did go
out to see the old man that afternoon.
I went out there to borrow ten dollars.
Afterward, I thumbed my way back to
town again.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this be-
fore?”

“Why? Because I knew you’d blame
me for the killings. And everyone was
all right when I left there.”

The sheriff considered this remark.
But he couldn’t quite concede Carter's
claim that he had left the farm to go
back to town. That sixth place at the
supper table was- mute evidence that
he had intended to remain for a meal
that was never eaten.

“Who drove you back to town?”
Weingard asked abruptly.

Carter's face went blank. “I don't
know. The guy who picked me up was
driving a "38 Chevvy, I think, I never
saw him before.”

For hours the officers grilled their
suspect, but he stubbornly refused to
admit any guilt. They took him to the
state police headquarters in Indian-
apolis for a polygraph test, but even
the lie detector failed to produce con-
clusive. evidence of his guilt.

Questioned still further, Carter re-
told his story time and again. And
gradually a few discrepancies appeared
which Weingard pounced upon without

jumped into a.
.ondon. There ©
2 Norman Ho- |
‘e to the home

w: “2re. He

1e puted—
b.. _ werful,
red. His regu-

apassive when
s under arrest
paramour. He
iad committed

es turned up a
ae garage and

ayonet in the:

officers took
on jail. The
transferred to
fer the mur-
tier. Through

oiring, an at-
np at Beech-
2 with a sal-

ocoat, a black :

1 two ribbons
igs, shoes, a
empty hand-
+1 Marie Anne
she left home
ight.
3alcombe_ ad-
ith the lovely
iad left Que-
nesday morn-
in Montreal

motel whose
be m con-
id orning.

sechville tour-
Marie Anne’s
re roof of a
e as the man
nit. He said
alone.

Marie Anne’s
id in the Dix-
pot where she
‘h death was
1y clearing in
The sod had
yed with her
nination also
tonneau floor
sgdan. ' This
> Anne’s type.
54, the hand-
ind guilty of
sentenced to
dead.

been denied,
gallows steps
a firm stride.
motioniess ag
ice his arrest.
ything to say,
uaver, he re-

ed it cut off

what strange
U lrive a
Cc ’s cali-
‘+r the woman

*
1e Andre Du

°TERS DETECTIVE

OTE RES alt ‘i 0h i AES le A AID BS nl AB Ce TORR LES SE

ee er ee

‘
i

Lee Ey te Ae Retin pp AED aa GE

a pee

SECRET BLOOD BINGE

(Continued from page 8)

pans, mute evidence to the meal that
had been in preparation. The table was
set, but the dishes had not been used.
For the housewife who had worked in
this kitchen lay crumpled on the floor
in one corner of the room, her body
resting in a dark pool of her own
blood, torn by a shotgun charge fired
at close range. Like her husband and
granddaughter, Mrs. Martha Agrue had
been murdered.

Wie glanced sharply about
the room, taking in every detail.
From the position of the woman’s body,
he judged that she .had backed into
the corner of the room away from the
killer, just before the murder shot had
been fired. A pan of lettuce, obviously
set out hours ago for the uneaten meal,
helped to set the probable time of the.
murders.

“I figure all this happened sometime
yesterday afternoon,” Weingard said
slowly. “Remember how the blood on
Agrue’s body was dried? And _ his
clothes showed he was out in last
night’s rain.”

Looking further, the sheriff noticed
that the table had been set for six
people, but there were only four per-
sons in the Agrue family. Had they
been expecting company, he wondered?
Mr. and Mrs. Agrue and their grand-
daughter, Mary Elizabeth Breeden, who
had died at the barn door, accounted
for three of those places at the table.
Leo Agrue, a 22-year-old unmarried
son, would have occupied the fourth
place, but Leo was nowhere around.

Could the son have committed the
murders? Weingard was doubtful, for
Leo was known as a likeable, hard
working youth. But as long as_ his
whereabouts remained unknown _ he
would be considered a suspect.

This theory was supplanted by
thoughts of a robbery motive when a
further investigation of the house re-
vealed that a trunk in another room
had been broken into. An axe had been
used to break the lock. Relatives and
horror-stricken neighbors were already
gathering and a few questions revealed
that Leo was supposed to have kept
about a hundred dollars in the trunk.
But a thorough search of the premises
failed to bring the money to light.

The: sheriff continued his questions,
and learned that William, another son
of the Agrues, had left his home in
Lawrenceburg the day before to help
his father with the corn planting. Wil-
liam had not been heard from since.

“That accounts for the fifth place
at the table,” Weingard told his men.
“Spread out and search the farm.
Those boys must be found.”

There was an immediate response to
this order. Farmers for miles around
had gathered as word of the slayings
spread. Many had brought guns with
them as well as torches.

Weingard and Voit

HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE

joined the

searchers among whom were various
relatives of the Agrues, including a son-
in-law, Virginius Carter, nick-named
Dink. “I can take you right to the corn-
field,’ he promised. “Since Bill came
to help out with the planting, that’s
where he’d most likely be.” Carter
seemed eager to help.

Carter led the way up a hill to a
plowed field. And there, stained with
blood and dust, lay the lifeless body of
Leo Argue.

The crowd quickly gathered around
this fourth scene of murder. Wein-
gard and Voit scanned the ground
around the body with painstaking care.
They saw shoe tracks in the loose dirt,
but the beating of the heavy rain of
the night before had blurred them. As
in the case of the other three victims,
Leo had been murdered by a shotgun
fired at close range.

“Funny there are no shotgun shells
around,” Voit said thoughtfully.

“The killer was too smart to leave
any evidence,” the sheriff answered.
“He probably took the shells with him
to hide somewhere.”

No longer was there any belief in
the sheriff’s mind that robbery was the
motive for these crimes. The fact the
bodies were so widely separated ruled
such a possibility out. There had been
a chance the killer had murdered Mrs.
Agrue and her grand-daughter when he
had been caught looting Leo’s trunk,
and later had been forced to murder
Johnston Agrue when the farmer met
him in the hollow. But the finding of
Leo’s body twisted the case into an-
other channel. It was now clear that the
killer had deliberately come to this
cornfield to do his job of murder.

“That leaves William” the sheriff
said significantly.

Moments later two prearranged sig- |=

nal shots from one of the searching
parties sounded.

They had found William Agrue’s
body in a thicket about.three hundred
yards from the spot where his brother
Leo had died. The story was the same
—a blast in the neck and head from a
shotgun. A team of horses, still hitched
to the corn planter, grazed at one edge
of the woods. Weingard looked them
over, trying to fit pieces of the. murder
puzzle together in his mind.

“One thing seems sure,” he said to
Voit. “The killer must have shot Leo
and William before the rest, or they’d
have heard the shots and investigated.”

“He probably shot Leo first, and then
chased William down here,” Deputy
Voit said. “The horses apparently bolt-
ed during the shooting or drifted down
here during the night.”

Presumably the killer had then met
Johnston Agrue in the hollow, killed
him, and continued on to the house to
continue his murderous work. Mrs.
Agrue had been deaf, and couldn't
have been warned by the sound of the
shots.

UT had the killer known of the
housewife’s deafness? If so, then
the murderer was someone intimately

& "I’ve averaged |
rs errs A
Ay DAY:

— most of if clear profit!”’/ /
WRITES’ CHARLES LEMMING

e Ina small city, Charles Lemming
started his own business, averaged _.4
$100 a day during first year.
No special skill or big invest-
ment needed. You clean furni-.
ture on customers’ premises.
Homes, hotels, offices, clubs
offer big profit possibilities.
Operate from home. We help
you to start and to succeed.
Write today for FREE booklet ‘
that tells the whole profit story. No obligation.

VON SCHRADER MFG. CO. ° 354''D" Pl., Racine, Wi

“With God

All Things are Possible?

Are you facing,difficult problems? Poor Health? Mone
or Job Troubles? Unhappiness? Drink? Love or Fami
Troubles? Would you like more Happiness. Sucee:
and ‘Good Fortune’ in Life? If you have any of the
Problems or others like them, dear friend, then’ he
is wonderful NEWS of a remarkable NEW WAY G
PRAYER that is helping thousands to glorious new bey
piness and joy, Just clip this message now and mail wi
your name, address and 25¢ to cover postage and handlis
We will rush this wonderful
NEW MESSAGE OF PRAYER
and Faith to you by Return
Mail, absolutely FREE! We

will also send you this FREE
GOLDEN CROSS for you to
keep and treasure!

Life-Study Fellowship :
Box F-4614, NOROTON, CONN.

Make BIG MONEY! Starta

CUSTOM CASE BUSINESS |

GOLDEN
CROSS

a IN YOUR OWN HOME...
* ag PART TIME OR FULL TIME
? >

SHOWS
sq Jack Stearns of Calit. earned FREE PLAN You Row!

more than $450 on first of many sales. Pai
time he made over $960 in @ few wae

What a fantastic home busin
for an ambitious man! No c«
vassing, no house to house selli:
We teach you secrets that m:
you an independent manufactu
at home with a big income. |
i tools or experience need:
ork part time or full time. Mz
special cases, with materials
. supply, for salesmen, photogra
s -# esse i hundre
: of other special needs, Amazi
& PLAN brings: new Home Business Plan g
ie orders to you: your orders... you fill them ¢
e/, : make big profits!
CUSTOM CASE SUPPLY C0.Dept. H-201]) Write now, for Free Busin«
Plan and complete dete

805 Sunset Bivd., Los Angeles 12, Calif.
Write with active, Professional sor
writers with publisher contacts. Re
SONGWRITERS’ ASSOCIATES Free examinati
Studio SOC, 236 W. 55 St. at Broadway, NY 19,
AT HOME IN SPARE TIA
ard text books and instruction. Credit
for subjects already completed
and.abilities permit. DIPLOMA AWARDED
SEND FOR BOOKLET—TELLS YOU HOW
AMERICAN SCHOOL, Dept. T-328
Drexel at 58th, Chicago 37, Illinois.
ADDREBS...... ccc ceccscccccessccceseees
CITY - BTATE.o... cece eee e eee eeneneeee
Accredited Member NATIONAL HOME 8TUDY COU’

WANTED

Cry ords made. Share royalties. Send idea
; HIGH”
4 Low monthly payments include ‘stana-
4 Progress as rapidly as your time

————-= OUR 67TH YEAR °————
i Please send FREE High School booklet.
a a cs oe oe ae CE

acquainted with the family.

delay. Finally, on the Tuesday morning
following the murder, Dink Carter
broke and he told his horror tale in full.

“I left Aurora on Friday morning
and got to the Agrue farm about noon,”
he admitted sullenly. “Martha was in
the kitchen and I asked where Leo was.
She said he and Willy were on the hill
planting corn.

“When I went up to where they were
working, Willy covered me with the
shotgun he’d brought with-him. I don’t
know if he intended to shoot me or
not. I ducked under the gun barrel, hit
Willy, then grabbed the gun out of his
hands and shot him.

' “Leo started running, and I chased
him across the field. When I caught
him, I shot him, too.”

There was no trace of emotion in
Carter’s voice as he continued his con-
fession. After killing Leo, he had re-
turned to the farmhouse. He waited

there about three hours while Mrs.
Agrue worked in the kitchen, prepar-
ing the evening meal. Meanwhile, he
decided to “wipe out” the entire family.

“About four o’clock,” he continued,
“I took the gun and walked up the
creek that runs through the hollow. I
saw the old man coming toward me so
I raised the gun and shot him twice.

“After that, I. walked back to the
house and went into the kitchen. Mrs.
Agrue asked me what had happened,
and I said nothing. She turned toward
me, and I shot her. Mary Elizabeth
screamed and ran out of the house to
the barn. When she got to the barn
door I shot her.” ;

Afterward, he had taken an axe and
broken the locked trunk in order to
appropriate Leo’s meager savings. The
axe and shotgun were hidden in the
fields. “After that,” Carter concluded,

THE MISSING BOBBYSOXER

(Continued from page 39)

sort of inscription in blue across the
chest.

Still another teen-ager provided a
valuable clue. The other girls had been
able to describe the man, but had not
noticed the car particularly. This one,
however, stated positively that it was
an old dark blue sedan.

“I noticed it,” she told Cuffaro, “be-
cause it was exactly like my grandfa-
ther’s car. When I saw it from a dis-
tance, I thought my grandfather had
come to see the game. That’s why I
looked at it so closely.”

Cuffaro immediately telephoned the
girl’s grandfather. His car was a dark
blue Plymouth four-door sedan, and it
had been safe in its garage on the af-
ternoon in question.

From another 15-year-old came the
final link. She had seen Thora get into
the car and ride away with the stranger.
Of course, no one had seen her later
at the football game.

That was all Cuffaro was able to
learn from the schoolgirls. It was
enough. He hastened back to headquar-
ters with his ominous new information.
To the description of Thora Chamber-
lain, already being circulated by tele-
type throughout the West, Emig added
that of the kidnap suspect and the blue
Plymouth.

S the missing girl’s schoolmates and
Boy Scout troops mapped an or-
ganized search of the wooded rural
area, a new clue came from the wife of
a physician living out on the Los Gatos
highway not far from Campbell.

“I was walking down to the highway
for my mail,” she said, “a little after
3 o'clock on Friday. This car—an old
blue sedan—came by, traveling very
fast, rocking from side to side.

“I went back to the state road, and
thumbed a ride to Aurora.”

Dink Carter was immediately indict-
ed for the seemingly meaningless mur-
der of his wife’s family.

Although he was questioned time
and time again, he refused to make any
further statement about a possible mo-
tive for the killing. Local gossip pooh-
poohed the idea that William Agrue
had threatened him and said his hatred
of the’ Agrue family was an old and
deep-seated thing that could easily have
boiled over into a murder rampage.
That he had murdered with the inten-
tion of appropriating his brother-in-
law’s savings was also a distinct pos-
sibility.

The real reason for the wanton kill-
ings will remain a mystery. The secret
was hidden forever when Virginius
“Dink” Carter died in the electric chair
on February t0, 1942. *

SE GAT SEE MLN, ENS I ILE TL ON ES ET

“T looked after it and saw a young
girl at the back window. She looked
terrified; she seemed to be pounding
on the window. I just had a moment’s
glimpse of her face as the car whizzed
by, going toward Saratoga.

“T didn’t think anything of it—just
some girl fighting with her boy friend,
I supposed. But now that I’ve seen the
pictures in the paper, I’m sure that
girl was Thora Chamberlain!”

Emig and Cuffaro agreed she was
probably right, since the time element
checked so closely. Emig telephoned
the sheriffs of surrounding counties and
urged them to keep every officer on the
alert. The Chamberlains issued a public
appeal through newspapers and radio,
offering a reward of $1,000 for informa-
tion leading to Thora’s safe return.

As usual in such cases, all sorts of
tips and information began to pour in

from all parts of the state. A constable
in Jamestown, far up in the Sierra, re-
ported that a young girl and a man,
who appeared nervous, had disap-
peared after ordering soft drinks in a
barroom. Similar reports of nervous
men seen with young girls came from
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Bakers-
field and a dozen other places. Officers
attempted to run them down.

Sheriff Emig and his men picked up
a score of suspects—vagrants and men
with criminal records—but one by one
they were eliminated. The schoolgirl
witnesses spent hours looking at photo-
graphs in the Bureau of Identification.
Deputies began a tedious check of all
blue Plymouth sedans in the county.

Among the other tips, a possibly sig-
nificant one came from a housewife at
Belmont in neighboring San Mateo
County. About two weeks previously,
she reported, a man in a blue car, who
fitted the description of the sandy-
haired man, had tried to lure her two

girls into his car; hé said he wanted

‘them to take care of his sick children.

But the two girls refused and ran

HE FBI entered the case at this
point at Sheriff Emig’s request, and
Assistant Director Earl J. Connelley,
who happened to be in San Francisco
on another case, took personal charge.
A corps of G-men reviewed the mea-
ger clues, talked to the witnesses again,
and visited other schools with fruitful
results. They found half a dozen other
small girls who had had similar experi-
ences with the same man over a period
of weeks. There was no doubt now
that it was a sex crime—that Thora had
been just another attractive girl to the
prowling fiend.

It was Chief of Police Robert E.
O’Brien of San Mateo, a graduate of
the FBI’s National Police Academy,
who supplied the G-men with a new
lead. He dropped in on John Cost, resi-
dent FBI agent at San Mateo.

“Say, I’ve been going over this Thora
Chamberlain case, and I think I’ve got
a suspect who'll bear looking into.
Here’s the dope on him—”

The man was Thomas Henry Mc-
Monigle, an ex-convict who had served
eight years in Menard Prison, Illinois,
for attempted criminal assault on an
elderly woman. On his release in 1943
he had come to San Mateo, married,

and found employment as a_ truck--

driver and hospital attendant. He was
currently under a suspended sentence
for assault and battery.

“He fits the description,” O’Brien
pointed out. “Thirty-two, six-feet-three,
sandy hair, sometimes wears a small
mustache.”

John Cost was skeptical. “Yes, but
there are a lot of men of that descrip-
tion.”

“Listen to the rest of it, though,”
O’Brien interrupted. “Last May, Mc-
Monigle picked up a San Mateo girl
in his car—offered to give her a ride—
and drove up in the hills and tried to
attack her. She screamed and a farmer

came to her rescue and overpowered
McMonigle.

HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE

ae a

Pe ek

“oh geet SLD SSS etert pated x: oe Sake

i
‘Shed Giri 2 wil Jatin pe EB

pops

i te maa

ena

Even Mary Breedon, 12, was not spared.

men could see where a double charge of shot had smashed
into Agrue’s back and ripped through his neck. A ragged
gash on the top of his scalp showed where a rock or some
other sharp object had been crashed down viciously on the
farmer’s graying head.

For a long moment the two men stared at the torn and
lifeless body, then with an effort Samuel Piltern moved
away. .

“We've got to tell Mrs. Agrue about this.”

They broke into a run. The hollow opened on the barn
lot, and they could see the farmhouse set in the shade trees
a dozen rods beyond. Everything was quiet—deathly quiet.

ND then, when they came abreast of the barn, murder
again jerked them to a halt. It seemed impossible that

violence had swooped twice on this quiet little farm, and —

yet it had. Raw and vicious, it had struck again at the barn.
The open doors disclosed death in its cruelest form.

“It’s Mary Breedon,” Samuel choked out.

They could only stand and stare. It was unbelievable that
life had been smashed from this 12-year-old girl by a killer’s
shotgun. She lay in the fodder on the barn floor, her body
pitifully broken, her dress stained with blood that had
welled from a dozen wounds.

“The killer may still be in the house,” Bertram muttered.

“We’ve got to get the sheriff here,” Samuel said, his
voice croaking. “The Klingers have a phone. We'll go
there.”

They turned away from the barn, sprinting again, making
use of every short-cut through the hills. Finally they reached
the farmhouse owned by the Klinger brothers, and gasped
out the story of their shocking discovery.

“Phone the sheriff, Joe. Johnston Agrue and Mary Eliza-
beth Breeden are dear. Murdered!”

Within a matter of minutes, Sheriff William Weingard
and Deputy Arthur Voit had driven the 14 miles from
Lawrenceburg, the county seeat, to the Agrue farm. By
now the sun had dropped behind the hill that overlooked
the house and the valley was filled with the gray light of
evening. Everything was still.

For all the men closing in on the house knew, the killer
might even now be crouching unseen inside one of the
peaceful-seeming buildings.

‘““There’s one way to find out if he’s in the house,” Wein-
gard said grimly. “A tear gas bomb will do the job. Art,
keep your eyes peeled in case he tries to make a break.”

There was no need to warn the deputy. He knew, as did
everyone else present, the danger he might be walking into,
but the killer who had murdered a respected, hard working
farmer and shot down an innocent girl in cold blood had to
be caught.

No shotgun blast roared out to challenge them as they
drew near. The officers hesitated a moment. Then a small
object arched out toward the house. There was the sound
of glass splintering, the metallic clank of the tear gas bomb
striking the stove beyond the kitchen window and bounding
to the floor.

The officers waited grimly. A minute passed, another, but
still no sound reached them. The sheriff and his deputy ex-
changed glances and then sprinted for the door.

They reached the kitchen, twisted the knob and pushed
the door open. Before the gas had entirely filtered out of
the house, the two officers pressed through the kitchen door.
The sight that met their eyes stopped them in their tracks.

The kitchen was plainly furnished, but clean and neat.
The stove top held pots and ‘(Continued on page 57)

The farmhouse of Johnston Agrue, one of the victims.
His body lay near house, his wife’s was in the kitchen.

HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE

CNR a

PL in 4 Ha Fag ee | oc
ffrrs eo, ir } 2. yy
: Rewards recently authorized four formation that Halph W. Lobaugh, fevidenes given and that the reward

jPersons who contributed to the | now Sering a life sentence at the | commision was advised, that fount:
{solution of three Fort Wayne S€Xsiate prison, was the abductor of/a Jexgal stamipont, the claimants.
ey ‘murders in 1944 were referred to; Miss Conine, Lobaugh, who caused | Floyd i. Morciand and Dorothy
’ chee I the incoming city council and com ja stir here in 1947 when he con-') Moreiand were entitled to share in
troller for payment Jast night by ifessed the three SeX Slayings aml said rewants based upon the re-
the retiring municipal legislative then denied. them, recently w aS port of the attorneys on said com-
body. ftermed a psycopathic by Gov, ;Mission that when a claimant has
|. Ironically, the matter of rewards i Henry F_ Schricker after a special pertormed a part of the service
jcomes back to the same cily ad-; investigation. Lobaugh had been: ieading 10 a reward and is prevent.
‘ministration which offered them in! sentenced to death for the crimes, ed fram campicting the work, he
1944. At that time, the city by ordi-! but the governor: commuted the yr they are entitled ta share in the
inance offered $15,000 for informa-! sentence to life imprisonment on! peward on a quantum merit basis:
tion leading to the prosecution and ‘the strength of his investigation, thar he felt thar hey gathered and
‘conviction of the murderer or: Attorneys for the four accepted | presented evidence to the proper
murderers of the three women, The ;Claimants, Mr, and Mrs. Fjoyd L. | authority Which should have led tu
‘old. ordinance became operative! Moreland of Angola, Mrs. Click. the arrest of Franklin Click at that
when Franklin Click, a celery farm ‘wife of the executed man, and time, it the Fall of 1944, bul were
worker, was convicted of the ‘Mrs, Simon Sparks, the victim Ol prevented from. doing so by the
murder of Misg Phyltiis Conine. He. a kidnaprape perpetrated by Click, Jegal atthorities to whom they
also confessed slaying Miss Anna jclaim the 1911 statute does not ured ever the results of their
|Kuzett and Miss Wilhelma Haaga.tapply (and that there will he @ investigation. all as shown by thetr
| But there will be complications junite’” local front for payment of! detadedt reports ta the police di-
about the payment of any rewards, ithe full $15,000 in equa} shares of partment which are included and
i When it met several weeks ago tol one-third, as specified by the com-jary a part of the transcript of the:
process the claimants, the special mission, ’ | proceedings attached to this re-
jreward commission discovered that ; Full Report Filed ‘ port,””
ia 1911 rab tinal conten | A full report of the reward com-, Comnivant of the 193t statute, :
porters of Fe nd apy Os ae | miata and a communication from. Members of the commission were
case, If effective, this bewhiskered | 1 vor Henry E. Branning, Jp.) Sil. to avoht any monctary ref;
Statute will reduce the total re-}‘ tan phe iE vad Ph ‘on erences in their formal report,
“ paid: }chairman of the reward body, ws ents
)wards from $15,000 to $750, SWercaeetty. | th council hopper Jast! Pey Specified that Mr. and Mrs.
Nicodemus Renews Claim hg ka ai Bi ; Pt i Moreland jointly. Mrs. Sparks anid
: Ferdinand Nicodemus, ane of the | ™8h bbe: eons shige “a the; Mrs. Glick should receive equal

: ; In 5
i ; "AS ned down, } famoun ‘ reward paid.
deel’ ehoner Yenit’ Uaitincks to council, the siayor: painted taut that het ne we, te tolal rewe _

: id oe Moreiand’s investigation naming
‘ . iMrs, Sparks wag directly respon-! —‘
‘the situation, yesterday, He Rerved |" : wih s wy Click as a murder Suspect wars)
‘on Counci} President Arthur Her-Sible for the arrest of Click, ie tinioted in 10 ays, The Anyala:
ber what he titled a “mandatory | 1. Click induced her husband to’ wos

eps intain take lic detector tests which linked /PHOtokrapher said he thought a
iperpetual in uncthon to maintain: “SRS aN eRsy way to make $15.-

‘ pei : shim with the three homicides and). ‘

sand, <a se pS ombied inc pine the investigation by Mr. and , 0. a PR ae

bn ray me sda re her, ttle lit iMrs. Moreland, if carried out by
;the preper — authorities, would
/have resulted in the arrest of Click
‘in the Fall of 1944,

The mayor added thar it: was
the unanimous conclusion of the
commission that) Nicodemus and
Mrs, Naomi L.° Phillips. did not
develop any eviderice that resulted
in an arrest,

Herber Comments

: "The formal. report of the com-
‘mission goes into the Moreland.
Linvestigation more deeply, The
comment of Mr, Herber, a member

of the commission by virtue of his _ ee MR COROT: Rae Peer) Kenroy

i A ai

1 allie ee abn ot ea

ee
han che sears of Bound:
{ten nd. tan- ta neve,
eli. the State) “sible is 4

ie the electri
re Ne Whe Laket

, ee :

aie
poe

“on. gfe
rt Wayn

normal

vit]
: th
the availablity ‘of mate 185 : te Predict plat

ae hazardous Class g

ders to ‘outline briefis

efits. or the pest “12 months. nee

ity i preeeding
it “was. wif said

neta it the. eich
sited Click during the. hall

; his. death...
embraced :

Nichola €

: at News-Sentine!’s

del

semcta “bENTEE €

peeks by ee :
Bote added the ¥

ook fe a

t land ano t

“Dales ‘Sug sae
aul the ‘uy

bight that the fre :
t j ney

ta" the ports De
G é nanily. ; oife

Senator. Taft mh.
jcinnati, sata

lew.

F SL

No Reason For Vicious
Attack Is Found In

. Miss Haaga’s Life |
4f. Werpna fe

By WILLIAM J, SWEENEY

The “why” of Wilhelma Haaga’s |

murder puzzled officers Sunday
along with the “who.” There was
no ready-made motive for the

vicious blows that crushed her BS

skull last Wednesday afternoon.
Miss Haaga, 38, died late Satur-
day night at St. Joseph's hospital,
never having risen sufficiently
from the shroud of coma to tell
what happened to her, or why.
The young woman's past gave

no prompt clew. She was well

known in Fort Wayne, well liked

and respected. She lived with her §
mother, Mrs, Grace Haaga at 705)
High street, and when not busy!

with work for her church organi-
@iions she was usually there.

Her death is definitely a homi-
cide, police said, discarding any
theory of automobile accident, She
was struck on the head several
times with a weapon of uncertain
description, one of the blows caus-
ing a severe skull fracture.

Sheriff Walter Adams said that
the murderer could have wielded
almost any sort of heavy club-like
bludgeon, probably of metal. Per-
baps it was.a bulky wrench, per-
haps a jack or an iron pipe.

, . Vietim Also Choked, Kicked

“Little of value has been found)
et the scene of the murdereus as*|
‘gault. Signs*’on the ground Thdi-|
cated that the woman probably
was dragged from an automobile}
she is believed to have ‘entered
soon after quitting the war, plant
where she worked.

The lonely spot is on the aiaiks
River road some four miles east;
of Fort Wayne and close to pen
Maumee river. A

Dr. E. N. Mendengall. coroner,
said the attack was made by!
“someone who def@itely meant:
business.” One bjovaplone caused!
death, but there Wei other marks
on the body. & |

Miss Haaga had een choked,’
Dr. Mendenhalt id, and the
marks were still faiflly visible on
her throat four dags after they
were innde, ThercfJwas a bruise
on her left shouldtr blade, prob-
ably “from a kick.” Moreover,
there were several lacerations on
her head back of the fatal wound.

There has been nothing un-
covered yet to indicate the motive
for such a vicious heating.

Detective Set, Horace Smith,
who has conducted many murder
investigations for the city police
department, has been assigned to
the Haaga cese by Police Chief
Jule Stumpf to assist Sheriff
Adams, The two worked for hours
Sunday pursuing several lines of
inquiry, one of which they hope
will be fruitful,

Appeal For Information

Pretty, blond “Biliy"’ Haaga left
her office job at Inca Manufactur-
ing company at 4:33 p.m. Wednes-
dav. Not long before she went out
the door to her death she had
matic arrangements to mect an-
Other girl at 3 o'clock at a down-
towd store. She was planning to
beosin a the drill team _of the

(Coninged | = Pace x ‘Catemn Bis PaeT |

Cie Are Sifted
in Slaying Of Woman emacs ae ace ae

fete ¢ ed eeat ;

W ILHELMA 1 HAAGA

SEEK MOTIVE IN:
MURDER MYSTERY

(Cantin antinued from Pane One)

jand expected to be home at 7
rene
She was seen after she left the
plant. Police are anxious that any-
“one who saw her that afternoon
“(during those important few mo-
weiments before she entered the cart
“S| that also carried the suurderer
leome forward. Small scraps of in-
\formation put together may be of
a lg aid in forming the
i they polnted

Miss Haaga made her way after
pagthe attack to a farmhouse not far
M24 from where she was beaten, but

qalmost two miles by the indirect
é 4route she took. Officisis are at a

d the rough ground without unos

gto protect her fegt. Her shoes and

ee ew dcoat were le -far from the
4ecH scene of the mae pon her,
: Professib Epiertainer

Miss Haaga Was. born in Fort

Wayne and had ivéd here most of

her life, She wys educated at St

‘Augustine's acagems. Talented as
la singer, she cAriv“@ecame a pro-
| fessional entertaing and for 15
years she sang in Marddeville.

She retired from her profes-
sional carcer seven years ago.
Since that time she had lived qui-
,elly at home. She was active tn
‘the congregation of the Precious
‘Blood Catholic church and was or-
ganist for the Daughters of Isa-
bella as well as director af the
{junior drill team,

Surviving are the mother; two
sisters, Miss Adeline Haaga and

‘THE NEWSSED

~ Circulars on Murders Sent All Over Country

FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST AND CONVICTION OF THE
MURDERER OR MURDERERS OF THESE THREE SINGLE GIRLS:

min
}
i
i

$5,500 REWARD

For the murderer of Wilhelma
(Billie) Haaga, 38, who died heb. 5,
1944, three daysafter she was brutally
beaten along a river bank five miles
from the city. The attack occurred
shortly after she left her place of em-
ployment in a defense factory at 4:33
p.m. on Feb, 2, 1844. She was believed
seen getting into a car near the fac-

tory. An hour after she was choked and
her sku!! fractured by heavy blows, she
staggered into a farm house, about 114
miles from where the attack occurred.
Her clothing had not been disarranged
and thera was no evidence of rape. Her
purse, with the money removed, was
found 144 miles from the scene of the
attack. ‘ors working in the defense
plant she was on the vaudeville stage
14 years prior to 1932, and worked in
a ae department store from 1936
to 1941.

$5,500 REWARD

For the murderer of Anna Kuccf,
19, whore ravished hody was found
May 23,1954, lying ina field just with-
in the western limits of the city. The
girl was raped and muntered while on
her way to work at a defense plant
about 10:35 p.m. on May 22, 1944.
Death was caused by a fractared peck.
Bruises completely encirrled the neck,
indicating she was strangled with a
narrow belt, stocking, small ree, wire
or similar article. Four? near the
scene was a small black pocket comb
with both fine and coarse teeth, ands
buckle from a belt about 44 or 74 Inches
wide. Her one piece uniform wag torn
down the front, her brassiere torn and
pushed up around her neck at her
step-ins turn and pushed up around her
wrist,

$5,500 REWARD

For the murderer of Phyllis Conine,
17, a high achool student, whoee par-
Ually decomposed body was found in
field cight miles southwest of the city:
on Aug. 8,1944, The girl had been re-
ported missing after she fated to moet
aw girl-friend for a movie appointniept
on Avg. 4, 1944. Death was due toa
severy blow on the head, Her clothing
had been torn from her bedy. Labora.
tory teats failed to show that she was
criminally attacked, although it ie gen-
erally believed she was raped. Lying
near the beady was a man’s cheap tan
trench coat, size 36, greate marked,
with blood on one lapel, collar and cuts
badly frayed, and the left pocket badly
worn Indicating the owner might have
bwen Jeft handed. The victim's purse,
with contents missing, was found 1!)
miles west of the mu. jer scene,

ANY DEPARTMENTS HAVING SUSPECTS IN SIMILAR CASES KINDLY CHECK

THEIR ACTIONS AND WHEREABOUTS ON THE DATES MENTIONED IN THE
‘ ABOVE MURDERS AND NOTIFY:

JULE STUMPF

CHIEF OF POLICE
FORT WAYNE 2, IND.
A/ , BP LT cs th oe

Five thousand circulars detailing |circulars to every police depait- (every police department and shber-
the city and county's three recent ment, sheriff's office, town conetaroen office in the country. Chief of
urder mysteries have been sent shals and town constables within | Pollee Jule Stumpf anid that it is
alee ve a radius of 75 miles has been made! hoped that through these circulars
to every Inw enforcement agency | py detectives from the Fart Wayne police here may develop leads that.
in the country. : Police Department. f

; will Jead In the solution of tie:
A personal distribution of the’ The circulars have been sent to! crimes. : j \

_—

omas, however, still was doubtful,
“T don't get the word ‘Bring’, If they

righam Young,” Lyskoski declared.
“There’s a statue of him in Salt Lake
City in a park: Y was down there last
year on my vacation. Maybe that’s the

- way MclIlrath spells Brigham Young.”

“Let’s ask him,” suggested Thomas.
THE detectives went to Mcllrath’s cell,

“Oh, that punk. I didn’t think you'd
get Mel or Frank.”

“What!” MclIirath yelled. “Tha
punk Billy told you! Yi kill him!”
: ‘oski and Thomas burst into Cal-

lahan’s office with the news and Calla-

han called Chief Valet over,

“They'll be there at Brigham Young’s
statue in Salt Lake City,” Thomas de-
clared. “There’s just one thing we
have to worry about. They’ll be watch-
ing the Seattle Papers to find out
whether or not we Picked up the rest of
the gang. If they get wind that we’ve
nabbed DeWald, M id
eron, they won’t show.”

“T think I can handle that,” Callahan
said. He called in the reporters and
they agreed not to mention the arrest
until after November 22.

Thomas and Lyskoski drove to Salt .

The detectives went in to see Chief L.
C. Crowther of the Salt Lake City
Police and gave him the whole story.

Chief Crowther smiled. “Looks like
rs fellows just got here in time. We

The Murders of the Fort Wayne Women

tranger. And, even if she had been,
he must have known whoever was in
his car for she had run directly up to

Ima expected to be driven back to
*? her appointment after tolng to-
ad f

td the River Ro: or some unex.
‘need Feemes; bwe, tteet Parker waa
holon ton Date identiNoation, and that
vas some other woman who got into
‘ancient, dirt-covered machine,

fut this bossibility soon was dis-
dited by the statement of two
er fellow-workers of the victim,

m, Arabella Sumner, was reasonably
‘ain that the car was a Buick. -Nei-
t worker, however, had had a close

ae eae oe ye, ct nie 3 arama te Se mh

‘The Seattle detectives were intro-
duced to Salt Lake City Captain of De-
tectiven M. D, McQinnens and Detou.
tives J. 2, Hunsacker, H, W, Clark, Ed
Gallagher and W. Cc. Smith.

HE first safe robbery had been at
Spanish Fork, ie yeggs had gone
into a store next door to the small
Police station and hammered upon the
Scone box. They had escaped with

Lyskoski took one look at the safe.
“Frank Hughey did that work.”

The second safe was at Provo. It, too,
rv like the work of Hughey and

lor.

“I hope you fellows are right and
those boys show up for the meeting they
planned,” Captain McGinness said.

Back at Salt Lake City Headquarters
they found Postal Inspectors J. P. John-
with nd, T- A. Fellows waiting to talk
with them.

“We got word from our Seattle office
that you fellows were here,” Johnson
explained, ‘

nab these jokers?”

“You brought mugs of them?”

“Fifty copies of each.”

7 - It'll take plenty of men.
There’s-a square block to cover and it’s
one of the busiest in town.”

Crowther drew a map of the square.
He explained: “On this corner here is
the Utah Hotel. I know the manager

his top men to the job. They held a

“We may have three days of this,”
Thomas explained. “The notation in

view of the person behind the wheel.

Before setting in motion a checking of
all 1931 and 1932 Sedans, Particularly
Buicks, owned by Fort Wayne citizens,
Figel telephoned the hospital to talk
with Mrs, H: » who was staying by

What makes you so sure?”

' “Because she told us everything that

happened at work and how she spent

ime. If anyone did Pick her
up, he must have been someone she
knew, maybe someone from the fae-

“Why would ahe ge te ODre Kteneetde Petvens
Road when ahe breed mw clate downtown)”

“I haven't any idea. I don't believe
she did, Whoever told you that munt
be mistaken,"
' “Maybe. But the fact remains that
she was attacked at the South River
Road. She must have gone there in
Somebody’s car; she couldn’t Possibly
have walked it. How do you explain
that?”

“I can’t,” Mrs, Hanga replied, dis-
tress in her voice. “I can only assure

di ace Gdn See SNR recreate et nse AR 8,

On the twentieth, the men took up
their posts at four in the aflernoan
Just lo be sure, Lyskoskt and ‘Thomas
drew the assignment of walking around
the square, along with a number of Salt
Lako City dotoctives,

Five o'clock, six, seven,

“There are one hundred and thirty-
two steps around the square,” Lyskoski
whispered to Thomas as they passed
each other.

Then 7:30, 7:45,

Would Hughey and Taylor appear?
Or were they wise that the rest of the
gang was in jail?

Was this the night?

At eight o’clock Thomas was cross-
ing the street from the drug store to the
Square. Lyskoski strolled slowly down
from the office building toward him.
People hurried by on all sides,

A car with an
into a parking Space in front of the
Mormon Temple. Two girls were in it.

‘Tourists, most likely,

A man came out from the rear door,
Was it Hughey?

He hurried.

It was Hughey!

He couldn't be mistaken.

“Frank Hughey!” Thomas shouted.
The man spun around.

“Put. up your hands, Hughey!”

H{UGHEY lunged at Thomas. The
detective tried to pull out his. gun

but he dared not shoot. The street was
filled with People, :

A blow caught Thomas on the side of
the head.

Over a small fence, across the grass
came Lyskoski,

He jammed his gun hard into the
back of Hughey’s neck,

Hughey raised his hands and Lys-
koski slipped cuffs on them,

— is Taylor?” the Captain
ask

Hughey cursed.

Salt Lake City detectives came rac- \charg

ing in from all angles,

“He got out of that car!” Thomas
cried.- The two girls were still Sitting
in the front seat, “Taylor Probably ran

oski walked over to the car and
jerked open the rear door.

you that Billie would never get into the
car of a man she didn’t know.”
Billie was the affectionate name by

up.

Within a few hours he had a list of
those in the Fort Wayne area who
Owned 193] and 1932 Buicks and had
assigned several detectives to question
the owners.

HIEF STUMPF had instructed his

men to continue the search of the

murder area. So far it had failed to
"8

that waa a

All hay ‘Obrsenaetiay saneed Werlday, with
little sleep, snatching a bite where and
when they could, Chief Alumpt and
lila ten labored to dig up some clues,

lowever tenuous, which might prove
of value in running down Wilholima's
assailant, ‘Chey had no success, So far
every owner of a 1931 or 1932 Buick had
been able to Drove @ satisfactory alibi.
The South River Road was seldom trav-
eled during the Winter, and Particularly
during the time of day when the assault
occurred. Despite the Chief’s request

Crouched on the floor was Melvin
Jamon ‘Taylor,

“Come out, hot shot, and join your
mob,” Lyskoskj invited,

Tho girls in the car were taken along
with the yeggs to Headquarters, They

Hughey and Taylor readily admitted

Washington,
They waived extradition,

“You got us, Copper,” Hughey de-
clared. “Too ba

“That’s us. We went to Reno and
ran short of dough. We figured we'd
Pick up a couple of bucks before Mac
and Bob got here.”

“You mean you guys are broke?”
Thomas demanded. “ e figured your
meb took nearly a hundred thousand
dollars in Washington.” :

Hughey laughed. “We just trans-
ferred it from the State of Washington

Pe we lost most of Mac and Bob’s
ough.” ;
Back in Seattle, the mobsters will-

Charges of first-degree burglary were
filed against Taylor, Hughey, Mclirath,
Cameron and DeWald.

Mcllrath was returned to Walla
Walla as a parole violator. Detainers
were placed against him by Washing-
ton and Utah in the event of his re-
Seven years of his

ing returned.

ding.
Billy DeWald, a juvenile, was turned
over to the juvenile authorities.

The name Billy DeWald is fictitious
to protect a minor. The name George
Winters is also fictitious.

(Continued from Page 11)

in the newspapers, no one who had seen
the girl after she left the factory had
come forward.

Nor were the tire tracks in the deep
mud at the side of the road of any help.

In Room No. 330 at St. Joseph’s Hos-
pital the stricken girl still battled for
life. But she was 8rowing steadily
weer and the doctors held out little

siste

died, Paula Alearina, mtr won Neves af be
ob eranengnte'a Oempllal, wee rin’ blisouy 4
Niall when she was stopped by a

"Ia Uhiee-thirty stil kicking?" he
quired.

Miss Stoarns was sure sho had min-
understood, “What did you say?” she
demanded, P

“T aaid, in three-thirty still kloking 9"

The callous brutality of the question
stunned the woman. Those constantly
round = sickness and death become
more thick-skinned about its morbid
aspects than the average person, But

mere eee en . reves. st memmapaliieas aids

over im all her oexperlonce had Miss
3tearns heard such an utterly heart-
ess query.

“Do you mean, Is she still alive?" she
isked frigidly.

“Sure.”

“If you want to find out, go up and
‘ee. You ought to be ashamed of your-
‘elf to ask such a question.”

But the last sentence fell on empty
ur, as the man had turned and already
vas hurrying out of the hospital.

less routine request, Gets telophoned
Chief Stumpf. The Chief immediately
placed a stakeout of two of his best men
in the funeral parlor, and planted three
others outside the building, with in-
structions to question anyone who
looked at all suspicious.

Nothing caine of these precautions.
The telephone caller made no attempt
to enter the establishment, and the de-
tectives placed outside the building saw
no one casing the place. Evidently the

_ determination of the mysterious caller

Y, rong STEARNS reported the incident
to the resident physician, who in
‘urn telephoned Chief Stumpf. A de-
ective interviewed Miss Stearns. She
vasn’t at all sure that she could identify
she man if she s4w him again.

“I was so upset by the question,” she
said, “that I guess it never occurred to
me to get a good look at him.”

“Do you know if he came in a car?”

“No, I haven't any idea.”

“Can’t you give me a general descrip-
tion of him?”

“Only that he was young and rather
slender and tall—at least I think he
was tall.”

“Light or dark?”

“IT can’t tell you.”

It was meager information, little bet-
ter than none at all. Its only possible
value was to show that someone in Fort
Wayne was surreptitiously interested in
she woman’s condition.

“But I don’t think it’s interest in
seeing her live,” Stumpf remarked to
7igel. “It’s rather in hoping that she’ll
lie. And possibly for a good reason.”

“You mean that if she recovers she
outs him in jeopardy?”

“Sure. He probably got upset when
re read in the paper that she was still
iving, and decided to find out for him-
self just what the situation was. But
2ven if this is all true it doesn’t help us
nuch. We haven’t got the man, and
she woman probably won’t be able to
dentify him if we do get him. Have
some of the boys ask around the neigh-
»orhood of the hospital if anyone has
seen a man of that general description.” ©

The slain woman’s body was taken
# an undertaking establishment. The
‘eport of Coroner E.: N. Mendenhall
showed how slight had been the lovely
ylonde’s chances of recovery:

“The woman has been struck on the
read five different times with some
reavy instrument. One blow crushed
1er skull from just over the left ear to
he top of the head. There also were
sontusions in the neck over the larynx,
ind several contusions on her right arm
ind contusions on both knees and the
vase of her neck. At the back of her
1eck was a contusion and abrasion such
us might have been caused by a person
ticking her. It is my conclusion that
‘he woman died as a result of the blows
ym the head.”

The Coroner added that, while there
vas no direct evidence, everything indi-
cated an attempt at rape.

[HAT night, exactly at the stroke of.’

was subdued by the greater determina-
tion of the woman who had given him
the cussing out Getz had overheard.
But this rather ghoulish incident,
coupled with that at the hospital, made
the officers wonder if there was not more
behind the murder of the beautiful Wil-
helma than appeared on the surface.
Those who had figured in these inci-
dents were not at all the caliber of
oscar ce gy whom. the slain Billie had

@SSOC! s

Why should a ruffian like the tele-
phone caller want to see her body?
What did she mean to him? And thé
woman? Evidently, from her language,
she was of his same low class. What
could two people like them have to do
with a gently reared, high-class young
woman whose broken and_ bruised
cadaver now lay in the’ undertaking
parlor? f

Stumpf, Figel and the others pon-
dered these questions at length. The
only theory which had even a sem-
blance of reality was that the crafty
killer, fearing the police might be try-
ing to give him a feeling of security by
pretending his victim was dead when
in fact she was very much alive, had
wanted to see for himself, and had
chosen the hour of midnight when he
was reasonably certain there would be
no one else around.

‘TUMPF shook his head when this
was advanced. “I don’t believe it.
He would know that someone at the
funeral parlor would be able to identify
him afterwards.”

“Some of ’em are that dumb,” Figel
said. “They do two or three smart
things, and then one dumb one which
undoes all the others.”

“Tl admit it’s a possibility,” Stumpf
declared. “But I don’t think it’s prob-
able. And even if he was that stupid,
the woman who pulled him away from
the phone probably wasn’t.”

So the curious occurrence at the
hospital, and the even more curious one
at the funeral parlor, remained
mysteries. The persistent search for
the missing handbag continued. Not
until February 28, three weeks after
Billie Haaga had gone to her last rest-
ing-place, was the bag found. And
then not by the officers, but by a nine-
year-old lad named Vince Le Pierre.

Young Le Pierre was playing cow-
boys and Indians when he saw it in a
clump of bushes. With no awareness
of its significance, he took it home.

His parents knew immediately, from

midnight, the telephone rang in the the initials it bore, that it was the long-

funeral parlors. .Clarence Getz an-
swered.

“Is this the place where you got that
yoman’s body?” a man asked.

“What woman?” Getz queried.

“That Haaga woman.”

“Yes, this is it. What do you want?”

“I want to come out and see her.”

“All right; when?”

“Now. Tonight. Right away.”

“I’m sorry,” Getz informed him, “but
she parlors are closed promptly at ten.
You may see her tomorrow morning.”

“Like Hell I willl” the other shouted.
‘I'll see her tonight!”

“You heard what I said, Gets de-
slared. “You can see her in the morn-
ing.” i

“Morning, Hell! I'm going to see her
tonight!"

Mr. Getz was about to replace the
receiver when a woman’s voice broke
in at the other end: “Keep your big
mouth shut, will you!”

There was anger in the voice, bitter,
accusing anger. Then the line went
dead with a click. Evidently the re-
ceiver had been slammed on the hook.

Upset by the unexpected vehemence
of what should have been a more or

lost bag of the slain beauty. They
turned it over to Chief Stumpf. After
the identification had been made by
Mrs. Haaga, the Chief wrapped it in
cellophane and sent it to the FBI.

The purse contained the usual mis-
cellany characteristic of nearly all
women’s handbags: Two compacts, a
pair of sun glasses, spectacles in a
case, lipstick, handkerchief, a small
mirror, a coin purse containing 38
cents and a street-car token, a- 1944
calendar notebook, some receipts and
bills, and a number of printed papers
concerning various social and other
activilies at the Knights of Columbus.

Only one thing was missing, accord-
ing to Billie's mother. That was a bill-
fold which Billie always had carried.
A couple of days later this was found
by Robert Scheimanm, a sixteen-year-
old News-Sentinel carrier. It contained
pod oe This was also sent to the

Both articles had been picked up
alongside the road about a mile and a
half from the murder scene. Their
nearness to the highway. led the detec-
tives to believe that the killer had
carried them from the scene of the at-

tack and then, after examining thom
and perhaps removing the bills, had
thrown them away.

EPORTS drifted in from the officers

assigned to question Buick owners.
One after another the owners’ were
cancelled from the list of possible
suspects, as they proved convincingly
that they were far away from South
River Road when the attack took place.
Ne’ér-do-wells, vagrants, known devi-
ates, ex-convicts and other police
characters and jail habitues who had
been picked up and questioned, like-
wise satisfied the officers that they had
nothing to do with the crime. The FBI
reported no definite finger-prints on
any of the articles sent them.

The barrage of tips, rumors and
ouija-board and crystal-ball certainties,
largely superinduced by a reward of
$1000 subscribed by the city, the News-
Sentinel and various individuals, were
run down and found equally abortive.
The case remained in the police record
as “homicide at the hands of a person
unknown.”

News items concerning it became
smaller and smaller, burrowing deeper
and deeper into the inner pages of the
city’s two dailies until they figuratively
bored all the way through and disap-
peared entirely. Chief Stumpf admitted
that the efforts of the police to bring
the perpetrator to justice had been
completely frustrated. Public interest
died, in all probability because people
figured that the crime was one of those
sporadic affairs which wouldn’t be re-
peated. Fort Wayne had had remark-
ably few such occurrences in the past;
there was no reason to expect a greater
number in the future.

ISILLUSIONMENT was swift. On
May 22, 1944, three and a half
months after a weeping, broken-
hearted mother and sister had watched
the coffin of Wilhelma being lowered
into the earth, either the same or
another fiend struck in a demoniac burst
of lustful fury which awakened Fort
Wayne citizens to the frightening fact
that there was stalking among them a
killer eager to gratify his twisted urges
on any woman or girl on whom he hap-
pened to fix his fancy..

Glenn Timmis, a resident of Fort
Wayne, was driving his son home from
school when he spotted a blood-smeared
figure lying back from the road in a
trampled patch of. wild grain.

Timmis pressed his foot.on the brake

‘in an involuntary movement. Then,

fearful of the effect of such a sight on
the impressionable youngster, he went
on for 15 or 20 yards, stopped the car
and, on a pretext, got out and went
back. ‘

He had not known whether the re-
cumbent figure was that of a man or:
woman, But now he saw it was a young
girl, possibly still in her teens, The
wax-like color of the small portion of
her face visible through a crimson mask
told him immediately that she was
dead. And the condition of her clothing
and bloody marks on other parts of her
almost unclothed body conveyed a
hushed but convincing motive for her
death.

The moment he received the excited
telephone report from Timmis, Chief
Stumpf was sure he had another rape-
murder case on his hands. For just an -
hour or so before the police had received *
a@ call from Mrs. Irene Kuzeff.

“I’m the stepmother of Anna Kuzeff,”
Mrs. Kuzeff had said in a tremulous
voice, “I want to report her missing.”

“All right; tell me about It."

“Well, she works at the General Elec-
tric Company, She's on the midnight
shift. She left last night a little after
ten, and she hasn't come home.”

“Did you ask about her at the plant?”

“Yes, I just did. They said she hadn’t
shown up for work. They haven't even
heard from’ her.”

The desk sergeant took down the
girl's description and other pertinent
facts. He barely had finished that job
when the call came from Timmis.

Timmis had been too upset to observe
what the girl looked like. But his de-
scription of her position and the condi-
tion of her clothing was sufficient to in-

dicate that in all probability the aamo
man who had slain Billie Haaga still
was prowling like a pestilence through
the city on the lookout for his unsus-
pecting prey.

With Lieutenant Axt, Sergeant Smith
and a group of other officers, including
State Investigator Price Cox and Doctor
Mendenhall, the Coroner, Chief Stumpf
rolled at top speed to the spot Timmis
had mentioned.

Tae found approximately what all
of them had expected. The girl’s gar-
ments had been ripped away. She was
covered with abrasions and contusions.
Unlike Billie Haaga, however, she had
not been beaten about the head.

“Strangled,” Doctor Mendenhall said
briefly, pointing to a cut under the chin
and purplish welts about the neck.

He lifted her head slightly and then
dropped it. “Neck broken,” he added.
He took a magnifying glass from his
pocket and peered closely at the swollen

flesh. “Looks like lint from a clothes-
‘line or some kind of rope. A savage

attack, if ever there was one.”

While the Doctor was working at his
gruesome task, Axt, Smith and their
fellow-officers searched the surround-
ing area. The first thing they noted
bore a striking parallel in one respect
at least to the Haaga case. That was a
large log lying on the ground, of just
about the size and shape as that to
which the doomed blonde had staggered
to rest after her brutal assailant had de-
parted. The grass here was pressed
down, but there was no blood and no
sign of a struggle. What particularly
interested the officers was that, while
there were only two dim foot-prints, the
area of flattened grass was six feet in
length but only about a foot in width.

“What’s it mean to you?” Smith
queried.

“This is where he probably hid, wait-
ing for her or for some other woman
who might pass here on the way to
work. When she passed him he sneaked
up in back of her, threw the rope over
her neck and strangled her.”

“Killed her immediately, you mean?”

“I don’t know. Doc Mendenhall seems
to think so.”

They made a further search of the
area, treading carefully to avoid oblit-
erating any foot-prints or superimpos-
ing their own. About 20 feet from the
log they found the spot where the
struggle undoubtedly had begun. This
proved conclusively that the girl had
not died immediately but had given her
assailant a bitter fight. The ground was
full of confused foot-prints of a man
and woman, the grass was torn. and
crushed and the earth roughed in a
score of places. Leading from this
scene of conflict was a narrow, scuffed
trail, in which the faint impressions of
a@ man’s shoe were visible.

It wasn’t difficult for Axt and Smith
to reconstruct this part of the crime:

** CHE was either dead or unconscious

following this battle here,” the
Lieutenant observed. “Then he
dragged her over to the spot where the
body was found.”

Near the log the officers found two
objects. One was a paper bag contain-
ing the slain girl’s lunch, the other her
handbag... In the handbag was a coin
purse containing $1.26 in change, sev-
eral candy bars, two mirrors, a lipstick,
some powder and other small personal
belongings, none of which, on the sur-
_— at least, possessed any value as a
clue.

After a short time, however, the of-
ficers: also found a bell buckle and a
black ‘pocket comb lying in the grass.

“Probably belonged to the nan," said
Chief Stumpf, who had joined them
after talking at some length to the
Coroner,

“What makes you think so?” Axt
queried.

“Well, the girl’s bag wasn’t open when
it was found. And there’s no sign of a
buckle missing from the girl’s cloth-
ing.”

He examined the comb carefully. It
was about four inches long and was
stamped with the name “Pro-Co-Pox.”
There was no way of telling definitely
whether the buckle actually had be-

longed to the slayer, or whether it had
been lost previously by one of the work-
ers who occasionally took a short cul
across the field, just as the unfortunate
Anna probably had. There was no way
of tracing it either, at least none which
seemed apparent at the moment. But

- Chief Stumpf immediately started in

motion efforts to track down the comb.

He was now faced with the disagree-
able task of reporting the girl’s terri-
ble death to her family.

“Anna told me a week or so ago that
some man tried to molest her,” Mrs.
Kuzeff told the Chief when she recov-
ered from her shock.

“Did she tell you who it was?”
Stumpf asked hopefully.

-“No, she didn’t know him; she said
she had never seen him before.”

“When you say he molested her, what
do you mean?”

“He tried to pick her up. He stopped
his car and asked her if she wanted to
take a ride. He was pretty persistent
until she threatened to call a police-
prong then he muttered something and
e ”

“Has such a thing ever happened to
her before?”

“No, I don’t think so. Certainly not
recently. If it did, she never told me
about it, and she usually told me every-
thing that went on. It’s dreadful.
Anna was such a grand girl, such a
lovely girl. Everyone liked her. She
was very popular.”

HESE were almost the same words as
had been used hy Billie Haaga’s
mother. And neither woman exagger-
ated. For Anna Kuzeff was as attrac-
tive a brunet as Billie was a blonde. She
had soft, warm eyes, a crown of wavy
black hair and a piquant, smiling face
and gracious manner which seemed to
make friends for her wherever she went.
She was a graduate of Central High
School and since her graduation, ac-
cording to the stepmother, she had par-

gy actively in social and other
affairs

Mrs. Kuseff shook her head when
questioned about the comb. “Anna
never carried one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. She never had any kind
of comb.”

“Do you know if she had much
money with her?”

“Probably only what you found. She
never carried very much.”

The Chief’s question was more or less
routine. He felt reasonably certain
that whoever had attacked the two
women was not motivated by robbery,
although he may, of course, have taken
his victims’ money as an afterthought.
It seemed unlikely, however, that this
was his primary objective.

With the exception of the comb, and
possibly the buckle, there was a dearth
of clues, just as in the Haaga case. But
neither Stumpf nor his immediate
,aides had overlooked the possibility

that there might be another one, an in- .

tangible one to be sure, but one never-
theless which might be more significant
and prove ultimately to be far more
valuable than either of the others.

This was the unusual comeliness of
the two victims. Was the killer—as-
suming him to be the same man—only
interested in attractive women? Had
he lain behind the log waiting, not for
any woman, but for the lovely Anna?
If so, he must have known her. And by
the same reasoning, he must have
known Billie Haaga.

Who were their mutual acquaint-
arices, if any?

The Chief admitted that this was
tenuous reasoning. But it was worth
following through. He assigned several
of his men to investigating this
possibility, others to check up on fel-
low-workers at Anna Kuzeff’s place of
employment, and another group to cir-
culate in the vicinity of the Kuzeff resi-
dence. And he didn’t overlook students

at Central High, from which Anna had
been graduated,

“Find out particularly if any man
has mentioned her frequently,” he in-
structed them, “someone who talked as
though he had the girl on his mind, who
made comments about her looks or her
figure. Find out if she seemed to pre-
fer the company of any particular boy,
if there was any jealousy: aroused, and
everything else you can. - We’ve got to
clean these two cases up. Some of the
women in town are getting pretty much
worked up about them.”

HIS was an understatement. The
two savage attacks within a period
of three months aroused the commun-
ity. Fort Wayne’s numerous factories
were working on a war basis, all of
them on_ around-the-clock _ shifts,
pouring out material for the war effort.
In a desperate attempt to get sufficient
workers to take the place of drafted
men, employers were offering fabulous
wages. Many women, both married
and single, a considerable number of
whom never had been employed before,
were tempted to go into factories to
augment their family’s income.

Those on the late shifts reported for
duty between eleven and midnight.
They often had to go through lonely
streets, and on the outskirts of town.
Now they were beset by fears, fright-
ened by any unexpected noise, by the
footsteps of some man behind them, by
shadows which took the semblance of
human forms. Some even resigned
rather than face the possibility of the
dreadful fate which had overtaken
Billie and Anna. And large numbers,
as could be expected, hounded the
police for not running the culprit, or
culprits, to earth.

Stumpf and his men were making
every possible effort. But nothing came
to fruition. The comb was found to be

of the kind sold by the thousands

throughout the country. There was

not a chance of tracing it. Investiga-
tions at the General Electric plant, in
the slain girl's neighborhood and at
Central High from which she had been
graduated, proved equally futile. The ©
usual motley collection of vagrants,
ex-convicts and other suspicious
characters picked up for questioning
were almost as promptly released when
they established their innocence.

Spring merged into Summer. Grad-
ually women working on the late shifts
in the factories, and others who had to
be out at night, lost their fear. The at-
tack on Anna Kuzeff no longer was
news. Money was easy. People were
making it fast and spending it just as
fast. There were other things to think
about than the rape-murder of a young
and pretty girl.

This was the mental state of the
women, particularly the working
women, of the Indiana metropolis dur-
ing the feverish, war-driven months be-
tween May and August, 1944. At least,
up until August 8.

On that day another strangled, raped
and beaten body, more like a bloody
mass than that of a human form, was
found in a field just beyond the out-
skirts of Fort Wayne.

This time it was that of a high-
school student, just seventeen years of
age.

The monster of Fort Wayne now has
taken his third victim. This time, how-
ever, will the police find a tangible clue?
And if they do, what will they do with
that clue? How did this case develop
into what Governor Schricker was to
call a “sordid mess”?

For the startling next instalment of
this story, for the inside facts that never
before have been given full magazine
coverage, don’t miss Part II of “The
Murders of the Fort Wayne Women.” It
will be in the June issue of OFFICIAL
DETECTIVE STORIES, on sale Wed-
nesday, May 24.

Murder With an Unfir ed Shell (Continued from Page 29) onic cums

Two o'clock. The last time anyone
but her killer had seen her alive!

Or was it?

Returning to the rooming-house,
Simon and O'Mahony met the janitor.
FS paused long enough to question

im.

No, the janitor said, he hadn’t heard
or seen anything strange that day.
He’d been in the basement all the time,
except for taking out the ashes at three

p. m.

“No, Sir,” he said in answer to
Simon’s next question. “I haven’t
been upstairs all day. In fact, I almost
never go up there.”

Back in the fourth-floor apartment,
Simon and O’Mahony found that De-
tective Schreck, who was a finger-print
man, and a coroner’s physician, had ar-
rived during their absence. The
physician was arranging for the re-
moval of the body.

“I don’t know too much yet,” the
coroner’s man said, “but I can tell you
that she wasn’t killed too long ago.
Very roughly, any time between half-
past four and half-past six.”

Guzmon meanwhile had found a small
blotch of blood on the right jamb of
the doorway between living-room and
bedroom. The stain, although irregular,
was more on the shape of a circle than
anything else.

“What makes it interesting,” Guzmon
said, “is that it’s the only bloodstain on
ro of the walls or woodwork in the
place.”

O”’™Mahony turned from the puzzling
bloodstain to the husband.

“You and your wife did a lot of
quarreling, didn’t you?” he asked.

Meller looked as if he were going to°

protest. But then he changed his mind.
He nodded weakly.

Simon asked, “About what?”

Meller shrugged. “I don’t know.
Small things, mostly. They weren’t
very big quarrels.”

60 -

“That’s not the way we heard it,”
O’Mahony declared.

“Our neighbors make a fuss over
everything,” Meller said bitterly. “All
right, so they sounded like big quarrels.
I don’t know.” He lowered his gaze.
“You’ll probably hear about it anyway,
so I might as well tell you. We had a
fight yesterday. Yesterday afternoon.”

He looked at the floor. “But we made
up. Thank Heavens we made up!”

“What was it about?” Simon asked.

“I don’t know exactly. She said some-
thing and I said something. One of
those things.”

“Is that why she planned to go to
North Carolina?”

Meller shook his head quickly. “No,
no, that had nothing to do with it!”

O’Mahony said, “Meller, you won’t
object going with us to the station, will
you

Meller said slowly, “I'll do anything
you want”

HE officers decided that Schrader
»*® and Guzmon would go to the station
with Meller while Simon and O’Mahony
would try to go further into the woman’s
background.
» The Homicide men went first to
neighborhood taprooms. Although Mrs.
Meller had frequented: most of them,
none of the taproom employes knew
much about the woman, At one com-
bination restaurant and bar the offi-
cers learned that Mrs. Meller had been
in there with her son just the day be-
fore, Sunday, and proudly introduced
him to everyone.

Meller had told the officers that his
wife once had worked as a waitress.
They spoke to her former boss and
again they heard that she had been a
wonderful, deeply religious person.

Simon and O’Mahony then talked to
Frank Corkery, the victim’s father, at
his home on Saul Street. Corkery,

crushed and grief-stricken, told them

that he had been at his daughter’s
place early that afternoon and he con-
firmed: the fact that Mrs. Meller had
been planning a trip to North Carolina.
Although he did know that his daughter
and son-in-law quarreled frequently
and bitterly, he could not tell them if
the fight of the day before had been
the reason why Mrs. Meller had decided
to pay her sister a sudden visit.

Going to the Third Division station,
Simon and O’Mahony found Meller still
being questioned, this time under the
direction of Lieutenant Bart Gorman.
Meller was haggard and tired. His
story, the officers learned, had changed
none during their absence.

“Meller,” Simon said, “you don’t
know who killed your wife, do you?”

“Good Heavens,” Meller said weakly,
ns ymany times do I have to tell you

“All right then, can you recall anyone
who was in your apartment recently?
A plumber, for instance. Did you have
any plumbing work done lately?”

Meller shook his head.

“When your wife went shopping, did
she ever have a grocery boy bring up
the groceries?”

“No. Kathy always bought just what
she could carry.”

“What about an ice man?”

“We don’t use ice. We have a refrig-
erator.” :

O’Mahony asked, “What about the
janitor? Is he around much?”

“Now and then.”

“He told us that he doesn’t get up to
your floor very much.”

“Oh, that’s not true. He’s upstairs
a lot.”

Detective Guzmon asked, “Did you
have any visitors lately? I mean per-
sonal friends.”

os ELL,” Meller answered slowly,
“we had someone over on Sat-
urday. An old friend named Matt Gar-

rison.” Meller rubbed his lips thought-
fully. “Kathy didn’t like him. She said
he was too smooth for her. Those were
her words, ‘Too smooth.’ ”

Simon asked, “Did Garrison pay a lot
of attention to her?”

Meller shrugged. “Not that I recall.
He talked to her, but that’s about all.”

The detectives took down Garrison’s
address.

Lieutenant Gorman asked, “Do you
know if your wife had any men friends?”

Staring at the floor, Meller said,
“Let’s leave that alone. I have a son,
remember?”

“It may be important, Meller,”’ Gor-
man said. “One of them might be the
murderer. Who are they?”

Hoarsely, “There’s only one—as far
as I know. Henry Dorset. He was my
friend originally. That’s the way Kathy -
met him. Through me. Kathy would
never admit seeing him, but I know. I
could tell.” =

Simon and Schrader decided to
question Dorset immediately while -
O'Mahony and Guzmon went after
Garrison.

‘Dorset, a handsome, distinguished-
looking man with gray hair, was at his
home. He was startled when the detec-
tives told him why they wanted to talk
to him, startled and upset. Neglecting
to introduce them to his wife, who
watched curiously, he took the detec-
tives to his study.

“Charlie had no right telling you a
thing like that,” Dorset protested vig-
orously. “What’s he trying to do, break
me up with my wife? And it isn’t true.
I've never seen Mrs. Meller alone. The
last time I saw her was with Charlie,
*way back in March.”

“Then why does he’ accuse you af
being a friend of hers?”

“I can’t understand it.”

“Why were you afraid to tell us this
in front of your wife?” Schrader asked. ©

Dorset’s face reddened. “You know

CLI Ck, Franklin, white,

PE mh] fey
een

.f wii Bi: BZA) AY
mit yh}
1%

lof his

elec, Ind, (Allen County), on 12

TS caaess BV GABE Buk V1) 1d ae

wo, ae

a fo. “
iY
§ '

Sole tue in‘one

case!) to

ito four. ID
time’ ‘killer was ae

this dirty coat %

PART Il

OUR times in a bit more than a year,

a rapist-killer struck in the quiet
and orderly city of Fort Wayne, Indiana,
leaving behind him the torn, lifeless
bodies of his victims. ,

The story of those four murders and
of the efforts to capture the murderer,
is one of the most bizarre, yet dramatic
accounts of crime and detection in the
history of the United States. No less a
person than Indiana’s own Governor,
Henry F. Schricker, has called them...
a “sordid mess ...a most involved and
tangled ... problem. . .” Three men
were imprisoned for these crimes and
one of them was in the shadow of the
death chair for five years. An entire
election campaign was fought solely
over the investigation into the slayings,
while a man, later convicted, continued
to prowl the alleys and lanes of the city
with impunity.

The almost incredible case opened on
the evening of February 2, 1944, when
beautiful Wilhelma Haaga crawled to a
farmhouse door and gasped out a piti-
jul plea for help. She had been brutally
beaten, the clothes torn from her body,
and she died in a hospital without of-
fering a clue to her slayer. Police did

OFFICLAL DETBCTIVE

everything possible, and while they were
working on the case—

On May 22, 1944, the body of Anna
Kuzeff was discovered in a field near
the war plant where she was employed.
She, too, had been assaulted. And again
police work was in vain.

Two women murdered! Frightened
residents of the busy industrial city
hoped this was the work of some itiner-
ant slayer, whose crimes would not be
repeated in their town for half a cen-
tury.

But they were wrong.
Go on with the story from here: .

ARLY in the afternoon of August 8,
1944, Glen and Wybourn Fouks,
two brothers, were hunting along

the Ditch Road, not far from Fort
Wayne, when Glen picked something
out of the dust at the roadside.

“Look at this,” he said, a puzzled ex-
pression on his face.

The object was a woman’s shoe, CcOVv-
ered with dirt.

Wybourn — shrugged. “So what?
Someone probably threw it away.”

Glen brushed the earth from the bit
of footwear. “Not this one. This is

STOnIES,, June,

/30/1950,

Two Men Had Entered the Alley With

This Woman. One

Was Her Murderer,

Perhaps Also Murderer of the Three

Others Who Had

Been Slain in Little

More Than a Year. The Second Man—

By Joseph Fulling Fishman

Special Investigator for

practically new. Why would anyone
throw it away?”

The other man didn’t reply. His gaze
was fixed on the side of the road, on a
long, dark object partly concealed by
undergrowth. He walked a few feet and
held it aloft so his brother could see.

It was a woman’s unbrella.

For a moment the two brothers stared
at the dainty bit of silk and the small
handle,

Then Wybourn said quietly, “There’s
something wrong. We'd better look
around a bit.”

They next saw a bit of clothing fiut-

tering from a barbed-wire fence. Gaily -

colored, it danced smartly in the breeze:
Without a word Wybourn, followed by
his brother, advanced toward it.

It was fresh and clean, not at all
soiled as though it had been exposed to
the weather for a long time. And it’un-
doubtedly was some part of a woman’s
garment.

Positive now that something was
amiss, Wybourn said, “Come on, and
keep your gun ready.”

-Trailed by Glen, he parted the
strands of wire and pushed through
into the field.

1950,

ACTUAL DETECTIVE STORIES

There they found a second woma!
shoe, undoubtedly the mate to the fir
A few feet farther away, & bit of wh
was caught between two tall weeds, T
brothers went slowly toward it, loc
ing this way and that, their hands ts
ing a firmer grip on their guns.

There was something eerie about t!
mute trail of a woman’s apparel be
oning them on. And a trail it was. T
bit of white proved to be part of
woman’s slip with tears here and the
In a straight line, as though they bh
been placed there deliberately by you
boys playing hare and hounds, wet
brown-and-white-check dress, & be
handbag and a white head scarf.

Glen picked the scarf up, tt
dropped it as though it had _ beer
cobra.

“Blood!” he whispered. “‘It’s cove
with blood!” ,

Wybourn made no reply. He st
rigid for a moment, then asked slo
“Do you get that smell?”

There was no mistaking it, the 0

seating odor of decomposition wi
through the pleasant aroma of
luxuriant vegétation like a reming
death in the midst of life.

EITHER brother now had any
sions of what they would find. 1
first inclination was to turn back,
they possessed too much stamina;
pushed on,‘slowly and resolutely,
overcome by the increasingly gh
odor, parting the high scrub as the
vanced and trying to see throug
interstices of the tangled foliage.
Then Wybourn stopped, his @
partly open, his face paper-wht
surge of sickness at the pit of hiss
ach and a disagreeable feeling oft
ness at the roots of his hair. As t
he could not avert it if he wou
fixed his gaze on &@ ghastly’ form
on flattened bushes in a narrow!

ing.

Glen followed his glance, hist
like that of his brother, coming t
on one of the most horrible sigh
ever had seen.

It was the decomposed body off
her head covered with a purplish
of dried blood, a rim of welts

A Fort Wayne policeman with the umbrella and shoes of Phyllis
Conine, which, one by one, marked a ghoulish trail to her body

out from her puffed-up neck and a score
of cuts and abrasions forming a kaleido-
scopic pattern of maroon and black over
almost every inch of her torso.

The brothers took a few hesitant steps
forward. '

“Remember those other two?” Wy-
bourn whispered through the handker-
chief he held over his nostrils. “Looks
as if this might be—”

He broke off, overcome*y.a combined
nausea and semi-hysteria. “Come on,”
he exploded chokingly, “we've got to get
the cops!” e

Oo” THE night of August 4, just four
days prior to the gruesome discov-
ery by the Fouks brothers; a worried-
looking man had come to Fort Wayne
Police Headquarters,

“I. want to report my daughter miss-
ing,” he said. “My name’s B. E. Conine,
My daughter’s name is Phyllis,”

“How long has she been missing?” the
desk sergeant asked him.

“Since four o’clock this afternoon.”

“Four o’clock. Why, that’s only about
five hours!”

“I know it is. But I’m sure something
has happened to her.”

“What makes you think so?”

“Because she had an appointment to
meet a girl friend downtown at four in
the afternoon to go to a movie, and she
didn’t show up. We haven’t heard from
her since. She isn’t the kind of girl who
does things like that.”

-“‘What’s the name of the friend?”

“Barbara Criswell.”

“Have you talked with her?”

“Yes; all she knows is that Phyllis
— the date with her and didn’t keep
it.”

“Did you talk to her other friends?”

“Yes, we’ve been phoning all evening.
Not one of them has seen her.”

“Was she engaged to anyone—en-
gaged to be married?”

The father looked puzzled. “Oh, I see
what you mean,” he said. “No, she
wasn’t. If you’re thinking of an elope-
ment, that’s out. She wouldn’t do such
a thing, even if she was engaged.”

In spite of the desk officer’s optimism,
no trace of the missing girl was picked
up the next day. Or the next, or the
next. Questioning Barbara Criswell,
with whom Phyllis had the engage-
ment, developed that Barbara had been
late, not arriving at the show until 4:30,
a half hour after the time set, and that
Phyllis had been seen in front of the
theater, evidently waiting for her
friend, between four and 4:15, by
several of her schoolmates. -

Those who had seen her, however,
were vague concerning whether or not
she had gone into the theater. Two or
three insisted she had not. They
thought they had seen her about that
time in a car someone else was driving.

ey hadn’t noticed particularly
whether it was a man or a woman.

Then, around five o'clock on the
afternoon of August 8, the telephone
call came from the Fouks brothers.

The police reached the scene soon
after the excited phone message: Chief
Jule Stumpf, Sheriff Walter C. Adams,
State Police Detective Estel Bemender-
fer; Captain of Detectives John Taylor,
Detective Sergeant Robert Hire, Cap-
tain Alfred Figel and Detective Sergeant
Horace Smith of the Fort Wayne force;
Deputy Sheriff William Oswald and
Coroner Doctor E. N. Mendenhall.

Stumpf didn’t need the initials PIC
on the handbag to tell him the slain
girl was the missing Phyllis. He was
sure of it the moment the report came
in from the two brothers. He immedi-
ately sent one of his men to take the
terrible news to the suffering mother
and father, .but with instructions to
keep them away from the area.

Knowing what to expect following
the receipt of the phone message, how-
ever, didn’t mitigate Chief Stumpf’s
dismay, nor that of the other Fort
Wayne officers. Twice before, begin-
ning with the previous February, they
had been faced with a similar horrible
crime, and in each case they had
failed. Now here was another, even
more ferocious. And, worse, there was

Wayne Wo

“Okay,” the officer said, “give me a
description of her. And I suppose you
have a photograph. Bring it down.”

Mr. Conine nodded. “She's seventeen
years old and a senior at South Side
High School. She’s about five feet seven
and weighs I suppose around a hundred
and twenty-five pounds. She’s a brunet,
with a lot of very dark hair which she
fixes in large fluffs over both ears. She
usually wears rimless glasses.”

“What is she particularly interested
in at school?” :

“Journalism and athletics. She’s
quite an athlete.”

“You're sure she wasn’t going some-
where besides to the movies?”

“No, I’m sure she wasn’t. I’m afraid
something has happened to her. I can’t
help thinking about those other two.”

“NOW. take it easy,” the desk officer
counseled. “We get plenty of re-
ports of missing persons who turn up
alive and well. There’s no reason for
you to think anything like that. We'll
make an investigation and let you know
as soon as anything develops. Get up
a list of the girl’s friends and leave it
here. Everything will be all right.”

every reason to believe that more might
come in the future. The killer seemed

’ to look upon the Fort Wayne area as his

hunting-grounds.
This murder, of all they ever had in-
vestigated, had to be solved.

LJNDER the instructions of the Chief
and the Sheriff, officers spread out
in a wide circle over the uncultivated,
weed-blanketed field in a desperate
search for some clue, perhaps some-
thing lost by the killer which would be
sufficiently distinctive to tie him up-
with the crime. All they had found in
the Kuzeff and Haaga cases were a belt
buckle and pocket comb, both nonde-
script, of a type used by millions of
people in every part of the country.
They hoped now for better luck.

They found what could prove to be
an answer to their prayers. It was a
trench coat lying in the road about 20
feet from where the brothers had
found the first shoe, so covered with
grease and dirt that it blended into the
dust of the road

The officer who discovered it brought
it to Chief Stumpf and Sheriff Adams,
who were watching the Coroner and

Charles Dodson:
He ran when the

lights

went on

Cae

to tell him to go—to convince him that
we could-never be married.

T tried how T tried! We stood under
au tree on Rhode Island Avenue and I
pleaded with him while bus after bus
passed. But he wouldn't listen. The
more excuses I gave, the more persis-
tent he became. I finally told him that
I could not possibly miss school, that I
had to be there to meet my class. I told
him to come to the apartment and per-
haps I'd agree to see him again. He
kissed me rather ardently, completely
oblivious to the stares of the passengers
in the buses and cars swarming into
downtown Washington.

Perhaps I didn’t want genuinely to
give up this chance for real happiness.
Perhaps I sincerely felt that Carson’s
shooting of my Father was inevitable
and was to be forgotten as an evil
dream. Perhaps, by some awesome
predestination, it had been decided
that I was to marry Frank after all,
and through him the inexorable hand
of justice was to reach out and grasp
all of us.

I married Frank that Summer. We
spent a brief honeymoon, just a week,
at Cape Charles, Virginia. It was all
the time Frank could spare; Washing-
ton is still bursting at the seams with
building activity and Frank had a
large number of commitments. Any-
way we came back to Washington and
managed to get a pleasant, spacious

apartment in one of the old-fashioned

buildings just off Columbia Circle. It
was what we both wanted. We shared
a dislike for these new, cell-like apart-
ment buildings that were springing up
all over Washington.

Carson came to see us shortly after
we had settled down. He and Frank
seemed to get along well, and I began to
believe, as I listened to their friendly
banter, that we had broken through the
wall and would now find our.own niche
in the sun. ‘I didn’t know how terribly
wrong I was.

AYFIER the first month of our’

marriage, Frank said I appeared to
be nervous about something. I tossed
interminably in bed and frequently
cried out in my sleep. He suggested
seeing a doctor. “After all, Honey, it’s
probably something simple, and a doc-
tor could clear it up.”

I told him that it was nothing serious
and that I would be all right. But I
knew instinctively that things would
get worse, not better. I didn’t need a
psychiatrist to find out what was
troubling me. I knew. I knew that, it
was the unstilled voice of my shame and
guilt, jostling my conscience, deriding
my sense of right and decency. I
should have told Frank, I should have
told Frank, I should have told Frank,
something kept clamoring within me.
And then would come the other voice, as
insistent and compelling as the rhyth-
mic pounding of a drum—you cannot
betray, you cannot betray, you cannot
betray... ‘

I don’t want to appear silly or dra-
matic trying to show how I was slowly
being torn apart by two conflicting
forces—my desire to be fair with my
husband and my desire to protect Car-
son from any possible harm. Mother
and Laurene and Justice think that I
deliberately, coldly betrayed Carson,
because that’s the way the newspapers
had it. If they only knew how, in my
intense desire to protect him, I finally
laid bare our awesome secret.

The curtain on‘the final act in the
tragedy that has engulfed so many of
us was lifted on the morning of Feb-
ruary 17, 1950. I shall never forget it.
It was a cold, drizzly day. Carson came

by just as I. was preparing to leave for
the school. He said that he was being
transferred to a guided missile testing
station in the Mojave Desert. He didn’t
know how long he would be away.

He started to say goodby, then gave
me a long, searching stare. “It’s prey-
ing on your mind, isn’t it, Sis?” he
asked. :

“A little,” I admitted. “But don't
worry. My grave will be as deep as the

other before I ever say anything. You

can trust me.”

It was an immense, unknowing lie.

All that day I thought about the
look in Carson’s eyes as he left—plead-
ing, hopeful, distrusting, fearful. There
were a number of blond, blue-eyed
youngsters in my class, and every time
I looked at one of them I saw my
brother. Queer, bizarre thoughts raced
through my mind. If only Carson were
that young again. If we were all that
young, with only the problems of the
young, If there had been no one like
Father—

I shuddered frequently at my own
thoughts, as I went about my tasks.
The symptoms were there, frightening
symptoms. I was yearning for escape,
for retreat to childhood, for the painless
elimination of all that was real and
ugly. At times I believed I was sliding
swiftly downhill to possible insanity.

T#4z evening I made an appointment
with a doctor and the following day
I went to see him. His verdict was what
I had anticipated—nothing was organ-
ically wrong; I was laboring under ex-
treme tension. Was I worried? Had I
been working too hard? I gave him
stock answers and took his prescription
without a word. I knew that there was
no mortal elixir to help me.

I didn’t even care about taking the
medicine, but Frank said I was foolish
not to. So I took it and went to bed.
That night it seemed I slept sounder
than I had for many weeks. Therefore,
when I awoke early the following morn-
ing, I was surprised to see Frank sitting
in a chair staring at me with a sort of
helpless, intensely worried look. There
was something else in his eyes—a sort
of groping puzzlement. ;

“The medicine didn’t help much, did
it, Dear?” he asked. .

“What do you mean, Frank? I
thought I slept wonderfully. Didn’t I?”

He shook his head. “No, Muriel, you
didn’t. You were tossing all night. Sev-
eral times you screamed out. You said
quite a few things.” He pressed the cig-
arette he had been smoking into an
ashtray, then walked over to me and
sat down on the bed.

“What things did I say, Frank?” I
asked, my pulse beginning to pound so
hard I thought he could hear it.

He looked at me, then smiled and
shrugged. “Oh, crazy things. I guess
you were having an awful nightmare.”

“What things did I.say, Frank?” I
repeated, my voice sharp.

“Oh, you talked a-great deal about
someone dying, someone being killed.
Every now and then you would scream
Carson’s name, and you would tell him
not to do it—” He broke off suddenly,
took my hands in his hands and said
desperately, “Muriel, I know there’s
something that is troubling you deeply.
You’ve got to tell me! You jump at
every sound, you seem to suffer the tor-
tures of the damned during your sleep,
and you've lost weight steadily. You
can’t go on like this. Please tell me—
what is it?”

I started to shout denials, to say that
he was imagining things. But I knew
that it would all be useless. Frank sus-
pected I,was harboring something evil.

He would either keep after me until I
told him or he would walk out of my
life, 1 pulled my hands away from him,
then buried my head in the pillow, sob-
bing wildly,

| FINALLY told Frank, I told him the
whole story of what had happened—
the endless terror and misery in our
lives, the death that was supposed to
end this, the grim and terrible secret of
execution and burial that eight of us
had kept for over two years. I never
looked at him the whole time. I stared
at the green wall in our apartment, and
I remember that it seemed as if I were
listening to the toneless, muted voice of
someone else talking endlessly in a
crowded train,

At the end I could see that he was
appalled, shocked, a bit disbelieving.
He paced the floor for a long time, and
then he began asking me questions. I
answered all of them, holding back
nothing. We talked all day. The bleak
February sun glistened for awhile on
our high-vaulted windows, and then it
was gone, and night was again in the
apartment.

Finally Frank said, his voice tight:
“There’s only one way out. We've got
to tell the police!”

“No, no—I won’t permit it!” I cried.
“Ill never do that to my brother—I
can’t!” ;

He came over and held me tight. He
told me that he understood how I felt,
that under the same circumstances he
would be prone to shield his brother.
“But, Sweet, you’re dying as surely
as someone who has been mortally
wounded. You can’t go on like this, I
won’t let you.

“Don’t you see that if Carson killed
in self-defense, no jury on earth will
convict him? Don’t you see that the
longer all of you keep this hideous se-
cret the worse it will get? To none of
us is given the right to kill and then
hide it from those who must weigh its
justification. You've got to understand
that, Dear. If your father was as cruel
and beastly as that, Carson will be vin-
dicated. But he’s got to stand up and
be counted. It’s the only way out, I
tell you.”

Frank was right, and in my heart I
knew he was right. But how could I
betray Carson? What would he say,
what would he think? Would he for-
give me? Dared I believe Frank was
right—that by laying bare the terrible
secret we had kept for such a long time
we would finally find peace and Carson
vindication?

He kept pleading with desperate in-
sistence. Finally I could stand it no
longer. My voice sounded as if my
mouth were stuffed with cloth when I
told him: “Call the police, Frank.”

He pressed me tight again, then
walked over to the telephone.

It seemed like he would never stop
dialing, and the sound of the mechan-
ism seemed to scratch mockingly in the
chill quiet of the room. Then he was
saying slowly, deliberately ... “I want
to report a homicide...”

EVERYTHING that followed after that
seems like the disconnected, kaleido-

. Scopic fragments of a dream that went

on and on. There were the police, and
the detectives, and the tight-lipped men
from Naval Intelligence. The news-
Paper reporters and the photographers,
and then the screaming headlines with
their heart-stabbing accusations of
“killing” and “betrayal.” ... _

They arrested Carson the next eve-
ning near Seligman, Arizona. This is
on Route No. 66, near Mojave County,
and I understand he was just a short

way from his assigned base when they
stopped him. Te was alone, driving a
cur he had bought before his transfer,
There’ was considerable sensational
publicity how the sheriff stopped him
in true Western fashion, waving six-
shooters, and how Carson came out of
the car stunned and bewildered. I can
almost recite, word for word, the later
accounts of what he said, what he did,
how he acted. Not once did he say any-
thing harsh about me, and I pray that
he will soon know and understand all
the motives behind how it happened.

Coc made no attempt to deny the
shooting of Father. He gave a thir-
teen-page confession, and when one of
the officials appeared amazed at his
calm he said, “I fought this out with
myself long ago. I know that it is wrong
to kill, but sometimes one has to kill to
live. For twenty-five years my father
subjected my mother and her children
to almost every conceivable kind of
cruelty. I'm not saying I had the right
to act as executioner, but he deserved
to die. Even if I killed him in self-
defense, he deserved to die.”

While they were bringing Carson
back to Detroit, the body of my Father
was dug up. I heard over the radio
that almost the entire town of Clawson
watched the grisly proceedings, and
not one kind word could be heard for
Father in the huge throng. °

I learned later that while the digging
was going on, Mother quietly went

about her tasks and Justice sat at a,

table studying his hooks. Some of

the newspaper stories told how they

acted, and it was all made to appear
as if they were completely without
feeling or remorse. But what else could
they do? Could they cry over the dead,
when they knew that the grisly bones
of what was once my Father still had
the power to destroy us all?

I don’t know what will happen next.
Each day has become sharply divided

between hope and dread. There have _

been a few: blessings—Frank has been
steadfast in his trust and devotion; the
parents of those children I taught have
been wonderful with their kind words
and understanding, and Justice wrote
me a long, comforting letter that
helped a great deal.

Bor my own personal agonies seem

paltry and insignificant every time
I think of Mother and of Carson. I try
to visualize what they are thinking, and
I become weak with despair. Mother,
who fought so hard to make us “some-
one” and then to achieve a little dream
of her own, a tiny little farm that be-
came the burial ground of a man who
never knew happiness and wanted none
for his own flesh and blood. .’

And Carson, now branded as a killef.
Did I betray him? Did I, through
weakness and fear, deliver him to a
needless doom? Or did I do the only
thing that could deliver us all from
a hideous burden thaf threatened: to
make each of our lives, our hopes for
happiness, a mockery? Did I do what is
right in the eyes of God and man? Did
I save Carson from himself?

Each night I pray with all my heart
that I did.

At the time Mrs. Hockersmith wrote
this story, she did not know what would
happen to her brother. He had been
arrested in Arizona and had waived ex-
tradition to Michigan, where authori-
ties are investigating his story as well
as those of his brothers and sisters. At
press time a charge of first-degree mur-
der has been brought against him and
his trial is pending.—The Editor.

The Murders of the Fort Wayne Women (Continued from Page 16)

ever, it was accepted by many, and
was commented upon in the news-
papers. But Chief Stumpf was not
ready to accept it. He was not even
convinced that the girl had entered a
car near the movie theater that after-

noon, It was quite possible that those
who said they had seen her in the thea-
ter were mistaken.

One fact couldn’t be denied. This
was that no one had seen her after late
afternoon on that fatal Friday. At least

the officers could find no one, and none
had come forward.

Because of her athletic and journal-
ism’ work at the school, Phyllis was
known by sight to scores of students.
The business section of Fort Wayne, in-

cluding the movie house, is so concen-
trated that many of these students must
have been in it that afternoon. The
Chief appealed to them to tell him if
they had any information. But no one
approached him,

ate

ee eee

ee BA

waiting patiently for him to complete
his grisly task.

The two officers examined the gar-
ment carefully, holding it gingerly by
an end of the collar in order to prevent
disturbing any of the grime with which .
it was covered, and which almast com-
pletely obscured its original tan color.
The faint label on the collar showed it
to be size 36. But the gaze of both
officers fastened on a stain on the left
lapel that seemed to be neither dirt nor
grease.

“Blood?” Adams asked tentatively.

“T don’t think there’s any doubt of it,”
Stumpf answered. “The laboratory
tests will show. Notice that left
pocket?”

“Sure. What of it?”

“See how badly frayed it is, much
more than the right? What do you
make of it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The man may have _ been left-
handed,” Stumpf suggested. “The left
cuff is badly frayed also, as though he
was used to keeping things in the left
pocket rather than the right, and con-
stantly putting them in and taking
them out.”

No labels of any kind other than the
size were on the underside of the collar.
This promised to be of little help, as 36
was known among salesmen as one of
the “normal” sizes which fitted a vast
number of men.

“There’s one distinctive thing about
it, though,” Adams said grimly. “That
is its filthy condition. A man would
have to be pretty far down on his luck
to wear a coat like this. Maybe a bum.”

E EXAMINED one of the larger

grease spots and, with a wry ex-
pression, applied his nose to it. “Smells
like a mixture of oil and grease, maybe
graphite, the kind of stuff they use
around automobiles. Could have be-
longed to a garage mechanic.”

Stumpf shrugged. “The laboratory
analysis will probably show.”

Doctor Mendenhall meanwhile had
completed his job in the work-a-day
manner that is always a little appalling
to the layman.

“Looks as though she was beaten to
death,” he announced. “One blow on
the head has crushed the skull, and I
mean crushed, as there are numerous
fractures radiating from it. Strangled,
too. I don’t know which was done first;
the autopsy will tell. But she didn’t
have a chance, no matter which.” :

“How long has she been dead?”

“That's pretty hard tosay. The body’s
badly decomposed, as you can see, But
then we've had a spell of very hot
weather. Bodies decompose quickly in
these high temperatures. Certainly
she’s been dead several days, but
whether it’s two, three or four I can't

While Doctor Mendenhall made ar-
rangements for moving the body, the
officers continued their search of the
field. But they found nothing else
tangible, neither the murder weapon,
the rope or other devise with which the
girl had been strangled, nor anything
else. They were not at all sure that the
strangling had not been done with the
attacker’s hands; the victim's neck was
so swollen and decomposed it was im-
possible to tell..

What the probers didn’t find, how-
ever, interested them almost as much
as the filthy trench coat. They could
discover no bloodstains, no indication
that a struggle had taken place either
where the body lay or at any point be-
tween it and the highway.

“J don’t quite get the picture,” Cap-
tain: Taylor admitted. ‘The weeds
right next to the girl’s body haven't
been disturbed at all. That certainly
seems to show she wasn’t attacked here,
but was brought here afterward, evi-
dently to put her in a place where she
wouldn’t be found for a long time. ¢

“But if that’s true, what about the
clothes strung out between here and the
road?”

The circumstances were even more
baffling than in the Haaga and Kuzeff
murders. In those, there was no doubt
where the attack had occurred. But

ey aS ANG MARE Frcs

(The SS

here were two diametrically opposite
sets of clues, one indicating the assault
had taken place where the body was
found, the other that it had been
brought there for concealment purposes
after death.

N° were the officers helped by foot-
prints or tire marks, as the condi-
tion of the ground was such as to pre-
clude such impressions being made at
all. The road and the side of the high-
way were deep in dust, which was con-
stantly being shifted by the wind, while
the carpet of crushed weeds where the
girl had lain could not show such marks.

All the handbag contained was the
usual miscellany of lipstick, powder,

mae

Phyllis Conine: In broad daylight...

in the strangling of Miss Conine and
Miss Kuzell, in the terrible beating of
both Miss Haaga and the schoolgirl and
now in the finding of the empty purse
a mile and a half from where the body
was found—which was exactly what had
happened in the Haaga case—all added
up to the kind of parallel which police
carefully note in their modus operandi
files, and’ which traps many criminals
because of the identical techniques
they pursue.

Stumpf was hopeful that the labora-
tory analysis of the grease and dirt on
the coat might provide a lead to the
field of employment, if any, in which
the killer was engaged. In this he was
disappointed. The dirt, the technicians

Police Officials Didn't Need an

* Identification to

Know This Was

The Body of Young Phyllis Conine,
Who Had Vanished Only Four
Days - Earlier. And They Didn't
Need an Autopsy Report to Know
That the Mad Monster of Fort

Wayne Had

mirror and similar beauty aids.

Chief Stumpf noted, however, that
not only was there no money, but also
no change purse, like those with which
practically every woman’s handbag is
equipped. Later he asked the victim’s
parents about this and was informed
that the slain girl always had carried
such a purse and that she'd had ap-
proximately two dollars in it.

Shortly thereafter the little money
container, minus any cash, was picked
up about a mile and a half from the
murder scene.

Its discovery tended to crystallize the
feeling of the officers that the three
savage attacks were the work of the
same human monster. The similarities

Struck Again

found, had no unusual significance, and
was not characteristic of any, particular
locality. And they found no particles
of lint, metal dust or anything of the
kind such as adheres to garments in
certain manufacturing plants or stores.

No were the grease stains of any
greater help. They were made by
the kind of lubrication used in dozens
of industries with which Fort Wayne
is dotted.

One thing the technicians were able
to do, however, was link the wearer
of the trench coat to the slain girl.
For on it they found particles of face
powder which exactly matched that
used by Phyllis. This evidence, while

possibly helpful in tying up the culprit
with the attack if he were caught, was
of no particular value at the moment,
The olflicers had been certain from the
beginning that the trench coat belonged
to the murderer.

The Coroner's report, made after the
autopsy, confirmed his first diagnosis.
Death had been due to the terrible beat-
ing the girl had received, possibly after
she had been half-choked.

To the officers the most disappoint-
ing part of this report was the coroner’:
acknowledgment that it was impossible
to tell, because of the decomposition
just when death had occurred. Thi
enhanced the already great difficultie:
of reconstructing the crime.

Equally baffling was the insistenc:
of several people, in addition to one 0
two of the girl's schoolmates, that the
were sure they had seen Phyllis eithe
entering or already in a car, with a ma
driving. They all agreed it was som
time between four and 4:30.

“This ties in with what her parent
say about her meeting Miss Criswel
and with what’ Miss Criswell herse
says,” Stumpf observed in one of tt
numerous conferences he held with h
subordinates and with Sheriff Adam
“Everyone agrees she would never 8
into a car with a stranger. So we
have to assume, for the moment :
least, that this man was a friend.”

“I can’t get that angle,” Capta
Taylor protested. “If she changed h:
plans and decided to take a ride or;
somewhere with another perso
wouldn’t she have notified Miss Cri
well and her parents? They nev
heard from her after she started for h
date at the movies. Could it be possib
she was kidnaped and forced into
stranger’s car against her will?” _

“In the middle of a downtown stre
on a busy afternoon, with hundreds
people around?” :

“I know it sounds far-fetched. B
such things have happened. He mig
have tricked her—said he was a frie
of her parents and something had ha
pened at home or something like tha

“T think we're taking some W
guesses,” Stumpf commented.

The next day one of the officers:
signed to interview persons living int
vicinity of the weed-grown fle
brought in a witness he introduced
Jed Leontine.

“Tell the Chief What you told m
the officer directed.

oe ELL, I’m a farmer and I live

Elissa Road. That’s abou
mile from where that girl’s bodys
found. I read in the papers that itt
on Friday afternoon she was supp#
to go to the movies. It must have &
about half-past two Saturday mon
when I was awakened by hearing,
noise. I didn’t know at first w

a hand over her mouth. Then 4
passed. It was going at a pretty
clip.”

“Did you hear a man’s voice?”

“No, that was all.”

“Why didn’t you report this
Stumpf queried.

“Because I didn’t hook it up with
killing until the officer questioned)
I thought at the time it was ja
quarrel between two petters. Th
a lot of them on the road all the ti

No one else in the vicinity hadh
a woman scream; although s
residents said they were aw
around 2:30 by the barking of
dogs. There was no evidence W!
to identify the shrieking wo!
Phyllis Conine. Nevertheless,
the officers advanced a theory
was even more bizarre than the
inal one about the possible kid!
This was that the kidnaper
Phyllis prisoner’ somewhere uni
morning after he had kidnaped

Fantastic. as this theory was,

(Continued on Page 62)

Days and then weeks wound up on
the ever-revolving spool of Time, to
become dead history. Scores of va-
grants who were picked up and

_ questioned, just as in the Haaga and
Kuzeff cases, easily established their
innocence. An appeal of Chief Stumpf
through the newspapers asking women
to report to him immediately when a
stranger accosted them, and promising
them complete privacy, brought no bet-
ter results. But the killer—or the two
or three of them—remained the same
elusive wraith he had been since the
gorgeous blonde, Billie Haaga, had gone
gaily from her work to her death just
six months before

HIS time, however, unlike the more
or less temporary periods following

the Haaga and Kuzeff slayings, the city
was alive to its peril. No’ woman felt
safe. Noman was comfortable until his
women relatives had returned safely
home. The baffled police ran down
every lead without success. They had
reached the stage where there was
nothing further they could do but offer
a reward.

, The state of mind of the city’s resi-
dents was exemplified by the speed with
which reward money was raised. It
poured in from everywhere, from .in-
dividuals, organizations, business houses
and factories, until $16,500 had been
subscribed.

Chief Stumpf divided it into three
equal parts of $5,500, offering that
amount for the slayer of each of the
three young women. This for the rea-
son that he didn’t know whether there
was one killer or three. Twice the size
of the ordinary police flyer, the reward
notice carried a photograph of each vic-
tim, a brief sketch of the circumstances
surrounding each slaying and an ap-
peal to police of other cities: “Any, de-
partments having suspects in similar
cases kindly check their actions and
whereabouts on the dates.mentioned in
the above murders and notify Jule
Stumpf; Chief of Police, Ft. Wayne 2,
Ind.”

Stumpf had the circular sent to every
Police department, peace officer and
private detective in Indiana.

It had at least one expected result.
Scores of people with no real informa-
tion whatsoever, but who wanted $16,-
500, sent the Fort Wayne police a horde
of worthless tips.

All with even a semblance of ‘au-
thenticity were run down. And all came
to nothing. Summer passed into Fall
and Fall into Winter, the old year went
out with the usual fanfare and the new
one came in. The status of the Conine
case, like that of Haaga and Kuzeff, was
still “Homicide at the hands of a per-
son unknown.”

The fervent wish of the officers that
the Conine.murder might provide the
break which would clear up not only
that one but also the other two, had
not been fulfilled. Now they were torn
between apprehension and hope: Ap-
prehension that still another murder
might follow, and hope that, if it did,
it would provide the key which would
unlock the mystery of all of them.

But neither the apprehension nor the
hope seemed destined to be fulfilled.
At the turn of the year approximately
five months had passed without the
sadistic slayer again showing his bar-
barous handiwork. The first two
months of 1945 joined them. .

Then on March 6 of that year a hu-
man rattlesnake again slithered out
from his hole and struck.

About four a. m. James McCarron,
a private policeman employed by vari-,
ous business houses, was walking down
Calhoun Street, part of his usual beat,
trying the doors of the places he was
paid to guard, seeing that no incipient
fires threatened and watching for
suspicious characters who might seem
to be casing these properties.

An alley leads off Calhoun Street be-
tween Main and Columbia. As McCar-
ron passed it he stopped abruptly.

Was that a moan he heard?

It was repeated. That was a human
cry, if ever there was one. McCarron
got out his gun, stepped into the alley
and slowly swept his light around, hold-

ing it at arm’s length in the event the
groan was a trap to enable someone to
take a shot at him from the darkness of
the narrow lane.

The circular beam of illumination
brought into view various discarded ab-
jects with which the place was strewn,
then came to rest on a woman lying face
down in the dirt and rubble of the alley
floor. She was unclothed.

The officer jammed his gum’ back in
his pocket and hastened toward the
groaning woman. The reason for her
agony soon was apparent. Her face was
veiled with welts and bruises, while even
through the grime which almost cov-
ered her, McCarron could discern ugly
purplish blotches on her body. How
long she had been lying on the cold
bricks in this almost-freezing weather

seen in the vicinity. Detective Sergeants
Horace Smith and Jay Hursh, under
instructions of Chief Stumpf, sped to
the woman’s bedside at the hospital.
They were jubilant when physicians
told them her injuries were not as
severe as they had appeared at first and
that, unless pneumonia ‘or some other
complication developed, she probably
would survive.

Maybe the break for which they had
longed had come at last. After more
than a year, here was a victim the at-
tacker hadn't quite finished off. Here
was someone who could talk, to tell
what had happened, perhaps even to
identify her assailant. It might take
several days for her to recover suf-
ficiently. But they could wait. Either
they or some other officers would re-

’

Jn That Issue Will Be:

and Demanded Your Money?

Followed

While Two Wives Waited

Copy Now

Coming Next Month

R Still Another Startling, Bang-Up Collection of Timely Fact-
Detective Stories, Don’t Miss the July OFFICIAL DETECTIVE
STORIES Magazine. .Some of the Nation’s Newest, Biggest Cases

What Would You Tell a Killer?
What Would You Do Ifa Stickup Man Shoved a Gun Into Your Ribs

Oregon, Tells What She Did—And of the Gunfight and Death That

With the Victim Sawed in Half

The Body Was Found Near Chicago, Cut in Two Pieces at the Waist,
And the Telephone Number in the Pocket Proved This Man Came
From Terre Haute, Indiana. How Trace Him and Name His Killer?

In Her Seattle Home, Mrs. Fidel Molina Waited for Fidel to Come.
Home That Bitter Cold Night. And ina Night-Club, the Blonde Was
Waiting for the Three Men Who Had Set Out to Kill Molina. Then—

The Murders of the Fort Wayne Women

Part III of the Sensational Story of Quadruple Murder and Multiple
Confessions—Showing How a Now Apparently Innocent Man
Insisted That He Be Sent to the Electric Chair

These Stories—Unless a Change Is Made to Bring You Something
Even More Timely—Will Be Only a Few.of the Current, Thrilling
Stories of the Nation's Latest Detective Investigations in That July
Issue. Remember, It’s on Sale Wednesday, June 21. Order Your

Mrs, Laurel Behrens of Portland,

there was no way of knowing, but the
officer noted that her lips were blue with
cold and her feet bore the red and white
spots the flesh acquires when exposed
to low temperatures.

He took off his coat and threw it
around her, catching as he bent down
the unmistakable odor of alcohol.
Racing to a call box, he phoned Police
Headquarters. An ambulance and a
squad car containing Officers James
Hofer, Roland Miller, Lester Hathaway
and William Conn arrived simultane-
ously. The woman was hurried to the

‘hospital, where doctors worked des-

perately to treat what appeared to be
serious injuries and to prevent the pos-
sible onslaught of pneumonia from the
effects of her lying in the semi-freezing
temperature of the alley. .

Back in that alley the officers found
the victim’s scattered garments, her
shces in one place, her stockings half
concealed by a yellowed piece of news-
paper, her dress trampled into the dirt
a few feet away and her undergarments
behind a trash barrel. :

Other officers arrived to set in motion
the usual canvass of the neighborhood
to learn what they could about persons

main at her bedside at St. Joseph’s,

. Hospital every minute.

The speed with which the woman re-
covered sufficiently to talk was miracu-
lous. Before noon the next day the
doctors gave permission for an inter-
view. Through puffed and swollen lips,
but with a gameness which won the
officers’ admiration, she told her story,
demanding that they ask her any
questions they wished. She insisted
that her mind was clear enough to
understand and answer them.

“My name is Mrs. Dorothea Howard,”
she began. “I’m thirty-six years old.”

“Is your husband living?” aed

“Yes; he’s a soldier at Baer Field.
He’s laid up in the hospital there now.”

Baer Field was an Air Corps post a
few miles from Fort Wayne.

“Are you a resident of Fort Wayne?”

“No. I'm from Mesa, Arizona. . I
came here about nine months ago when
my husband was assigned to Baer Field.
We have a room on M¢Clellan Street.”

eet called Headquarters and asked
that an officer be sent to Baer Field
to question the husband. Then he re-
sumed the questioning:

“You had been drinking when this
occurred?”

“Yes. I went downtown at about
nine Monday morning—yesterday. I
got a drink or so. That started me off.
I guess I must have had plenty.”

The patient’s eyes closed and she re-
laxed on her pillow. Both officers
waited patiently.

“About the drinking?” Hursh finally
suggested.

“Yes, the drinking. Well, I must
have had plenty, because things got to
be a blur after that and the next thing
I knew I was at Bill Dempster’s place on
West Main Street. I thought it was
time for me to be getting home and I
started to leave and a soldier came up
to me and said he would take me home.
But he didn’t do it.”

“No? What happened?”

“Well, when we got outside he told
me he had a drink at his room and he
asked me to go there with him. I re-
fused. We walked along and when we
got to this alley he pulled me into it and
beat me and tore my clothes off and
then he — he —”

“Did you cry out or try to scream?”
Smith queried.

“I don’t think so. I was using all my
strength to fight him off. He held both
my hands.”

“But he couldn’t have been holding
them when he tore your clothes off.
Didn't you cry out then?”

“I don’t know. I may have. But I
believe I was trying to keep him from
doing it and begging him to let me
alone.”

“Had you ever seen the soldier be-
fore?”

“No. I didn’t know him at all.”

“Do you think you could identify
him if you saw him again?”

“I don’t know. I doubt it. I was
conscious of what was going on, but it
was pretty much blurred. And I see so
many soldiers out at the Field all the
time it’s pretty hard to tell one from
the other.”

“You can’t recall anything else that
happened that day or night?”

“No,” Mrs. Howard replied with a
weary sigh. “I’ve told you all I know.
I may think of something later.” -

THE next step was obvious. The trail

led to the tavern of Bill Dempster,
on Main Street. Lieutenant: Chester
Axt hastened there.

He was familiat with the place. It
was run by Dempster and his wife and
had a-good reputation. They both re-
called the woman. Their testimony,
however, added a complication, as it in-
volved still two other persons, civilians
this time, whom Mrs. Howard had not
mentioned.

“She came in at about half-past ten,”
Dempster said. “A man was with her—
@ civilian.”

“Do you know him?”

“Yes; his name’s Parker Enslow. He
comes in here once in awhile.”

“All right; what happened?”

“He took her to a table where another
civilian and a soldier were sitting. I
didn’t like the whole set-up. The wom-
an was plainly drunk, and I didn’t relish
anyone bringing a person in that condi-
tion to my place. I told the waitress not
to serve her, and then I went over to
the table and bawled Enslow out for
bringing her here. He got sore and left.
Mrs. Howard got up right after that and
left, too, and the soldier followed her.”

“How about the other civilian, the one
at the table?”

“He left, too, right after the soldier.”

“Did you know either the soldier or
the civilian at the table?”

“No, neither of them.”

“You'd know them if you saw them
again?” :

“Yes, I’m sure I would.”

The proprietor’s statements were sub-
stantiated by Mrs. Dempster and the
waitress, and subsequently by several
customers who had watched the plainly
intoxicated woman.

It was easy enough to find Enslow,
the civilian who had brought Mrs.
Howard to Dempster’s and had left in
a huff after words with the owner. He
too corroborated what had taken place.
Axt promptly dismissed him as a sus-
pect, as he proved that he had gone

saugh and his mother, who
she'd disowned him

admitted not only the killing of Anna
Kuzeff but also the murder of a woman
named Mildred.

And no woman named Mildred had
been slain in Fort Wayne, to their
knowledge.

“Suppose,” Captain Figel said, lean-
ing forward through the blue haze of
tobacco smoke in that tiny office, “you
tell us just how you killed Anna Kuzeff.”

Lobaugh answered readily, speaking
in a soft, low voice, his eyes half closed.

Lawyer Buhler and the
client he believed in

Lobaugh: "The police
treated me swell..."

He was a good-looking man, tall and
husky, with a clean-cut, placid face. It
was incredible to watch him slumped
there in a chair, and listen, at the same
time, to the weird, vague, inhuman story
he told:

“Tt was in the Summer, not quite the
Summer maybe, just the end of May.
I was walking along the river bank in
‘West Swinney Park. I saw a log there
near Fillmore Street. I lay down behind
it waiting for a woman to come by.”

“How did you know any woman would
be on that lonely road so late at night?”
Axt demanded. ‘

“T knew some of them went to work
on the night shift at one of the fac-
tories around there. I lay down behind
this log, so they couldn’t see me from
the street. When this woman came
along, I jumped up from behind the log
on choked her with the rope until she

“What made you want to kill her?”

“A sudden impulse, some kind of an
urge. I always get it when I’m drink-

“Tf that’s the case, just how did you
come to have the rope?”-- -

| question was an important one.
The officers leaned forward expect-
antly, awaiting Lobaugh’s reply.

It came without hesitation: ‘I had it
with me. I’d been carrying it for three

lays.”

“What kind of a rope was it?”

“A piece of clothesline.”

“Where did you get it?”

“I cut it off a coil of rope I saw in the
house-where my wife and I were board-
ing.’ I read somewhere that you could
kill a person by garroting them; isn’t
that the word?”

The officers ignored the question.
“Did Anna offer you any resistance?”
Smith queried.

“Yes, she put up quite a fight. But
she was no match for me. You see, at
that time I weighed close to two
hundred and twenty-five pounds.”

Smith looked him up and down.

- gested.

“You're no lightweight today. What

do you weigh now—about two
hundred?”
“No, not that much. Maybe a

hundred and seventy-five.”

vn ys did you lose that much? Diet-

“No,” Lobaugh replied, either not
noticing or ignoring the Sergeant’s
sarcasm. ‘‘Worrying.”

“Worrying about what?”

“These killings.”

“Oh, so they worried you?”

“Sure, very much. Several times I
wanted to give myself up but I always
lost my nerve. I tried to poison myself
once.” -

“When was that?”

“Last September. I was terribly sorry
after I killed Anna.”

“You told Chief O’Neill that you also
killed a girl named Mildred,” Axt sug-
“Where was that?”

“That was in Fort Wayne too.”

“But we haven’t any record of a
woman by the name of Mildred being
murdered. Did you hide her body?
Hasn’t it been found yet?”

“Yves, indeed. The cops found it. I
mes about it in the paper a few days

“All right; tell us about it. Where did
you meet this girl?”

“In a bar in Fort Wayne. I think her
name was Mildred; I’m not entirely
sure.” oath

“You mean you picked her up in a
tavern?”

“Yes, that’s right. We had a few
drinks together, and I asked her if she
wanted to go for a drive. She said she
did, so we drove out toward the Maumee
River and parked on the Maumee
Road. Well, I had been drinking and,

/@8 I told you, I got that urge again.
Something in me kept telling me that I

just had to kill this girl, so I beat her to
death and threw her body out, of the

“And you say the police found her?”

“Sure. I think it was the next day
that I read in the paper that her body
had been picked up.”

The officers, at: this juncture, didn’t
know exactly what to think. The de-
tails concerning the killing of Anna
Kuzeff were not particularly accurate.
Lobaugh so far had told nothing about
it he couldn’t have read in the news-

TONER AN RE RT

Was Ralph Lobaugh Really Guilty of the
Monstrous Crimes He Had Confessed—Or

Was an Innocent Man Facing the Electric

Chair While the Killer Roamed the Streets?

By Joseph Fulling Fishman

Special Investigator for
ACTUAL DETECTIVE. STORIES

PART Ill

OUR times in sudden, tragic succes-
sion, a rapist-killer struck in the
quiet city of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

In a little more than a year, four

women residents of that city were
beaten, assaulted and slain.
_ This is the story of the bizarre and
startling investigation into those four
murders and the attempt to find the
man who was responsible—an investi-
gation that still has not been resolved
although three different men were con-
victed of those crimes.

No less a person that Governor Henry
F. Schricker of Indiana has called that
investigation “... one of the most sordid
messes in the history of Indiana, and
one which Fort Wayne would be glad
to forget ... the most involved and
ie" legal problem in Indiana's his-

ory.”

This story, the first complete maga-
zine account of what really happened,
opened with the discovery of Wilhelma
Haaga, beaten and dying, in a forest
near Fort Wayne. Detectives were un-
able to find her slayer and three months
later the second victim, Anna Kuzeff,

was left strangled and dead in a vacant
lot. Then came Phyllis Conine, high-
school student, and finally Mrs. Doro-
thea Howard, wife of a serviceman,

And then, 27 months after Dorothea
Howard died, a tall, heavy-set young
man walked into the police station at
Kokomo, Indiana. He introduced him-
self as Ralph Lobaugh,

“I killed a woman in Fort Wayne,”
he announced. “A woman named Anna
Kuzeff.”

Fort Wayne police were sum.noned
instantly. Was this really the slayer?
Would the case be solved now—or would
Lobaugh turn out to be merely another
crack-pot? ;

Go on with the story from here.

HAT night, the little room in the
Kokomo police station was unsea-
sonably hot. Not a breath stirred

through the wide-open windows. Even
Nature seemed to be silent, listening to
the story Ralph Lobaugh was telling.
The three Fort Wayne officers, Cap-
tain Figel, Lieutenant Axt and Sergeant
Smith, were puzzled. For Lobaugh had

“PN “5 Paste jo
\ @ IND UE (J Len) hh As We ] @)

Oft-confessing = Ralph
Lobaugh and two of his
"victims" — Wilhelma
Haaga and Anna Kuzeff

home after leaving the tavern and had
remained there the balance of the night.

“Did you know Any of the people at
that table where you took the woman?”
Axt queried.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why did you take her there then?”

“Because she was Pretty drunk and it
happened to be the nearest table.” ,

“Where did you meet her?”

“Just outside the place. She was in
trouble and I wanted to help her out.
I had no interest in her. I didn’t even
intend to remain at the table with her.
I don't like drunken women,”

AX*t phoned the hospital and asked

Smith to quiz Mrs. Howard con-
cerning Enslow. She had no recollec-
tion of having met any civilian outside
the tavern; in fact she didn’t recall Ens-
low at all. What She had done and
where she had been between the time
she “passed out on her feet” arid the
time she found herself at the table in
oe Place were a complete blank
to her.

This convinced Axt that other parts
of her story would have to be ac-
cepted with caution, Particularly any
attempted identification of her assail-
ant. He arranged for Officers to re-

of a car flashed into the alley.
It was.a dizzying Sequence of bizarre
events, and it left Chief Stumpf and

along and shone its lights into the alley,
and I got scared and ran out.”
“What time was that?”

te | GUESS around eleven o'clock or
So—Jjust the time it took us to get
from that bar to the alley. I meta sol-

“Have you any idea who was in the
car?” Stumpf asked him.

“I don’t know who it was, but I know
t was a woman.”

“It was pretty dark in the alley,

“Yoa.* ;

“And you say she turned the lights
rom the car into it?”

“Yes,”

“Then how could you tell, with a light
hining directly in your eyes, whether
‘ Was a man or a woman?”

“I couldn't tell by sight,” Dodson re-
lied promptly, “but I know a woman's
oice when I hear one, and she called
ut, ‘Hey, what's going on in there?’”

“Do you know the civilian who went
in there with you?”

“No, I never saw him before.”

“Would you recognize him if you saw
him again?” ’

“Yes, I'm sure I would,”

“Did he stay in the alley?”

“No. He ran out after me, but he
told me he was going back in again.”

“Was this the civilian who was in
‘the tavern with you?”

“No, another one. He came up to us
just after we left and went along.”

“You didn’t think it was unusual for
a stranger to come up to you and go
along like that?”

“No. He could see the woman was a
little under the weather and he offered
to help.”

Part of the soldier’s Story didn’t jibe
with what Mrs. Howard had told Smith
and Hursh.

She had said nothing about a civil-
jan being with the soldier when she
was dragged into the alley. Even now
she could not recall anything about a
civilian. The officers wondered if he
was a myth conjured up by the soldier
or if the woman's failure to mention
him was because, in her blurred state
due to the liquor she had imbibed, she
had not even known he was there.

“Did you see or hear anyone else in

or near the alley at the time you were
in there with the civilian?” Stumpf
asked. ’
The 26-year-old Soldier shrugged. “I
thought I heard Some scraping noise
on the stairs of a rooming-house but
I ain’t sure.”

AFTER further queries, Dodson was
Permitted to return to his bar-
racks. Stumpf and his men worked
painstakingly to locate the woman who
had shone the lights into the alley,
as well as others who might have been
in that vicinity, but without success,
Charles Dodson meanwhile was taken
by the Air Force authorities to Stout
Field, Indianapolis, where he was tried
by an Army court-martial on a charge
of attempted rape.

Another soldier, Eunit Baugh, testi-
fied at this court-martial that Dodson
had accompanied him on the bus back
to Baer Field shortly after Dodson had
fled from the alley. Dodson was ac-

. quitted.

The Chief was still hopeful that Mrs.
Howard, as time went on, might re-
member more than she had told. The
officers at her bedside waited patiently
for further information. But what the
doctors had feared now happened. The
five hours’ exposure to the cold which
the woman had undergone lying in the
alley, finally had its effect. Pneu-
monia set in. On March 17, 1945,
eleven days after McCarron had heard
her groans and had rushed her to the
hospital, she died.

Fort Wayne, in a little over a year,
had a fourth murder on its hands.

“was still kicking.” This employe, un-
known to Dodson, took a look at him.

testified that he had Seen a soldier and
civilian in the alley, had seen them run
out, and then had seen the civilian re-
turn: He hadn’t known what was go-
ing on and hadn’t seen any woman.
m, of course, was questioned
closely, again and again, about his story,
and he cooperated with the police in
their search for the other man, Ex-
actly what form this cooperation took
was to become a perplexing and much
disputed point later in the investigation,
@ point that still has not been settled.
At the time, however, Dodson’s name
rapidly dropped out of the case.
€ murder of Dorothea Howard,
too, was unsolved. The balance of
1945, all of 1946, and the first few
months of 1947 slipped by without the
slightest further progress being made

toward the apprehension of the AARON
bly-line killer,

Then, at about 11:30 on the stifling
muggy night of June 9, 1947, a tall,
heavy-set young man walked into
Police Headquarters at Kokomo, In-
diana, 80 miles southwest of Fort
Wayne.

Perspiring and uncomfortable, Ser-
geant Robert E. Ellis was in charge of
the desk. ;

“Yes,” he queried, “what can we do
for you?” -

The six-foot visitor Pushed his hand
through his matted black hair and
peered thoughtfully at the Sergeant, as
though he were trying to make up his
mind exactly how to begin. But his
Voice was firm and assured enough when
he replied:

“I want to confess a murder.”

It would have been, to a layman, a
decidedly startling declaration. But it
wasn’t to Ellis. He had known plenty
of chronic “confessers”, that curious
emotionally and mentally twisted tribe
of screwballs who admit crimes they
have not committed. The Sergeant de-
cided to play him along a little to see
what the situation really was.

THAT'S a pretty serious charge to
make, especially against yourself,”
he Said. °

“I Know it is. Lock me up; please
lock me up. If you don’t I’m afraid I’m
going to kill my wife.”

The Sergeant took a little more seri-
ous view with this, He didn’t want any
murders in Kokomo if he could help it.
“You said you had already killed some-
one,” he reminded his visitor. “Who
was it?”

- “Anna Kuzeff,”

Anna Kuzeff! Ellis Placed her imme-
diately. For three years he had been
Seeing that name in the newspapers and
in police circulars,

“The Kokomo factory worker, you
mean?” he asked, intentionally endeay-
oring to mislead the Stranger in order
to test his reaction,

“Kokomo! Why, no, it was in Fort
Wayne.”

“You mean just recently?”

“No, it was in nineteen forty-four, in
May, I think,”

“What makes you want to kill your
wife? Have you been quarreling?”

“No, indeed. I just get that kind of an
impulse.”

Ellis had heard enough. He locked
the visitor up and telephoned Chief of

“I'm Ralph Lobaugh, Ralph w. Lo-
baugh. I live on South Webster in
Kokomo,” he repeated for Chief O'Neill.

“How long have you lived here?”

“Five months. Before that I lived in
Churubusco,”

Churubusco is a smal] Indiana town
not far from Fort Wayne.

“What do you do?”

“I'm an apprentice punch-press op-
erator.”

“What did you do before that?”

“Oh, several thinks, Cook in a res-
taurant, grave digger and other things
—anything I could get.”

“Married?”

“Yes, Sir, three times. I met my pres-
ent wife in the restaurant where I was

took the punch-press job after we got
married.” ;
‘ “How long have you been married to
er?”
“Just about a month.”
“What's her name?”
“Oma Lobaugh.”

HIEF O’NEILL’S memory was jogged.
The name Lobaugh had meant
nothing to him. But, coupled with that
rather unusual one of Oma, it spurred
some dim recollection.

“Oma _ Lobaugh,” he said slowly.
“Seems to me I've heard that name re-
cently. Has your wife ever been in any
kind of trouble?”

“Yes, Sir,” the strange visitor an-

“Yes, in the car, but she was driving,
That’s when I made up my mind to
come in and confess,”

O'Neill and his two subordinates
studied the self-accused killer, “What's

It was that and the letter.”

“Letter? What letter?”

“The letter I got from my mother.
She lives in California. She Sent me a
letter saying she disowned me. You
haven't anything left in life if your
mother disowns you.”

“Okay,” O'Neill said resignedly, “tel]
us about the murder.”

“You mean the two murders. There
were two of them, Anna Kuzeff and
Mildred.”

“Who’s Mildred?”

“I don’t know her last name.”

“You killed these two women?”

“Sure.”

Any others you killed?”

“No, that’s all.” *

Chief O'Neill turned to Captain
Kellar. “Call Fort Wayne. it’s their
baby. I can't tell whether this bird is
a whack or a Bluebeard.”

THE desk officer at Fort Wayne lost

“We didn’t either,” Smith answered.
“We haven’t had any. Bring him in,”

Lobaugh walked into the room, look-
ing with some surprise in his glance at
the three Fort Wayne men, and then
sitting comfortably in a chair,

“Tell us just how you killed Anna
Kuzeff,” Figel ordere ‘5

“How did you know any woman would
be along that lonely road so late at
night?”

“I knew some of them came to work
on the night shift at one of the factor-
ies around there. I laid down behind
this log, so they couldn’t see me from
the street. When this woman came
along, I jumped up from behind the
log and choked her with the rope unt:
she died.”

Ralph Lobaugh has confessed to two
of the four murders that aroused Fort
Wayne to fever pitch,

But is he guilty? Will his confession

The next instalment of this case will
tell of the whirlwind trial of Lobaugh,

be in the July issue of
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES, on
sale Wednesday, June 21. Don’t miss it.

papers. But the story about the alleged
murder of the other woman, the one
whose name Lobaugh had given as
Mildred, didn’t jell at all.

The only woman slain near the
Maumee River had been the lovely,
blond Billie Haaga. And this had oc-
curred three months before the Kuzeff
attack, not three months after.
Furthermore, in neither the Haaga nor
Kuzeff case did a tavern or bar figure.
The slayer had waited for Anna Kuzeff
in a field and had pounced on her, ap-
parently after concealing himself be-
hind a large log. In the Haaga slaying
all the evidence indicated that Billie
was not the kind of girl who frequented
bars and who would permit herself to
be picked up in one by a stranger.

However, bars and drinking played a
decidedly prominent part in the
Howard case. Even so, there was a dis-
crepancy, assuming that Dorothea
Howard was the woman the self-
accused man identified as Mildred, since
the attack on her did not take place
until seven months after Miss Kuzeff
was slain.

But Figel, as well as his fellow officers,
was familiar with the peculiar quirks
of the kind of mind the man in front of
them seemed to have, assuming him to
be the rarer type of voluntary confessor
who is really. guilty. One such peculi-
tity is their tendency, when they are

”,

“No, no! Not four! Only three!
There were only three!”

Hs mean the Howard woman?”

“Yes.”

“There were four,” Figel asserted
again. “There was Phyllis Conine.
That makes four.”

“No, three! Three, I tell you! I
didn’t kill the Conine girl! I didn’t, I
tell you! I don’t know anything about
her! There were only the three of
them.” ’

- “What three?”

“The Haaga, Kuzeff and Howard
women.”

sn killed all three of them?”

“Yes.”

“And Miss Conine.”

“No!” Lobaugh shouted. “I told you
honda I don’t know anything about

er!”

Figel, Axt and Smith took turns ask-
ing him questions, going on hour after
hour until they as well as Lobaugh were
thoroughly exhausted. But they didn’t
stop for sleep. Day was beginning to
break when they put him in their car
and drove back to Fort Wayne, still un-
able to make up their minds whether
he was really guilty or just another of
the many suffering from a confession
complex.

After a short rest in the Allen County
Jail, Lobaugh, manacled between two
detectives, was driven by Chief Stumpf
to the South River Road where Billie

Prosecutor Alton Bloom, left;
Deputy Prosecutor C. A. Lincoln

guilty of several crimes, to admit only
one, seeming to feel that in some way
this mitigates their guilt. Curiously
enough, however, they frequently con-
fess the others promptly when charged
with them. It is an anomalous charac-
teristic which normal people find
difficult to understand, but which is
known to competent psychiatrists.
Figel wondered if he had one of this
kind before him now.

“You're not telling the entire truth,

alph,” he shot out suddenly. “You

led four women.”

For the first time Lobaugh seemed to
-~se his composure. The accusation
obviously stunned him. The way in
which he clenched his hands, widened
his eyes and shifted about in his chair
borat clear indications of his inner tur-
moil.

He didn’t reply promptly, as he had to
all other queations, Inatead, he ap
peared to be debating with himself,
And when he finally did speak it was
ina throaty whisper:

Lobaugh leaves the courtroom.
Next stop, the electric chair?

Haaga had been beaten so brutally.
With them went Figel, Axt and Smith,
weary from their night’s work, but de-
a to pursue the inquiry to the
end.

“Now,” the Chief directed grimly,
“show us just where the attack on Miss
Haaga took place.”

“Right over there,” Lobaugh replied
vaguely. *

“Over where? ‘Be specific.”

But Lobaugh wasn’t. He pointed in
the general direction of the river. When
pressed further, he replied that he
couldn’t say exactly but knew it was
somewhere in the vicinity.

“All right,” Stumpf said. “Now we’ll
go downtown. I want you to point out
the tavern where you met Mrs. Howard,
the table at which you sat, what streets
you walked on when you went to that
alley where the attack occurred, and
where the woman lay In it.”

Here Lobaugh was just as definite as
he had been indefinite before. Unhesi-
tantly he pointed to the Dempster

tavern, from which Mrs. Howard de-
parted to her doom; the table at which
he said they had sat; where he had
joined her; the walk to the alley and
the stairs on which the woman was left.
He pointed to the exact spot in the alley
where he said he dropped her after giv-
ing her a terrible beating.

H= ALSO seemingly passed the grue-
some test to which the Chief put
him at the scene of the Kuzeff slaying.
Here too he identified the place where
the attack had occurred and went into
detail concerning the way in which the
crime was perpetrated. This story was
exactly as detailed in the police files.
But much of it also had appeared in
the newspapers.

“Ralph,” the Chief asked, “do you re-
member anything unusual happening
when you killed Miss Kuzeff?”

“Yes,” Lobaugh answered promptly.
“I dropped my pocket comb and the
buckle of my belt came off.”

“Did the comb have any nam
stamped on it?”

“Yes, it was stamped ‘Pro-Co-Pox’.”

The Chief’s face remained expression
less. But the answer was the most im.
pressive which had yet come from th
self-accused man. For this was thi
trade name stamped on the comb, a fac
which had not been made public in th:
newspapers.

They drove back to Headquarters
Alton L. Bloom had _ succeeded hi
brother, A. Everett Bloom, as Count;
Prosecutor on January 1, 1947. He sen
Everett, now a deputy, and Chester A
Lincoln, another deputy, to Police Head
quarters to question Lobaugh. The:
remained with him for two hours, mak-
ing him repeat his story again anc
again, striving to find discrepancies ir
it. A report of their impressions con-
cerning the interview was to be giver
out months later by Prosecutor Altor
Bloom.

(Continued on Page 60)

Comin. pg

CLICK,

By Joseph Fulling Fishman

Special Investigator for
ACTUAL DETECTIVE STORIES

Full |

Inside.

Was the State of Indiana About to Save
One Convicted Man Who. Had Been
Condemned to the Electric Chair For
These Murders by Sentencing a Second?

PART IV case was tangled into a maze of con-
fusion and became, as Governor Henry

, ; F. Schricker of Indiana Said,“ ...asor-
Te MANY residents of the quiet city hs A °
of Fort Wayne, In diana, the days did me's most involved and tangled

roblem . ,
of terror following the four rape-mur- *
ders of defenseless women were fin- tioned near Fort Wayne, had seen the

ished. Life had returned to normal. fourth victim, Mrs. Dorothea Howard,
Ralph Lobaugh, a machinist from enter an alley with the man who killed |

5
SS
i=}
3
bs
>
[=]
a
ir
4
=
v
a
iJ
is
a
oe
°
~~
5
8
&
>
s
=
z
°
3
>
Q
a
&
is]
=
=
S
eo
a
ia
8
§
a
&

guilty to the three murders and was
sentenced to the electric chair,

One man, however—Attorney Robert
Buhler, who had handled the defense of
Lobaugh—did not agree. Ralph Lo-
baugh, Buhler believed, was innocent.
Early in 1948, the attorney took a step
to prove his claim. From then on, this

Robert Christen: "I couldn't be
bothered answering that charge"

that man—but he had made his identi-
fication from a photograph only,

His face pale, Dodson whispered, “I
have made a terrible mistake! He is not
the man! He is innocent!”

Now go on with the story from there: °

burst upon the city of Fort Wayne

like a bombshell. Ralph Lobaugh,
he said, was not the man who had taken
Mrs, Howard into the alley off Calhoun
Street.

C ‘burst te DODSON’S retraction

OFFICIAL DETECT IVE PLONE, AUSU st 9 L9 50

bad -

sOccislk G1 i nection Willa Like
wagedy.

Meanwhile, members of the
State police had been trying to find
some trace of Villa, but without success.

“Let’s take a look at his home,” sug-
gested Harris.

Villa lived in a slope-roofed,-one-
story bungalow, weather-beaten and
jonely-looking in the growing gloom.
The house was entered through the
xitchen door. Boyle flashed his light
tround the room, then snapped on a
wall switch.

Apparently Villa was fond of milk—
she sink drain was fairly covered with
empty milk bottles. But the room as
s whole was neat and clean.

The other rooms, modestly furnished,
zisO were neat and in order. The of-
cers saw no sign that Villa had de-
ded on precipitate flight.

Mss ddicedioiVe dbiadllUlics iti Lie slatcs
history was underway. A description
of Villa—61 years of age, five feet eleven.
slender, balding with thick tufts of
gray hair over his ears—was burning

the wires to Pennsylvania and New

Jersey.

The night slipped by without any sign
of the ex-miner. Repeated calls to po-
lice authorities in Trenton and Phila-
delphia brought negative results. Villa
had not appeared at the homes of rela-
tives in those two cities. Routine
checks at rail and bus depots failed to
produce any trace of him. Apparently
he had made a successful getaway.

Actually, though, he had not...

“At approximately 3:30 that same
afternoon, Nazzareno Femi, a farmer,
reported to county authorities that he
had found a dead man lying in his
briar-filled pasture. He had stumbled

uary 20, livili @ diall (bur LO Che ahd
a half hours after the McKenzie house
had exploded. He had suffered a peri-
pancreatic hemorrhage “induced by a
heavy, concussive force.”

To the authorities, the picture of a
diabolically conceived crime and its
denouement was now clear. Villa, his
love fcr the widow turning to hatred,
had tried to kill her by entering her
daughter’s home ‘at Frostburg and
leaving a slow-burning chemical to set
the house ablaze, Harris said. Obviously
he had followed the widow and saw her
enter Mrs. Huston’s home.

But this attempt failed.

According to Harris, Villa had fol-
lowed a similar plan on the fateful
night of January 17. He had watched
Mrs. McKenzie leave with Ellis Brogden,
waited until the children were asleep,
entered the basement, planted the ex-

except Villa. He described how

sody had been found a little over
a sasuic from the scene of the fire and
gave the result of the autopsy.

HEN Harris concluded: “From all the
statements and voluminous evidence
at hand, it is my considered opinion that
Mrs. McKenzie and her granddaughter
met their deaths because of a violent
explosion set in motion by the one man
who hated her. There was no one else
involved. And the hand of providence,
moving in its own inscrutable way, has
written the fateful punishment of John
Joseph Villa.”

To protect innocent persons, the
names of Ellis Brogden, Duane Knox
and Harry Pritchard are fictitious in
this story.

The Murders of the Fort Wayne Women (Continued from Page 39)

Late that afternoon Chief Stumpf
znd several of his men took Lobaugh
w Indiana State Police Headquarters at
Indianapolis. Here Lieutenant Robert
Borkenstein gave him a- lie-detector
test. ‘
Lieutenant Borkenstein’s conclusion
was that the tests confirmed Lobaugh’s
sory concerning the Kuzeff and Howard
murders, that it was “not too conclu-
sive” on the Haaga attack and that it
was completely negative on everything
connected withthe slaying of the seven-
ten-year-old schoolgirl, Phyllis Conine.

But only on the Kuzeff case was
Chief Stumpf completely satisfied that
they had the right man. He was almost,
but not entirely sure in the Howard kill-
mg. He was extremely doubtful con-
cerning Billie Haaga.

He expressed these doubts to Smith
who, because of his continued connec-
tion with the‘cases, knew more about
the details of the four slayings than
anyone else in the Police Department.

“I think we've overlooked one factor,”
the Sergeant suggested. “We forget
that the exact spot where Billie Haaga
was attacked is now covered by the river
overflow. That may have confused
Lobaugh. Let’s take him out there
zgain.* .

Stumpf accepted the suggestion. This
time Lobaugh didn’t appear at all con-
fased, although he was more careful.
=e walked up and down the road several
umes, then said positively, “I recall
tow; this is exactly where I parked the
He walked toward the river and once
more halted. “I went in this direction
from the car, and this is where I killed
ber. I dragged her here and beat her.”

Suddenly he shouted hysterically: “I

killed her! I killed her! I killed all of
them, all of them!”

“Phyllis Conine, too?” the Chief que-
ried softly.

“No, not her,” Lobaugh replied, his
voice now at a lower pitch. .“I didn’t
kill her. I don’t know anything about
her. Don’t you believe me?”

“Yes, I believe you,” Stumpf an-
swered, more to soothe his agitation
than from any certainty.

N JUNE 11, two days after he had

surrendered to the police, Lobaugh
signed confessions to. the murders of
Anna Kuzeff, Billie Haaga and Doro-
thea Howard.

These confessions were not released
to the press until December 17 of that
year. By that time many things had
happened in the case; in fact, the en-
tire investigation was twisted almost
beyond redemption.

However, the statements were made
to the Fort Wayne police on June 11,
and the facts they brought out were as
apparent then as they were on Decem-
ber 17 and as they are now. —

Pertinent portions of the confession
to the murder of Billie Haaga were:. -

Q. Ralph, I will call your attention
to February 2, 1944. Do you recall
what you did on this day?‘

A. Yes. I was home at R. R. No. 2,
Churubusco, Indiana. I drove the car
to town. I visited several beer taverns
up town and I got over on Maumee Ave-
nue, and I visited them all there, and I
got out to ... New Haven Avenue, Fort
Wayne, about four o’clock I imagine, or
a little earlier. I was pretty tight and I
had a few more beers at the bar. One
drink calls for another one. This girl
came in. She looked like a woman to me.

Q. Can you describe this woman now?

A. Light peroxide hair, light com-
plected, medium built. It was cold and
she had a coat on. I don’t know what
kind of a coat, but it was a dark coat.
Her hair stood out to me. I like blondes
when I am drinking.

Q. After this woman came in, what
did she do? ;

A. She went to the booth and got a
glass of beer. She had a glass of beer
before I said anything to her, and I
had a glass of beer, and I walked over
and asked her if she would have another
cne, she said she would and I sat down
there and bought some beer, and we
talked. I asked her what her name was
and she said Billie Haaga, and we talked
about where we worked. I am pretty
sure I told her I worked at the Sanato-
rium, and I still say I was working at
the Sanatorium, and she said she was

- a tap dancer or toe dancer, just in a

general run of- conversation. I_don’t
know how many glasses of beer she had,
but I think I drank a couple to her one,
and I asked if she wanted to take a ride
and she said where are we going and I
said just.a ride. We went out and got
in my car which was on the other side
of the street heading toward town. We
drove around the block back on Mau-
mee Avenue, and we kept on driving
until we got to Maumee Road. I drove
to the first road, or second road, be-
cause I went to that certain place. I
had been there before and we stopped
off at this Maumee Road. I went crazy
mad and I beat up on her; - after that
I don’t know what I had done while I
was beating her up. I made up my
mind I wasn’t going to take her back to
town, so I openéd the car docr and I

think she took a somersault out. I think .-

she was sitting up when I drove away.

Q. While you were crazy and beating
her up do you remember whether or not
you might have struck her several times
over the head with some object?

A. Yes, I might have done it.

Q. After you drove away, what did
you do next?

A. I drove for a ways, I don’t know

how far. I noticed a pocketbook partly.

open and a scarf laying on the seat.
I didn’t want them in the car, so I
opened the window and threw them out
to the side of the road...

Q. What did you do then?

A. I think I stopped up town and got
some beer before I went home.

Q. Did you see any blood on your
hands or clothing?

A. I didn’t notice anything. . .

B hee are some very strange things
about this confession, both when
considered. in themselves and when
coupled with matters relating to the
man who signed it.
The Kuzeff confession,-taken and
signed on the same day, June 11, 1947,
“also has its pertinent points. Some of
these points were covered in the fol-
lowing testimony:
Q. Do you remember what you did
on the evening of May 22, 1944? |
b

a do.
Q. What did you do that day?

-A. Ileft my home about two o’clock
and came to Fort Wayne on the bus, and
I was drinking around beer taverns and
decided to go to Trier Park. There was
nobody there that I seen, so I decided
to walk on further.

Q. What were you looking for at
Trier Park? |
A. A woman.

A. Pro-Co-Pox. ‘then 1 went back
to town, went to a couple of taverns and
got some more to drink and I went toa
hotel and registered under another
— PB soomg 3 a which hotel.

; na Kuzeff’s face was covered
with blood from this cut on her chin.
Did you notice any blood on your hands,
and what did you do about it?

A. Yes, I think I had blood on my
hands. I walked to the bus station and
“Se 1

fs you have any blood on r
clothing? : _

A. No...

| N THIS statement too, as in the Haaga

confession, are a number of loose nuts
which apparently never have been
tightened.

Most peculiar of all three, though,
was the statement on the Howard slay-
ing. It went like this:

Q. Ralph, on the evening of March 5,

1945, were you in Fort Wayne, Indiana?

A. Yes. I was around beer
taverns around Main and Harrison
Streets.

Q. Did you meet Dorothea Howard in
a tavern that evening?

A. Yes, I met her in Dempster’s place.
She was sitting at the table with some
other fellow drinking beer when I came
in. I goes over and I was tight and I
asked her if she wanted a beer and.she
Says yes. The other fellow left. We sat
there and drank all evening, and she
was pretty drunk. So it came around
closing time and we left and I was go-
ing to help her home because she was
too drunk to get home by herself. We
started out and turned west on Main
Street and some fellow walked up to
her on Main Street and I challenged him
and I was the biggest of the two and
he got away and left. Then we turned
north on Harrison Street and I met an-
other man and he got on the other side
of her. We got down between Main and
Pearl Streets and he said let’s take her
into the alley. We walked down about
a half a block and there is a parking

+ space there and in back of it there is a

stairway which leads upstairs. This is
an enclosed stairway ...We were on the
steps when someone turned the light on
at the top of the stairs and started to
come down and hollered at me and
asked me what I. was doing and scared
this other fellow off ...

fellow left. They said thing to him
and he left after that. e went on
down the alley across Calhoun Street.
. Q: You say you walked down the al-
ley and across Calhoun Street. You
mean you and Dorothea Howard?

A. Yes.

Q. ... What happened then?

A. I got up and left her there and I

went on down the alley from there. I

these Slalement:
signed on June 1
made public until :
same year, the sa
Alton Bloom mad<
tion and opinion of
very much, of a biv
grotesque nature h:
six months,

Police and pr
were convinced «
Some persons,
Among these, nat
and mother. The

.Fort Wayne from
-help. Lobaugh, i:

sion, wouldn’t se-
she employed Rot
nent and very ca)
lawyer of the city
The mother, }\
sped from the W:
side. “I don’t kn
charges,” she asse
my son isn’t that !
“How about the
a@ reporter queriec
said made him cor
The waman look
What letter?”
“Why, the one -
him.”

“Disowning him
you mean.”

“Well, he told th
this was one of th
to give himself up
murders.”

Apparently sinc:
depicted.on the n
that’s ridiculous!
Ralph in several \
my life told him |
had, would I be h:

Not only the 1
confessed killer, }
Haaga, mother of
Karl Kuzeff, brot)
that Lobaugh was

“We don’t thin
at all,” Mrs. Haa;
think Billie knev
Billie wouldn’t go
didn’t know.”

would reserve fina
an opportunity to

ND then, on Ju
days after he
fessions, Lobaug!
police and the ci

of the murders, ar
talking with his
cided to “confess
The story of th
bizarre as that o
began when Robe:
employed by- Lob:
him at the Aller
first-hand his nar

‘eand
‘Ken-
vaited
more
e was
mped
rn to
i, but
nu just

rland,
fairly
Ss re-
case,
lined
ver &
met
‘spike
ns.
or the
2 and
1 was
ris.
on to
ing to
cte of
of his
other
calous

to re-
stiga-
> had
» Mee
i how
e over
2 and

dl the
dence

a (jiAlaias

e else
lence,
vy, has
John

the
Knox
us in

hings
when
when
> the

. and

1947,
me of
2 fol-

u did

Q. After you failed to find a woman
at Trier Park, where did you go?

Fillmore Street, so I got tired and sat
down on a log and was there about ten
or fifteen minutes when I seen Pe girl
coming and I lay down behind a log...
Ihad a piece of clothesline in my pocket.
I took it out and waited until she got
past me. I jumped out and throwed it
around her neck.

Q. Where did you get the clothes-

A. Just before I started to town...

Q. What did you then do?

A. ...Inoticed my belt buckle was
torn off, but I fixed it anyway and then
walked on out to the road and walked to
Fillmore Street to Taylor, then on
Taylor Street. I went to look for my
comb, and my comb was missing.

Q. Can you describe that comb?

A. Well, a black comb about four or
five inches ‘long

Do you think this is the comb
that we have here?

A. Yes, that’s the comb you have,
that one you showed me yesterday. My
folks saw me use it at home lots of
times.

Q. Do you remember the name on
this comb that you had?

A. Pro-Co-Pox. Then I went back
to town, went to a couple of taverns and
got some more to drink and I went toa
hotel and registered under another
name. I don’t know which hotel.

Q. Anna Kuzeff’s face was covered
with blood from this cut on her chin.
Did you notice any blood.on your hands,
and what did you do about it?

A. Yes, I think I had blood on my
hands. I walked to the bus station and
washed up, -

Q. Did you have any blood on your
clothing?

A. No...

“ ] N THIS statement too, as in the Haaga

confession, are a number of loose nuts
which apparently never have been
tightened.

Most peculiar of all three, though,
was the statement on the Howard slay-
ing. It went like this:

Q. Ralph, on the evening of March 5,

ae were you in Fort Wayne, Indiana?

. Yes. I was drinking around beer
taverns around Main and Harrison
Streets.

Q. Did you meet Dorothea Howard in
a tavern that evening?

A. Yes, I met her in Dempster’s place.
She was sitting at the table with some
other fellow drinking beer when I came
in. I goes over and I was tight and I
asked her if she wanted a beer and.she
says yes. The other fellow left. We sat
there and drank all evening, and she
was pretty drunk. So it came around
closing time and we left and I was go-
ing to help her home because she was
too drunk to get home by herself. We
started out and turned west on Main
Street and some fellow walked up to
her on Main Street and I challenged him
and I was the biggest of the two and
he got away and left. Then we turned
north on Harrison Street and I met an-
other man and he got on the other side
of her. We got down between Main and
Pearl Streets and he said let’s take her
into the alley, We walked down about
a half a block and there is a parking

+ space there and in back of it there is a

stairway which leads upstairs. This is
an enclosed stairway ... We were on the
steps when someone turned the light on
at the top of the stairs and started to
come down and hollered at me and
asked me what I was doing and scared
this other fellow off...

Q. While you were in this stairway,
did a car drive in this parking place?

A. Yes, a car drove in and turned his
lights on us. That was before the other
fellow left. They said a to him
and he left after that. e ‘went on
down the alley across Calhoun Street.
. Q: You say you walked down the al-

mean you and Dorothea Howard?

A. Yes.

Q. ... What happened then?

A. I got up and left her there and I
went on down the alley from there. I

A. I walked further and got over on —

ley and across Calhoun Street. You —

_ stayed at. the hotel. and went home the

next day.

Q. What was the condition of your
body and clothes at the hotel?

A. I had a burn on my hand; I had
cinders or rocks in it. My clothes were
soiled, but I brushed them off.

Q. Did you have any blood on your
— or clothes that you can remem-

A. No, not that I remember.

Q. What time did you get back to the
hotel after the attack on this woman?

A. I don’t know what time it was; it
must have been about 1:30 a. m.

Q. What hotel did you go to?

A. I don’t know.

Q. What. name did you register
under?
ime I arene used different names all

e t

There “followed the usual statement
that the confession was not induced by
any reward or leniency offered or be-
cause of any threats concerning per-
sonal safety.

1% THIS confession also, as in the case

of the other two, one must read be-
tween the lines to visualize facets
which, although unwritten, appear to
have as much if not more significance
than the written ones.

It must be remembered that, although
these statements were all taken and
signed on June 11, 1947, they were not
made public until Desember 17 of that
same year, the same date Prosecutor
Alton Bloom made public his summa-
tion and opinion of the case. But much,
very much, of a bizarre and sometimes
grotesque nature happened during those
six months.

Police and prosecutor apparently
were convinced of Lobaugh’s guilt.
Some persons, however, disagreed.
Among these, naturally, were his wife
and mother. The wife, Oma, hurried to

. Fort Wayne from Kokomo to offer her
v-help. Lobaugh, in a mood of depres-

sion, wouldn’t see her. Nevertheless
she employed Robert Buhler, a promi-
nent and very capable and experienced
lawyer of the city, to defend him.

The mother, Mrs. Ankah Lobaugh,
sped from the West Coast to be at his
side. “I don’t know a thing about the
charges,” she asserted, “but I do know
my son isn’t that kind of a man.”

“How about the letter you sent him?”
a reporter queried. “The one that he
said made him confess?”

The waman looked puzzled. “Letter?
What letter?”

Pi the one you wrote disowning

m.”

eens him? I don’t know what
you

“Well, he told the Kokomo police that
this was one of the reasons he decided
to give himself up and confess to these
murders.”

Apparently sincere astonishment was
depicted on the mother’s face. “Why,
that’s ridiculous! I haven’t written to
Ralph in several weeks, and I never in
my life told him I disowned him! If I
had, would I be here now?”

Not only the relatives of the self-
confessed killer, but also Mrs. Grace
Haaga, mother of the slain Billie, and
Karl Kuzeff, brother of Anna, believed
that Lobaugh was innocent.

“We don’t think he’s the right man
at all,” Mrs. Haaga asserted. “I don’t
think Billie knew him, and I’m sure
Billie wouldn’t go out with someone she
didn’t know.”

Kuzeff declared that he was prac-
tically certain Lobaugh was lying, but
would reserve final opinion until he had
an opportunity to talk with him.

A®x? then, on June 14, 1947, just three
days after he had signed the con-
fessions, Lobaugh stunned both the
police and the city by completely re-
pudiating them, denying that he had
anything whatever to do with any
of the murders, and declaring that after
talking with his preacher he had de-
cided to “confess the lies I told.”

The story of the repudiation was as
bizarre as that of the confessions. It
began when Robert Buhler, the attorney
employed by Lobaugh’s wife, called on
him at the Allen County Jail to get
first-hand his narration of the killings.

Coming Next Menth

Month, in the August Issue of OFFICIAL D
STORIES, You Will Find Another Enthralling Co
Unusual, Bang-Up Fact-Detective Stories—Every On
True, Timely, Sensational—The Complete and Thrilling
the Investigation Behind the Nation’s Most Sensational
The Day. Among Them Will Be:

One More Bomb to Slaughter

Four Times the Deadly Dynamiter Had Brought Tragedy
To the McLoughlin Heights Housing Project in Vancou
ington. Four Times—Twice at the Home of Colonel W
Twice at the Residence of L. L. Sharp—He Had Set His .
Off in the Midst of the Unsuspecting Families. Each T
More Deadly, More Cleverly Contrived, Stronger. Once
Surely a Dozen Persons Would Be Killed. Was There No
Could Trace This Man, No Way They Could Learn His |.
Stop Him Before Wholesale Slaughter Occurred? Her
Story of What They Tried to Do

Homicide and Old Lace

To Enter the Home of Mary and Elizabeth Kenned;
Spinster Sisters of Chicago, Was Like Stepping Into thi
The Gay Nineties Era With Its Ornate, Overstuffed Fu
Easy-Going, Genteel Way of Life. For These Two Sisters
Old in This Mansion While the World Went by Them
Neighborhood Changed From Respectability to Run-D:
Burly. In 1950 an Unwelcome Guest Forced His Way In-
Kennedy Was Killed. Who Had Slain Her? How Cou
Today Pierce the Veil of Half a Century and Learn the
Her Life and Her Death?

Aging Fifty Years Overnight

The Man Who Shot Down Hoppy Hobgood on the Stree

Birmingham, Alabama, Was Young, Agile, No More Th

nesses Said. Yet the Clues Police Gathered That War

Night Pointed to Only One Man—A Prominent, Elder.

Who Was 75 Years of Age. Where Had the Detectives G«

How Had These Clues Been Twisted to Indicate the W

Here, in an Appealing, Human Document, Is the Full St |
An Unusual, Surprising Case

Stone, Cold Dead on the Pavement

Donald Mann Was Shot to Death in Front of His Paren
Home in Amarillo, Teras—And Residents Wondered Wh
right, Pleasant Young Man Had Done to Invite a Murde
The More the Police Probed Into This Slaying, Thougi
They Had to Change This Opinion. For There Was
Strange in the Past of Donald Mann, Something Wrong,
Unsavory. Could They Expose This Secret and in the

. Turned Up, Find His Killer? Here Is Indeed a Sirong, U

tective Story

And the Blind Shall Tell—

Many Men Had Seen Their Lives and Their Hopes Wreck«
delphia’s Butterfly Girl, Louise Johnson; Many Men Had
Forsaken Home and Fortune For Her—And Been Thi
When Louise Was Slain, Stabbed to Death in a Rage, Poli
Many Suspects, and Only One Hope for a Solution—The
Who Lived in the Next Apartment, Who Had Heard
Footsteps, And Who Depended on His Hearing Alone t
Them Again

The Murders of the Fort Wayne Women

The Quadruple Murder in Law-Abiding Fort Wayne, In
Solved, Authorities Believed. A Man Had Confessed, !
His Statements, and Was On His Way to the Electric C
Then Suddenly the Case Was Thrown Wide Open A,
Evidence Pointed in Another Direction. Was Ralph Lob
cent of These Crimes? If So, Then Who Really Was
ona ‘4 of the Incredible Fort Wayne Case Also Comes t
‘ont.

That August Issue Will Be Crammed From Cover to C
Up-to-the-minute, Authentic, Really Thrilling Stories—
All Those Listed Above—Unless a Change is Needed to
Even More Timely Cases. For Exciting Reading Taken
Pages of Today's History, Why Not Order a Copy of Th
Issue From Your News Dealer Now? It Will Be on Sa
July 21.

“Give me all the details of those
irders,”’ the attorney directed, “Don’t
ip anything, no matter how trivial it
oms to you. I must have them in
der to present the case in court,”
Lobaurh hesitated. He looked at
ihler without speaking for such a long
ne that the lawyer became impatient.
“Come on, speak up,” he demanded.
can’t represent you unless I know all
‘out those murders. Did you kill those
ymen with a knife or-a club or an ax,
how did you do it?”

“Neither one.”

“With your hands?”

“No.”

“Well, how did you do it?”
“I didn’t,” came the astonishing reply.
didn’t kill them at all. Get that
‘wspaper reporter who was here yes-
rday. I told him I'd have a story for
m soon, and I promised to hold it for
m. I won’t talk until he comes.”
The reporter came. Even while he
as on the way from the News-Sentinel
fice, Lobaugh, watched by the still-
rprised Buhler, began writing out a
atement which he finished shortly
ter the newspaperman arrived.
“T didn’t do any of those murders. I
as drunk at the time, as I told you
‘sterday. I got a letter from my
other in California and that worried
e considerably ...
“After I woke up and realized what I
ld them at the Kokomo police station,
decided to stick to it and let it go on
1rough. As far as what I know about
ie murders, I read about them...
“Nothing of this sordid nature have
ever did or even thought of. I am aw-
uly sorry I made such a commotion,
it I also loved my father and mother
sry much. I also have never in my
fe raised my hands to my wives...
“The Fort Wayne Police Department,
hief of Police Jule Stumpf and Cap-
\in Alfred Figel and all have been swell
)me, and at no time was I abused.
“I thank the good Lord for giving me
iree good women, for without them I
on’t know what I would have done.”

‘INCE the citizens of Fort Wayne were
) not familiar with the inside details
f the case concerning Lobaugh, they
iay have had good reason to be
stonished at his sudden retraction.
tut, whether he was guilty or not, this
tatement should not have come as a
articular surprise to the’ police.

And for two good reasons. First, his
revious record. And second, those
ame loose nuts in his written confession
hich have been mentioned.

Lobaugh’s record indicated, to put
t mildly,
emperament,
fiction with a confession complex.
during the period of these murders he
ame to the attention of the police on
everal occasions as a “‘fire-alarm bug”.
Aore than once he not only turned in
uch false alarms, but also surrendered
limself.

Also, in the early part of 1947, he had

sonfessed to the theft of $2,000 from’

he farm home of Iva Pieghtal, R. R. No.
. Fort Wayne, where Lobaugh and his
vife were boarding at the time.

In this confession he declared that,
vithout any assistance, he had carried
. 350-pound safe out to a car, put it in
the trunk of the vehicle, opened the safe
vy the combination, taken the money
ind thrown the empty receptacle into a
quarry. The police later found the safe
riot in a quarry but in a ditch, and with
she door hammered open. When ques-
sioned concerning this, Lobaugh was
1azy and blurred, telling the officers
mly ‘what already had appeared in the
dapers. At that time, also, he owned no

tar, nor could he say where he had.

stolen one.

The police then gave him a lie test and
ceached the conclusion that Lobaugh
was just another chronic confessor. The
charges were dropped.

In addition to this are two other in-
teresting entries in the police records of
the Fort Wayne department. From
these the names of the officers con-
cerned are deleted, as well as, at his re-
quest, the name of the high official who
supplied this information. The first
entry reads: :

“Regarding Ralph Lobaugh, 27 years

a decided instability of ©
including a_ possible’

old, R. R. No. 2, Churubusco, Indiana,
who came to Officer at the
booth at Main and Calhoun Streets and
told him he had just stolen a car in the
100-block Superior Street, but could not
remember where he had left it. This
man is a mental case. In the City Court
before Judge Miller on the above charge
against Ralph Lobaugh, Dec. 5, 1944,
case was continued to December 15,
1944, bond $500.”

The second entry is as follows: “Dec..

15,1944. In the City Court before Judge
‘Wayne Miller on the above charge

. against Ralph Lobaugh, there was a plea

of guilty, and he was given $100 and
costs and 60 days on the State Penal
Farm.”

Here also, as in the case of the false
fire alarms, there was no necessity for
Lobaugh to confess unless the necessity
was the outcropping of a deep inner
compulsion of the kind not at all un-
familiar to psychiatrists.

As to the loose nuts in the confessions,
many questions suggest themselves.

N THE Haaga case, if Lobaugh beat
the girl in the car and then kicked
her out, what about the many signs of
a terrific fight on the turf at the spot
to which the police back-tracked her
foot-prints? When he was taken to the
scene by the police, Lobaugh had in-
dicated a spot where he had struggled
with the woman. But in his confession
he said he committed the crime in the
car, after which he threw her out, ap-
parently not even alighting himself.

How was it possible for him not to
notice anything (meaning blood) on his
hands or clothing when the woman’s
face and head were covered with it?
How could he crush the skull as badly
as it had been crushed without some im-
plement? He mentioned none un'
was suggested to him by a qi)
when he said he “might have” used one.

How could he be so hazy. about
whether he went to get some beer after
the attack, yet go into the most minute
detail concerning the meeting with the
girl, their conversation, the roads and
streets they traveled after leaving, and
so on?

The matter of memory applies also to
the Kuzeff case. How could Lobaugh
remember in minute detail everything
about the crime itself, but. fail to recall
the name of the hotel where he had

stayed overnight, or the name under.
which he had registered? Was it be-.

cause he was aware that the police
might have been able to check the hotel

* registers?

Why did he tell Chief Stumpf when
he took him over the scene of the Kuzeff

crime that he had carried in his pocket °

for several days the rope with which she
was strangled, while in his written state-
ment he said he cut it from a longer
piece just before he left home on the
same day as the murder? If, as he said,
he left the rope at the scene, why was
it not found by the officers who searched
every inch of the area? Here also he
a tted having blood on his hands, but
not until after he had been practically
informed by the officer’s question that
the girl’s face. was covered with blood
from a cut under her chin.

The Howard confession has some
peculiarities similar to those in the
Kuzeff statement. Here, too, Lobaugh
was able to remember in the most mi-
nute detail everything concerning his
meeting with the soldier’s wife and
afterward, but strangely enough he
again was unable‘to recall the name of
the hotel where he spent the night or.
the name under which he registered. In
both statements he showed a complete
familiarity with Fort ‘Wayne, seemingly
knew all its streets, could tell whether
they turned east or west after leaving
the tavern and mentioned a dozen other
inconsequential items. Yet he stopped
at a hotel whose name he didn’t know.

Also, wouldn’t the first thing he would
notice about this other man who joined
them be that he had been in the uniform
of a soldier? In his statement he didn’t
mention this point. Nor did he say
anything about a car shining its lights
into the alley until it was suggested by
an officer’s question. Again he noticed
no blood on himself although Mrs.
Howard was literally drenched in it.

And in his statement he said he and Mrs.
Howard drank “all evening” at the
tavern. This was directly contrary to
the statement of the proprietor and his
wife, and of the waitress, all of whom
objected to a stranger bringing a
drunken woman into the place, and all
of whom testified that she was there
only a short time.

These seeming discrepancies in the
three confessions are no definite indica-
tion, of course, of Lobaugh’s guilt or in-
nocence, and there is no intention to
claim that they are. They are merely
mentioned here in connection with his

_ known record as a “confessor.”

Baa et by Lobaugh’s repudiation of
his confession, Chief Stumpf asked
him if he would be willing to undergo a
lie-detector test on the polygraph, to be
conducted by Professor Leonarde
Keeler, inventor of this particular type
of lie-detector, who was head of the De-
partment of Criminology of Northwest-
ern University in Chicago. The prisoner
promptly accepted. ;

He was whisked to Chicago in a police

car manned by Detective Lieutenant |

Axt and Detective Sergeant Smith.

There he answered the various

questions put to him by Doctor Keeler,

while the expert and the two officers

watched with intense interest the

eerwer of the supposedly tell-tale
es.

Three days later Doctor Keeler an-
nounced: ‘We find that Lobaugh was
telling the truth when he originally
confessed. We also recommend that he
be examined by a psychiatrist.”

Previously, following the test con-
ducted at State Police Headquarters in
Indianapolis, Lobaugh had boasted that
he could beat any lie-detector and make

»me out the way he wanted by “steel-
og his nerves.”

On June 17, Lobaugh repudiated his
repudiation and announced that he had
murdered Wilhelma Haaga, Anna
Kuzeff and Dorothea Howard, just as
he had claimed in his three confessions.

Attorney Buhler, however, was sure
of Lobaugh’s innocence. He petitioned
the court for a hearing on the prisoner’s
sanity. This was granted by Judge
William H. Schannen, who appointed
two well-known psychiatrists, Doctor
Howard H. Stellner and Doctor H. C.
Dunstone. Their reports—and this is
not particularly unusual in such cases—
did not exactly jibe. 3 £

Doctor Stellner said in part: “There
is probably some prevarication, though
no evidence of delusions or hallucina-
tions. He is correctly oriented . . . has
a good understanding of his present
dilemma. There is no evidence at the
present time of definite illness or in-
sanity.”

Doctor Dunstone, however, declared,
“Tt is obvfous that this man is very emo-
tionally unstable, does not have the
ability to learn from experience, is un-
able to adjust to normal social living. It
is my opinion that this is an instance of
psychopathic personality without psy-
chosis. There is nothing at the time to
indicate criminal propensities. It is
possible that while under the influence
of alcohol he became psychotic, but this
could not be proved with information
available at this time.” :

| THE meantime Lobaugh had been
indicted for first-degree murder by
the six persons who, under Indiana law,

constitute a grand jury. Three indict- ©

ments were returned, one covering each

case.

Charles D. Dodson, who was now out
of the Army and working in Memphis,
Tennessee, was visited by Fort Wayne
police officials, and identified a large
photograph of Lobaugh as that of the
civilian who had gone with him into
the alley. This was substantially the
only corroborative evidence of the con-
fessions Lobaugh had made, unless the
two lie-detector tests could be so re-
garded. And even the identification by
Dodson hooked Lobaugh up only with
the Howard murder. “s

Little-change was apparent in the
situation during July, August and Sep-
tember, 1947. But in the early part of
October Lobaugh wrote a letter to Judge
Schannen asking for an immediate

hearing. The Judge has refused to give
out either the date or the contents of
this letter but he wranted the request.
He set the hearing at October 27.
Rumors of what was going to take
lace spread with cyclonic apeed, Buh-
er hurried to the courthouse. In an
anteroom he pleaded with his client.
Lobaugh refused to listen. ‘

Instead, he stood up and in a firm
voice announced: “I want to plead
guilty to all three murders.”

The movement and the mutter of
sounds merged again into a tense silence
as the visibly upset jurist declared,
“Ralph Lobaugh, I sentence you to
death in the electric chair at the In-
diana State Prison at Michigan City,
on February ninth, nineteen forty-
eight.”

Two days later, in the Allen County
Jail awaiting transfer to the death
house at Michigan City, Lobaugh
shouted to Chief Stumpf, “I didn’t do
it! I didn’t kill them! I tell you, I
didn’t, I didn’t!” ‘

“Then why did you confess?” the
Chief queried.

“I didn’t do it! I didn’t kill them!”

When a reporter informed Judge
Schannen of Lobaugh’s denial the jur-
ist said, “As far as I'm concerned he’s
pleaded guilty and he’s sentenced to
the chair.”

It was his feeling, as well as that of
Prosecutor Bloom, Chief Stumpf and
many of the others connected with the
case, that the mystery of at least three
of the murders which had plagued Fort
Wayne had been solved at last.

But Robert Buhler, Lobaugh’s at-
torney, a man of enormous energy, is
also a never-say-die fighter. He was
convinced that his client wasn’t men-
tally and emotionally normal, that he
had a confession complex—and that he
was not guilty of the three crimes.

Buhler therefore petitioned the court:
for a postponement of the execution
date. Judge Schannen granted it and
fixed the new date at April 2, 1948.

The attorney, first of all, wanted to
go to Memphis to talk with Charles D.
Dodson, the former soldier at Baer
Field, who was now working in the
Tennessee city. When Fort Wayne
police journeyed to Memphis and
showed him a large photograph of Lo-
baugh, he had identified Lobaugh.

Buhler, however, was not satisfied
with this identification. He wanted
Dodson to view Lobaugh in person. But
the pressure of other affairs kept him
from going to Memphis to try to induce
Dodson to come to Indiana for this
purpose until after the close of 1947.

GnOnILY after January 1, 1948, Buh-
ler went to Memphis to see Dodson.
He found the ex-soldier positive in his
identification of the photograph of Lo-
baugh. “I’m sure he’s the man,” he as-

serted.

“All right, I’m not trying to change
your mind if you’re sure you're right.
But I would like you to come to Michi-
gan City with me and take a look at
him. There’s always a chance you
might be wrong. You don’t want to see
an innocent man burn, do you?”

“Of course not. I’ll go with you.”

In a brightly lit room at the institu-
tion, Dodson faced the condemned man.
For a time he stared at him like one
in a dream. Slowly he shook his head.
Then, with quivering lips, he muttered
huskily:

“I made a terrible mistake! He’s not
the man! I’m sure of it! He’s not the
man who was in the alley with me that
night!”

Has the State of Indiana made a ter-
rible mistake? Is Ralph Lobaugh, fac-
ing imminent death in the electric chair,
really an innocent man in spite of his
off-again, on-again confessions to these
three murders and his plea of guilty?

‘If so—then,who is the killer? Will he

be captured*—or are still more innocent
victims to fall before him? —_

For the full truth, for complete rev-
elation of what really happened, see the
next instalment of this unusual, authen-
tic and exclusive story. It will be in the
August issue of OFFICIAL DETEC-
TIVE STORIES, on sale Friday, July 21.

care, noting every detail of the face,

“This man lived in the neighbor-
hood,” McGovern or one of his detec-
tives said. “Somebody knows him. We
must find that somebody.”

The men took it good-naturedly.
They set off on their beats, the photo of
the Body in the Trunk within easy
reach.

And as Captain McGovern had
hoped, results were not long in coming.

On the early afternoon of May 26,
as Captain McGovern busied himself
with the endless routine of his job, the
telephone rang. Some of the top police
brass prefer to have a subordinate an-
swer their calls. Not McGovern. He
takes them fresh out of the oven.

“This is Patrolman Frederick
Brooks,” a voice said. The caller gave
his shield number. “I think I got it.”

“Got what?” McGovern asked.

an name of that Body in the

n Pa

“Ah,” said McGovern. “What makes
you think so?”

He listened patiently. “Very good,”
he replied finally. “Get a squad car and
come out here. Bring the woman with
you.”

A MOMENT after replacing the re-
ceiver, McGovern lifted it again and
asked for Inspector Appel.

“This might be it, Inspector,” Mc-
Govern said when the connection was
made. “A good witness this time, a cop,
says he recognizes the photo, and he’s
been in touch with a woman supposed
to be the victim’s mother. She says her
son has been missing.”

Appel] tapped his fingers on the desk.
“Now we're getting somewhere. This
I can believe. I couldn't buy all that
gangster stuff but if it’s just another
Joe that’s missing, it’s a good lead.
I'll be down.”

Inspector Appel arrived at the Ozone
Park Station just ahead of Patrolman
Brooks and the woman, a gray-haired
matron whose face was frightened and
tense.

Brooks also was ill at ease. “I’ve
never done this before,” he confessed.
“I just walk a beat.”

“We all pounded the concrete,” In-
spector Appel said kindly. “Take it
easy. What have you got here?”

“This is Mrs. Lillian Fletcher,” Pa-
trolman Brooks replied. “She’s a nice
lady, and I’ll vouch for that. She lives
on Howard Avenue in Brooklyn and up
until a short time ago her son, John
Fletcher, lived with her.” .

Brooks paused. “Then John—well,
he didn’t live home any more. So Mrs.
Fletcher tells me.”

“How do you come into this?” Appel
demanded.

Patrolman Brooks looked a little
sheepish. “I come in a little late,” he
admitted. “I’m attached to the Atlantic
Avenue Station. They gave us that pic-
ture, front view and side view. To tell
you the truth, Inspector, I didn’t study
it too close. Then the Captain, there,
came around and asked us to look good.

eaihenbeadiekinentoate et

Bo I did, and T spotted him, That's a
picture of John Fletcher. I've known
him quite awhile. We weren't close
friends, but I know him when I see him.
And I know his mother. She's a mighty
fine woman, Inspector, mighty fine.”

The gray-haired old lady straight-
ened a little, proudly. Under Appel’s
gentle yet shrewd questioning, she un-
burdened herself.

Her son, John, was a good man. He
worked steadily and always gave her
money ta pay the rent and buy food.
But he was a footloose sort, given to
roaming around at night, disappearing
for days at a time.

“He'd go away, Captain, but he al-

ways sent me my money. Regular, like

clock-work.”

“What did he do?”

“He had a job, Captain. He was a
meat-handler over in Jersey City. He
hauled plenty of meat, John did. He
was big and strong and no man got the
better of him. I know that. It must
have been a woman. Yes, Captain, it
must have been a woman.”

The mother’s simple words were con-
vincing in their sincerity. Furthermore,
Inspector Appel, who did not in the
least mind being called “Captain,” was

beginning to get the faint outline of a -

picture.

oe W, Mrs. Fletcher,” he said, “your
son made his home with you?”

The woman nodded.

“But recently he wasn’t living at
home?” It was more of a statement
question.

The woman nodded again.

“Where has he been?” :

Mrs. Fletcher bowed her head. “He’s
gone off with that woman!”

Inspector Appel mentally held him-
self in check. For the first time in this
long, heart-breaking investigation, he
saw blue sky through the clouds.

The woman’s raincoat in the trunk!

It had perplexed him from the begin-
ning. Now the pieces of the puzzle were
falling into place.

“Do you know her?”

x The mother bent: her head. “I know
er.’

She was weeping and Captain Mc-
Govern said, “Take it easy, Mrs. Fletch-
er. We don’t know for certain that the
dead man was your son, John. Why are

_you so positive?”

Mrs. Fletcher fluttered her hands
helplessly. .

“Why—why, I’m sure it’s John. Mis-
ter Brooks here, he told me—”

Patrolman Brooks interrupted hasti-
ly. “No, Mrs. Fletcher, I didn’t tell you
anything. I only said that the picture
of the dead man looked like John, and
you admitted to me he had been missing
for several weeks. I thought we ought
to tell the Inspector, here, and we have.
But I didn’t identify him, Mrs. Fletcher.
That part’s up to you.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be too hard,”
Captain McGovern said. “We don’t
have to depend on the facial reconstruc-

tion alone. We have the dental chart.
Now you just give us the name of
John’s dentist and we'll know for sure
within half an hour whether the dead
man is your son. Okay, Mrs. Fletcher?”
he woman shook her head. “He

never went to a dentist in his life.

‘Captain McGovern glanced _signifi-
cantly at Inspector Appel. This was
identification in reverse, but it was con-
vincing. The Body in the Trunk had
perfect teeth. John Fletcher had per-
fect teeth. It could be coincidence, but
to assume that the victim and John
Fletcher were not the same was to strain
that coincidence to the breaking point.

“Pardon me a moment,” said Captain
McGovern. He moved toward the
squad-room door and motioned for Pa-
trolman Brooks to follow him. Brooks,
after a decent interval, excused himself
and walked out.

When the two were together, far down
the hall, Captain McGovern said:

“Brooks, if Mrs. Fletcher gets pan-
icky, we're done for. Do you know
where John Fletcher was living?”

Brooks shook his head. “Captain, I
don’t know. But I’m sure his mother.
does.”

“Can you find out?”

“T think so.”

“Want her alone?”

“Definitely.”

CAETAIN McGOVERN and Inspector
Appel had themselves a smoke
downstairs.

“This looks like the real McCoy,”
Appel said, with relish. “Punny how
they break, isn’t it?”

McGovern was too politic to remark
that it hadn’t broken yet.

“The face did it, Inspector,” he re-
marked. “Bielski did a good job, but
it was your idea.”

Appel felt uncomfortable. Just whose
idea had that been anyway, his or Keat-
ing’s, the police reporter?

“It wasn’t strictly my idea,” the In-
spector admitted. He was eminently
fair in such matters. “Frankie Keating
and I sort of dreamed it up together. He
was looking for a story.”

Captain McGovern grinned. “I
he’s about to get one. At least, I hope

They finished their cigarettes and
walked aimlessly about.

Without being able to put their
finger on anything specific, both detec-
tives knew the long chase was over.
They sensed it, as a hunter senses a
deer in the scrub across the valley—for
they were hunters.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and’
Patrolman Brooks rounded into view.

“T think I got everything we’re going
to get out of her, Inspector,” Brooks
said. “It ought to be enough. I have
the address here.”

He turned the leaves of a notebook.
“This is Fletcher’s address. It’s the
place his mother went to look for him
and couldn’t find him. She didn’t go to

the police, but Fletcher definitely is
missing, and I guess he's the man,”

“Yeah!” said Captain McGovern,
looking around for a place to sit down.
“It’s good work, Brooks.”

“Thanks, Captain,” said Brooks. He
wondered what second grade money
would feel like.

T= case ended swiftly then.

A woman named Mrs. Elizabeth
Houston was arrested in Manhattan,
where detectives had traced her.

Authorities announced that on April
1, 1950, Mrs. Houston had moved into
an apartment in Brooklyn. Helping
her move was husky John Fletcher.
The following day, April 8, Mrs. Hous-
ton introduced Fletcher to the super-
intendent of the building by his name.

That was the day Fletcher was killed,
Assistant District Attorney Aaron Sil-
ver stated. He claimed on June 1 that
Mrs. Houston had admitted the killing.

He quoted her as saying there had
been a quarrel. Fletcher wanted to
bring in friends to play cards. She
didn’t want them. During the quarrel,
Silver said in a formal statement to the
press, Mrs. Houston took a small fire-
wood ax and struck Fletcher over the
head. Then she left the apartment and
was gone for two days. Returning, she
found Fletcher stretched out on the
bed, dead.

“IT had to get rid of him,” Silver
quoted Mrs. Houston as saying. “He
was too big to go in my trunk, so I had
to cut him up.”

Mrs. Houston, according to Silver,
first cut off Pletcher’s arms and legs,
using the ax and a carving knife. He
was still too heavy, so she hacked off as
much flesh as she could. Finally she
was able to lift him into the trunk.
There was room for the arms, but not
the legs.

The legs and the smaller pieces of
flesh she disposed of in garbage cans,
Mrs. Houston said in her confession as
reported by the district attorney’s office.

As police long before had surmised,
the butchery was accomplished on the
bed and Mrs. Houston, they said, dis-
posed of the bloody spread and the mat-
tress cover.

She packed the body well “so it
wouldn’t move around,” according to
her alleged confession. The objects
found in the trunk were padding. Mrs.
Houston stopped two men on the street
—strangers, so her supposed confession
said—and offered them twenty dollars
to dispose of the trunk and its grisly
contents. They took the trunk away,
presumably unaware of what it held.

Mrs. Houston claims not to know
where they went or what they did with
the trunk. Police are still looking for
the two men.

The Kings County grand jury, on
June 5, 1950, indicted Mrs. Houston for
murder in the first degree. Trial is
pending as this is written.

Alfred Turiano is still a fugitive as
this magazine goes to press.

The Murders of the Fort Wayne Women (Continued from Page 36)

latest lie-detector test at South Bend:

“At no time did I find any evidence of
guilt and I am convinced the subject
told me the truth at all times. The sub-
ject told me he had an eighth grade edu-
cation. He also willingly told me that
he was a pervert. However, I believe
this subject is mentally competent and
aware of the fact that he is sentenced
to die in the electric chair within one
month. In view of these facts, the sub-
ject’s reactions were those of a man who
is sincere in telling the truth, and not a
criminal grasping at straws and at-
tempting to evade his execution.”

This story, and those which followed
for many days in the Jourzial-Gazette
and the News-Sentinel, the evening pa-
per, aroused controversy concerning
Lobaugh to a feverish pitch. So bitter
were some of the comments and criti-
cisms that Judge William H. Schannen,
who had sentenced Lobaugh, gave out
a statement to the press outlining the

safeguards which had been thrown
around the defendant when he appeared
in his court, prefacing the statement
with the comment that he “felt it in-
cumbent on the court” to do so “because
of the wide interest in this case.”

ome statement reads, in part, as fol-

“Or THE 2nd of September, 1947,
: the defendant requested, through
his attorneys, that his mentality be
examined and the court appointed Dr.
Stellner and Dr. Dunstone, who on Sep-
tember 9 and 15 filed the results of their
examinations, in which both psychia-
trists said that the defendant was
sane...” \

The defendant was then arraigned
and, before permitting the defendant to
plead to the indictments read to him,
the following statements were made to
the defendant by the prosecuting at-
torney:

Q. Do you know that you have a right
to be tried by a jury of twelve people to
determine whether or not you are guilty
of this crime?

A. Ido.

Q. Do you know you have a right to
be tried by the court and waive a jury
as os Peal

. 0. ;

Q. Have you been threatened or.

coerced or influenced in any manner to
enter a plea of this kind?

A. No, Sir.

Q. Do you enter a plea at this time
freely, voluntarily and understand-
ingly?

A. That’s right.
Q. And do you understand that it is

the law of the State of Indiana that the

punishment for the crime of first-degree
murder is life imprisonment or death in
the electric chair?

A. I do.

Q. In case you are found guilty?

A. I realize it.

Q. Do you consider yourself to be
sane?

A. Sure, I’m sane.

Q. And do you consider yourself to
understand the seriousness of this mat-
ter at the present time?

A. I do. ‘

Q. You realize what you are doing?
Will you answer that yes or no?

A. Yes.

Q. Are you now ready to enter a plea
to this indictment?

A. I’m ready.

Q. And what is your plea?

A. Guilty.

The same procedure, almost word for
word, was gone through in the Kuzeff
and Howard cases, Lobaugh pleading
guilty to both of them. ; .

An innocent man may have been
sentenced by mistake but certainly. no
one could claim that Ralph Lobaugh
was “railroaded.”

Fort Wayne Women

Throughout the city, almost everyone
was discussing the case excitedly. Was
Lobaugh an innocent man, about to go
to the electric chair for crimes he had
not committed—while the real slayer
remained at large, threatening the lives
and the safety of others?

Or was Lobaugh really the slayer in
spite of what Dodson said?

Those who thought he actually was
guilty pointed to a statement Prosecu-
tor Alton L. Bloom had released.

N THIS statement, Bloom had listed
many points that indicated Lobaugh’s
guilt. Some of them were:

In his confession to the murder of
Anna Kuzeff, Lobaugh had told police
that he dropped his pocket-comb at the
scene of the slaying, and he told police
the trade name stamped on that comb:
Pro-Co-Pox.. Such a comb had been
found and no one but the killer and the
police knew that it existed. Bloom
claimed no mention of it had been made
in the newspapers.

At the spot where Anna Kuzeff died,
Lobaugh, in re-enacting the crime, had
pointed out that irrigation pipes run-
ning through the field now were ele-
vated above the ground, while at the
time of the slaying they had been flat
on the ground.

He had described the condition of
the body and of the girl’s clothes accu-
rately and in much greater detail than
the newspapers had described them. ~

In the alley where Mrs. Howard was
slain, he had mentioned that the alley
was covered with cinders at the time of
the murder. Since then it had been
paved. F

He had made his confession three

The Christen jury—
eleven farmers and

Christen and Judge
Pefley, before whom .

one farmer's wife his trial was held

years after the crimes had been com-
mitted. He would not have remembered
for three years, merely from reading
the newspaper accounts, all the insig-
nificant facts he included in his con-
fession.

In addition, two lie-detector tests had
indicated his guilt,-tests conducted by
Lieutenant R. F. Borkenstein of the
Indiana State Police and Professor
Leonarde Keeler of Chicago.

All those points, Bloom declared,
demonstrated Lobaugh’s guilt, and his
conviction was justified.

But Attorney Buhler was far from
satisfied. He asked the State Clemency
Board for permission to have another
lie-detector test of his client. This was
granted and Lobaugh was taken to
South Bend, Indiana, on March 8, 1948,
where he was given the test under the
supervision of Lieutenant John Porte.

The test showed Lobaugh to be en-
tirely innocent of the three crimes, ex-
actly the opposite of the findings of
Lieutenant Borkenstein and Doctor
Keeler.

This, of course, was far from con-
clusive proof of Lobaugh’s innocence.
Two other lie-detector experts had
pronounced him guilty, and he still in-
sisted off and on-that he was the killer.

Buhler thereupon arranged with
State authorities to give Lobaugh yet
another test. This time the mechanical
gadget was to be discarded. Instead a
truth serum, sodium pentothal, would
be used. Sodium pentothal is a drug
which unlocks the subject’s inhibitions
and brings his subconscious thoughts
and attitude to the surface. Lobaugh
would tell his own story directly in-
stead of through a machine.

In none of the other tests had a writ-
ten record been made, nor had any
outsider been permitted to be present.
But this time an alert and resource-

-ful newspaperman, Albert W. Spiers,

Junior, of the Michigan City News-
Dispatch, made up his mind that
nothing would prevent his tearing aside
the veil of mystery and hush-hush with
which the other lie-detector tests had
been surrounded. Through friends in
the penitentiary and elsewhere he
waged a determined campaign to be
permitted to witness the truth-serum
drama. Finally he overcame the many
obstacles put in his way and was given
official authority to be present while
Lobaugh took this test.

THE test was conducted by Doctor
Charles A. Zeller, Director of the
Indiana Council for Mental Health, and
Doctor Edwin C. Coats, Assistant Super-
intendent of the Logansport Asylum. It
was held in a darkened, steel-doored
room in the prison hospital, just a few
feet from the death house which had
been Lobaugh’s home since the previ-
ous October.

The door was kept slightly ajar so that
the witnesses in the corridor just out-
side—unknown by Lobaugh to be there
—could hear what was going on. The
witnesses consisted of Spiers; Attorney
Buhler; Deputy Prosecutor A. Everett
Bloom (brother of Alton) ; Lester Eisen-
hut, new Chief of Police of Fort Wayne
who on January 1, 1948, had succeeded
Jule Stumpf; Frank Tukey, Secretary
of the Indiana State Clemency Com-
mission, and Deputy Warden L. C.
Schmuhl of the penitentiary.

For several hours that morning the

two doctors had familiarized them-
selves with the case and had talked to
Lobaugh concerning his education,
background, family life and ambitions.
This was to arm themselves for the
type of questions they wanted to ask.
Ready for the test, they administered
the drug, then waited a reasonable time
for it to take effect.

Outside in the corridor, as close to the
partly open door as they could get, the
six men listened, taut and alert, while
the two physicians, in soothing, modu-
lated voices, asked their questions. The
first were about the now semi-drowsy
subject’s early life, his parents, his
schooling. Then:

“Were you ever in the Army or Navy,
Ralph?”

“I was in the Navy.”

“When?”

“In nineteen forty-two.”

“Did you serve your full enlistment?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I got a discharge a few months after
enlisted.”

“What for?”

“Being with men.”

Lael

T= listeners, just a few feet away,
stood rigid and tense. Eisenhut,
Bloom and possibly one or two of the
others knew of Lobaugh’s proclivity in
this direction. Did this facet of his
character, they wondered, have any
bearing on the case?

The questioning went on:

“Did you ever go to Fort Wayne,
Ralph?”

“Sure; several times.”

“Why did you go to Fort Wayne?”

“To see my friends.”

a- g0*

SERIE HS

EN By

q >

Yat

Once again the listening men in the
corridor leaned forward expectantly,
waiting for the next query:

“Did you ever go to see any women?”

“No,” came the reply, the tone
tinged with contempt and followed by
a more vehement, “I don’t like women.”

“Did you ever meet Wilhelma |
Haaga?” Doctor Zeller went on
smoothly.

“No, I never saw her.”

“Did you know Wilhelma Haaga?
Did you know anything about her?”

“Only what I read in the news-
papers.” .

“Did you kill
Ralph?”

“No, I didn’t kill her.”

Doctor Zeller: steered away from
specific instance for:the moment, going
back once again over facts concerning
Lobaugh’s life which he had told them
that afternoon. Finally he asked:

“Did you ever take a piece of rope to
Fort Wayne, Ralph?”

“No. What would I want rope for?”

“To strangle a person—a man, per-
haps, or a woman.”

“No. I don’t like women.”

“Did you know Anna Kuzeff?”

“Only what I read about her in the
newspapers.”

“Did you kill Anna Kuzeff, Ralph?”

“No, I didn’t kill her.”

Doctor Zeller went on to the Howard
and Conine slayings, asking similar
questions. In all cases the reply was a
denial.

“Did you ever try to kill yourself?”
the physician queried softly.

“Yes, once.” .

Wilhelma Haaga,

“Why didn’t you go through with it?”

“I just didn’t have the guts.”

“How did you learn so much about
these murder cases?”

“By studying the newspapers.”

“But you told the police some things
which weren’t in the newspapers, didn’t
you?”

“I know. They were things I found
out after I was arrested. I wanted to be
a big shot. And I wanted to die.”

“You mean you confessed so that you

Police Chief Eisenhut: He
inherited a "hot potato"

could commit suicide by going to the
electric chair?”

“That’s it. I didn’t have the courage
to do it myself.”

Doctor Coats now took over:

“Ralph, I don’t believe you have told

us everything. I think there is some-,

thing deep in your mind, some crime
you want to tell us about. Isn’t there?”

The second man charged with the murder of Dorothea Howard was
Robert Christon, being led into court here by Deputy Sommers

Lobaugh paused for a moment, as if
digging into his recollection. ‘No,
there isn’t,” he answered finally.

“We know you didn’t kill these
women,” the physician went on persua-
sively, “but maybe you killed a man,”

“No, I didn’t kill a man.”

“Perhaps it was a boy, a young boy.”

“T didn’t kill no boys.”

“Maybe it was a young man, about .

sixteen or eighteen.”

“No, I never killed anyone.”

“Then maybe there was some other
crime, something you haven’t told us.
Surely you’ve committed crimes,
Ralph.”

Lobaugh’s voice was getting thick as
the effect of the drug bit deeper into his
consciousness. But he was entirely
aware of the questions asked, his mind
grasping them quickly and his replies
coming almost immediately.

“Maybe some other crimes?” Doctor
Coats repeated suavely.

“I guess so. I used to turn in fire
alarms, and a few times I called the
police and told them there was a big
fight. I liked to see ’em come ‘in a
hurry. I liked the excitement.”

Two more hours of persistent
questioning followed. Time and again
the doctors came back to each of the
Fort Wayne murders, then switched to
the general subject of crimes, baiting a
hundred traps for possible contradic-
tions. But not one appeared.

Doctor Zeller was now ready for the
final question. “You said you were de-
pressed and wanted to commit suicide,
Ralph. What depressed you?”

Lobaugh’s response was in keeping
with other answers he had made.
“Because of the way I am.”

“You mean, abnormal?”

“Any other reason?”

“Yes; it was because one of my
friends deserted me.”

At the conclusion of the tests Doctor
Zeller came out of the room. The
listeners surrounded him expectantly.

“I’m certain he’s telling the truth,”
the Doctor said. “I’m sure he didn’t
kill those women.”

“Would you mind my asking him a

question?” Deputy Prosecutor Bloom
queried.
“Not at all. Go right ahead.”

Mr. Bloom stepped inside the room.
“Ralph,” he said, “the police declare
that you picked the comb and belt
buckle from among several similar ones
—the comb and buckle which were left
at the scene of the Kuzeff murder.
How did you do that if you weren’t
there? They were never mentioned in
the newspapers.”

“They only showed me one comb and
one buckle,” Lobaugh answered posi-
tively. “I figured they were the right
ones. That’s how I got the name of the
comb—when they showed it to me.”

HUS the test ended. None of those
present with the exception of

Deputy Prosecutor Bloom would ex-
press an opinion concerning Lobaugh’s
guilt or innocence. Bloom declared,
“This is only one of many tests. I still
think we have the right man.”

What Chief Eisenhut thought is not
known. But what is known is that,
when he took office on January 1, 1948,
he apparently was appalled at the con-
tradictions in which the cases had be-
come entangled and had decided to
start from scratch and make a com-
plete re-investigation of them.

An extraordinary political situation
had arisen in Fort Wayne. For thirteen
years the Republican party had been in
power there. The elections of 1947,
however, put Democrats in office. This
included the mayor and other elective
officials.

A new administration meant sweep-
ing. changes in the Police Department.
Fort Wayne has no civil service ex-
amination from which police are
chosen. Officers are appointed without
a test, although they cannot be fired so
easily; they can be suspended for a
determinate time for cause, but can be
discharged only by a Board of. Safety
after a hearing.

When the new administration took
office, Chief Stumpf resigned. Mayor
Branning immediately appointed Les-
ter H. Eisenhut to succeed him.

Eisenhut had been a patrolman for
thirteen years. Rather good-looking,
middle-aged and well-set-up, he gives
the impression of being poised, straight-
forward, willing to listen to the other
side of any question and perfectly
capable of coming to an intelligent de-
cision. He is the kind of man it would
be hard to rattle, no matter what the
emergency—the sort that would be
found dependable in a crisis.

Nor does he think he knows it all. As
soon as he was able to get his fingers on
the pulse of the Department, after the
numerous changes that followed the
election, he departed for Washington to
spend twelve weeks in the FBI school.

H E UNDOUBTEDLY realized when he
took office that the outgoing ad-
ministration was handing him a _ hot
potato in the murder cases. He con-
ferred at length with Inspector of
Police Bernard Garmire. Together they
decided to place Detective Sergeant
Howard Walker in active charge of the
investigation, his work, of course, to be
supervised by Garmire and the Chief.

Following the lie-detector and sodium
pentothal tests, Attorney Buhler con-
tinued working with his usual energy.
On the strength of their results he won
another stay for his death-house client,
this time until May 24, 1948.

The outcome of the tests created a
tremendous sensation in Fort Wayne
and throughout the entire state of In-
diana, undermining the belief of many
of those who had been convinced the
prosecution had Lobaugh dead to rights.
The Journal-Gazette, the city’s morning
paper, spread the news all over the front
page in two banks of inch-high black
type. It quoted a statement from Lieu-
tenant Porte, who had conducted the

(Continued on Page 62)

No one in the Hoosier State has a bet-

r reputation than Judge Schannen for
ynor and integrity. No one could find
wilt with him for the action he took
i sentencing Lobaugh, nor with Prose-
itor or Police Department. The fault,

there was any, seems to lie with the

.w which permits such a sentence on @
afendant’s own statement and without
yrroborating evidence. The Prose-
ator, as he says in his statement of the
revious December, had what his office
msidered good confirmatory evidence.
‘ut he did not present it when Lobaugh
atered his pleas of guilty because, un-
er the law, he didn’t have to.

Chief Eisenhut, Garmire and Walker
1eanwhile continued digging into the
ase, avidly searching for clues which
‘ould either confirm or shatter Lo-
augh’s acknowledgment of guilt. As
ne Howard case seemed to be the most
usceptible of proof one way or, the
ther, they canvassed the neighborhood
f the alley in a wide radius, hoping to
nd someone who had noticed the
oldier and civilian either going in or
oming out of it on that fatal night.
Vhen this proved fruitless they again
vent over the police records of known
ex offenders—practically all of whom
iad been questioned previously—to see
f either the records or a further quiz of
uch persons might disclose an angle
hat had been overlooked.

They were in the midst of this tedious
ob when Chief Eisenhut paid a visit to
iis dentist. It was a routine call for a
reneral check-up, but it was to have a
rolcanic sequel.

DURING the visit, the talk turned on

the murders. Eisenhut was telling of
he difficulties which confronted him in
‘ollowing such a cold trail when the
ientist burst out explosively:

“You police officials are eternally
alking about citizens not co-operating
with you, yet when a citizen does try
‘© help you, you ignore him.”

“What are you talking about?” the
Chief demanded.

“Well, I know a man who went toa
dolice official and told him he had seen
someone go into that alley with this
woman on the night she was killed, and
he went to an officer and told him about
it and nothing ever came of it.t- They
didn’t even ask him to identify the
fellow.”

“Who’s the man who saw all this?”
Eisenhut asked wearily.

“Well, he’s no publicity-seeker,” the
dentist retorted. “He’s sincere. Would
you like his name?”

“You bet, if he’s reliable.”

“All right; his name is Wilford Tepin.
And here’s his address .. .”

With slight hope of any definite in-
formation, Eisenhut went to see Tepin
and found him even more indignant
than the dentist. “What’s the use of
giving the police information?” he
asked. ‘They never use it.”

“Don’t kid yourself,” the Chief an-
swered patiently. “You're absolutely
definite that you saw a man going into
that alley with a woman on the night
Mrs. Howard was murdered?”

“Yes, just a hundred percent.”

“Would you know him if you saw him
again?”

“Would I know him! Why, I went to
school with him!” ‘

“All right; who is he?”

“His name is Bob Christen.”

Eisenhut now was surprised. “Why,
we questioned him! I mean, the other
boys did at the time these killings oc-
curred. But I think he proved an alibi.”

“Alibi! Well, if anyone had come to
me and asked me after I tried to help
out, I could have cracked his alibi, and
good. But they didn’t. Never heard a
word further about it.”

“Who did you report it to?”

“Lieutenant Axt.”

The officer hurried back to Head-
quarters and checked over the records.
There, sure enough, was a written nota-
tion of Tepin’s visit and the information
he had given.

The stunned Chief said nothing at the
time. But later on, that notation was
to provide a dramatic interlude in a
tense and bitter courtroom scene.

Christen had a prior criminal record
involving offenses against women. |

At present, Chief Eisenhut knew, he
was living in Denver, Colorado.

Attorney Buhler meanwhile had ob-
tained a third stay of execution for
Ralph Lobaugh, this time until Novem-
ber 16, 1948. Chief Eisenhut had until
that date to go into this mention of
Robert Christen thoroughly.

H= GOT in touch with the one wit-
ness who had seen the killer enter
an alley with Mrs. Dorothea Howard,
last of the four victims. This witness
was Charles Dodson, the former soldier
who once had identified a photograph
of Ralph Lobaugh, then retracted that
identification when he saw Lobaugh in
person.

this time; he's the one, all right!”

“Are you sure? You know you identi-
fied Lobaugh once.”

“I know I did. But that was from his
picture. When I saw him I knew he
was not the man. Christen is; there’s
no doubt about it.”

Christen was released to be kept
under continuous surveillance by Den-
ver police while the three Fort Wayne
officials hurried back to that city to
help Prosecutor Bloom assemble evi-
dence against him for presentation to
the Allen County grand jury. Dodson
was permitted to return to Memphis
with the understanding that he would
keep in close touch with the officers in
the Indiana city.

Them Will Be:

Where the Wild Goose Kills

Killing?

End of the Line for Homicide

Sketch of a Kidnaper

Photographic Likeness ©
Trailing the Silent Killer
Without Uttering a Sound?

Mystery of the Missing Mail

Coming Next Month

THE Séptember Issue of OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES You
Will Find Another Collection of Startling, Dramatic Stories of
Investigation Into the Country’s Biggest and Most Sensational
Current Crimes, Every Story a True Story of Today. Among

Two Persons Had Been Seen Near the Boise, Idaho, Store Where
Friendly, Aged Newton Wilson Was Slain—A Young Man With a
Wild Goose Knitted on His Sweater, a Girl With Her Fingers Stained
Dark Red. Who Were They? What Might They Know of the

A Tall, Dark Stranger Struck Out Suddenly at the End of a Bus
Line in Hempstead, Long Island, and Killed a Young Man He'd
Never Seen Before. Why? How Find Him?

Only the Bravery of a Girl Who Lay in the Shadow of Death Enabled
These Los Angeles County Officers to See If Their “Magic Lantern”
Machine Really Would Change a Vague Description Into a

Why Did This Burglar Battle to the Death in Knorville, Tennessee,

Who Was Looting Mail Trains in New York City—And How Could
Postal Inspectors Trap Him With Powder?

Also in That Big September Issue With These—Unless a Change
Is Made to Bring You Even More Timely Cases—Will Be Many
Other Equally Thrilling, Up-to-the-Minute, Dramatic Stories of
the Never-Ending War Against Crime. Order Your Copy Today
—It’s on Sale Wednesday, August 23.

Chief Eisenhut asked Dodson to go
to Denver and get a look at Christen.
Dodson agreed readily and Eisenhut
thereupon made arrangements with the
Chief of Police in Denver to bring
Christen in, ostensibly for a line-up, on
September 3.

With Dodson on that trip to Denver
were Eisenhut, Inspector Garmire and
Sergeant Walker. The show-up was
held as planned.

“Unaware that three members of Fort
Wayne's police force were present,
Christen answered in a surly voice the
routine questions hurled at him by the
Denver officers. Meanwhile Eisenhut
and his two subordinates were watch-
ing with intense interest the man they
had brought with them, who was study-
ing the face and snappish voice of the
suspect.

Dodson bent forward to the Chief:

“It’s him!” he whispered, the Chief
said later. “It’s the guy who was with
me in the alley! There’s no mistake

Dodson, at the request of Chief Eisen-
hut, returned to Fort Wayne when the
grand jury met in the early part of
November, 1948. He brought his wife
and mother with him. And on Novem-
ber 8, 1948, Robert Christen was in-
dicted for first-degree murder in the
slaying of Mrs. Howard.

This, of course, was one of the
murders for which Lobaugh had been
sentenced to death, Did the indictment
mean that he was innocent—not only
of this but also of the other murders?

In the meantime Fort Wayne officers
had returned to Denver. After several
days’ delay, Governor Lee Knous signed
extradition papers and Christen was
brought back to Fort Wayne.

“T ain’t talking,” he said to Eisenhut.
“T’ll tell the court what I’ve got to say.
I couldn’t be bothered answering that
charge; it’s silly. Go ahead; lock me
up. I don’t know this guy Dodson; I
never saw him before in my life.”

Raleigh C. Parrish, Robert Parrish

and Giles J. Pierre, attorneys, were re-
tained by Christen. They immediately
petitioned the court for a change of
venue, contending that “because of the.
renewal of public excitement in this
case” it was impossible for the defend- .
ant to have a fair trial in Fort Wayne.

Under the Indiana law the State must
grant such a change in any case where
the death penalty is involved. Judge
Schannen therefore ordered that the
case be tried in adjoining Whitley
County, the seat of which is Columbia
City. The presiding judge to hear the
case would now be Lowell Pefley, while
the Allen County prosecutor’s office
would be assisted by Prosecutor James
Biddle of Whitley County.

ia THE meantime Lobaugh, lingering
in the death house at Michigan City,
had been granted several more stays of
execution, six in all, the latest granted
by Governor Schricker, who announced
that he intended to make a full-scale
investigation of the Fort Wayne murder
cases. Shortly thereafter the Indiana
Supreme Court, too, ordered a complete
re-investigation of them,

Christen went on trial on April 18,
1949. He had an impressive battery of
attorneys, including the three previously
mentioned—Raleigh C. Parrish, Robert
Parrish and Giles J. Pierre—and Ralph
Miller and James F. Murphy. The jury
consisted of eleven men and one woman.
It was extraordinary in one respect:
The eleven men were all farmers and
the one woman the wife of a farmer.

Two witnesses against Christen were
Dodson and Wilford Tepin, the man
who claimed that he had seen Christen
going into the alley with the Howard
woman but that nothing had been done
about it when he told police.

A third witness also had been found.
She was Alice Quentin, who lived above
the alley where the attack on Mrs. How-
ard occurred. After a long search, offi-
cers had learned that it was she who
‘had shone the lights from her car into
the alley and called out, “What's going
on there?”

Dodson,:on the witness stand, posi-
tively identified Christen as the civilian
who had gone into the alley with him.

He also testified that he had been
taken by the police to see Christen the-
previous September, when Eisenhut,
Garmire and Howard went with him to
Denver, where he saw Christen in a
show-up.

On cross-examination, Raleigh C.
Parrish brought forth contradictions in
his testimony. It went substantially:

“You had identified Ralph Lobaugh
once, hadn’t you, as.the man who had
gone into the alley with you and re-
mained there?”

“Yes, but that was from a picture.”

“And you later went to the Indiana
State Prison where you confronted him
in person?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“And you were positive then he wasn’t
the man?”

“Yes.”

“How long were you with Christen
on the night of the Howard murder?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Part of that time in a dark alley?”

“That's right.”

wns you positively identify him, only
being with him ten. minutes or so
in a dark alley, as the man who was

“Yes.”

“Did the police ever take you to see
Christen to find out if you could iden-
tify him?”

“Yes, they took me to Denver.”

“That was the only time?”

“Yes,”

“Do you know Sergeant Horace
Smith?”

ON o

The attorney had Smith, who like
Lieutenant Axt had been reduced to the
ranks by the new administration, rise so
that Dodson could view him.

“You never saw that man before?”

“No, Sir.”

“Positive?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Isn't it a fact that you spent three
days ‘in March, nineteen forty-five,
driving around Fort Wayne from tav-

CAMP, William Thomas, white, hanged Princeton, Ind., 11-22-1872..

HISTORY OF GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 87

said land not exceeding four thousand acres, and
whereas, the said board, by their resolves of the 9th of
January and 12th of February, 1807, did authorize and
empower William Henry Harrison, Henry Vanderburgh,
John Rice Jones, and Francis Vigo, as @ committee on
the part and in behalf of the said board to sell and dis-
pose of the said land, according to the act and the said re-
solve of January 9th. It was further agreed that when-
ever a section or quarter section was sold and the money
paid in, thea the president of the board was authorized
to make a deed of transfer. It appears that the first
land sold and conveyed by this board was to Joseph
Woods, Sr., it being the southwest quarter of Section
93, at the rate of $2 per acre. A public sale of these
lands was held on the 26th day of August, 1812. The
lands were subsequently sold from time to time, and
from the purchase-money and rental of the same the
University of Vincennes was established. In 1832
James Smith was appointed as the state commissioner
of these lands, and served as such for many years, un-
til the lands were disposed of and the office abolished.

FIRST LEGAL HANGING.

The first legal execution in this county was that of
William Thomas Camp, for the murder of J. R. Bilder-
back. They were both residents of Pike County. The
murder took place in Johnson Township, near Haub-
stadt, on the night of July 31, 1871. Camp and Bil-
derback had traveled together to Haubstadt, the for-
mer walking, and the latter riding his horse. Not
finding a place to stay at Haubstadt they concluded
to sleep in a small piece of woods a short distance
frori the village. On the way there Camp picked up
a hickory club, which he used as a cane, On arriv-
ing in the timber Bilderback lay down with his head on
the roots of a tree and went to sleep, after which
Camp struck him on the head several times and killed
him. - There had been no, grudge or quarrel between
them, but the motive for the crime was shown by the
larceny of a note for seventy-five dollars which Bilder-
back held on Camp and had with him. Camp threw
the dead body into the top of a fallen tree, He also
appropriated to his own use a part of the clothing of
the murdered man and rode Bilderback’s horse down
to New Harmony in Posey County, where his arrest
was caused by William L. Bilderback, a brother of the
deceased. Camp was brought back to Haubstadt and
afterwards pointed out to the brother of the slain man
and the officers in charge where he had thrown the
body. A coroner's jury was summoned, and in the
presence of the remains, which were found horribly
mangled by hogs, Camp made a confession under oath
to the above facts. After being put in jail at Princeton,
and before his trial he made an escape, and was hid
out for some time in the neighborhood of his mother's
home. He subsequently went to Kentucky, where a
short time afterwards he was arrested for horse-stealing

and incarcerated in the jail at Owensboro. News of
his arrest reached the sheriff of Gibson County, who
brought him back here to stand his trial. He was tried
and convicted at the July term of the Cireuit Court,.
1872, found guilty of murder in the first degree and
sentenced to be hung on Friday, October 4th, Gov.
Baker gave him a respite until Friday, Nov. 22, 1872,
when, at’ 2 o'clock p. M. of that day, he was execu-
ted by Sheriff F. W. Hauss. The prisoner was ably
defended by Col. Charles Denby and the eloquent and
able lawyer, Hon. ©. A. Buskirk.

- PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

Thé location of the seat of justice having been defin-
itely fixed upon, the next step was the erection of a suit-
able building for the accommodation of the public offi-
cers. The sessions of the county commissioners and
the early circuit and common pleas courts had been
held at the house of William Harrington, and the first
session was not held at the new court house until June,
1815. Gibson County has had ‘three court houses and
three jails. The board of commissioners ordered the
county agent, Robert M. Evans, to let the contract for
the making of the brick at a cost not exceeding $5.50
per thousand. The brick was made on the public
square. The first court house was built on the follow-
ing general plan: —The walls were of brick thirty-three

by forty feet high; the foundation was laid eighteen

inches below the surface of the ground: the height of
the lower story was twelve feet; above the bottom of
the sleepers, which were one foot above the ground, the
wall of the lower story was two and a half brick thick
and the upper story two brick; there were two chim-
neys with fire-places. The brick and all the necessary
timbers for the construction of the building were furn-
ished by the court. Work was commenced Sept. 1,
1814. Killion Creek was the contractor who laid the
walls, Samuel Hogue put on the roof of the court house
and furnished the timbers for the window frames, etc.,
and John Decker-had the contract for the inside work
on the building. Samuel Boicourt did the painting.
This building was used by the county for over a quarter
of a century, until in the year 1841 it was deemed
advisable to cause a new court house to be erected, and
the court appointed Joseph Devin, Samuel Hall and
Wallis Howe commissioners (Mr. Devin resigned and
Jonathan Young was appointed in his place), and
directed them to procure plans and specifications. The
plan agreed upon and adopted was one ‘furnished by
Edward Coleman. The contract for the erection of the
court house was awarded to Alfred Poland. The struct-
ure was of brick and was finished in the year 1843, at
a cost of about $9,000. It was a good substantial
building almost square, and served for the purpose for
which it was built until 1883. The new court house
now building is of the modern style of architecture,
and when completed will be a commodious and hand-

Charles TH, Baler,
: The Brital Wit Mur-
derer, Pays the

Penalty of

Hix Crime, and In Hanged
hy the Neck THI
He Dien,

|
His Vibious Nature
Holds Out to the

He Makew a Denth-Red Re
pontance-and Uuites With

‘the Catholle Chareh,

aane pre
The
12408 P.

Mee

i ~
4

Au Evhibjiies of Nerve Nel-
dom, If Raver, Equaited,

i -
fle Dies Game in Biery Menne

othe Wer, -

Friday a (terion at 12:80, ¢. Chat lew
W. Hutler, Ug brutal wife munterer,
} took adiop titoenternity and has gone
*{ te another workl to meet his reward
* Ilo was executed in an enclosure cree-
-j tet fur the purpose, immediately cast
of the Jail. ‘This enclosure was 4x42
-| feet in size andl twenty-feet in lighth.
‘There was only one building in towa
from the top ef which one could look
Into the enciusure and that was Dr.
Linvill’s residence.

‘The scaffok] was the same one upon
“| which Sam McDonald was executed
Ej in Port Wayne one year ago, and it
Answered the purpose (int Mass.

“The seaffold was designed by John
D. Olds and Gouls Loubscher, of Fort
Wajne. The}e gentlemen came out
suxl placed the machine {n readiness
for the fall; /1t is a very ingenious
structure and ‘space prevents a detail-
wl description of it.

This morning Nutler expressed a de-
aire to Father Melihake lo make peace
with Almighty God and asked for
heavenly clemency and grace. Ile
was baptized jn the Catholie faith and
Teceived thes last sacrament uf the
Catholic chureh with all the blessings
the church can bestow. Ile (berefore
died a Catholfc,

Me only felative of the . doomed
san present was Mrs. latte [avens,
of Cincinnat!) She arrived in this city

bid

”
ie
‘
¢
4

| Wednesday. )}She was permitted a! oul irl hin oll far the eet

Dred Dea,

5 an
Drop Sprong at

a ated
sda, of Warsaq; Dr. \

G{ W. Richards, W.
lifrig and Henry Shee@,
ana jury to see that
forwed his duty under 3ha

Ab 11:90 be played t
aud danced a little.

marched upon the scamtbkll
| Hie sexe. 5
ft never premeditated
I want you ail to know
talon muah inauhwod if 1
I Want to aay to thene 1

e for that

se(ting around here, the
mé \

paper men
all abused

. y the
‘There ls Dr, Webber Ses
1low do you de doctor

‘Times,
Ring there.
you abused

nq like a dog, but J for
is too much man in me
Tata no coward. Thare ja

nogdie a coward. My j
clear. | don’t know bod
jJurymen, bat I forgive

‘That ts ail.”

At the close of his
Father Iellbake comiuc
loud pervicos and prayed
dentnod man,

Shoriff Allwein, Deputy
Jacbb Ruoh, Jacob Pads
strangers besides Fat
worm on the scaffold,

While they were f;

a woman.
Mr, Jelitsoa.
Nd has the same cities on he
had on when he was detiing on the

Jury. Jlew do you do MQ Jellison ?
‘This ts Mr, Green, bow Jo Fou do Mr.
Girten. All the money is county
Could not hire me to sithogn there tu
seo.a man bung, [ am gochsto be hung.
Lam going tode like « fhah. famno
coward; [ never was a cc Iwiird and will

puRtacience ia}
its with the

yous,
all bf you will forgive aa

fectarks ov.
m4
a aparyran

wry Uelihake

There

and hope

the relig-
the con-

Fand two

his tinte

he made remarks, smiled,

Deqjuty Goodfellow pt
about hin neck. ‘Turning
the phorii? Hutior maid :
(ie aowel; Unie je awely

“thyn't touch that vn

Wintel Une mbortil ruc iff
hag te the deputy nate
seed bye, Stn."

att spoke to
mer whom he recognizal, |

os
TK bee ine
q

i M4 black oa

Qin Laont'n
7

nmi Gorn.

ne we,

the

amt tho borty ged}
in the air, Ie maden
strigazie for nearly one
ho swung bit feet out in
Sach an exhibition uf}
never befure witheanet. 4
wp Cie step to dhe sea ffoll
his feet; uml when he
the brip hod the xame

to bang 1 minutes athe 2
cut jt dewn aud placed ign

hufnie,

lefipet upoe
aie
* Coroner Willan alle } the beady

hy
iy

oe
Tet
tedibof tsdn,

a PULSATION
Ist ninute, 10; tad m

minuto, 41; ith minute, § ne)
1

ing to listen to the ndvic

fn ied from fon,
Infeight minutes after {hq trop was
sprung he was Pronounced goad.
| Mis Last vou: zm.)
Fur tho last three Wage {he his lite
Chas. W. Ihutier began t ink of the
future world. Y' oy was will-

Father Ilel!hake had cal
quite frequently and y
Pprested a desire to be
Catholic church. [Te aa

to Udke all the rites of tne !

tpon him
my he ex-
> into the
wanted

of War-!

Nenomina- |;

mx cainy. er ok ts
. j Aflor gaining bis lIberty anda few made
John Ort,“ days to Columbus, 2

ure.
While the jail was undergoing re-

third and almost succesaful attempt
ta gain his liberty was made, and had
it net beeu for the honesty of a prison-
et who informed the sheriff, he would
bave been successful, .

Thus it will be seen that as a jail-
braker Butler made a very
record during the past year. llow-
ever, in spite of all his desperate and
pts to escape, Le was

er
y

unole, who had gone te bed, arose,

Ny four o'clock they were aguin ih
the ityernon home, Both Ityervon and
Tatler had been drinking some, bet

not so much that they were intoxieat>
od,

Obartey anki to hie wife: "Where ts
tay katy

‘Tho woman replied: “fla je up
stairs asleep,” ,

We “Pi yous go ami bring hit
lown here.”

Mow, Ie" Na, 1 won't de ji

ad
room. ‘Turing as quick ai a
Charley pointed the weapoa. at
frenziet, teeing wife and
was just passing out the

{ Dearing, as in the case of the Stale of

compelled to face the music and to
suffer for a borribie crime in 2 manner
which the laws of our state and senti-
ment of the people pronounce just.
THR TRIAL.
Of all Use trials, either civil or crim-
inal, ever beld In the Whitley circuit
court sipee its creation, there have
been pone in which so much Interest
was taken, pone in which so great an
effort was put forth to get af ail the
facts and evidence, abd none in which
so much time was iu the

their way without difloulty, Aj. After the trial had been

pairs, Jutier was taken to Ft. Wayne|'
for safe keeping, and while there a}:

Ra ae a enter, “Pe.

many nights, the jury retired to ren
der j ac

nearly az

* erable existence, and many people say
icaused his mother's death, or at least

as follows: -

“WK TIE JURY FIND THE DE-
. PENDANT, CHARLES W. BUT-
“LER, GUILTY OF MURDER ty made him much less dangerous than

THE FIRST DEGREE, as x be would have been otherwise. Ills
* STANDS CHARGED IN THE LN-: first arrest of which there is any re-
DICTMENT, AND ASSESS AS: cord was made on July 9! 1877, and
MIS YUISHMENT THEREFOR,
SUFFEN) der very]

THAT UE SHALL
DEATIL”

was concluded and they were iismisa-
od.

prisoner received the terrible news

present say it had no visible effect up-
on him whatever. Ile morely shrug-

Noor, The irona were placed upon

await his dow. On arriving at the
foot of the stains he sald: “f don't
cars a g—d di—al but Ido pity my
poor old father. It will send him toa
lunatic asylum, and [ pity my poor
Nittle boy, As fur myself, I'm a

Indiana versus Chas. \W. uiler.

- There was no doubt at all In the
Public mind as to who murdered Abi-
gall Inter. The ony question to be
examined into waa that of reepoanibil-
ity, and apron (hia question the entire
trial hung. The defence set up the
plea of Insanity, and thie at onos open-
ed up a large Sed for operation. In
taot it gave thom an oppurtunity to gv
Daok, not alone throwgh the whole life

t brad, I've siways been a
thoronghbred and Midis a thorough-
bred.”
Nutler was yory prufuno and when
lle futher came to seo hin he would
curse him in (he gest yelement man-
ber calling him all the vilo names his
fonyue couk! command, and only yos-
feniay mourning when the poor old
broken heartod father called, the aon
deluged bine Wilh curses and profan-
ity, He seemed to be totally deprived
Of all human (colings and most assur-

Yenlict was decided upon and the jury i
announced that It was ready to report. schools and under the best.of masters

‘The juuge, atturneys, prisoner, sherif™ had prepared him for.a position far
and bailitts repaired to the court room
and received the verdict, which read

, Each member of the jnry axsented | bearing the name of Charles; W. But-
to the verdict, upon being personally | Jer, The dates of his various arrests
interrogated, and with this their labor

Day was just dawmng when the

that he must die, and those who were

ged lis shoulders and spit upon the

him and he waa taken back to jail to

above: many criminals of more than
twice ‘his age.. Ilis obstinacy had de-
prived him of all schooling, | however,
and his consequent limited education

t time to the time of the mur-
few months ever went by,
ithe slate at the city prison

‘from tha

without!

were as follows; July 9, 1877; July 31,
1877; August 24, 1878; October 31, 1878;
November 5, 1878; March) 5, 1879;
| March 12, 1879; July 9, 187% August 9,
1879; August 30, 1879; October 11, 1879;
December 25, 1879; April 22, 1880; May
18, 1880; December 7, 1880; | March 13,
1891; May 2, 1881; July 6, 1881; July 18,
1881; October 28, 1881; February 2, 1882;
July 13, 1882; - August 2, 1882; Decem-
ber 22, 1882; Marth 22, 1882, July 31,
1888: August 21, 1883. These, of course,
are all locai and do not include the
<Uimes he was arrested in other places
joutside of Columbus. ot

» As he grew to man’s estate he became
‘a knocker, and when drunk would
*tackle anything he thought he could
, whip—but no one whom he considered
tagood man. At first his arrests were
son charges of drunkenness, disorderly
"conduct, resisting an officer, visiting
} disreputable houwes, etc., but his of-
y fenses finally became more serious and
‘he had itted in Columbus crimes

brother's, his coode's and his aunt's
life a@ weil, and this, of courne, requir
od a greal deal of ima,
‘The case waa called fur trial at the
the fzth cay of

fired.
door

tlanjand wanted « Caulbtid minister Devinney was the first person to ar
to preach his funeral, 4 rive. When hecame Butler was ait-| the jury box
This morning Father feilhake call-| ting on the steps, and to the inquiry {Cbain. =A
ed upon him at 8 o'clock “what's the matter ?” he replied: “I've
witt) him until the - [sbot my wife; I'm crazy.”
Y¢sterday Henry Nax¥! giaved him Butler made po effort whatever to
and hishair. He e desired | Scape and assumed to be very much
to gd beck to Colambas idk! as near | STieved over what he had done; bat 3
Uke he did when he left}j as Y of the eye wii were of
All the time the was at{ the opinicn that it was all frigned and
worg on him he Jaughda [ind joked | that he didn’t care a picayuoe.
about the dreadful leap nip eternity; To a gentleman: by the name of
he was about to take wi Utale con- | Strunk, he said: My wife and I have ~
cernias if the barber he were/been having trouble for some time,
the victim. and I concluded the best thing for me
I1@ ate his supper at Ul offlock ; did to do was to got ber out of the way.”
not ¢at very much. Afer/jnpper he} When asked if be: wasa’t afraid of creek township.
smoked a cigar very lly ; talk- | having bis neck cracked, be replied:
ed ffeely and said Father lelihaker “No, slot of good lawyers and a pile
woukl call to see him at seven. of my old father's money, I think, will
Al) 8:90 Father Ileilhaip piled and | save that.” t township.
shania até yrtwner'h and) Toanother gentleman he said that| Joseph J. I'ence, a farmer, of smith
hhw for baptt (lepart- | after stepping out doors over his wife | township.
ed af usw, | he placed the revolver to his own head
‘Tie condemned man wi 8 jjhen loek- aad was going to kill himself, but/ township.
Vim me lieth wine ante tae ve en

Sisters ios

seagate V.

and day, thereny
expediting freatly and keeping
expenses down to a mnch lower figure
thas they otherwise wouki have been.

‘Tie sitorneys on Lehaif uf the state
were Pioaceutor Michael Sickafine
and Wm. F. MoNagny, of this city:
Lemuei W. Noyes and John 1). Wide
man, of Warsay.

The defence was representei by (Ion.
Il. J. Mooth, af Columbus, 0.; en.
Thos. EZ Nowell, of rare, (.;
“Col.” James [. Ermstoa, of Uincio-
mati; O.; and Ion. Joesph W. Adair,
of Columbia City. :

Tt will be seen that both sides of the
case were represented by vory ubile
lawyers, aod to say that the Aight was
& stabborn one’ throughout, would be
patting the case mildly.

of the Prisoner, but to a reviow OF MiB eily failed te rwatize (he enormity of
father's, h as Wh the (unt faved been § a
hia grandmother's, hia ainter'n, hia Qpon hho.

{Uo tntorest it what was transpiiing

et jucteew of
binkimbernthonkin Mi)

} Dheartong (hoe triad ee meet dia fells chair,
day in and lay vet, mantenting un lk

about bins as if lt were amulter wholly
foreivn to him in evesy respert. At
Yenee lw lauched heartily, expectally
Gras this Lrua of bine when |tome-enea-
hes wiiteh ho wan (be pentral ‘aod
2 chahictet waa related by a
Witnem. {Ie was, lowever, most of
the thee,*s “neuer “sipumn-Dotde”
ahscliitel y~withows. aeused of fending,
aint nething- net even death - could
inove him. .

. ueerOuUIeAL
+ Chation W. Iuller wan born Meptem-
her isth, 67, In Alton, F es

county, Ohio, «+ Unetl at the Un of
bila execution he was 27 year and 6
days of age.

Hejwas the only sou of Dr. George
W. uller, now a resident of Colum-
bus, Ohio. [le has two slep-sisters,
at the present Uine residents of Cin-
Cinnait, ‘These and his falher still
survive.

» OF the authentic biastery of Charley
Mutlee’s early life, only that is known
which was developed by his trial.
ilowever enough was thers developed
twoonvince the most skeptical Lhat
the young man was endowed with con-
v “native talent,” and his

all
of whom were ;passed upon, and stil!
Presented severai vacant
second enire or forty
names was ordered and even. this, it

day the “twelve tried and true” had
been secured. Below we append their
names, occupation and piace of resi-
Jacob A. Uakur, a farmer, of Wash-
ington township.
Jeaiah Ascher, a farmer, of Thorn-|{!

jacob IV. Nickey, a farmer, of Smith |

‘an
Joba ¥. DePoy,s farmer, of Union

wild, adventursome life waa well cal-
eulated lo rapidly deveiop that talent
to its fullest capacity, and that, too,
{oa very short space of time. Ilis
fulber being a physician of more than
ordinary ability, soon acquired con-
siderable wealth and yas a man of
wide induence, and the son was never
refused any(bing his fancy could wish,
Indeed it is charged that over indul-
gence was one of the primary causes
that started him on the road that
brought him to the terrible terminus

H which, if punished vroperly, would
‘Xxept him in prison all bis life. Again
cand again be was bound over.to court,
‘but throngh some mysterious means
® the cases never came before juries and
“the youtliful criminal was allowed to
p> gv unpunished. Some time since he
tumanaged, through some unaccount-
able means; to win the affections of
igMiss Abbie Sheehan, an intelligent
@ young lady who was engaged in teach-
ming school. Six years ago last Septem-
“ber they were marrict, and she was
». doomed to the most miserable exist-
nonce imaginable. [er lot; was that of
»* curses and cnffs, vile abuse and daily
wear of her life, yet she bore it all with
wa patience that was almost to be con-
'eydemned, as going beyond: lhe point
de. where it ceased to be a vintue. A little

rey DOYS born to them—the only crea-

senjoyn " iney, }as he‘was given his'Uberty, 3
prolonged however, he ed the old couple s mis-| follow his wife to Indiana and kill her;
a threat he afterwards carrird out:to. °,
the very letter. © »

leaving
words, |
if what I say does no good it pan

Leis

\
On the 27th day of September 1883 ~

he waa liberated, and the first thing be
did was to sell his wife's piano for $35
and become drunk with the | <
driving around toe with o
most depraved women t
breathed, and then went to |
Ind., where the horrible mu
committed.

of the
over

Merceton, °

rder was:

ritten by |

The following letter was

Chariey’s wife before leaving Colum- .
bus, Ohio, for Pierceton: f

THE LETTER. |
Cnanni«:—[ have decided, before,
|the -city, to write you afew |
I know it seems useless, but.
dono
mm. Of course I am sad and lonely, -
m the eve of breaking up my home,

and, Charile, you will feel a

faint echo of my sufferings when you
come tw this house and Instead of xo=——— -
little boy meeting you with oats getcy- |”
ed urms to papa, you will Gnd & little. |
girl, but not your own. The lMtgie~
arms may entwine your neck, bic-not
the touch of your little boy will be
there, and af the absence of your wife |
you will undoubtedly be rejoiced. My
last wishes to you are that you may
live a different life and become a goqd °
man. .
To your sister, who has played a
prominent part in our seperation, I ,
Pray that every word—falsd@ as they
were—she has uttered against me may
resound with double sorrow to her
heart, and before she dies she|may find
herself as she has assisted to make me,
a lonely, broken-hearted, homeless
woman. She says-[ married you for
money. It seems strange, if this ds.
true, that [should marry you when 1\
could have married a man worth more |
than your father. But let her have her.
way. Thank God, that person does
not exist who can say aught to my boy
against ms mother. Your sister, you
said, announced the fact that|{ had an
object in caring for ma. I loved ma as
Tlove my own mother, and your sis-
ter's -conscience would no doubt be
ensier if she could say as { can: I al-
ways used ma well, and for this [ was
more than repaid by her expréssious of
love to me. ; |

How well | remember your worda,
too: © Mysisterand I willdribe you ot
yet; you will have/to wash for a living’
before you die.” ! [t may be possibls
-Uhat I will wash for support, but work
ia honorable, and'I will never resort to
dlshonorablo and base meansifor a liv-
ing (which you tokl me T wottkl have

Dining my relatives. for my lenving you

Sey ever aRrwed

where his carves ended. The love of a
father is so strong that no offense of a

St == Senprrenrre aneme ae
to be looked upon as the “Kerorot the
neighborhoot" rather than in any-
other light. Dr. iSutler did all in his.

Lewis Deem, a farmer, of Jeflurson

power tu have his bey educated, und

to do) If I starve fn, the reg You

bud you need net You ly blame

an 1A MD, he was for’ POurmelf and relatives, ne ,
oe jf @rank “amd waking an seedult. with pay Anst f -aphioesleypher i =
vici, | marderoms Iatent, ard bound. over. to doubt’ of ‘that? het end tase _
ing] court-Tha influence Ia hk behalf, lived; sd yout! not soy Fala sige”
wit however, was {io raat, and lie ‘wae An... Ob, ma re A 4
way | neve? punished. On Marchi 12): 18a, inter Dell is & guedd’ wes par got
pont ® he waa drunk aod was arreated £00] yew an yor any, 1 wena ‘Gad
pq Picking seme one's pocket. lunisite | ive Ine from the tithe.
root ment ald net follow, May 2; 14st, he women If Dell is one. {ame Leal
way wy) Wasarresied for petit larcency and against her, She has bern Ut camera
lowe) went unpunished. July it, 1441, Char- you speaking words to me whack
meal ley hal not yet recovered froin his In- have almost bevken ty bran peed decee
roug gq Ueprndence day spree, and his capers caused learn, (which were wd
serve, | became such as to necessitate his ar- blood) to flow. Khe cae — lead,
. real. Oilleer (ireenaway, upon whose |‘Thunatay evening {0 sce Auei fame.
thec | constitution a fatal dixease had thenj|and spoke hypocritically wf ma!
ance “| male decp inrosd, attempled to per-| wonder if she Usonght bow alice teed on
born (form his duty and take the’ riiflan|tentionally spoken to ana af tee
Ptr down to the city prison. A fight en-|“ drunken son.” Mix ysare age te
ones | | sued, in which Butler made a. most| morrow | married you, ami Lbey hove
hia ra 9 vicious assault upon the oilicer, break- | been; year of serrow and isa pymdenr
ley’s || Ing or dixiocaling his collar bone. Me{men{. jSut | have dome my Deiy, mand
been waa arrested however, and’ charged} can io no more; aad | new emery

nomi
Toug! ew

with assault with intent to kill, but he

with your last wish (mo nediier kee

before you die.” / {t may bd possibls
-that I will wash for support, but work
ia honorable, and’! will neveqresort to
dishonorable and base neansifor a hiv-

<7 <= ++ amgee c wi lene of BOF 16, Yet She LOTS If all Wit
ATER, 85 7 ie ete ee days of age. .
+] le another world to meet his rawarg | “UUMSS: 38 see Bau, Gets tee pible, | and upward until it struck the beck The defence was represents by Loa.

Sooth, i tience that was almost to be con-
Deal resulted from —— ton. | bone wher Il. J. looth, af Col L: Gen, | Metwas the oniy see of Dr. George | *O8 Dv
| Ho was executed in an enclosure ere Ineight minutes after y beg was Teed Goal Wied coe - Tho 2 Powall pg oil - W. Ilutler, now Liveonlont of Caner [levdemned, as going beyond: Lhe point

tal for the purpose, immediately cast | spcung he was pronounces: jaminal of the fourth cervical verte-|‘“Uol.” James [). Ermstoa, of Cincin.| bus, Ohio, [In haw two step-ainters, | de where it ceased to be a virtue. A little

‘fot the jail. ‘This enclosure was 46262 | Its Last uoUsn|| bre, and the blant end rested upon the | BAM; O.; and Mon. Joesph WW. Adair, | at we present Ume residents of Cin-|“sovwas born to them—the only trea- ing (which you tobi me I wohid have
1] feet in aize anil twenty-feet in highth. : Fur bg dais 6 _> spinal cord. The poor woman was oo City.” : ene Theos and iis father still ture, besides himself, for wham aren to do) If I starve fn, the gulthr, You
» has. W. beran n completely paralyzed from the should- will be scen that both sides of the | Survive. cong rh Jing : besides

a ‘There was only one building in towa future world. Yesterda was will- | ers down lm which, condition she re-(¢ase were represented by very able| (Of the authentic history of Charley | ina Tey ered ms drome pe hea a Hf May blame my relatives. for my lea ing you

v {lute the enclosure and that was Je. | Father leithake had call 4:pon him following Tuesday, a stabborn one throughout, would Le| Wich was developed Ly bis trial. | dov ig} +. /ems he wee foursell ani relatives, nek smite Y we

*! Linvill's residence. quite frequently and yestirdpy be ex-| Arter the ahooling Batler stepped | Putting the case mildly. Llowever enough was there developed | sue gif @reak “amd waking an aamaialt, with say Annt | goal weeen Xd.

S| The seaffulj was the same ono upon | Preaeed A desire to be tka} into the} out doors over the Prostrate form of| The work of empanelling the jury|to convince the wost skoptical that| vici.| munderows latent, a over to Te

: Catholic church. Ile aa@ he wanted | nis wife and began yelling “murder” | "88 slow and tedious. The drt spec | the young mau was endowed with cun- ing court-Tha infiveace jn bk behalf,

" which Sam MeDanald was exeented | to take all the riles of (gt Menomina- ‘At the top of his vole Wm. | lal veaire emb: eighty cf! all | sid “native talent,” and hie/ was : san (io at, anil ie *

4] answered the purpose tint Mass, to preach his funeral, : { rive. When became Butler was sit-/ the jury box presented several vacant | ¢tlated lo rapidly develop that talent way neve? punished. On Mareli/ 12, ie nites Dell ts & gud” wl
‘ei ‘ ’ This ng Father fet{bake call-| ting on the steps, and to the inquiry|Chairs. A stcond renire or forty | to its fullest capacity, and that, too, {cou "4 he wan drunk and was arrested forty om — Oud
Ons and aniston, et Poe cx upon him at # o'clock “what's the matter "be replied: “1'rg| tales was ordered and even.thin, ¢{ i a ngs ag ee well pieking some one's pocket... Punlale | ayy, pe fia ihe tithe am

. with) him until the » [shot my wife; I'm crazy.” + | Sppeared, would not meet the require- | faiber being a physician of more than July P mentalld net follow. May 2, 1&x1, he

women" }f Dell is ome, | am lather
against her, She has been Lb> cawne of
you speaking words (9 om etek
have almost broken Wy hear med haw

Wane. Thede gentiemon came out Ybsterda: " ‘ wdinacy ability, soon acquired con-| j1
y Henry Nuxl ht Butler made no effort whatever to|ments, so that a third venire of 30/0 cy Ye ac oa mi
aud placed the machine in readiness} and but his hair. —_ call Be desieca escape and assumed to be very much |More jurors was ordered by the Judge. | tiderable wealth and was a man of way y)| Was arrested fur petit larcency and
for the fall; Jit ls a very ingenious | to > back to Col kek ing as near | gtieved over what he had done; but | Bat these latter jurors were not need- | Wide intluence, and the soa was never | lows *| went unpunished. July i, 1441, Char-
structure and‘space prevents a detall- like he did when he left! ag te of the eye wi were of | @d, for in the afternoon of the fourth | Tefused anyibing his fancy could wish. | his | ley hal not yet recovered frota his In-
H All [he time the t ijst was at] tbe opinicn that it was all frigned and|day the “twelve tried and true" had| Indeed it is charged that over indul- ie ste} ‘ lence day spree, and his capers
el deseription of It, work on him he laughgl jpnd joked that he didn care m ploayucr’ been secured. » Below we append their fence wax one uf the primary causes| roug gd SeOe™ 7 ee canned learn, (whieh were Linge uf
This morning Mutler expressed a de-| shout the dreadful leap @nib eternity; To a gentleman: by the name Bames, occupation and, place of reaj-|that started lim on the road that{serv. | became such as to necessitate his ar- blood) to flow. Nhe cae lowe leak
nivo (o Father’ Lfeilhake to make peace | he was about to take witfj af lttle cone | Struait, Ne aeaie My wifeand Thave| 42008: ; reed ‘i. Tenn Tow 4 at. Ollcer (ireenaway, upon whose} -Thuraiay evening to see Awe Taos
i 3 ; if the barber and in, kor, .1* ls CAret. a2 - v very .
iolese —— ——— - Pay rb server 8 = oat poser sane bon tateee = saan cecal, Eee eee father is no strong that nv offense of a thee “| constitulion a fatal disease had tbhenjund spoke hypocritically wf ma!
heavenly clemency and grace. Ile It . or me aon is too dreadful to meet the absolute | ance “4 le inroad, attempted to per-| wonder if abe Unought bow ple ted te
\ ‘ 1¢ ate his supper at oflock; did to do was to get ber oat of the way.”| Josiah Archer, s farmer, of Thorn made deep in .
& nace clea coon prema not ¢at very much. AferAnpper he| When asked if be’ wasn’t afraid of | creek township. parpartchaaed salen on Lara poe es form his duty and take the rufflan|teutionally spokes tw ane wl bene
Teceived the; lust sacramen: smoked a ci lly ; talk- | havi neck racked, be replied: lacob W. Ni! a farmer, taipence te : of ber rinon hi " yoere
Catholle church with all the blessings | ed ifeely ‘and said Patherd Iieiiharet sane prtpeyheryeelnhe nel Senanip Of SmNN! | The evidence would indicate that | of th gq down to the city prinon. A fight en-}" drunken son.” Xtx nae le
the church can bestow. Ile therefore | Woukl call to see him at sven. of my old father's money, I think, will] John ¥, Defoy,s farmer, of Union| “barley, when a very small boy, was ones ,,, Sued, in which Butler made a. most _erne I married you, ami tery have
ay [dled a Catholic AQ 8:90 Father Ifeilhaie Gaited and{savethat.” township, disposed to be desperate auf preferred | hie r= ®Y vicious assault upon the olficer, break-| been;years of serniw and Adpacpryredt ed
ie * Renae an ‘ mi a = J
J" ‘cme only solative of the -doomed | “2 Giv pritoners cyptépsion and{ To another gentleman ho said that] Joseph J. l'ence, a farmer, of Smith | Le looked upon As the “ferror of the | tey's t ing or dixlocating bis collar bone. Me} ment. int { have chine any thet? amd
f C was 3 Prepared him for baptisniaai depart- after stepping out doors over his wife| township. Reighborhout” ruther than in any-|been “wae arreated however, und! charged} can ilo nu moro; amd | mee comedy
tun prevent was Mrs. Iattte Havens, | ed af 9:20. | he placed the revolver to his own head| Lewis Deem, a farmer, of Jefferson | bet Hight. De. Butler did all in his| numi®t with assault with intent to kill, but he] with your last wish (mo meatier lee
- a arrived In this city | ry condemned man wis then lock. aren going to kill himseif, but | township. . dated his bet sduceted, bens rougl w was not tried, altongh bound over. to} hard it {s for me to de Be) Lo brave pron
sdnesday. \She was permitted aed inf his coll for the last jmp. Le re-|(with a wink) said be; “Tchanged my} Alex. Moore, a farmer, of Union S ereek many dulincs in sesubloeg | nocs a be iS
inal Interview with her half-brother | quested the death yiail t4 aift disturb | mind.” ‘This little apeech, in iteelt township. him to school. Lut the young man money Court. [lis most serious offense how-} You said you woukl Le happy of |
+ |atSojclock. ‘hescene was distress. | lm during the nigit unijjsejsome in- | was evidence that Butler's} David James, a farmer, of Troy | did not take to books hearso readily as ruary 2,| ever, was committed just before this.) would but gu, and now | gu ped Uwe
iling. ‘The peor woman wax too futt o¢| tllifence came from 1 mi tis, in| will-power waa not impaired, {t also] townahip. he did to wine and beer and Frenob | stealing July 4, 1831, the congregation of Sacred | that happiness may follve. ue Lang

re hho deslead had much to do wi a women, and the “dear old cullege| worth of more
xtlof to open her lips and the parting pr dba ean ile by kesaass insanity ples. lo with wiping out the; James Blais a farmer, of Troy walle” | had any real facination | doctur aj Heart churen held a picnic. at Gallo- I wish to say to pm lew
c

P- f

completely proatrated her. his spiritual advisers td)cii. in the} Shortly after the shooting he was| James Cordill, a farmer, of Cleve-| fF him. Ills youthful days were/him to aj way, and Butler, who was drunk, fol-jhave always pretended Ls: le tres ia

Nutler stood leaning on the irun| Moming. ft placed under arrest by offcer Deexiey {land township; passed in u free and easy manner, | offense, lowed the church peuple und avowed} me, but I have learned uf yous falsity.

| aura and looked! upon hia heart-broken | 44.10:80 the prisoner /in{jke down | and on the evening train was trane.| Thos. Jellison, a farmer, of Cleve- Domain = carousing around over) warrant | nig intention of whipping the crowd. | learned why you were ma laited smal
1 1 Ten iT '

aiater’s agony! without the stightent | COmBletely and cried bitterly, saving | ferred to Warsaw and lodged in jail. | land townahip, and Sie ee Warrant 11s was accompanied by a crowd of{after you came back fram Mwiue

munifestation of feeling; not a tear rer betes hung inh tad sai 0 #0 4 Fessmme. Pace Doren, & farmer, of valent: bboy A coer Se eee When oo roughs, several of whom nave since} This you cannot say came Pn my
Ti feame to his eyes or a whimper from “tirdat God, Harry, (Harty > le it naainr ee pd menaaety Charley Thee ewaive men were placed in ry educating trim. Hat this ouly opeued on Charle served time inthe Ohlo penitentiary. | people. I have beant how yu taimed
, | bin Ups. ; Ue bby) didn't papa alwlyg buy you slippery as° an per geack papi charge of W. 8. Barber, who himseit|"P® larger fleld fs which the young|xave his» Toward evening the men had become | about me since your last arrwmt (ter
"| ‘The Fire Department ItUq wagons and toys {}’ I don’t was bound by the following ogth : fan could wpperaie and develop bis| longed to y arreisome and at last attacked | lie, you cannot hurt me, bat yew ave
| eparimont was onmployed | vive, God d—n for 1 Cetoner xs, On | tne sath day of , me ogih: Lies f Ung into devil. | for him h VEY 4
t i ays tf Hut Thate | Gerone eri vrs Propenati jor getting into devil Mcers in attend-}disxracing yorrself and i149 be; 1
to keep the peace outaide the jail-yant | tng disgrace on you. For| ({bd's sake re Wass, Retd, of War - OATH, ent. ‘The result was most of Char-| who in a Ube crowd. The,two 0 is
Bund onclawurd, Quito » large crowd | don't tell hine that. his thttjr dicd-a[i2¥* I" Whose custody Uutler then} You do solematy swear thas you wilh, stealing (anes were in uniform and made a stub- {am not angry with you, but | made wp
my mind that living in nuthing bet «

under the direction of loy's time wes spent around on the
congregated on the sidwatks and in| mundorer {" wax, discovered several: bars in the of the jary ok he oxart, take btrocte and tn the axlxau instead of [time of | born ght against fearful odds, Just

Fre

iy jad escape * A
the street in front of the jail ard foe] AU again he woukdiibibnk out: amare Once Anal og po een y A ) cmnee ot Ube schoo! reou, and as fie always had | Ue Char as Officer Ryan was going to shoot one { hell for six years was nu wat te yer
Of the jail, several saws, constructed | that during the order of tee §

Rvutlemanly, onleily behavior {t was |” Gd knows I'm inmocofjt.} 1 didn’t wa, 8 le chet of fica eg tit ncket | woul MU Oe the miscreants, a stone thrown by| pare for another life, azsd md re

, ; comajit a . hie cirote of friends sous awelled to a} tial be wi :

vi | Petnarkalsle, i No disturbance ofany| py, sath elcheek tnt uh he slopt from table knives and binder of steel, Sapo sans rum by conadlerable onli, iat Charley a iny been » One ef them ce ee soot wafer ~ hen

{kind occurmd, and Ue prociamation very |soundty, About, *¢tock wv (hem together in high-cock-a-lorum of tho gang. not belie | hig revolver out,:6 , * man hours Logwiker,

at jaca aves aa fuloy coe = ir c o mack recess or adjournment, j Uwas during bin roign over the| was arrent \ey's most appailing crime might have|they were as the little inteud ef the

Mo tumades a will at 8:10. — it was writ- | ble df ¢ of | RANE Of Columbus toughs, that he waa | Neilie Stir unwritten,’The. oflicers and 8] ocean, only to be seca for @ memnsei
Asanited and hac hin skull oracked by | ward was: td :
ia pollcoman, aud from that time on | keep tho, MUtDber of othera were hurt... All the | then covered by the angry waive} on

:
|
i

~-}ton by Hon, Wm. Bernhamner, of tu. | Stdlble.
| *|dhauapolla, {fe willed everything to hie =i whole mind

Fry, aed sith dr. Jitter waintainos that his soe has |horself fe: rou were arrested and charged with | need not blame any of my taths tow my

" Teles ee bie “father, readas snd sight-mares qs mares been of pound wid that Une be ppurderous assault, but | Chariey’s teaviae tr seco new sf

: . utlor, his guardian, - ‘| did He utter of the wife tit E question iipou wiueh- doctors dis- | bubwas tli . Feb-| it but ohn, and hd hes ont
Al 95 he! played the “Mock! This ma) money got him out of this fuss, brother

Canney Detter weMechian cen of fener oa Feary 2, 1862, Charioy was arrested for | said one word one way of thee «tte.

__ | Mita” on his gocontian, ‘This he fol} visiléd the &

: ‘Vicious, charac: arrest steal several thousand lars’} Your father bas bees gued te me
ae ‘rip-rearing miad,~ . i Lo separ Fam wey Biting: ‘ : a ‘wantonly ter and it the: ing | dol

uj eet wits /\ ema gions Hoe,” | newspaper man fairly fl \Fobrnary tecm.of court, but: ie Z mg | if Bakd that he scemed tn -fairly 1ovel | fer resister worth of. notes from his father: The | What would have Locome of Larry and
se Over nota of wiloh ho sounded dis mage) Mo -aaidy “It it ‘prepsraticna had ‘not: : 2 Intheaportat th stones th mage and | 4 ctor met I'atrolman Mara ang told {I hud it not been for him. as pos ewer
er ee I “ict [forthe newspapers fh ral: delight: le thes nee | sae hee; him to arrest Charile, explaining the | did anything for my wpport f 1 was
SLi {The tape cdne (rom ¥. Veaderitle, Have\conse el temeatitral delight: in thes pervocu-| $0. Duri hima to : to think of all he bas dujee tee we
wn, Of Cinoinnatt, Oni BS * tiga! nt! domb © - ly | became mc Offonae, as be was about. to obiain a/ you
Serra pores teibe should bel warrant fur: bis apprehension. . Ihe | and you; and I beg for you toftewnd tome
ig Ware and conclu Varrant had hardly been drawn up{ fright. Oh Gud! It would bik poise to iw
saree

Ind, wher H }
death, | *' Batler. was | captured. | seperated ‘from Harry. pity pene
sachs rhea coommed, ta ales cate found | father frum the bottoss of ipy tman
wrote a tett’on Charley, but the old gentlemian, 10} Just to’tiink how mech be pres dunt
hee intent save his son, said the notes pally be-| for aii of his children, amd jee tug
: . : : ath, ievcewm longed to him and that it was no theft | have treated hime, Het you ¢fll seve

; : melo arid letiee for him him to take him. Anojd manj find but one father, one muthow and
op: who 1s sald: to. have’ witnessed thej one wife. You have asid thet we wit
stealing couki not te! found at. the] never have another home Nhe Use 1
time of the LrislL -About | Uie sdme | have been niarried six yrore, ped teewe
Ume Charile was adjudged intano‘and | spent it Im working (ur ctbera dent
pout to the axylumt. Police officers say {think bow I have wurted few. mae
that be was drank at the inquest, bav-| what have [ reestved fe tate fey 4!
ing beet got so that his aclidn: might} If your sister wns ae cima: peshbnst
not belie the charge. On July Ist, ‘be | trouble between you amd Lat Mery ff
was arrested for stealhig a ring {rom | she woukl be an ineewewt stomen. 1
Nellie Sinclair, and a short time after- | coukl try and emdure your -

ee
™.

pos —— amd { ve pate wp a
mmo 1 subentt te
Esta

TT eat”
«

C¢

206 GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

boughs of the trees, and a peculiar odor was present. The cloud came up out
of the west ina funnel shape, with a ball of fire revolving in its apex as it
rolled along. The phenomena crossed a wheat field and burnt the stalks off,
leaving a path of black ashes in its wake. Rip Van Winkle might have told
this tale to is tavern cronies.

On Sunday evening, February 27, 1876, Princeton was visited with the
most severe cyclone which ever passed over the county. The storm came
from the southvest. .\lmost the entire southern part of the city was de-
molished by the wind. Many peculiarities incident to the type of storm were
present. [n 1880 another wind storm visited the county.

FLAT BOATING.

;

Between the years of 1823 and 1840 the trade carried on by means of
flat boats reached its highest point. The Devin brothers were rioted during
this time as boatmen. Most of the boats were sent to the New Orleans
markets, corn and pork, and occasionally wheat, forming the cargoes. The
Patoka, \Vabash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers formed the highways of travel.
ive men usually manned each boat, one of whom acted as captain. Patoka
was generally the starting point for produce from this county. In the winter
of 1836-37 the Devin brothers packed and shipped nearly’a million pounds of
pork. Col. James W. Cozckrum was also engaged during this time in the flat
boat trade.

FEAR OF FIRST STOVES.

\\hen the first stoves appeared, not so long ago as many might imagine,
they were regarded with awe and fear in many instances, and when coal first
began to be used in stoves some were so afraid of it that they would put the
hre out at night. and gingerly, and with constant expectation that something
Was going to happen, would rebuild it the next day. The same fear was
shown for the first coal oil lamps, and it is told of one well known Princeton
lady that when her husband brought home her first coal oil lamp she made him
take it out into the garden, some distance from the house, to light it.

FIRST LEGAL HANGING.
The first legal execution in Gibson county was that of William Thomas

Camp, for the murder of J. R. Bilderback, both men residents of Pike county.
The two men had traveled together to Haubstadt, Camp walking and Bilder-

H cota A Cibia, Cant potions"
by Gok dy St mat (4

back on horseback. Rx
decided to camp in the
and went to sleep, and
him on the head and kil
tree. The motive of th
lars which Bilderback he
the horse to New Harr
was brought back to Ha
crime and the location «
them Camp made his c
made his escape, and fi
Kentucky, where he wa
Owensboro. He was brc
the July term of court, 1
to be hung on Friday, O
until Friday, November
then sheriff, F. W. Hau:

In the old days of
trouble at all to get firec
Methodist congregation |
other congregations—di:
races at the old straight
ing, going to a circus—tl
sons that are today ope
would perhaps be called
Sunday, if believed guilt

P. R. Baldridge, w
back in the thirties, rela
young fellows here durin
on the north side of the
Evansville was driven by
the age of one hundred.
stop-over was made. O:

FD ice tanned features of Harvey Sellers were lined
deep. with perplexity as he gazed steadily across
‘the fields of his southern Indiana farm on the
morning of Saturday, May 17th, 1941.

“Bill,” he said to his son, “maybe it ain’t none of our
affair, but I still think we ought to drive them cows
out of the alfalfa. I know darn well Agrue’d do the

“same for us.”

‘The younger: Sellers nodded slowly, his own “eyes

sweeping in wonder across the adjoining property of
. Johnston Agrue. Suddenly he grasped his father by
the arm.

Something must be wrong over there.” |
col wBY., gosh, you’re dead right, Son,” the olden: ‘man
ee agreed. Driving their team to the neighboring fence line,
ae pais! on foot. toward the altalts ‘patch. Quickly

“Look, Dad-—up there on the hill, Am I seein’ things” e
or is that a couple of horses dragging their harness | mS

“gosh, Son, it looks Tike. he co

concluded,” e heca use’ ‘we didn’t
disturb ‘anything, | »-There’s

they noted something else that sent their
apprehension mounting. The cows were
restless and set up an expectant bellowing

~as the two men approached. The reason *

was obvious: ‘The. beasts apparently -had
not been ane Since carly, the Gay.

«before. 05 :
“We'd better. herd. ’em on “aown to, the —

barn,” the elder Sellers reasoned, “then

_ we can stop in at the house and see. what's : Se

he matter with the folks,”

gether, called sharply. :

“It’s Johnston Aertel he gasped

suicide—”__ eae,

The “youth | shock his hea migh
-be worse than that, Dad. What's happened
‘to the rest of the folks?” *

“Better, get down to, 0. the hones. and see,” | :

the older man said. Lie?

_. Forgetting the cows now in the feeaties ®
. ment of ‘their “horrible discovery, father ~~
and son hastened down the sloping ground

toward. the house... ;
‘Rounding | the corner ‘of an.

another: shocked exclamation. A moment
later both stood gazing-in awed silence
at the pitiful figure of Mary Elizabeth
Breeden, 12-year-old granddaughter of
‘the Agrues. She lay sprawled in the open
doorway, her face almost buried in‘a lit-
ter of corn stalks. A dark, brownish-red
stain that was spread about her head had
seeped into the stalks, | ae
White faced, the youth turned his hor-
rified gaze toward his father,
SUPPOSE: the old. ara hi

: ‘3 ¥4 :
‘liam W. Winegard, Undersheriff. Arch Voit

and Special Deputy Ted Cook from the
Dearborn County seat at Lawrenceburg, 10

miles away, swung off the highway, ”’

Quickly the farmer and his son detailed
their gruesome discoveries.

either Mrs, iy or the 50

But they had not gone far sccoont the es
alfalfa’ patch—perhaps within a quarter of
a mile of the Agrue farm house—when —
young Bill,a short distance from his 53

ainted 2
barn a’ scant hundred yards’ behind the
dwelling the younger man gave. ‘vent. to

CONCERNED NEIGHBORS: Concerned because
the Agrue cows were wandering haphazardly

in the alfalfa field, Harvey Sellers and his son
William investigated, began finding bloody bodies.

bucket, the other a heavy
sweater, folded as if it had
been dropped while being carried.

“That’s his sweater,” Sellers ob-
served, “and likely his dinner
bucket, too. He’s been working the
past month‘or so down at the Fed-
eral proving grounds at Madison.
Rode back and forth every day with
one of the neighbors. He must have
just got -home—”

A wondering frown spread over
the sheriff’s face. ‘“‘Who took care
of the farm when he was working?”

“Well, there was the young lad,
Leo, about 22 I guess. he is. He
lived here with them. Then Bill—
that’s an older son, about 32—he
come over here to help whenever
he was needed. He was over here
yesterday. I see him and Leo out
there plantin’ corn a couple times
when I looked over.”

“Where does Bill live?”

“Him and his wife and their lit-
tle girl lives somewhere over by
Lawrenceburg.”

“Anybody else hanging around
here lately, helping or the like?”

“Not that I know of.” Sellers
shook his head emphatically. “Bill
was the only one I ever see around
much, aside from the old folks and
Leo and the little girl. He ain’t
ever had a hired hand that I
know of.” i

A crowd of curious people already
had begun to gather.

“We'll surround the house,”
Winegard decided. “Keep a good
distance away and watch for any
movement. Duck at the first sign
of any shooting.”

A dozen men formed a ring at.

a discreet distance from the house.
A strange fact was noted at once.
Not a door or window in the place
was open, despite the heat.

“Arch,” the sheriff called to Voit,
“we’re taking no chances. Get a
couple of tear gas bombs out of the
car and we'll soon find out if there’s
anybody in there.”

Stealthily, Winegard and _ his
Undersheriff approached a window
at the side of the house. It would
not open. They crept around to an-

other

and this
time had better
luck. Voit tossed
two of the objects in his

hand inside, then closed the
window. Five ... ten minutes
they waited. The restless ring of
onlookers began closing in. Noth-
ing happened, there was no sign that
a living thing breathed within that
still, drab frame structure.

shot from behind

Deputy Cook spoke up. “We
might as well try the doors, Sher-
iff. That stuff’d be doing its work
before this if there was anybody
in there.”

The sheriff nodded. Together the
three officers moved toward the
front door, cautious still to keep
hands ready on their holsters. The
door was locked. Peering through
the window, they could see nothing

_amiss inside. The back door yielded

readily.

Then, as they entered the dim in-
terior of the kitchen, for the third
time in little over an hour, a hor-
rified gasp of awe signaled the dis-
covery of a gruesome scene of
human destruction.

Almost in the exact center of the
room lay the crumpled form of 60-
year-old Mrs. Agrue. Like the
others, she lay face downward, a
horrible, gaping wound torn in the
back of her neck from which blood
had streamed to form a crimson
welter on the floor. Near her out-
flung right hand lay a frying pan
and its scattered contents.

Nothing else about the room ap-
peared disordered. On the old
fashioned wood range several pans,
a coffee pot and a tea kettle stood
cold. There had been no fire- for
some hours at least. Across the
room a heavy dining table was
neatly set for six, much of the meal
already in the serving dishes.

Winegard
counted the plates
again, his brow creased in silent
wonder. Crossing to the door, he
called Sellers. Glancing about, th
farmer shook his head. -
“TI sure can’t understand that,
Sheriff,” he said. ‘“‘There’s only four
of ’em living here, like I told you.
Then there’s Bill, of course. He’d
eat with ’em while he was working
on the farm. That’s five. They must
have been expecting company.”
No one knew who might have
been the extra expected guest.
For that matter, there was no pos-
itive evidence, beyond the fact
that he had been helping with the
planting during the day, that Wil-
liam Agrue had been the fifth.
“There’s one thing about it,”
Winegard observed. ‘We seem to
have the time pretty well estab-
lished by two facts. In the first
place, Agrue was just getting home
from work. In the second, his wife
had the evening meal just about
ready to serve. That should ‘mean,
roughly, somewhere in the neigh-
borhood of 5:30 or 6 o’clock.”
None of the assembled neighbors,
however, could recall the slightest
unusual incident about dinner hour
that could be even remotely asso-
ciated with the slayings. Only one,
Joseph Schmidt, county commis-
sioner for the district, had heard
shots fired as he worked on his
own farm nearby. The first two, he
recalled, had come in quick succes-
sion and had been followed by
several others at intervals of some
minutes apart.
“I can’t be sure of the number of

nly PRR

GRIEF: Grief.
taden,
, throat choked
with bitter
tears, Leona
was the second
in her family to
marry her hus-
band. Her hus-
band spoke of
a mysterious
hired man who
was missing.

> Nee

CLUE: Virginius
“Dink”. Carter,
twice a son-in-law
to the Agrue fam«
ily joined in: the
search for the gun-
tman.. Later, he
gave police a clue,
was himself
. grilled,

SL BEBE nerve

around....”

Winegard

G4, ! Veo ist

stooped to ob-

serve the child’s

body more closely.

She lay flat on her
face, her pitiful little
fingers clutching at the
dirt and ‘cornstalks as if in
an agonized effort to drag

herself to safety before death
ended her futile struggle.

The sheriff pointed to a spot
between her shoulders, where her
dress had been ripped to shreds.
“That’s a shotgun charge. It
struck her at pretty close range,
too. There’s powder marks as plain
as day.” He turned to Sellers. “Did
you see anything of a gun around?”

Sellers shook his head.

“You fellows stay here and keep
an eye on the house,” Winegard
instructed, “while Mr. Sellers and I
go up there and have a look.”

There was no sign of a weapon
of any description anywhere around
the dead man. Two articles, how-
ever, which the Sellers had failed
to. notice were found beside the

path. One
was an emp-
ty dinner

RINGED BY DE-
TECTIVES: Vir-
ginius Carter was
questioned for
hours, but he in-
sisted he was tell-
ing the truth.
Standing are:
Deputy Ted Cook,
Undersheriff Arch

Voit and Sheriff MONEY CHEST: in this chest
William Winegard, murdered Leo Agrue kept $300.
; Pee This axe was used by the butcher
se Bee iy, Seat eNy to smash the lock and lift the

ates j k Sao Ma money. It didn't last him long.

shots I heard altogether,’ he said
thoughtfully, ‘because I didn’t think
of anything serious like this then.
But I’m sure of one thing—they
were all somewhere between 5 and
6 o’clock.”’

A search of the remainder of
the house revealed nothing dis-
turbed. Each room in turn showed
not the slightest trace of a robber.
A single exception was a wooden
chest in one of two rooms on the
second floor. Its lid had been pried
open with force, presumably with
an axe which lay on the floor a few
feet away, Winegard seized the axe
quickly and wrapped it in paper to
preserve possible fingerprints.

With the arrival of Coroner Harry
T. Moon to examine and prepare
the three bodies for removal to a
Lawrenceburg mortuary, a singular
discovery was made. Each -of
the victims, his examinations dis-
closed, had been shot from behind,
and at such close range that in each
case the full charge of shot spent
its force in a relatively small area
before it had a chance to spread.

“Td say the gun was a fairly
powerful one, probably a 12 or 16
gauge,” Moon estimated. “There
ought to be an exploded shell
around somewhere to tell us for
sure.”

A careful search in the vicinity of
the barn and around the area sur-
rounding the body of Johnston
Agrue disclosed at last two ex-
ploded shells, both 16 gauge. They
appeared freshly - fired, although
soaked by the night’s rain which
had also drenched the victim’s
clothing and all but completely
wiped out footprints.

“Mr. Agrue had a 16 gauge gun.”
Sellers volunteered. “I’ve seen both
him and Leo using it several times.”

But a further search of the
house, the barn and a nearby shed
failed to disclose such a gun.

When the bodies were removed,
Sheriff Winegard conferred quietly
with his two aides and laid plans.
One of the first moves was to dep-
utize a force of the neighboring
farmers and begin a_ systematic
search of the entire farm, spreading
out from the field where William
had been seen planting corn the day
before.

Next was contacting of relatives.
Aside from the mother of the slain
child, the officers found that these
consisted of five other married
daughters of the murdered couple,
all living in or near Dearborn

haath fer Keeneet oo he fold the
MRS. SPARKS rmsins on one sae
boyy wife quand efarted) to ay sates
Centinged From Uage 1. things, and then got all trembls and
iflolal amd vwe threatened with ate qwatked awav Later my wife ae.
rest for Cobabraeting: fuetlee’ _eused her of some Know ledge, and
should he continue with his work tghe Jetty meyer to return.”
Moreland, who said he fook thei After the death of Anna, Mr.
apeciat assignment without retains Kuzeff explained, Mrs. Chick offen
ing fee “as an easy wav fo make came acroge the street ta the Ku-e
$19.000'° based his qdeductions on. coeff home, Mrs. Click appeared
bumdreds oof photographic expo ite have something on hee mind,'
‘sures between the Inca plant! Kaveff recalled, “after she packed
where Misa Haaga was employed.:ap and prepared to live with her
lnod a tonmely marshland east of the father in Chicago. But she sas!
jcity where she was fatally beaten. back again in a short time, Click
| These phofographs, he explained.’ saw to that.” Mr. Kuzeff said. It
tablished oa Ometable which’ was at this time, the father of the
brew ght out ae the chief clue a) murdered girl said, that Mes. Click

laundry ticket found a short cis- |} appeared to have something on her
hater east of the murder scene, cmind.

Moreland then switched his investl-
| eat tion to the jaundry ticket to}
(determine that it had been drop-!
‘ped from an automobile owned
‘by Franklin Click.

For reason unknown, the laun-
dry theket clue was never fully
(checked out, untif 1949 while de-
itertives were checking the state-
monty of Click. The laundry tick.
et checked out the same for of-:
ficiats in TV ag it had for the
probing Moreland in. 1944. At. the
time of his probe, Moreland did
not even know Click.

Contacts of the other claimants
with the condemned man were less
remote, Mrs Sparks was the vic-
tim of a kidnaprape on the Ditech
itond the night of August 26, 1949
hind copie? the Jicense number of
the autumoblle after she bad been
choked, almost fatally, and rave
Inhed. Click was arrested a few

hours latec and subsequently sen-

teneed to dife imprisonment for
the abduction of Mrs. Sparks.
‘Confessed” To Mra. Click

Mra. Click, the mother of five
children, claimed her husband con-
fessed the three homicides first to
ber and that she delivered this
statement to Chiel of Police Fisen-
‘fat,

Mr. Kuzelf was a pathetic figure
as he stepped slowly into the May-
or's offer, where the commis-
sion was tn sexsion. Since he war
the father of the stain young wom-
an, members agreed that his ap-
pracance before them was a cour-
tery due hint.

‘T belleve Marie (Mra, Click)
suspiclaned aomething was wrong

Mr, Kuzeff leaned far across the;
| Mayor’ s desk during his brief Ar |
pearance before the commission.
He explained that the shock of,
Anna's death had weakened his
hearing.

Tells Of Discarded Chia

He attached much importance to
;a discarded package of cigarettes ‘
lfound near the murder scene, The
police regarded it as of no value,
Mr. Kuzeffé shrugged.

The commission's dehberations
stretched through two sessions be-
cause of the legal question whether
eligibility #® the claimants should
‘hinge on the conviction in) the
Conine case or be extended to all
three of the murders,

This matter was researched
Tuesday morning by Reiber and
Hayes. They reported that Indiana!
statutes on reward matters are)
liberal and cover all persons giving
PPertinent information in such cases,
So the board's action followed the:
pattern of determining the merit)
in the offerings of the various,
claimants i

During the opening session, he-,
fore the Iegal technicalities arose,
ithe claims of Ferdinand Nicode-
| mus and Mrs, Naomi Phillips of
lthis city were ruled out, aa

Nicodemus Piles Lien

Yesterday, Nicodemus appeared ‘
at the county recorder’s office and Ra

County Attorney J. Robert Arnold) immediately, a a
held that a tien could not be filed Ready Detatled Report
against anvthing that does net exist} Mayor Branning offered the mo-!
and ruled that the lien be held ony tion for digcuasion, but the ¢om-
file as an affidavit. The Nicodemus | missioners decided on a vote;

fited a lien for the $15,000 reward. ; ward matter was brouihit | toa s tas .

claim for the reward was based on
information supplied in the investi. |
gation of Ralph W. Lobaugh.
After the Iegal policy of the com-!
mission had been established, Mr.

A detailed report will accompany’,
the commission's decision to the:
council, This could. not be pre-
pared in time for Jast night's reg-.
ular mecting of the councilmen.

Haves opened the deliberations} President Herber of the council
with the following motion: Was not prepared to make a stale
“T make thie motion that It Is; ment, last night, whether a special
the finding of the commission that; meeting of the ‘council wilt) be
rewards provided for under general] called to receive the report. '
ordinance No, 2133 in relation to| It was considered possible, that
the deaths of Miss Haaga, Miss! monetary determination of the re-
Kuzeff and Miss Conine be award- ward will be left to members. of
ed to the following persong in the: the incoming City Council. Fae
following shares: | The ordinance setting up the
Mrs. Leona Sparks, one-third of! commission and authorizing the
the total reward; Mrs. Marie; rewards in 1944 did not appropri-
Click, one-third of the total re ate any money for this purpose.
ward; and Floyd and Dorothy | It is only an authorization for re-
Moreland, jointly, one-third of the | ward appropriations up to $15,000,
total reward and that the rew ard! depe nding upon the decision of the
commission so report to the City) eommission, which Is stated to be

er ' MP deg tp ab tees ws Pre tbyere
Contacts of the other claimants ,

Pehiibitity @P the elaimanne should
With the condemned man vere lea
iM , yhonee con the eomsietlon in the
remote Ses Soarka waa the cie-!

fimof a kidtnaperape on the Diteh i" sé ile - ‘fe poeiien io at
fom the nent of August 26, 149 Me a a Oe ee

And copied the Hieense number off Thi matter was researched
(ihe aotomeblle after she bad heen Tuesday morning by Reiber and

jchoked, almost fatally, and rave|iflaves. They reported that Indiana |

[Iated. Click was arrested a few |S! ee ee Se Gee oo ae
hours later and subsequently sen- | liberal and cover all persons giving
fenced tn dife imprisonment for Pertinent information in such cases,

jthe alxduction of Mrs. Sparks,
t ‘Confessed’ Fo Mra, Click

Mex, Click, the mother of five
children. claimed her husband com
{essed the three homicides first ta
her anf that she delivered this
statement ta Chief of Police Fisen-
fnat,

Mr. Kueelf was a pathetic figure
as he stepper} slowly into the May-
ors offer, where the commis-
sion was tn session. Since he was
the father of the slain young wom-
an, members agreed that his ap-
pracance befere them was a cour
tesy due hint.

“LT bhelleve Marie (Mrs. Click)
suspicloned something was wrong

'So the board's action followed the
prtern of determining the merit’
in the offerings of the various
claimants

During the opening session, he-
fore the legal technicalities arose,
ithe claims of Ferdinand Nicode-
imus and Mrs, Naomi Phillips of
{this city were ruled out, '

Nicademus Files Lien

Yesterday, Nicodemus appeared
at the county recorder's office and ey
filed a lien for the $15,000 reward. ; ward matter was brought to a vote
County Attorney J. Robert Arnold | immediately,
held that a lien could not be filed Ready Detailed Report
against anvthing that does not exist} Mayor Branning offered the mo
and ruled that the lien be held on) tion for discussion, but the com-
file as an affidavit. The Nicodemus, missionere decided on a vote,
claim for the reward was based on! A detailed report will! accompany

information supplied in the investi-
gation of Ralph W. Lobaugh,

After the legal policy of the com-
mission had been established, Mr.
Hayes opened the deliberations
With the following motion:

;the commission's decision to the :

|
|

fer
t

i council, This could not be pre.

(pared in time for Jast night's reg-
jular mecting of the eouncilmen.

President Herber of the council
; "AS not prepared to make a state

“I make this motion.-that It Is. ment, last night, whether a special
the finding of the commission that meeting of the ‘council wilt be
rewards provided for under general) called to receive the report,

ordinance No, 2133 in relation to] Tt was considered possible, that:

the deaths of Miss Haaga, Miss) monetary determination of the re-

Kuzeff and Miss Conine be award- ward will be left to members of

ed to the following persone in the the incoming City Council.
following shares: The ordinance setting up the

Mrs. Leona Sparks, one-third of | commiasion arid authorizing the!

the total reward; Mrs. Marie, rewards jn 1944 did not appropri-
Click, one-third of the total re ate any money for. thig purpose.
ward; and Floyd and Dorothy | It is only an authorization for re-
Moreland, jointly, one-third of the! ward appropriations up to $15,000,
total reward and that the reward] depending upon the decision of the

tommission so report to the City! gommission, which fs stated to be

Council.” | final,

The motion was quickly second-{ ‘ or

ed by Chief Eisenhut and the re-|

low vinwe Are Sifted SEESMSUYEN

iC antinaed from Pane One)

atten ene 6 ale 00 bh ta ti a te

in Slayi res Of Woman Daughters of Isabella a bit Inter
i the Knights of Columbus home
and expected to be home at 7

: eae

¥
"y

Vee eg = She was seen after she left the
Qo aues plant, Police are anxious that any-
“eagone who saw her that afternoan

No eile or (lh
Attack Is Found In “Vduring those Important few mo-
ftments before she entered the car

{ ¥, ba A TO PS a 4 me an
. Miss Haaga’ 8 Life ip ae Pe Pence ae that also carried the murderer
fe (ple ri i fae of Sedna 5 So SOR A HS ge ae come forward. Small scraps of in-

'armation put together may be of

By WILLIAM J, SWEENEY q matrumental aid in forming the

The “why” of Wilhelrma Hanga’s ‘ja complete picture, they pointed
murder puzzled officers Sunday § yout, :

along with the “who.” There was Bs tong Miss Haaga made her way after

no ready-made motive for the peers peaity “the attack to a farmhouse not far

vicious blows that crushed her fay),

‘eafrom where she was beaten, but
skull last Wednesday afternoon.

Miss Hlaaga, 38, died late Satur- fs
day night at St. Joseph's hospital, f
never having risen sufficiently
from the shroud of coma to tell
what happened to her, or why, Be +

The young woman's past gave Payeesys vi hey
no prompt clew. She was well B& f
known In Fort Wayne, well liked

a q strength in her agony to walk over

“a Ito protect her fept, Jler shoes and

Viigg coat were found,» oh far from the
“OH scene of the ottafkgppon her,

eh Professibnall Eptertainer

and respected. She lived with her Bigheansne greg ah 2s ical. Miss Petes ae in he
mother, Mrs, Grace Haaga at 705) fayne and had jiv cre most o
High street, and when not busy ENE HAAGA her life, She was educated at St.
ith bel for her awa organi- [Oe ea Nun dcaie & eee
{ Ww sually there. é
we tek is. definitely s honk | fessional etortsinge and for 15
cide, police said, discarding any years she sang in Muvdeville,

She retired from her profes.
slonal carcer seven years ago,
Since that time she had lived qui.

theory of nutomobile accident, She
was struck on the head several
times with a weapon of uncertain
description, one of the blows caus- _elly at home. She was active in
ing a severe skull fracture, ‘the congregation of the Precious

Sheriff Walter Adams sald that ‘lead Catholic church and way or-
the murderer could have wielded Ranist for the Daughters of Isa
almost any sort of heavy club-like bella as well as director of the

bludgeon, probably of metal. Per- {junior drill team,
baps it was a bulky wrench, per- Surviving are the mother; two
haps a Jack of an iron pipe, sisters, Miss Adeline Haag and,

; _ Victim Also Choked, Kicked
' Little of value has been found;
et the scene of the murdertus ase
‘gault. Signs on the ground jadi-
ented that the woman probably
was dragged from an automobile
she is belleved to have ‘entered
soon after quitting the war, plant
where she worked. |
The lonely spot is on the South,
‘River road some four miles east)
of Fort Wayne and close to the)
Maumee river °

Yr, FE. ON, Mendenpall, coroner,
said the attack was made by
“someone who det Pytely meant
business.” One Bota one caused |
death, but here a a marks |

on the body,

Miss Haaga se ren choked, |
Dr. Mondenhalt d, and = the
marks were still foifily visible on
her throst four dos after they
were innde, Therex was a bruise
on her left shouldt) blade, prob-
ably “from a kiek.’ Moreover,
there were several lacerations un
her head back of the fatal wound.

There has been nothing un-
covered yet to indicate the motive
for such a viclous beating.

Detective Seat, Horace Smith,
who has conducted many murder
investigations for the city police
department, has heen assigned to
the Waaca eree hy Police Chief

Hgalmost two miles by the Indirect ,
if @route she took. Offichala are at a!
“wialdss as to how she summoned!

— - ae ee
IE IE ATS OA

RKOEE inst Wednesday aflertioan
Misa Haan, OB) died late Satin
day night at St. fosepl’s hoapital,
never having risen sufficlently
front the shrowd of coma te tel
What happened to her, or why,
The young woman's paat gave ai elim
no prompt clew, She wae well poy
known in Fort Wayne, well liked
and respected. She lived with her
mother, Mrs, Grace Haaya at 705 |
High street, and when not busy

1 eataleye Regent eter h a rte bs bene o ote ~

aebonvat ina miles tye ihe Uidirert

aronte bhe took, Orfielale are at as

‘oss 4 to how she summoned!
‘trengah in ber apony ta walk over
Gihe rough ground without ehoes
to protect her fept. on shoes and
cont were found wok far from the

scene of the nat mpon her,

Professibnall Egtertatner
Miss Hoaaga Was. bern in Fort
Wayne and had Livdd here most of
her life. She ws educated at St,

with work for her church organl-
Ptions she was ucually there.
Her death is definitely s homl-
cide, police said, discarding any
theory of nutomobile accident, She
was struck on the head several
times with a weapon of uncertain
description, one of the blows caus-
ing a severe skull fracture,
Sheriff Walter Adams said that
the murderer could have wielded
almost any sort of heavy club-like
hiudgeon, probably of metal. Per.
haps it was 4 bulky wrench, per-
haps a jack or an iron pipe.
, ,_ Victim Also Choked, Kicked
Little of value has been found)
et the scene of the murdereus ase
‘pault. Signs on the ground fhet-
‘cated that the woman probably
was dragged from an automubile
she {is believed to have ‘entered
soon afler quitting the war, plant!
where she worked. :
The lonely spot is on the South,
‘River road soine four miles east,
of Fort Wayne and close to the;
Maumee river. ” '
Dr, FE. ON. Mendenpall. coroner,
said the attack was made by ”
“someone who def@tely meant
business.” One + eget caused |
death, but there Wed other marks |
on the body, 4%
Miss Haaga had™Been choked, |
Dr. Mendenhall d, and the
marks were still failtly visible on
her throat four dobs after they
were made, ThereRwas a bruise
on her left shouldt) blade, prob-
ably “from a kick.” Moreover,
there were several lacerations on
her head baci of the fatal wound.
There has been nothing un.
covered yet to indicate the motive
for such a vicious beating.
Detective Sat. Horace Smith,
who has conducted many murder
investigations for the city police
department, has been assigned to
the Haaga cese by Police Chief i ,
Jule Stumpf to assist Sheriff
Adams, The two worked for hours
Sunday pursuing several lines of
Anquiry, one of which they hope
Will be fruitful,
Appeal For Information
i Pretty, blond “Billy YWaaga left
‘her office job at Inca Manufactur-
Ing conipany at 4:33 p. in, Wednes-
(dave Not long before she went out
the door to her death she tad
mate arrangements to meet ane

other girl at 3 o'clock at a down.
towk store. She wan planning to

cond\ict the drill team of the

0 CN Neh ts ah hemi N saad HAL Keown, ceeded’ VS cit. ade :
. (Contivacd om Page Cotemn 8) 5

a Nal tae ee Beale

Augustine's acagemg, Talented as
(a singer, she edaly"@ecame a& pro-
l fessional ene and for 48
years she sang in @auvdeville,

She retired from her profes.
flonal carcer seven yearx ago,
Since that time she had lived qui-
elly at home. She was active tn
the congregation of the Precious
‘Blood Catholic church and was ore
Aanist for the Daughters of Isa.
bella as well as director of the
{junior drill team,

Surviving are the mother; two
sisters, Miss Adeline Haaga and,

ee |

Casual as if listening to a pleasant conversation, the
‘killer sits In his cell indifferent.to his three murders.

Blonde, beautiful Wilhelma Haaga's body was found in
a vacant lot, the first victim of a brutal bludgeoning.

Beaten, strangled—Anna Kuzeff met.
the same fate as Wilhelma, As in
the first murder, there were no clues.

‘will be written, about men who’
.....murder women.’ It’s doubtful
if any of us really know why men

as many different reasons as fnere:
are different sorts of men, ©
~“Tkilled her because . I didn’t _

Anda third: “y couldn't iitand
“her. talking about other men.” |
“And'so.on. Each has his reason
_.—or thinks he has——and each be-
‘Tieves he was justified: in taking a
woman’s life. ;

's Ralph Lobaugh ‘didn't stop. with.
- one such murder, . He kept right -
“on _killing women, one after an-
“other; and it’s hard to tell why he,
did it—he himself: never knew why..
©. Perhaps some answer might be

“said about “all men Eating ‘the
things they love.” © ic»

Ralph Lobaugh became the cham-
pion woman killer of his time. ~

No, he didn’t live in a bygone day.
His case is as timely as tonight’s
news broadcast.

In fact, finis will not be written to
his gory career until midnight
February 9, 1948.

This Ralph Lobaugh was what
you might call a thick young man.
He had a thick body and a full thick
neck, a thick mane of hair and
thick eyeglasses, and his thoughts,
if any, were plenty thick. Espe-
cially after a few snifters of liquor.

He was about 26 years of age at
the time we first consider him

r UCH pat been written, and more

* do such things. Possibly there are —

want to be tied eae a ‘murderer

found <in ’ something Oscar Wilde ©

At any rate, whatever the cause, s

_ the crime.

of the
seemed’ to. her a handsome Lothario* strike next.

(1944), and he did something with.
a punch press in a factory at Koko- -
mo, Indiana.
so far as.anybody knew, was in g0~ ©

ing to Fort Wayne with his pay in

his pocket, barging into- a bar-.-’
:.Foom,,. ‘and staying: there, lapping |
-up liquor till most of his money 3
‘Was gone.

It is in such a place’we find him”

noe on the night of February 2, 1944.

He was not alone. His companion
was a woman some twelve years:
Older than. he, and he was slobber-.
ing over her in what passed, with -.

him for love.. = #.°

~She - didn’t ~ discourage him.
Rather, she egged_him on in a coy:
sort of way. In the dim half-light
urky saloon, he ho doubt -

—and, for the. same -reason, she:
probably seemed to him a siren of:
surpassing loveliness.

In any case, he wooed. her with

purring passion, and when closing ,
\_time came he staggered out into 'the-
‘night with her, ne ‘arm srotng ‘

her waist... 2. ts
‘ The’ next morning, her body was.

found in a nearby vacant lot. She

had been brutally bludgeoned to
death.

The police identified her as Miss
Wilhelma Haaga, age 38, but they
could find no clue to the identity
of the person who murdered her.
Nor could they find any motive for
No arrests were made.

Less than four months later—on
the night of May 22—our Lothario
Lobaugh again sat in a Fort Wayne
tavern longing for another light-o’-
love. |

He found one that night, a girl

a vemed Ania Kuzaft, ‘as 5 ahs sated
_«.. And next oay the wolice found

just inside the city. Anna had been

His only ‘recreation, '.

‘women were. brutally. murdered in

for her job ina: war defense plant.”

_ her body. y ©
= They found it in a: ‘lonely field

beaten and strangled in ‘the same °
“way as Wilhelma. . Obviously, the -
same man committed both murders.
Again, no clues ....; no apparent
motive for*the murder a eos and no
arrests. : 5
“The ‘police, ‘as ‘the? saying “goes,
- were baffled, and’ both’ police ‘and
‘public were ® getting jittery: Two

less than four months!

-That was enough: to excité any
wnt much more a town. the size
of Fort. Wayne, ~

- Clearly, a. berparis killer ‘was
amok in the town, but who was he
“and how could: he be caught? , No-.
body saw him... Nobody knew him.
None’ could. tell wher he

‘While’ the town ‘was
over these: two inexplicable mur
ders, <a: third “murde: was com:

Kugust 8, murdered‘ in the’ same
“Manner as Wilhelma~ and Anna—
- and, presumably, by the same man. .
The police issued a “Man Wanted”
circular for him, carrying photo-«
graphs of the three victims and giv-
ing details of each crime.
Ralph Lobaugh saw one of the
circulars and read it through. Then
he rubbed his eyes and: read it
again.
“No!” he muttered. “No, no!
There’s some mistake here.”
After that, he stayed away from
the taverns for a while.
He read in the local paper how
the police were hunting the mad

: 25

an alam wetanns nanan

killer, and he wondered how soon,
if ever, they would find him.

They could not find him, and
early the following year—on the
night of March’ 7, 1945—he resumed
his homicidal roundelay. ;

This time it was Mrs. Dorothea
Howard, age 36. He spotted her in
a tavern and made his accomplished
barroom play for her.

His alcoholic affection didn’t go
over so well with her, so he fol-
lowed her outside the tavern and
down the street... . Next day, she
was found dying. Soon after, her
battle for life ended in the hospital.
Dorothea had gone the same way as
the others.

Now, indeed, the hoosier town
was in a state of terror. Four
‘women fiendishly murdered! The
police must do something. The mur-
derous monster must be caught.
Soon, he might murder a fifth wom-
an—or maybe a sixth and seventh
—who could tell how many?

As a matter of fact, however, no
more women were killed.

Two years passed and nothing
happened, and the town got back

to normal. The murders were all
but forgotten. When the towns-
folk thought of them at ail, they
assumed. the murderer had either
reformed or departed from their
midst.

But nothing like that had hap-
pened. The killer was still among

them and had met another girl,

For a moment, he considered killing
her, just as he killed the others.

But he didn’t kill her. He
wanted to marry her instead.

Then, on the night of June 9,
1947, he did something that would
provide a rousing round-table dis-
cussion among any group of psy-
chiatrists. He walked into the
Kokomo police station and said to
the first cop he met:

“I want to give myself up.”

“What for?” asked the cop. “Traf-
fic violation?”

“Naw. Murder.”

“Murder, huh? “Who’d you mur-
der?”

“T murdered three women.”

“What!” The officer stared hard
at the thick-faced young man.
“Look, you sure you’re not drunk.”

“I’m cold sober,” Lobaugh calm-
ly assured him. ‘Maybe that’s why
I’m doing this. Anyway, I killed
those women, and now I want to
pay the penalty.”

The policeman, finally convinced
he was hearing the truth, took the
strange young man to Fort Wayne
and turned him over to Chief of
Police Jule Stumpf.

“You say you killed three women,”
the chief said to him. ‘What were
their names and when did you kill
them?”

Ralph Lobaugh gave the names
of his victims and the dates when he
had beaten and choked them to
death.

“But that other girl—what’s her
name?—I never killed her,” he
said.

“You mean Phyllis Conine?”
‘Yeah, that’s the name. I never
killed her. Some other guy rubbed
her out. I didn’t do it.” Lobaugh
was quite positive on this im-
portant point.

“But you do admit you killed the
other three?”

“Yeah.” (Continued on page 47)

IEEE ENE RT RTA: NTRS

Lindamood immediately freed Mack
and Diggins, deciding not to press

‘charges against them for disturbing

the peace. The pair, after shaking
hands and promising to behave.in the
future, left arm in arm.

-If Otto Gilliand had not-confessed
the murder, the evidence and testi-
mony against him cg omen ample.
The gun was found to his, and his
prints were discovered on the stock.

EXPOSED |

“CRIME CASES.

Why did you kill them?” the chief
then wanted to know. ; |

Lobaugh lifted his thick: shoulders
and spread his thick hands. “Damned
if I know. why I did it. I 2 ec got a

sudden urge to kill ’em. That’s all I

can tell you.” ‘

HE chief was puzzled ‘on another
-@& question. “And why,” he asked
curiously, “have you waited all these
years to tell us this? Your conscience
troubling you?” }
‘ Lobaugh shook his head. “Naw. It’s
not my conscience. It’s something else.”
“What?” i .
“Another woman.”
“You were planning to kill another
woman?”
Lobaugh nodded. “Yes. I was think-
ing of it.” Wet
“Who is this other woman?” —'
Lobaugh looked down, avoiding the
chief’s eyes. “My bride,” he said in a

_low voice.

“You were going to kill your bride?”

“That’s right. Tonight I got a sudden
urge to kill her. I didn’t want to kill
her, but something kept egging me on.
So [ got out of the house in a hurry
and went to the police and gave
myself up.” he

“Getting back to Phyllis Conine—
‘you sure you didn’t kill her, too?” -

‘Tm dead sure of it,” Lobaugh
stated positively. “Some other guy
killed her.” i ;

Chief Stumpf called in a stenogra-
pher, and Lobaugh dictated a confes-
sion describing in detail how he had
brutally murdered -Wilhelma Haaga,
Anna Kuzeff, and Dorothea Howard.
The confession was typed, and he read
and signed it in the presence of wit-
_ nesses.

“And now,” he said, “you’d better
lock me up.” . es}

The chief did exactly that.

The newsmen called for an inter-
view. Through the bars of his cell he
told them exactly what he had told
the chief.

But a week or so later—after a
couple of lawyers had taken his case—
he asked to see the reporters again.
This time he had a written “statement
for the press.” In this statement, he
repudiated everything he had told
them before.

“All I know about those murders,”
he said, “is what I read in the daily
newspapers.”

But it was too late now for that.
True, the local newspaper had printed
a good deal about the murders, but
there were certain details that were
not printed—details known only to the
police and to the murderer—and jn
his confession Lobaugh had mentioned
all of these.

criminologist and inventor. of the fa-
-mous Keeler Polygraph, commonly

‘elaborate detail how he had murdered

- your ‘honor, and I’m ready to pay

- Quickly indicted for murder, Gil-
liand went on trial in Marietta on
November 19. He pleaded guilty and
threw himself upon the mercy of the
court. A life sentence in the Ohio State '
Penitentiary was meted out to him.

Nore: The names Joe Diggins, Lije
Mack, Guy Manton, and Vince Mc-

Cauley are used to protect innocent
persons involved in the investigation.

KILLER GOES
A-WOOING —

(Continued from page, 27)

He was taken to the Chicago office
of Leonarde Keeler, nationally known.

known as the “lie detector.”

Mr. Keeler, who has ably handled
many great criminal cases, gave him
a test on this machine. In response to
questions, he described in even more

Wilhelma Haaga, Anna’ Kuzeff, and
Dorothea Howard. :

He was then questioned about the
murder of Phyllis Conine. - #5
As before, he emphatically denied
killing the girl:

“T'didn’t kill her, I didn’t kill her,” :

he kept insisting over and over.

“The test showed,” Mr. Keeler told
me, “he gave truthful answers to my
p abarag owe There is no doubt he killed

ose three women. It is equally cle
he did not kill Phyllis Conine.” ;
Hence, as this is written—at the be-

inning of 1948—the murder of Phyllis
Senin e remains an unsolved mystery.
“ Lobaugh was returned to the Fort
‘Wayne jail, and there he issued an-
other “press release,” repudiating his
repudiation and confessing that his
initial confession was true.
_ “And,” he added orally, “I make full
apology to the Fort Wayne Police De-
partment for all the trouble’ I’ve
caused them.”

The Allen County Grand Jury -re-
turned three murder - indictments
against him, and he was duly brought
to trial.

His lawyers had advised him to
plead not guilty, .but he stubbornly
shook his head and said, “No, sir, I’m
going to tell the judge the truth.” .-

Thus, on October 28, 1947, facing
Circuit Judge- William. H. ‘Schannen,
that was precisely what he did.

“I killed all three of those women,

for it.”

SUALLY, when a murderer “cops

a plea” of guilty, he gets off with

a prison sentence. It wasn’t so in this

case. The judge sentenced him to
death. : re

Back in his cell again, he appealed to
the governor of Indiana for a reprieve
of his sentence. :

On December 18, 1947, the governor
sent his secretary to Chicago to study
Mr. Keeler’s file on the case. Upon
this rests the fate of Ralph Lobaugh,
three-time murderer.

It was, and is, the consensus in Fort
Wayne that the only place for this
cruel creature is in the lower depths,
and at midnight February 9, 1948,
unless his death sentence is commuted
to life imprisonment, that is where he

FOR MEN ONLY?

THE GALS LOVE IT, TOO!

CARTOONS

YOU'LL BE A RIOT AT.
YOUR NEXT STAG PARTY
—with this rare collection of sophisticated:
wit—4 complete books, each different—
500 PAGES OF RED. HOT LAFFS, CAR-:
TOONS, SITUATIONS, . GIRL PHOTOS,
NITE CLUB STUFF, “ART. POSES, etc.
All for the One Price! sane ARR

CONS
O TO oS3

It’s the year’s snappiest art collection!

‘ Don’t wait! Supply limited. Send only

98c today—nothing else to pay—for this

’ Art Humor Bonanza. We pay postage.

98e BUYS ALL 4 BOOKS
Sent-in plain sealed wrapper

Order yours now!
Money back if not satisfied
Larch Book Co., Dept. 106-T
118 East 28, New York 16, N. Y.

Larch Book Co., Dept. 106-T

(0 Check here if wanted C.0.D. We will add

may go—by way of the electric chair.

postage to cost. Same refund guarantec. |

1 came
tended
ed him
‘ument
‘e said
ie offi-
mitted
e four
i been
ain its

\ngeles
ned to
ie New
there-
except
ead fell
n shot
Every-
the se-
as held

st Bar-
ght by
formal
ce over
29, 1943.
ntended
inst the

wn life.
laughter
J. Am-
and on
ntenced
one and
he peni-
lifornia:

Taldinez,
d Pedro
embar-

—
NER
28)

c occiiiill

prisoner; - |
shoed. “A

jan,” the
Does she

vad. “I’m
is a male
ilities for

ie sheriff.

‘ack came
a that he
1, and that
iced to the
: Jackson-

rould have
ff retorted
need here,
vering her.
au want her

ly nettled,
ariff’s eyes.
isly forced
ars are not
going to.”
‘sation and
1 of it in-
il it finally.

ff snarled,

“Pye carried out my, orders. The had an automobile. The flabbergasted
court ordered_me to ring her here. reporter nodded. | Hat :
She’s here. You can do what you “would you mind driving me to the
railroad station?” the woman asked.
Without another word he turned, “Not at all,” the news reporter an-
got into his car and drove off, leaving swered gallantly, aware now that he
three astounded people staring after had a story 1000 times better than he
him. One was the guard, the second had anticipated. {
was the prisoner, and the third was a He drove her to the depot. Mrs.
reporter from Little Rock, who had Palmer got aboard the st train
come to the penitentiary to await the which came along. She hadn’t the
coming of Mrs. Palmer in the hope of slightest idea where it was going, and
getting a final interview with her be- she didn’t care. She waved gaily to
fore she was immured in the stone the reporter as the train slipped out of
Bastille. But probably the most the station. .
astounded was _ the risoner. She That was on September 14, 1923, just

looked uncertainly at the guard. a little over twenty-six years ago.
“Well, what do I do now?” she Neither hide nor hair of the un-
asked. wanted Mrs. Palmer has been seen

The keeper, still burning with anger nor heard of since. i
over unflattering epithets hurled at ‘The occurrence became the genesis
him by the sheriff, shouted, “{ don’t of a terrific scandal in Arkansas. For
care what you do, but you're not go- years it was kicked around by politi-
ing to get in here.” cians anxious to make capital out of it
Tf Mrs. Palmer’s feelings were hurt at the expense of their opponents. But
at the guard’s refusal to permit her it ended where it began—with Mrs.
to serve 21 years, she managed to Palmer free as air, and with the guard
conceal them. She turned to the and the sheriff equally gratified that
newspaper man and asked him if he he had won the argument. :

SEX MURDERS

(Continued from page 6)

30-year-old — punch-press apprentice. The other man was tried, convicted
He walked into the police station at and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Kokomo, and. calmly told the ser- Now there were two in the same peni-
geant at the desk that he had raped tentiary for the same crime, one in
and murdered Miss Haaga, Miss Ku-. the death house and one serving life.
zeff and Mrs. Howard. He denied, And both civilians; although only one
however, when questioned, that he civilian had taken part in the crime!
knew anything whatever about the The papers were now devoting pages

attack on Miss Conine. to the strange anomaly. Lawyers were
_ Lobaugh | was taken “over the saying they had never known such a
jnmoe the police. They escorted situation. Reporters, in their special

m to the places where the three articles, were calling the case a “mess,”

attacks had occurred, and made him saying it was “fantastic,” “weird, da
o over in detail what he alleged had crazy quilt,” “a nightmare,” and so
appened there. The poues were con- on, while even the head of the State,
vinced of his guilt. While his attorney Governor Schricker, called it “one of
was preparing to defend him, he wrote the most sordid messes in Indiana’s
to the judge and demanded an im- history.” -

mediate penne : But it was destined to become even
It was granted. He went into, court, “sordider” and “messier.”

death. A soldier. from nearby Baer confession, a farm wife was sexuall
Field admitted he had gone into the attacked. She was brutally handled,
alley. with another man, a civilian, half-strangled, but not killed. She
with the intention of raping Mrs. save the police the number of the
Howard, but that he had been fright- machine which her assailant had
ened off by the lights of a car shining driven, and they quickly arrested
into the alley. He, however, was in- Franklin Click. After they had shown
dicted for assault with attempt to him the positive results of five lie-
i detector tests, he confessed and was
ter he “put the finger” on another given a term of life imprisonment.
man as the civilian who remained in Just a few days later the attractive
the alley and refused to be frightened wife of Click walked into the office
away. This apparently cleared him, of Chief of Police Lester Eisenhut
as there were only two civilians. But nd handed him two letters. One was
the grand jury didn’t think so. They from her husband in prison. It reads
indicted him as well as the other man, in part:

for murder.

Now one man was in the “& ath My Dear Wife: I want you to be
house, and two were under indict- the first.to learn from my own lips
ment——three in all for the sa" rime that I am’ guilty of murderin
in which it was known that ooiy two Billie Haaga, Anna Kuzeff an
took part. But the Chief of Puice of Phyllis Conine. No other person
Fort Wayne asked that the indictment was with me or participated in
against the “‘finger man” be dismissed, either of these murders. —

as he was convinced of his innocence.

After a bitter court battle between This letter was witnessed by Click’s
the prosecutor and the chief of police, attorney, as was also the one signed
the latter had his way and the case by Mrs. Click and addressed to the
was dismissed. Chief. This one reads: /

STITCHER

Save time and money in repair
ing shoes, boots, leather, jackets,
gloves, auto ry es

other

Do You Want to

Make Men OBEY

EL
husband comes home at night

Do you want to e

love you wildly, fiercely?
Do you W to make him
red “Darling, I adore you.

E, beca'
to help her.

Just send me your name and address and I will
What

rush a Trial Bottle ae CHEZ

fume ‘ou. Whi

it and I'll send your $2 right

LOVE

back. Write NOW to
58 Walker St.
g Dept. 138-DC, New York 13

To i

introduce our latest Catalog of Jewelry Bargains
and to get acqu inted, we'll send re. this beautiful
id tely FREE! This rin

RITE TODA

m, ng i
dream beauty—a are brilliant, replica diam:
dinner rin 5 Yoatch ing plones set %. Ane ‘white gold
i your choi cocktail!

wetTH AVENUE JEWEL CO., Dept. 1736-6
New York 17, N. Y-

415 Lexington Avenue

materials, colors, and sty!

Assorted
Sizes 10 to 20—10

for %:
10 for $4.95. Send
us

B
rooklyn 12, N. Y.

LBL

$2.

~, Pocket Adding Machine

Amazing palm-size adding machine
: ‘ does all figuring. Adds. Subtracts.
AAA Aids in. Multiplication & Division up
to $99,999,999. All steel, guaranteed

, fits pocket, Millions in use

all over the world, We pay postage
on prepaid orders or COD plus postage

& charges. Leatherette case in-
cluded at no extra charge.
Genuine leather Case 15¢ @x-

tra, Money back if not satisfied.

TAVELLA SALES CO. Dp 417___25 W. Bway, ny 7 NY

I hand you herewith confession of
my husband to the murders of
Billie Haaga, Anna Kuzeff and
Phyllis Conine. My husband,
Franklin Click, has confessed to
me these murders and signed a
written confession to me. I now
demand that if my husband should
be convicted of these crimes, that
ithe reward offered, totaling
$16,500, be paid to me. ;

The confession of Click, for which
Lobaugh was in the death house—

including Miss Haaga and Miss Kuzeff, .

as well as Mrs. Howard—naturally
created a sensation. Click was taken
to the various scenes. of attacks and
was questioned, just as Lobaugh had
been. Then he went into court, made
a formal confession, and was sentenced
to death. é :
Now comes the incredibly bizarre
“pay-off.” Immediately after being

ride in the ambulance with the vic-
tim, while he and Roebke attempted
to pick up any information they could
at the scene of the crime.

Just as the litter was being placed
in the ambulance, the screaming of a
siren announced the arrival of an-
other group of officials—Captain John
McGowan of Homicide, Assistant Dis-
trict Attorney William McCarthy and
Dr. Melvin Owens, Assistant Medical
Examiner. .

Dr. Owens’ comment, after a brief
examination of the victim in the am-
bulance: ;

“FHe’s so badly beaten—I doubt that
he lives to reach the operating room.”

He was right.

However, “Old Andy” Kohler did
live long enough to give Detective
Hickey the most important clue to a
sordid but egy murder. Breath-
ing his last in the St. Catherine’s Hos-
pital ambulance, Kohler gave only
one answer to Hickey’s insistent ques-
tions.

“That dame! That lousy dame!”

At first the “lousy dame” angle
gave no more evidence than the
blood-spattered garage. A thorough

_ check of Kohler’s home life showed

he was absolutely “clean.” After the
recent death of his wife, he had. lived
alone in Roslyn Heights, L. I., with
nary a whisper of an inamorata or
feminine enemy. _.

‘The type of evidence offered by. the
garage itself was the kind that ‘makes
cops hate the fictional stories of “pri-
vate eyes,” who, in one glance, detect
a microscopic clue which leads them
to the murderer. To Colgan and his
men it was police routine—a tiresome
checking and rechecking of every.
inch of the place. ’

The garage office was a- shambles.
Chairs were broken, ink. spilled,
papers strewn over the floor. The
safe door was open. The only finger-
prints were those of the -regular em-
ployees.

In the rear of the garage was a pool

‘of blood, indicating Kohler had un-

doubtedly been struck down. there

40 and had with his last bit of strength

given the death sentence, Franklin

-@lick asserted vehemently that he

was not guilty.

“Then why’d you confess?” Chief
Eisenhut demanded.

“Because,” came _ the astounding
reply, “I wanted my ‘wife to have the
reward. I expected to get another
life sentence, I was sure I'd never
get out, whether I had one or two,
so I couldn’t be any worse off. And
my wife could be a lot better off by
having that $16,500, to take care of
her and the kids. I knew I could prove
my innocence in case they gave me
the chair.” ,

“Yeah?” Eisenhut came _ back

skeptically. “And how?”

“Well, for one thing, by disclosing
the motive which made me confess.
And other things which I purposely
ba back. You'll see.”

aybe they will, and maybe they
won't. But in the meantime there

crawled toward the front door for help.

As for potential weapons, there
were plenty—heavy jacks, wrenches,
hammers. But they, like Andy, were

clean, too.. The only suspicious ele-.

ments were the imprint of tracks of
a light car through the bloodstained
area, and a missing ball peen ham-
mer reported by the mechanic, who,
by this time, had arrived at the
garage. —

Questioning of the garage owner
brought little else to light. The po-
lice learned that Kohler, after 15
years of service, had been so trusted
that, in addition to his duties as
watchman, he had carried _ the addi-
tional responsibility of night cashier,
parceling out expense money to
drivers as they left in the morning.

The garage supplied trucks for local
tobacco distributors. The $170 kitty
for that night was missing.

What next? More police routine.
Find every human being who had
associated with, spoken to, or looked
at the victim or any possible suspect.
Dull stuff that doesn’t show in detec-
tive mysteries. Of course there was
the usual routine roundup of local
hoodlums. No dice.

McCarthy of the D. A.’s office con-
tinued to ‘hammer on the “lousy
dame” angle.

“Kohler’s dying statement puts a
woman in this picture,” he insisted.
“Let’s find her.”

Further questioning was focused on
finding a woman. ;

The other two garage employees
had an airtight alibi. One of them, the
mechanic, was married and had a
home on Long Island. However, dur-
ing the week, because of transporta-
tion difficulties, he lived at the Marcy
Ave. YMCA with Johnny Kick, the
garage’s young handyman.

On the evening of the murder
February 21, 1937, the mechanic and
Johnny had worked until 11 o’clock.
They had then gone to a nearby cafe
for a bite to eat, and from there to
the “Y.” Their story was corrobo-
rated by the clerk who saw them
enter and go. upstairs.

are two men, Lobaugh and Click,
awaiting execution at Michigan City
for the same crimes—the murders of
Haaga and Kuzeff—which under the
circumstances only one of them could
possibly have committed! While a
third man has been sentenced to life
for the Howard slaying, to which
Lobaugh also confessed, when only
one civilian was known to have been
concerned in her murder!

It is a situation probably without
parallel in the criminal chronicles of
America. Is it any wonder that Gov-
ernor Schricker added to his several
diatribes concerning the Fort Wayne
sex murders:

“They present the most in-
volved and tangled legal problem
in Indiana’s history.”

One. can only add a heartfelt, “They
sure do!”

——— se

“THAT DAME IS JAIL BAIT!”’

(Continued from page 24)

So, Colgan and his men again began
a dreary house-to-house, apartment-
to-apartment check. .

Finally, they developed a feminine
angle. :

Colgan struck “pay dirt” with Pete
Marsak who turned out to be a pal of
Johnny Kick. . ‘

“Sure, Johnny’s got a girl friend,”
said Pete. “We used to go on double
dates together. She’s that Betty Hoff,
a blonde that works in the shop
nearby. f

“For my money she’s just a jerk.
Used to give Johnny a hard time be-
cause he didn’t spend more money on
her—and,. hell, he only made $20 a
week. They used to fight all the time.
One night in a cafe she slapped him
in the face and walked out on him.”

So Betty Hoff, 24, a divorcee, was
picked up. She readily admitted her
relations’ with Johnny Kick and her
attitude verified Peter Marsak’s de-
bag her character.

“Yeah, I went, out with Johnny Kick
once in a while, but he was a young
punk. Only made 20 bucks a week. I
got a new boy friend who works in
the Navy Yard and makes twice that
much. :

“I wasn’t anywhere near that garage
and I can prove it. Johnny broke a
date with me that night. Said he had
to work late—didn’t ‘feel well.”

It turned out that she could prove

her whereabouts on the fatal night,
but Colgan had a hunch he still was
on the right track. So back again he
went to Marsak.
‘ “Pete,” he asked, “I_ still think
there’s some connection between the
Hoff girl and the murder. Think hard.
Isn’t there anything that might put
the two together?”

Pete frowned, pondered. Finally, he
said, “Well, there’s one thing. I didn’t
think it was important—not in a mur-
der, anyway.”

“A couple of nights ago I went to
the garage with Johnny because he
wanted to borrow five bucks from
Andy. Andy gave him the five. but he
sure talked to him like a Dutch uncle.
He said, ‘I’ll give it to you Johnny, if

PARTIA|
CONT

As a FREE gi
to you “Pictur
illustrated book
tailed explanati
both young anc
@ Natural birth
@ Scionce of se
® Facts to kno.
@ Sex organs il!
@ Woman's cha
tion.

@ Calendar sho
—Sterility.
@ How to test
An inspiring |
$1.00. Limited
NEW YORK M

boul thes b Linn wy Lotha + hank Broa dhurok Cttiws Le amak fire

daw ee Nod Fremk bi Gur a Ave ge mM bE ct tyem tiv SSG Or,

Cin of boon Nal Lio © CN Pan Lo deaaipate, he cond: taank teeccurn

[~~ F¢ LO
trets cl CLC aclio Cond Nat weed exec clea gr yin Lie Chverck,

Be i“ Cahweu Aner UPA LI ty oie. PAIAWU ea teary Lee LL'Ok™g

£ ee
Trots jeri dew le and ar 1a Nal i haxeing marred lies SiS le

LA
APLEL Abe EVE Le gitiice ON MET CA Bértin fle At

Nev Things began la te btn 20 Mf fe can faa’ of Lhe seule DK

ff. ‘ . _
DLE 2 wK¥ COOLS Ct ene” Vo ig} Lie wf” ep Ok 7 Si ‘ Liv Praaneee
fF va
at |=
Let Ejt¢ aay Mice Nal, Wes ceasing Ga Tverd che Lee Cl, Weel Foxe |

_f Ss

o , o> he “ rd rai =
hi hee rk G Lies, fiz a (Aae cb Fre IPLLLELL! x “ Celt bese bee C9 M EMME NIN,

a !
x

betLyi Ltd ‘ whew a v OVERLEY ret it

dhord Bg ie vere Witt MAL ef ov eT C2 Aa Witte’ CAA poet sects

Gy. tig AHA bez OVEN Oy Of td Bie eye Lette cx’. fiteagea a ta Jk

AOVCk» SIF CE7 zy LEAL VU cA ee", ~ focal: Cr? ar. K Led tly G
Fn f o a t val

ALA Cid Hele, Me went lL ut etors seg SLL1E Zee << Factel & prostacen
y,

Antti ond 430% had Mitt AN Lig Lot, 1 Dalia 7 We grewe C iia
Anvvincel LK Aken tat Serre ik Hind! ef OO LKe2el, . Let, W0rx? cus
; » On On ote Liabepevite/ Cen ely by pier ti Wt Elin Et wed
fried oad Of Ait hot Lu Me fovr LWA Lier or Were Creel ie

whe) eg RAraned aioe Net's Us Droheer
Se Lhe ee Cu Becwrccaih a 3. Cok Dron ove Cag
hing tet ot aud Ch Mewote Voeupatol 2h, Crrerz Clr e lien.

e Lrery drotlew Lote woes hear chee Sor ter baler Aaroaans, Cah

The cloud came up out
olving in its apex as it
nd burnt the stalks off,
Vinkle might have told

on was visited with the
inty. The storm came
tt of the city was de-
the type of storm were

Ry.
!

arried on by means of
lers were noted during
t to the New Orleans
ning the cargoes. The
the highways of travel.
red as captain. Patoka
county. In the winter
rly'a million pounds of

ing this time in the flat

Ss many might imagine,
es, and when coal first
hat they would put the
ctation that something
. The same fear was
well known Princeton
oil lamp she made him
se, to light it.

at of William Thomas
sidents of Pike county.
np walking and Bilder-

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 307

back on horseback. Reaching Haubstadt they failed to obtain lodging, so
decided to camp in the woods a short distance away. Bilderback lay down
and went to sleep, and Camp, with a hickory club he had picked up, struck
him on the head and killed him. He threw the body into the top of a fallen
tree. The motive of the crime was the theft of a note for seventy-five dol-
lars which Bilderback held on Camp. After committing the deed, Camp rode
the horse to New Harmony, in Posey county, where he was arrested. He
was brought back to Haubstadt and there he pointed out the evidences of his
crime and the location of the body. A coroner’s jury was obtained, and to
them Camp made his confession. After being put in jail at Princeton he
made his escape, and for a long time was hidden. He afterward went to
Kentucky, where he was rearrested for horse-stealing and placed in jail at
Owensboro. He was brought back to Gibson county for trial and convicted at
the July term of court, 1872, of murder in the first degree. He was sentenced
to be hung on Friday, October 4th, but Governor Baker granted him a respite
until Friday, November 22d, when, at two o'clock, he was executed by the
then sheriff, F. W. Hauss.

GETTING “‘CHURCHED.”

In the old days of Gibson county, sixty or more years ago, it was no
trouble at all to get fired from church membership. It is related that in the
Methodist congregation here—and it is presumed that the same is true of the
other congregations—dismissals were frequent for playing cards, attending
races at the old straight race course in north Race street or elsewhere, danc-
ing, going to a circus—the latter an unpardonable sin—and various other rea-
sons that are today opecty or tacitly condoned by most churches. A member
would perhaps be called to account and voted out by the congregation one
Sunday, if believed guilty, and the next Sunday would rejoin.

STAGE COACH DAYS.

P. R. Baldridge, who has interesting recollections of Princeton from
back in the thirties, relates an incident that was carried off by some of the
young fellows here during the existence of the old market house, which stood
on the north side of the court yard. The stage coach from Vincennes to
Evansville was driven by William Green, who died recently in Vincennes at
the age of one hundred, and this was the half-way place where the night
stop-over was made. One night after driver Green had gone to bed at the

+ |) ek iJ Back woAid at COrd Cox ey

-\\ .
ok O- Clrmnetan (hoo sfaptr nan- nee Lat, /Fo003)

Me , - PP erik SEP tna e tt g = me
ia ee Ot be es rs = : es . ie
BL peice ali eae RS at ES TMG BED Salant Bh keen of i eg ot
ite ea: cial 5 le : x

ae : 7 age Sieg (res sae ta
te eat 8, PRR IS 1a de
we ne FE, Saat aie

We Boodlliual Gung of Simes cond Lt Brel
‘ W/ 8 \ OO :
Sy: Lhe kin s mughter toed nee Lived anel aferalik ony of Lhe ltrs an
ao ; g : aie
Lilies ZF] incu
ao tte Broastherst ma | ion
I Athy (JVOAKfLLCVEE gone Ao Citrd Yeettr Val proadhitwoh wog
thu Le acley of Lite GONG
li beet Lhe GEAR [ES Nrolfarat: pack Aes QYijl/a 70g wu Shir Btig x <
Lor G 7 pune L C4 ,, ’ | 7
Ler hood 19 he Wnt ck Sot, Srerler 02 & Wood choffrer, hin Pe _
Clim prom SHO OVU Kaeo, Muy ail Lier CTL2E fa Tec WO Dreseale wortl
CL or Lroad Ax Crd Liat WAS olf Lh Mu menatetitn Citor, Aaiclic
} y = ff /
wn thts Wooden cachet dk Ket leer her of Mherttt» Bu cerlbf Be: A, Were Ly
Oto, tong Antti ‘LAD y Clerer, Hhenely, Cond hee Z doar GI Any ~
‘ : ‘4 a
ovy erry Lee, Hs wie & Crack S40h UU a 2h li Matiale, corey crs off
ps fo | Cop ma, J Fe LE
gol CNO12 Gud Mermrliien tts Wil Locey’ CA Shorobciag Gp al oper
y : 7 ° , : ~
Ihe beant Licey a peoprclor erie an an tu the pardlef [ee anuby
; er : ae ve
Aue ales a AVIA S thar Kew od tte late Blox of Miu els
e yi! L / C4) ' SF fy)
Lifco Hrvick Al ret Ot Aud a af Miles bets af firrages: LYabov

Lf [i j P “ a,
Gh Coufal) Acndt reuse aS [ler C29 pa CLO Birial Hew Cat ph Lee

‘. {

OM Ley Uirled any 2 al of bclittest puiaria LLU

prayer Waelinrgs Orel Cet Wes Yiry Clo getent\ te Povo e~, |
Be tw alert Stud Ae Cone 6 Lhe Chel Cun task ac—

* -S

ter

wd Ong =
77 Th of
th
nese?

ss aN <maneeypnecstenencitn. aftimess ; a qi oe
? Ae 4 - -~. te ah anee Ghee repewed coe od apes, peskates Aaine ' 6 BimAly ces we . goes oe

tg IEPA. SS. ore A = aad PRG cane en at MRR AI AE one 8 apa eng pet meat sep nme

& 5 ai mas os

¢ Pala fii vive SS
- hate F
oe or
mo aun a omen
in he

Wor ca fovind 1ycopho pass 9 <i thas ae
mor apm thal Wer dritasd Ntw Wow Lei js be Lhe ing” Qs
odes eat a. dihaeh Conaisled of dio to Pyoad htt Otus/’
(Creve St11f F ew oEicws, dvs furccee Charaeltr2
Vaca # WU yok C0L! Cy pret, Ctr éusk Lfo nerrliy
rae Teepoh y joc Mou oe Les pote Abe Cpe inal
Store eps “Cg nce (ay Fe ae Sok th Conarclhiin HeetL£Le a
Loner Cee, Cer potLerts iammacaaa on [ho Berrie
might Matic M22 Mbp Feat Lo Ha Fer Liu AOL Les
Ania A. tl ow gees Prectdlety ees Qe Le GSochce
Le. OaE ip OF * pe (ered \ Sancte dlew back Leaves,
tee ror “Lhe. Adore vaslevarel Pho pcr outs Sie ra tnt
tte. ‘Oach, ; (Oru CBiad een 12 el Cy ro Leekeet7z On
fuaLar pate kor Yer SOC, She Deets el Gfocoe Ultra
Llivs te Foths Prvll Weer Lhey Ler 2 1 O11 atagac
CO? LWb further cu olewmn Lhe 208A Loe Sectrd lhe cask

olrawey 44H Prths SWE , « Ze SWDAE 4s continurd Le Leae/
Lo,

Ltety necked Lhe acl real retiiug A

dault a (oon, Ly Whe punsiters hod wo olfficesttp Ly Sotnieg

boaeke OW cae PAL “oon acl cxct Of Lheeive Was htt. Evi LUAAL , an
predeh, Y ~ SL- << ge Ch w- ans UA. Lo.

a yo
Ow
2 fer a pDvroani CCL. wom EcCULE . ol

4
a,
Ail 26, Nara Od) Yew a BRLVA Liv CLEO Ke hSLts Leek, he teas =

WreUyntil CL CLI cs 2° ANH LIM EN COYMLE t V1 eled Ge vief Lilie Log The

Mt
( Pw . « ,f a ;
PEEK? faAlth Nob Was Briolt Sarl Chr Li patria LLL ~

; do Liyapo Lorok uves Cut et Ber Boeen kh Bye adie? Card an Off

Carter himself answered the door. He
greeted Voit cordially.

The Deputy, looking over the old
man’s shoulder, saw Virginius Carter
sitting in a chair by the window with
his stockinged feet on the wall. With-
out taking the cigarette from_ his
drooping lips, Carter called out: “Hi’ya
Voit—what’s on yer mind?”

Voit stepped around the old man
and approached Carter with the air of
an old friend. “Naturally, Dink,” he
said, “those killings out at the farm
are on my mind. I came over to see if
you’d mind going to Lawrenceburg
with me to help along the investiga-
tion.”

“Why, of course, Art. I'll be glad
to. Wait’ll I put on a clean shirt.”

From where he stood, Voit detected
a slight odor of whisky on Carter's
breath. He evidently had picked up a
drink somewhere between the farm
and home.

While Carter was in the other room
getting a shirt, Voit said quietly to the
elder man: “Between the two of us,
has Dink paid you back the money
you lent him for Leona’s bus fare?”’
T= old man looked at the Deputy

questioningly. “Paid me back?” he
asked. “He didn’t borrow any money
from me. He told me he borrowed ten
dollars from Johnson Agrue. What—?”

“Oh, nothing at all,” Voit said, as
Carter re-entered the room. He didn’t
want Dink to suspect the nature of the
conversation with the father. Here was
a second statement that didn’t quite
jibe with the story Dink Carter had
told elsewhere. Dink had told his wife
he borrowed her bus fare from his
father. He had told his father he bor-
rowed it from Johnson Agrue. Carter
had told Voit he hadn’t seen Leona
for a month whereas she had told Mrs.
Winegard of trouble with Dink during
*h~ past week.

Nhen Voit and Carter stepped into

Deputy’s car, Voit meshed the

irs and started down the street at a
__ iwling pace. At the first intersection,
he glanced about quizzically.

“Looking for someone?” Carter
asked.
“Not exactly,” Voit replied, “I was

just thinking we might get a drink
before starting to Lawrenceburg. But
I don’t know of any good places around
here to get it.”

Carter’s eyes danced. “If you really
want a drink, I know a good spot on
lower Main. Swing onto Main and
I'll tell you when you come to it.”

Voit followed Carter’s directions, in-
wardly gloating at the success of his
ruse. He was feigning the story about
his thirst in the hopes that Carter
would lead him to the spot where he
did his heavy drinking. Voit wanted
to know the brand of liquor Carter
preferred.

After five minutes of driving, Carter
tugged at Voit’s sleeve. “Here we are,”
he said.

Voit parked in front of a small
tavern wedged between two vacant
storerooms. Carter opened the door and
hit the sidewalk almost at a run, Voit
followed him into the place and walked
up to the bar where Carter was the
cynosure of a group of roughly dressed
men drinking beer from heavy mugs.

“An awful thing that happened to
your in-laws, wasn’t it, Dink?” some-
one asked.

Carter said “Yes,” absently without
looking at the speaker and instructed
the barman to “pour me a quickie.”

The barman smiled. “As usual,
Dink?” he asked, naming the same
kind of whisky Voit had seen in the
Agrue basement.

“Yeah.” Carter drained his glass,
smacking his lips. Voit placed his hand
on Carter’s shoulder and said: “I’ve
changed my mind. Don’t think I'll have
a drink right now. Suppose we get
going.”

“Okay, you’re the boss.”

On the drive to Lawrenceburg, Voit
did little talking. Carter talked glibly,
never seemed to care whether Voit an-
swered or not.

At one time, Voit asked: “When was

ie last time you were at the Agrue

lace?”

“About three weeks ago.”

OD 6a

It was seven o’clock when Voit and
Carter walked up the jail steps into
the corridor between Winegard’s office
and the reception-room.

Winegard was an entirely different
man from the cheerful, jovial man he
had been when Voit had left for
Aurora.

The Sheriff’s jaws were tight, his
eyes cold and bleak. He gave Dink
Carter a stern glance and said to Voit:

“Lock him up in the strongest cell
we've got. As soon as Moon has cleaned
up the bodies at the mortuary I’m
having him file a first-degree murder
charge against Dink Carter.”

Carter’s face turned white as paper
and he spluttered in a futile effort to
say something.

“Keep it to yourself, Dink,” Wine-
gard said, roughly. “I don’t want to
hear what you have to say. You’re a
liar by the clock.”

Voit gasped in amazement, fully as
dumfounded as Carter, who was now
whimpering and eyeing the front door

thing,” Winegard said, vigorously.
“You couldn’t expect much more from
a rotter that has served two sentences
for forgery.”

Voit registered surprise.

“Winn looked up his record this
afternoon,” the Sheriff said. “Seems
he’s got one, all right. He served one
term for adultery, one for being mixed
up with a young girl and one for
stealing a car.”

“All news to me,” Voit admitted,
“but I'm beginning to think we've got
something.”

“It’s my theory,” Winegard said,
“that we say nothing more to Carter.
Let him sweat while we put our case
together. Then we’ll bust it in his face
and if he doesn’t break down and give
us a confession, I miss my guess.”

The Deputy learned that Carter
spent much of his time at the saloon on
Aurora’s Main Street—the one to which
Carter had directed Voit preceding
their trip to Lawrenceburg.

The bartender told Voit that Carter

When Mary Elizabeth Breedon fled to this barn on
the Agrue farm near Aurora, Indiana, she was trapped
and became the fifth victim of the shotgun assassin

as though he were prepared to make
a break for it.

Winegard said to Voit: “Get him
back in the jail before he tries some-
thing foolish. Then meet me in my
office.”

When Voit had placed Carter in a
cell at the rear of the red brick build-
ing in which the Sheriff lived, he hur-
ried to Winegard’s office. He was
astonished as Winegard broke into a
loud guffaw.

“What did you think of my act?” the
Sheriff asked.

“Act?” Voit was stunned.

Winegard sobered. “Well, it wasn’t
all an act but part of it was. Here’s the
point. While you were in Aurora, Jolliff
called in. He and Woods had run into
a young fellow traipsing around the
farm by the name of Paul Chase.
Chase told them he’d picked up Dink
Carter on the road outside of Aurora
yesterday morning and had given him
a ride to the Agrue lane. He was sure
Dink was drinking something and
thought he saw a _ bottle in Dink’s
pocket. When Dink got out of Chase’s
car he started walking south in the
lane. After Jolliff and Woods talked to
Chase, they dropped in to see Hubert
Mains, the police chief in Aurora.

“While they were in Mains’ office, a
young fellow came in and introduced
himself as Charles Campbell. Camp-
bell drives an oil truck out of Aurora
and he told the officers he had some-
thing on his mind he wanted to get
rid of. He said he’d picked up Dink
Carter near the Agrue lane about five-
forty yesterday evening and brought
him to town just before the big storm
broke. It looks to me like we’ve got
Carter dead to right. Chase took him
to the farm in the morning; Campbell
took him away in the evening.”

“And Carter told me,” Voit said,
“that he hadn’t been around the farm
for three weeks.”

“Carter’s lying whole

about the

bought a half-pint of his favorite
whisky at nine o’clock Friday morning,
stuck it in his hip pocket and headed
toward the edge of town. He returned
to the bar Friday evening about eight
o’clock and spent the rest of the eve-
ning drinking.

Faced with this circumstantial evi-
dence, Carter just laughed.

He still was laughing Monday morn-
ing after Robert Borkenstein, chief
laboratory technician of the Indiana
State Police, had given him a lie-de-
tector test in Indianapolis. And he
grinned as he was told that the test
showed he was lying.

But when Winegard returned Carter
to his‘cell he noticed a drastic change
in the prisoner’s demeanor and spirits.
Carter definitely was worried.

Monday night he refused to eat his
supper. Long after the lights had been
turned off in his cell Carter sat at the
edge of his bunk staring at the floor.
Twice he yelled for Winegard but when
the Sheriff hurried to his cell Carter
sullenly said, “Excuse me; I was just
foolin.’”

At seven o’clock Tuesday morning,
Voit, who slept on the first floor of the
jail, knocked at Winegard’s bedroom
door on the second floor. When Wine-
gard opened the door, Voit said:

“Carter’s sweating. Hasn’t slept at
all and he says he wants you to come

see him right away. I think he’s
cracked.”
Winegard dressed hurriedly and

went to Carter’s cell.

There was little formality about this
early morning meeting. Carter opened
it with the plaintive words: “I want to
get somethin’ off my mind, Sheriff.”

Winegard stepped into the cell.
“Spill it, Dink,” he said. “You're going
to feel better if you do.”

In a low, toneless voice, unaffected
by emotionalism, Carter told the fol-
lowing brief story, Sheriff Winegard
announced later:

“T got up about seven o’clock Friday
and laid around the house a couple of
hours. I begin to worry about the ten
dollars I’d borrowed from Old Man
Agrue to get Leona home, I. thought
maybe it would be a good idea to go
out and tell him I was going to work
next week and would pay him back.
First | went to the tavern and bought
myself a half-pint of whisky. I hitched
a ride with a truck driver to the lane.
When I reached the house, the old
lady and the kid was there alone. I sat
around the kitehen for a while. linally
I decided I’d go up the hill and talk to
Leo and see if I could borrow some
money. When I got up there, Leo was
plowing and Willie was cutting some
brush at the other side of the Beld.
Leo had a shotgun stacked against a
tree. As I walked past it, he said, ‘Stay
away from that gun.’ I don’t know
why, but that made me mad. I grabbed
the gun and started after Leo. He
turned and run down the hill. I let
him have it in the neck.

“Just about that time I seen Willie
runnin’ for the woods. I took out after
him and chased him about three hun-
dred yards. Finally I caught up with
him and shot him between the shoul-
ders. After making sure the boys were
dead, I went back to the house. The
old lady didn’t say anything about me
having the gun, so I hung it on a nail
and sat around talking for a while.

“I wanted a drink so I sneaked out
and went to the basement. The old
lady was hard against drinkin’ and I
didn’t want her to see me. I Ieft the
bottle down there and went back sev-
eral times until I’d about killed it.
About four o’clock the old lady asked
me if I was stayin’ for supper and I
said yes. The kid was settin’ the table
and the old lady told her to get
another plate.

“Figuring that it was about time for
the old man to start down the lane
I walked out to meet him, taking the
gun. I met him comin’ around a turn
the other side of the barn and I said
‘I want you to know I’m going to pay
you back that money.’ The old man
says, ‘You’re a skunk, Dink, and I
don’t ever expect to see that money.’
That made me mad. I dropped behind
him and shot him in the back. He fell
down. 1 went around in front of tim
and shot him again. Then I took a
rock and beat him on the head. I
wanted to be sure he was dead. When
I got back to the house, the old lady
said, ‘What were those shots I heard?’
I said, ‘Oh, nothin.’ She was clean-
in’ some lettuce. The kid was out
playin’ in the yard. I sat there lookin
at the old lady and I said to myself,
‘Why not clean out the whole family?’
I just leveled the gun at her and shot
her in the face and chest.

“IT heard the little girl scream and
saw her run for the barn. I said to my-
self, ‘She’ll tell on me.’ 1 ran to the
barn and she was hidin’. I yelled, ‘Come
out.’ She jumped out of one of the
horse stalls and started through the
door. I pulled the trigger and she fell
I walked down the hollow in front ol
the barn, crossed the creck and put
the gun in the hollow of a tree. |
walked to Fifty and hitched a ride to
Aurora with some fellow. I changed
clothes and went over to the tavern
and stayed until about eleven o’clock.
Then I went home and went to bed.”

HUS ended Carter’s confession a»

Sheriff Winegard announced it to the
press and public.

No amount of cajoling by Winegard
could force a confession from him that
he had robbed Johnson Agrue’s body
in the lane or looted Leo Agrue’s trunk
of the hundred dollars.

The disappearance of this money re-
mains a mystery:

Later Monday morning, Winegard
reduced Carter’s confession to writing.
Carter, too illiterate to write his own
name, signed the confession with an
“x” mark, according to the Sheriff.

Prosecutor Lester G. Baker sum-
moned the grand jury into session.
On Thursday, May 29, that jury re-
turned five first-degree murder in-
dietments against Carter, who wa
taken to jail to await trial.

CARTER, Virginius ("Dink"), white, elec. Ind. (Dearborn), 2-10-1942...

VICTIM NO. 4:
When investi-
gators stum-
bled over the
body of Leo
Agrue, it was
the fourth.

STREWN: In every gully, behind
trees, near the house, police kept
finding strewn bodies as though it
were the aftermath of a sudden war.

EXPOSE DETECT IVE, January, 1942
| (Vols i, 81.3

Why Kill All Five Agrues? (Continued from Page 5) opgicia

vt,” Winegard said, “and we’ll have
tested for prints. It may turn up
mething useful.”

Voit started to say something and
en looked queerly at his chief.
Winegard was gazing at the table, as
fascinated by something the others
idn’t seen. He wheeled suddenly,
alked to the kitchen door and bel-
wed: “Dink—come here.”

When Carter stepped into the kitch-
1, Winegard said: “Dink, how many
the family ordinarily stayed on the
ace? That is, how many would there
» as a rule for supper?”

Carter studied a moment. “Why
ur—the old man, the old lady, Leo
id the kid.”

Voit lifted his eyebrows significantly
id said: ‘‘And there are six plates on
e table.”

“Meaning,” Winegard said, “that if
ily four persons eat here normally,
e table is set for those four plus two
tests.”

Carter made an audible sucking
und between his yellow, tobacco-
‘ined teeth.

INEGARD turned. ‘“What’s the
matter, Dink?”
Carter grinned apologetically. ‘I just
ippened to think of something. Leo
as in town Wednesday night. He was
lling me he was going to plant some
vn Friday morning and wanted to
iow if I’d come out and help. I told
m I was going to be too busy. So Leo
ys to me, ‘Okay, then I guess I’ll
ive to get Willie.’
Winegard and Voit exchanged
ances. Willie Agrue was a barrel-
ested, square-faced individual known
»out Aurora and Lawrenceburg as a
haracter.” A silent, moody sort of
llow, he lived with his pretty young
ife, Beatrice, and young daughter in
ramshackle trailer a few miles out
Lawrenceburg on Highway No. 50.
‘jllie’s fortunes never had been much
speak of. Frequently he had been
1 WPA and laid off. He also did odd
bs of carpentering, grass cutting and
iinting.
If Willie had come to the Agrue
rm Friday morning to help Leo plant
rn, that logically accounted for one
the two extra plates.
Carter, as if reading Winegard’s
ind, said: ‘““Willie’s wife tagged along
ith him most everywhere he went.
1ey both mighta been out here for
ipper.”
Winegard was suddenly and serious-
interested in the whereabouts of
‘illie Agrue. He called Voit off to one
de.
“You take a run over to Lawrence-
ing,” he said, “and see if you can
cate Willie. If he’s at home, bring
m in for questioning. If he’s not
e'll post the place later. I’m going to
ay here a while and see what turns
). We haven’t found a single shell
+t from the gun the killer used.”
Voit, after a quick run_ through
urora and Lawrenceburg, had no
ouble locating the clearing off High-
ay No. 50 occupied by Willie Agrue
id other squatters. A neighbor pointed
it to him the Agrue one-room hum-
e home.
An attractive, dark-haired woman
iswered the door at Voit’s knock and
ized at him speculatively. It was
»vious that she was pregnant. Voit
cided to proceed gently.
“Mrs. Agrue, I have some questions
1 — to ask you about your hus-
ind.”
The woman’s face whitened. She
epped back and invited Voit to enter
e place. He entered and sat down
a chair beside a table in that section
the trailer called the kitchen. A
eeping child, about four years old,
y on the bed at the opposite end.
rs, Agrue dropped into a rocking-
alr.

“What'd you want to ask me about
Willie?” she inquired nervously.

Voit went straight to the point.
“What time did he leave here yester-
day for the farm?”

Panic filled the woman’s face. ‘‘Why
—why—about five o’clock. Leo came
to the house about three-thirty in his
car. He stayed for breakfast and the
two left in Leo’s car. Don’t tell me—”

Voit looked at the woman steadily
and wordlessly as she colored, stared
at the floor and then went on reluc-
tantly: “Don’t tell me Leo and Wil-
liam’s been in another argument.”

Voit’s pulse picked up. What did
Mrs. Agrue mean by “another argu-
ment’? Striving to keep his voice
even, he asked: “Did Leo and Willie
quarrel often?”

“Oh, they had little squabbles occa-
sionally. Leo always liked to lord it
over Willie. Leo had saved up a hun-
dred dollars to buy a new car and
Willie was sort of down in the mouth
because he hadn’t been able to find
steady work.” Tears came to the
piercing dark eyes in front of Voit.
“It’s been hard for us to make ends
meet on such little money.”

Mrs. Agrue’s words hypnotized Voit.
Had they outlined a motive for the
Laughery Valley slaughter?

“Did Willie know where Leo kept
his hundred dollars?”

“Why, of course. Everybody in the
family knew it. He kept it in a trunk
in the room he slept in upstairs. But
say—” The woman’s fists knotted.
“You’re asking me all the questions
and you ain’t tellin’ me nothin’. Is
Willie in trouble?”

Voit got up from his chair, leaned
over Mrs. Agrue and took her shoul-
ders in his hands. “Did you go to the
farm yesterday morning along with
Leo and Willie?”

Mrs. Agrue, now thoroughly fright-
ened, said, ‘No, I didn’t.”

Voit scarcely heard her last remark.
He was now looking at the shelf run-
ning along the trailer wall directly
back of Mrs. Agrue’s head.

The woman looked in the same di-
rection and said, truculently: “That’s
our radio. What’s the matter with it?”

Voit shook his head, said nothing.

He hardly had noticed the radio, an
old-fashioned box model. He was more
concerned with the empty half-pint
whisky bottle jutting from behind one
corner of the radio. The bottle bore
the same label as the one in the Agrue
basement and it was a mate, in all
respects, to the bottle found in the
basement under the Agrue home.

yor quickly changed the direction
of the conversation. ‘‘What kind of
clothes was Willie wearing when he
left here?”

“Black shoes, overalls, a brown
shirt and a cap. But why are you ask-
ing me that?”

As much as he would have liked to
ease the woman’s torturing suspense,
Voit decided against it. “I would ad-
vise you not to worry too much,” he
said. “We’re not sure what happened
but there’s been a little trouble at the
farm.”

Before the woman had a chance to
ask further questions, Voit was out of
the trailer and in his car and speeding
toward Lawrenceburg. He reached the
Sheriff’s office at the moment another
deputy, Theodore Cook, was returning
from a warrant service in the far end
of the county. Cook hadn’t heard the
news. Voit told him what happened.

“There are several members of the
Agrue family around here and in Au-
rova,” Voit said. “Seatter about and
see how many you can round up. We’ll
be needing a lot of family information,
I think. If you run into Willie Agrue,
arrest him.”

Voit soon was back at the head of
the lane which led from Highway No.

50 to the Agrue farm. He groaned as
he saw the highway jammed with
dozens of cars. The people were hav-
ing a Roman holiday, At least a score
were gathered about the heavy Aurora
truck parked under a shade tree with
a tarpaulin thrown across its broad
bed. Voit plainly could see the impres-
sions of the four bodies underneath the
canvas—Johnson Agrue, his wife,
Nina, Leo Agrue and Mary Elizabeth
Breedon.

Voit shuddered and started south in
the lane. As he turned the first bend
he came face to face with four men,
two at each side of a stretcher. On the
stretcher was a man’s body, his face
covered by a coat. Voit said nothing
to the stretcher-bearers but ran for-
ward to meet Coroner Moon some 30
yards south.

“Who in the name of Heaven is on
that stretcher?” the Deputy asked, as
he reached Moon’s side.

Moon shook his head soberly. “You
were looking for Willie Agrue, weren’t
you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s Willie on the stretcher.
Some boys found his body a few min-
utes after four o’clock in that stretch
of woods up there about three hun-
dred yards west of where we discov-
ered Leo. Willie had been shot once
in the back and at close range.”

“Then Willie didn’t kill the other
four?” ‘

Moon smiled wryly. “Hardly. Who-
ever killed the others killed Willie.
I’m removing all the bodies to my
place. I’ll see you there later.”

Voit broke into a run and didn’t
stop until he’d entered the Agrue
yard. Winegard, flanked by Jolliff and
paps was just stepping through the

oor.

'HE Sheriff greeted Voit with com-
er resignation and determina-
tion.

“Looks like we had the wrong hunch
about Willie,” he said. “After they
found Willie’s body I wanted to inter-
cept you at Lawrenceburg but there
wasn’t any phone handy. We've got a
new motive—or more of the same one.”
Winegard pointed to the single-bitted
ax Jolliff was carrying. “We found
that on the floor in Leo’s room up-
stairs. It had been used to break open
a small trunk by Leo’s bed. We don’t
know yet what’s missing but—”

“IT can tell you,” Voit interrupted.
“Leo Agrue’s hundred dollars that he’d
saved up to buy a new car. Willie’s
wife told me about it. She knew where
it was; said lots of other people also
knew about it.”

Winegard looked mildly surprised.
“If that’s the case, then a lot of people
could be suspects. But that still doesn’t
explain why the girl was killed. There
must be something deeper to this than
has come to the surface.” Addressing
the State officers, the Sheriff said:
“There’s no sense in Voit and I stick-
ing around. We’ll go to Lawrenceburg
and try to contact some of the relatives.
It beats me why there aren’t a dozen
of them around. They’re bound to have
heard about this.”

When Winegard and Voit reached
the Sheriff’s office at Lawrenceburg,
they were surprised to find a number
of the Agrue relatives already at the
jail. Three women and four men were
seated in chairs scattered about the
large reception-room opposite’ the
Sheriff’s private office. Winegard’s at-
tractive wife, Helen, was passing
among the guests with iced tea and
small cakes on a tray.

Winegard and Voit stood in the door-
way grinning. “This,” the Sheriff said,
jovially, “looks like a family reunion.”

Everyone in the room seemed at ease
and there was a complete lack of ten-
sion one might expect under such cir-
cumstances. Mrs. Winegard placed her

Read It First in
L DETECTIVE STORIES

tray on a table and joined the two
men at the door. Tugging at her hus-
band’s arm in a way that those inside
couldn’t see, she said, under her
breath: “Out into the hall, you two.”
When Winegard and Voit had re-
treated into the hall, Mrs. Winegard
pulled the door shut. “Cook rounded
up some of these people,” she said.
“The others came in on their own.”

“Wasn’t that Okley Breedon, the
girl’s father, sitting by the north win-
dows?” Winegard asked.

“Yes, he came in himself. Said he
was anxious to find out what hap-
pened. He drives a soft-drink truck
and I took the job myself of checking
him out. He was on his route until
seven o'clock last night. His landlady
told me he was in bed by eight-thirty.”

“Good work.” Winegard grinned.
“You’d make a good detective, Helen.”

Mrs. Winegard laughed off the com-
pliment. “Leona Carter is in there,” she
said, “and three of the other daugh-
ters with their husbands; Ida, who is
Mrs. Lawson Gillespie; Grace, who is
Mrs. Benjamin Hillker, and Hazel, who
is Mrs. Kenneth Sullivan. The child’s
mother, Mrs. Marshall Wiant, who
originally was Bessie Agrue, isn’t here.
I understand she’s on her way now
from her home in Chicago. Mary
Agrue, who’s married to Roy Marx-
berry at Rising Sun, Ohio, also is on
the way. Mary, you know, was Dick
Carter’s first wife.”

Winegard looked up in surprise.
“Dink’s first wife?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Winegard said. “It seems
as though Carter married Mary five or
six years ago. They couldn’t get along
so they got a divorce. Right away, Dink
married Leona. Now it looks as though
i and Dink aren’t hitting it off so
well.” °

“What makes you say that?”

“Leona was just telling me that she’d
been having a time with Dink lately.
He’s been doing a lot of drinking and
carousing around. Last week Leona
went to Chicago to visit some friend
of hers. Dink showed up a couple
nights later pretty drunk and de-
manded that Leona come back home.
She told him she didn’t have the
money to get back. Dink disappeared
and a couple of days later he sent
Leona seven dollars. Leona said: that
she got a bus and came on back home,
just to save a lot of bickering with
Dink. She said Dink was in a peeve
when she did come home and he’s
been over at his Dad’s place most of
the time.”

“Did Leona say where Dink had got
the money for her bus fare?” Winegard
asked,

“Yes, he said his dad lent it to him.”

“There’s something screwy about
this story somewhere,” Voit spoke up.
“When I talked to Dink this afternoon
at the house, he said he hadn’t seen
Leona for a month.”

Winegard chewed his lower lip. “I
wonder what his idea was in lying
about that?”

“There’s something screwy about this
I think it might pay to find out. It
may have been just a simple little lie
to cover up his family troubles or it
might mean something worse. While
you're talking to the others here I
think I’ll run over to Aurora and talk
to Dink.”

“A good idea,” Winegard said. He
turned and went into his private office.
At the door he said over his shoulder
to his wife: “Now, Helen, just send in
your visitors one at a time, starting
with Breedon.”

It was after six o’clock when Voit
reached Aurora and he spent half an
hour inquiring directions before he
was able to find the home of Dink
Carter’s father, Tom. When he knocked
at the door of a small, newly painted
white house across the railroad tracks
in the south end of town, the elder

September OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES Goes on Sale Wednesday, July 30

BAP

as that goes. They might have cached
it there for a little sly tippling.”

“I don’t think so.” Voit turned to
the speaker, one of the farmers who
had been standing silently against the
living-room wall.

Winegard said: “Oh, yes, Mr. Smith,
I forgot to introduce you to Art Voit,
my deputy. And—” Winegard mo-
tioned to the second farmer—‘Mr.
Runyon, meet Art Voit.” Voit shook
hands with both men.

“These gentlemen have given me
some valuable information,” Wine-
gard said to Voit. “Mr. Runyon has
been working on the same project at
Madison as Old Man Agrue. He tells
me that yesterday was payday at the
proving grounds. Runyon drove Agrue
home from the plant yesterday eve-
ning. They stopped in Aurora and
cashed their checks.

“Runyon let Old Man Agrue out at his
lane where it runs into Fifty at about
four-thirty. Smith here tells me that
he heard two shots fired at ‘around
four-thirty to four-forty-five.’ He’s not
sure but it had to be a few minutes
after Agrue left Runyon’s car. The old
man had gone just about a mile before
he was killed.”

“The money,” Voit said, eagerly.
“Did the old man have any on him?”

No shadow of violent death hov-
ered over those marked to die
when this picture of the Agrue
family was taken. From left to
right: Johnson and Nina Agrue,
both slain, Mrs. Ida Gillespie, Mrs.
Benjamin Hillker, William Agrue,
a victim, Mrs. Hazel Sullivan, Mrs.
Bessie Wiant, Mrs. Mary Marx-
berry, Mrs. Leona Carter and Leo
Agrue, the slayer’s first victim

OD—6é

Virginius — Dink — Carter:
“If you really want a
drink, | know a good spot”

“Twenty cents was all he had in
his pockets,” Winegard said. “Moon
looked his clothes over thoroughly.
Runyon says the old man’s check
amounted to something like sixty-eight
dollars—that’s gone.”

“Hmm,” Voit said. “It looks like
straight-out robbery. Somebody knew
the old man was getting paid and they
knew he would be walking down that
lane on the way home.”

“But how would you account for
these other killings?” Winegard asked,
and Voit’s face clouded. “The killer
certainly didn’t kill Mrs. Agrue, the
little girl and Leo to rob them.”

“That’s true.”

FS \ mama SMITH again spoke up, re-
suming where he had left off before.
“About that whisky bottle—I’m almost
positive it didn’t belong to Leo or the
old man. Agrue himself was dead set
against drinking and Leo was a pretty
mindful boy.”

“Take the bottle along with you,
(Continued on Page 34)

ANDKOPE |

Or your clathes

$29, 95.

YO Netcom! Search bivy we we

cs parent hd Nk M linet Yacticoies tee he 14 ot

| Michigh seils het *
ate Tur
<i ets ies Mich! tail en
1 ale crotorie: the body However |
ey that Lunee:,) dat:
" era
hand TaThee op

heyy eet is Aas nal vat ab hy he a
; A ALM whigan City”
“jiia® FR Wiis frivfolted tor ite Armament,
‘brutal inicdst al’ aye bid, Flip) ‘ ae
Lis Comino he endd: ;

“7 bk, Whe piad a ite the ete
halt Abd sori Te wie: Anke | ee
sth the ES Re UNI ‘anid 3e na
tt ml ‘by @ ph ei
mriniite dation, yi ae |
fe Tah rane ony fit" Chinn,’ wf
‘ ; nice ell dag dae BE Misa 77 1
% “atihioe, arent, andy ea ee, i '
Miss: Wikheliia’ Haga.) aaa last aii ny “ns nc FF. maul
” abtel: legge! hatte tovstay. din bees. Port wise fiat Here 2 Ane. dabor Taco
iV tad & QilesUon’mark ip thelr min Ae re aC §
es Suet at eng ey fe What sill bye the: jmnpinct a ‘eet fe én
oS Robert Aya Buhler: file ehilek, Gils And Nation's asiobnyt
tolansely, ‘abandoned! ‘d’ “for a! the dnewer-to. that (qdestion ther: ee A’ series
tert of ettoe after Gow, Hy ent. Pre toring On several elosety, hold bed: tnctora: Thee Anclude:
| SchHicker retuned: ey ea Hay, THe Apeed wilt sehieh: are tepe u ie nn tayo.
at exectit inte. ermtt, completion Tot Hefonge bedierd 9 at ees /
it: th by Weta! ‘action, ‘abd, tt: ‘bach » he ‘nipositien’ of: wins, ee TK ibs. ennitrold on. the nation)
‘Obvious Chel would’ db bell one (hh oonomiy included: (he na Ni ® eet, eg td ake MN A dans
hearing Could he” Gotnpdeteddi: ‘ ini oh key cottyurner ett 18 fact ;

OMe intone EN hake
f goers wink x He stems ii ine oe ict “elastics, of a, Lieb af 1)
Veinkitg hiae Binecened:: Only halt ni
An” hour’ hetote rmidnight, « the) othe. Amour hin i
xc bedleted hove ot it Herta edt byt Hitt, trom: ce |
on Warden. Altted’ Dowd) Wen Lune production tik Male Mts Caaf) ‘
MERTON ATCrOd” Died, Went doy The pit of inate hast OR, i v. Criticny: An sail ina
jHiee.: parti larly on the Gieiiian: Wipply bt oct, vst Ni cna
nts ae but eae as iat At year's’ end, Port: wae Han Wok back jin “the 12" monthe
OL Chel, Aehled’ he) wk ithe er 1980) ahd point 16 record eh, (pedceliine: Graplogment: and what ha
the Mabees ‘Aa yigs “ated tole: Days been, desorbed an its bent Laster yout Ho ineludat w, dean fur
a aulbed osu initeriat fi ‘8 eae hip? Over) cor bustveds net led by: eK: pe $b: S80). 800, 000, whieh’ {a 26, -.
; iabas qitiretney i Fro it Lape Perit hi her than 14h a more (hah fot Himes the 1999 vernon
THA. wale ices! eh Ch ti es With Gow toment: tostricttnia bit inelonsing specie infonmaticn
“would. be available ie sean THO Hefetive, conthabta, ito: Fart: Wayne inttustries, the amount. o
to tall ty tne Aicalb,’ i ite did | has eeetigh ha Belts rue on) iy the city” One, Fade i het
CSCO TANT ! ; 5
ee ids LLOWAV EE, persetul ‘tlbse’ fh thet ove malt, dsl ‘oltre entlroate |
in mA bhi fe in wena! hat: ptewent ‘detonge Paraben yi Naw Heo a pl 10° ant” i if
aie Hite Had faleds Prison: oificiale! Per, belt) pf Fart Wayne's tote nduatrial ar i They eatiniate | Sah:
»peparted : he oxpineannd | it Lartivns | HhAL thileofigare evil Hse ta 2h pet: bent dubing, the tat! hth: on ee
That court wetion hdd filed, :and® are OE heard, Year BY Ene enAis: Ape te predict Ene ne |
“thatthe Federal “Destetet Canrt MRO, 68 BURN AAD pee cons aie
“had, Hot acted on his betihle. 01) YN eam't Gontinng Rath Cistlina, Defense: Frodicinn :
as The, blectrocution Of Chick ‘Wag th Would be Tholish! they pola gut. to amine that induxtéy& P foes. Se
j bd ‘execution AK ‘Allen’ business | Kore and gisewhire: tiv the Nati Can “continue: toy Abo 55) FONT ‘ait ma
at) ara \“deditise produgtion along with normal ) vitian. prodoctions\) Ye Heing dadzhter of e
Aari sa me te wi: i With, liad aig tor’ bog chin, f isles ‘on wae conditions ana | Rot ACH: poring 4
dbs fox an ie ni Of 'thateria na for, the yeat were placed I)” ruatien (iby foal hh
Allow, GIeloty, 17-year-old ne ithe hidiardous eens at best RE ON b aieere tata

i, ae efemcrs dase ah poets :
lente iis ‘ile Marte, and) his|ne and labor leaders to ati scien

i Pan

ih. ais Take ea ee yeiut
cand. Sanday night.” 1F ye
Abiyou're under the mil;

ecavaeciarhig eal 1 Fecal ta Tenipordty changed tatty cabordet a fron
in thet present: level of ern ehiployment ‘which: today te ab Me | ita: start the New Years
i eo ini the peek. bf Inet: War Jt aetivity, iy it io ARON TOR pieriendi tial a

tii wees a Controle TS Have Ettert
a N onessential” Es the artart and nature of materiat contrela will, nt weirs, ‘haba ts States ver Chritinvas:’

. ag (A Marked effect dh civitien produbtion and employment. Rextrictious, at watand many Amer
Use of Copper: Hen eet are oust Ae cone tion dusty, and et! “ariel and sorrow, Don't

expected tha hnine cotistruction: Ab tee ot a Maw et than in 2980.

aCe City’ atrit. rey to poke
Wife mt nel her lot hte str bad heh MMieveten
eye to aver wrt OF mh Tate the Wind at the: Peeeutipn,

VAtter relurninyg, to Post Wa oe
| it ‘aa

‘ity Bfotal withy Mik. ey

ie Neral.
Ris As \ chocialed Preas : Mint ne yoke bee EE:
Schreier had denied. was

lnriocent

Se ie Bh
eee a

QP tere trtlort start fen ig Maia: ne ven Senin

out cls | i i

" xy

it namenb Ge

* ' ‘ aY ‘RNS a F
ort Wasi! husiiteas wintry: and: ‘uuiirts
sthon anarks in thei init 4) ane
beat iid tee thie Tepe, anid site ot kes tid
“ity s. abe Nation's eeone fy? Me 1
The anawer to, that qabetion | ‘Wea th a genes, a ‘ipoviscka tied’
Hering on severateioaely bolated [actots, : There Na aE At
The spewd with whieh, Abe feavtenment’ atcha up, itn ing tei
lof defen Grderar 07% re deh iid
‘Nhe umposition of Wake “prie: ‘and. other etEbin kt he "aint lon
dccuomy: including Ue Pon /bufity, of a Sette te: vent
tates on nee cop aunnnet itera, > : i;
o Daeboar et Market 1
The clastiell. lof W hl anda nivel Hight huis 1
ia. ae hg ay
4 ye amount of caavehant nlecdatohy Setiiclt “ali) neon sh
Tada red. hy the Sshitttiponn«, fied, 4 ar, Jnay mi netin: ta * wi
rime production hast’ i by Ay
the athect: of thatorial,’ ‘eluoet igen, alt ead?
y tries particularly: Tye civilian wuipply ant goods,
Re Ars year's endFort Waste, cin took | tyek ‘on thes 1d
Ay 1d and prolat “te teoerd high peacet ini: saan pnd, what rae
teen désttibed atte heat bustteas year | Tt ineladed.« doliat turns |
over on business athiod by gneek: af $i 560. BAGO00; Wwhicha 16,8.
M per cent higher’ Chan, TH49 and mort than: Tout timer the 1999 volnime
a Wiul Gove ppm pesleehong on relcaging: apne fe: internation, ot)
many defense eoniracts Wt ta Fert May ne ipdyatrins, the maining: ‘at!
Raia te fense work. bering | cag ied on Any are elt plants, Seay Ne Alfticutt
Bi td Shute Hy, hoes i
Linweaes perninis eed hy the. @\ pat) lesAvibtin. piety: YER sears
that. present defense protuotyen: fet), oecupies betes Wand ts)
Ba. PAY Cent ot Fart Wayne'a titel inethyiatt ay perecbct io, ‘he yi batinnate’!
chit thix fire, wie Hae de Bt pee een during’ thi Hina OOo te® TH
pr jays of the new Year By the cit Me ih, Bat tiie Tha, ihe: fers,
rt may go ax high’ ag, 40 per céots 4
Can't. Centinne Hoth etaities, ietonds: ‘mi aed” va
It would’ be fodtistothiey poiit out, to aagumne that) Indaatty vid |

as Hr

its
way

x
jen business hare and ©

ny, defense produgtion a
Eto With the outlook fat. 1

jor witli Pha normal eivitian prodoction.

05% hingliy primarily, oh wat Conditions and |’
g tho availability Of imatertath, predictions, fot, the. reer. were, ar hey
Bin! the haxabtiout eieks at teate:

tre edve tus rentai bk Aus a ‘hletpre ad pos
aula filo of posh

Spe wry su pies Tir Asada hel
tind tenders, to. outline brletly ¥
, yi theb pe tee tele i dase 1% months.
Fart for the year to come.” "
yi The pekults of] the survey toliow:
Haywood. Davis, president of the
Laver vit} 4
the general level of busiiens, ‘acuity in Fort Way
je bes behagh: The influence ofsemtir-eitional def
int. ‘Fort Wayne rconomy and. business mechivityy wilh; be ‘great. fe
bypphan: oeaty. Wows Ware industries have defen
Ng this progr at

Foe Wayne Chamber of Com
oe ‘dori 1991 |

- Bia
we
?

leewhurd Ab the Nation éaiy cortiniie: {a AMIE Ju91 FONT AND! ‘

Clio 4 ade was

dryeraiste yet fe the Tan Muptgovan,
Home here tofny., A titarne ie

Mt a te. i] ehitaty f
Afremeved, | i

wale i rations: Be

he. ‘Fort Wane, a

critical wm ry

Melby y ‘Gaunhter of

Sete

serty eh os N

Fhe. iNewe:s

ey ap lade» at, tte! ian 16
ati visited Sah fata ey.
nd af ay

Djion ie iif
al dt Dans, tis
‘ip ot ane

hy
PHM MeL tr Z ati

1 uy

a ie ie

4 WAV ABIL
Tanita a fait: it
i ARTE SOMA LT Gy date
ae) eae ihe “gh ay Mita yk
KS ndbedth:
[axitaey sin t Wi yt ris ba
iste }ir ae Teac! Hig ht hey :
a RY ea Porgy eye es ai ett
scat foutty aha iy, Pibdiy. Wins
a Hester. PHVA GS i ig
Ly i rit, PIM Was or Dyes
ci pwebenatt, tte ay peste RAE ye hae
" ary Poi tihersetyhh sik te
‘ By Way (its ELH

it he

Sanson: han, yhhpened

‘ies great et hy, Miho AMAT
a Ate) Wi oels Sa) am ath
+H 4, thm tnd ‘ia peda hie Prey i
dethag’« Ak: Blut itil
4 hatiews, Ager i Stht
neh fed {1hod. |
Dulles Suggest Ring
Pei ted, canbe Othe re Wee
hinge head Wor ype Che Acar
fia PHAL Coe foe uy ive eb als
tints Sie erie ex thoy So teted
“EACH, ORO E | POL +} pits
Rave , iat

¢
Pi vi cal |

meee

yy PL icir eae ACT AIM aad
"typ" ‘ise tatate Leiraiin ont ha
Pa beyet etter? ly LRT hee
Hyde avian (ie o\hera,” shewtig
Bayar! Ree? het pee ott, DE
a tie, pape: ty trad eget
| bee ROTC
NE tr; att ip
t, Cig? darina th sot Ti :
: beech La ya ipl
Lukeven IT Moh nih leu Sabian
ee ey bag rt py Tes
4 SW gre bomen e=meawern
ive pane ‘and tea meaner
Jphoment’ we are fold thet ®
pri attaci teorrow: eet al

“is RG AC
f tear Sleek tie ad the 4

UP : Ta Washington, Senate
eran purer ot Mebrapky: tha tor
‘ a: wap Suey wore!
it

bwsshionticd » Marve Betetie oi
piste) Heiny 1d, pi

eritine y's Hoel ao? Thtank -
ea en er
Neves: “entingl | | Pho fay eX

¢: yiet Bice 0), bem
af

v4 vant

rg ews be

Vack

iB Dhieds athe rots
af weit

Dee ae

26 : e rit

AN Ly WW thes
i

— Circularson Murders Sent AllOver Country

\ on FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST AND CONVICTION OF THE
\ MURDERER OR MURDERERS OF THESE THREE SINGLE GIRLS: ,
'

ws A gee, eo, ae *

lie TREE,

CAE alent :
BP yi

14S 2

$5,500 REWARD

For the niurderer of Withelma
(Billie) Haaga, 38, who died shel. 5,
1944, three duysafter she was wratally
henten slong a river bank five miles
{rom the cit’. The attack occurred
shortly after she left her place of em-
ployment ina defense factory at 4:53
p. tn. on Feb, 2, 1844, She was hetieved

{
,o) ween getting into a car near the face ©

story. An hour after she was choked and

her skull fractured by heavy blows, she
singgered Into a farm house, about T 14

miles from where the attack occurred.

Her clothing: had nat been dise rranged

and thera was no evidence of rape. Her

ro puree, with the moncy removed, was
i found 144 milea from the scene of the
attack, Before working in the defense
r lant xhe was on the vaudeville stage
4 years prior to 19382, and worked in

a Chicago department store from 1936.

JULE STUMPF

$5,500 REWARD

Tor the murderer of Anna Kueeff,
19, whore ravished body was forma
May 23,194 tying ina Hedd fret with
in the western limits of the cty. The
girl was raped and muriered while on
her way to work at a defers faant
about 10:35 p.m. on May 22, iptd,
Death war caused by a fractored peck,
Bruises completely encireled the neck,
indicating she was strangled with a
narrow belt, stocking, small nop, wine
or similar article, Found) near the
reere was a small black pocket comb
with both fine and coarse teeth, and p
buckle froma belt about 44 or 7h inches
acide. Ter one piece uniform wag tor
down the front, her brassi¢re torn and
pushed up around her nek afl her
step-ing torn and pushed up nroand her

- ABOVE MURDERS AND NOTIFY: , Vie

IN SIMILAR CASES KINDLY CHECK
N THE DATES MENTIONED IN THE |

$5,500 REWARD

For the murderer of Phyllis Conine,
17, a high achoot student, whore pare ,.
Ually decumponed body was found in a®
field eight milo por tt est of the citys
on Aug. 8, 1944, The girl had been re-
ported minsing after vhe {riled to meet»
a girlfriend for a movie appointment
on Awe. 4, 1944. Death wae doe loa
xevery hlow on the head. Mer clothing
had been torn from her beady. Labora.
tory teats failed ta show that she was
crlminnily attacked, although it ft gens,
erally believed she war raped. Lying’
near the bedy was a man's cheap tan
trench cout, size 36, greare marked,
with blood on one lapel, collar and cuTa
badly frayed, and the left pocket badly
worn Indicating the owner might have
teen left handed, ‘The victim's purse,
with contents minsing, was found LYy
milen wert of the muoder stents >»

to 1941. wrist,
ANY DEPARTMENTS HAVING SUSPECTS
iid THEIR ACTIONS AND WHEREABOUTS O
CHIEF OF POLICE
<>" FORT WAYNE 2, IND.
‘A , Pitnw Cf wn EF

Five thousand circulars detailing
the city and county's three recent
murder mysteries have been nent
to every Iaw enforcement agency

in the country. F
A pérsonal distribution of the

rng galt

oe sweetness te ts

clreulars to every police depart
ment,
ehais and town constabioa ™
a radius of 75 miles bas been made
by detectives from the Fart Wayne
Police Department. ;
The circulars have been want to

sheriffs office, town

mare
fihbin

jevery police department and at
he offes in the country. Chie
Police Jule Stumpf ratd that }
ihoped that through these circu!
police here may develop leads |
with lead in the polution of

p abresines ee

CNS

st Aart 8 SP

Sersseg?

nae - ‘

To Incoming

er oe ‘*
eee © a ae / wf
Rewards recently authorized four }formation that Halph W. Lobaugh, fecidence given and that the reward

murders in 1944 were referred to! Miss Conine. Lobaugh, who caused; Floyd 1, Moreland and Dorothy
the incoming city council and con-ja stir here in 1947 when ly cons) Moreland were entitled to ehure in
troller for payment Jast night by lfessed the three sex slavings and said: rewards based upon the re
the retiring municipal legislative j then denied them, recently was! port of the attorneys an sald com.
body. ltermed @& psyoopathic by Gov. mission that when a clalmant has
| Tronically, the matter of rewards | Henry F, Schricker after a special performed a part of the service
comes back to the same city ad-|investigation, Lobaueh had been | teadloy Oa reavard and is prevent.
‘ministration which offered them in! sentenced to death for the crimes, ed trem comple tings the work, he
, 1944, At that tine, the city by ordi-| but the’ governor commuted the lor they are entitled to share in the
jnance offered $15,000 {or informa-!sentence to life Imprisonment: on fpewaid on a Quantum merit base:
tlon leading fo the prosecution and jihe strength of his investigation. — jihat he Jett thar they gathered rid
‘conviction of the murderer or) Attorneys for the four accepted | presented evidence to the prnoprer
amMurderers of the three women, The ;Claimants, Mr, and Mrs. Floyd L. authority which should have led tu
old ordinance became operative! Moreland of Angola, Mrs. Click.) the arrest of Franklin Click at that
when Franklin Click, a celery farm ;wife of the executed man, and) time, in the Fall of 1944, bul were
worker, was convicted of the} Mys, Simon Sparks, the vietim Of presented from doling xo by the,
murder.of Miss Phyilig Conine, Hej a kidnaprape perpetrated by Click, egal muthorities tg whem they
Also confessed slaying Miss Annajclaim the 1911 statute does not irurned ever the results of their
Kuzetf and Miss Wilhelma Haaga.!apply cand that there will be Al inventigation. all as shown by thetr.

But there will be complications unite’ legal front for payment offdetaiedt reporta to the police de.
jAbout the payment of any rewards. {the full $15,000 in equal shares of partmefit which ane included and
When it met several weeks ago to! onethird, as specified by the com: are A part of the transeript of the |
;process the claimants, the special! mission, ; proceedings attached to thig (re,
reward commission discovered that Full Report Filed j Port,” {
a 19th indiana law Meni reward | A full report of the reward coms: Cognizant af the 19117 statute,’
ovfers of municipalities to $250 per biel j mmunication from, Members of the cominission were!
case, If effective, this bewhiskered Mea sion ie ye a rink - MY caret to avold Any monctary refs
statule will reduce the total ree 2s0r Henry hy, Senne Ml erence in their ‘formal report)

ne - ‘hairman of the reward body, went:

ards from $15,000 to $750. ? ; fe iThey s
wares pirhnbdaahs goed ‘ jthrough the council hopper Jast | They Fpecified that Mr. and Mrs.
Nicodemus Renews Clalm ' ieht Morland jointly, Mra. Sparks ant

t Ferdinand Nicodemus, one of the ;
lclalmants who was tuted down,| 29 bis communication to the San a tee tetal rabies oni
added another legal barnacle 19) Counci, the mayor pointed out thal Moreland's investigation naming:
rved | Mies, Sparks wag directly FESO | ose stiet + whe!
lsible for the arrest of Click, rhat;GMA* 4&8 8 murder suspect Was,
hcompleted in 10 days, The Angola!

iMra. Click induced her husband to: hes ie rhe : he it

|perpetual injunction’ to maintain {ake lie detector tesis which linked te sai, én ere to nake $154
r¢ i hes a ais ‘him with the three homicides and) "8S an easy Way fo make $lo,¢
his equity in any reward payments. | ove.” cathy ©

; that the investigation by Mr. and} bane hiah eat
Nicodemi ims he supplied in-! . : . PRA EG
jeod alah claims he oper led in Mrs, Moreland, if carried out by

ithe proper authorities, would
thave resulted in the arrest of Click
tin the Fath) of 1944.

The mayor added that it) waa
the Unanimous conelugion of the
commission that Nicodemus and
Mra. Naomi Ll. Phillips did not
develop any evidence that resulted
in an arrest,

Herber Comments

The formal report of the com-
imission goes into the Moreland
investigation more deepiv, The
commentof Mr. dHerber, a imomber
of the commission by virtue of his
office, ig earried as follows:

‘the aituation, yesterday, Tle ge
lan Councif, President Arthur Her-
(ber what he titled a “mandatory

persons who contribtted to the/now sering a life sentence at the i cammision wwe advised, that fran:
solution of three Fort Wayne sex! state prison, was the abductor offa Jegal Mandpmint, the claimants:

_ of a courageous

FRM

, i , \
: E SAT in the warden’s
sombre big office and

; waited—a half-dozen
men of loosely joined professions:
police, prosecutor, prison and press.

Around us crouched Indiana State
Prison, a squat, ugly cluster of
gloomy buildings on the west side of
ee City, within sight of azure
Lake Michigan.

The restless prison, a fountainhead
of great stories, was laboring to bring
forth another. No one expected a
mouse, ' ia After long months in death row,

Small talk spurted and dribbled Ralph Lobaiigh breathes easier
away. A small radio chattered play of with the hope of a rehearing.
a critical game in Hoosierdom’s hec-
tic state basketball tournament. Some-
one \asked abruptly, “What's the

score?” No one knew. It was that :

kind of taut atmosphere. © ran up my neck. It always does when half-p

- At last a guard came in and said to I get inside that big stir which can , TLING

Deputy Warden L. C, Schmuhl, “Dr, erupt so swiftly. 1946,

Zeller says he’s ready.” ‘Passing through the visitor's room _As

Tall, dignified Warden Ralph How- I glanced at the little cage of armor tinati«

ard watched us wistfully as we stirred plate and bullet-proof glass that street

and moved out. He had another ap- guarded the main gate, and remem- buildi

pointment and would miss the show. bered why it had been built. The whole of to

We passed through the big gate, Dillinger gang, well-armed with black

and as it clanked behind us a prickle smuggled guns, had crashed through corne

the old, ill-protected front gate in waitit

1933, : Ins

Out in the yards, the prison was led te

lifeless. It was Saturday afternoon, tory,

March 13, 1948. Prisoners were in a Clusic

cells, or watching their weekly movie. ajar.

Led by Deputy Schmuhl, who car- | Be

ried his big frame like the officer he’d room

been in two world wars, we skirted the draw

chapel and a big cellblock—the one in sunli;

which cons had crudely brewed potent muri

nitro-glycerin until caught with a full to bi

But “F
that grim seat

seems

much farther away now,
since the fight

outs
plac:
at a

gray
police chief wall
to learn the truth

about the Lobaugh case

\
}
]
|
|

| hun

. his |

aler

cult

trip

dep:

| to tl

“ to :

wot

g ' Was

dle

/ BY AL SPIERS, -

(Only newsman to sitsin on the vitel truth serum test)

eae 7 swigs REND ot Pee | ‘rn
£ a ee fide PEPE EP ORT AT Vester
i ae ag a Sad

Attorney Robert Buhler aided in the
long, hard fight to discover the truth.

of that room as the test began to move
out of the preliminaries into the vital
questions. ‘

Lobaugh’s voice was thick and
mellow, like a semi-drunk’s after the
fourth or fifth fast highball. But his
answers came quick upon each ques-
tion, and they seemed to come from
deep in the mind,

So this was sodium-pentothal at
work! It was intriguing. After lunch,
I’d button-holed the two top-rank
psychiatrists who were quizzing Lo-
baugh now—Dr, Charles A. Zeller,
head of Indiana’s Mental Health
Council, and Dr. Edwin C. Coats, as-

sistant superintendent of the state .

asylum. They knew their pentothal.

“tf SIT everything it’s cracked up to
be?” I asked,

Properly administered, it is.” Dr.
Zeller replied,

“You mean that in a successful test
the patient can’t possibly lie, or form
his answers, or evade what his syb-
conscious mind knows as truth ?”

“Precisely,”

“And it will work even on an un-
stable screwball like Lobaugh ?”

“Of course. In fact, it is used chiefly
in mental therapy. It enables us to
reach hidden mental conflicts. We call
it narco-synthesis, During the war it
was widely used in treating battle-
cig cases—and with excellent re-
sults,”

For Ralph Lobaugh, then, narco-
synthesis was a Godsend. He was
either a Shrewd, sadistic multi-mur-
derer, or a hapless hoax. On June 9,
1947, he’d walked into the Kokomo,
Ind., police station and calmly started
to confess sex murders at F ort Wayne,
Fort Wayne had had four such brutal
killings in a terrible thirteen months
beginning in F ebruary, 1944, Lobaugh

allowed he’d managed three of them.

Skeptical Fort Wayne detectives
sped to Kokomo and began to question
him. He had an amazingly accurate
knowledge of details of the murders,
and he wWhs Promptly taken to Fort
Wayne,

A few days later he recanted and
said, in effect, “I was only fooling !”

But by then he'd told far more
about the murders than an ordinary
crank could remember, A grand jury
indicted him,

Lobaugh obliged by saying, “Yeah
—I killed them,”

en he was arraigned, he pleaded
not guilty, “I was only fooling,” he
said again. Police tried lie detector
tests while Lobaugh awaited trial,
Some were inconclusive, On some
machines the erratic wretch appeared
guilty, =

Meanwhile, Lobaugh’s new wife
had employed Attorney Buhler who
came to believe firmly in his client’s
innocence, The trial was set for De-
cember, 1947, and Lawyer Buhler be-
84an to prepare a strong defense.

But ph sty waiting in jail, sent
a note to Judge William Schannen,
He demanded immediate trial, The
judge obliged. On October 27, Lo-
baugh appeared, Thunderstruck, At-
torney Buhler heard him calmly plead
guilty and waive jury trial,

Judge and prosecutor asked the us-
ual questions, Did he realize what he
was doing? Was he sane? Had he
really murdered the three women—
Anna Kuzeff, Wilhelma ( Billy)
Haaga and Dorothea Howard? Did
he understand he could be sentenced
to the electric chair ?

To these and all the rest, Lobaugh
answered a firm yes,

Judge Schannen sentenced him to
death,

A few cynical Fort Wayne news-
papermen agreed that a final disposal
of three brutal murder mysteries was
a lovely gift to a shaky city admini-
stration that would face an election in
scarcely a week. But the timing had
been Lobaugh’s, so they shrugged it
off,

In the ensuing days, what with a
fiery city election and all, Fort Wayne
citizens readily forgot Ralph Lobaugh
who was tucked away in the Big House
120 miles northwest.

Nor did Fort Wayie police bosses
fret over him, They had more persona]
worries, The Republicans, their party,
lost the city election, Came January
1, 1948, the day victorious Democrats
took office, and most police bosses got
the old heave-ho or demotions, as is:
customary in rough and tumble Tn-
diana politics. New hands took over
supervisory police reins,

wo of them belonged to Lester
Eisenhut, a cop’s chief straight out of
Seventeen years in the ranks, Two
others belonged to Inspector Barney
Garmire, the chief's new assistant,

and two more to Detective Sgt. How-
ard Walker, a poker-faced, able old

_ timer,

None of these men had been close
to the Lobaugh case as it had unrav-
eled. Nor were they concerned about
it—yet. They had problems of their
own, Shakeup turmoil in their big de-
partment had to be smoothed and
steadied. New plans, programs and
policies had to be solved,

By mid-February, only three per-
sons had much concern about Ralph
Lobaugh, namely Lobaugh himself,
Attorney Buhler and Deputy Warden
Schmuhl,

Lobaugh, in the quiet routine of
death row, denied benzedrine or
booze, gradually settled down, took a
hard look around and decided, “This
is a helluva place to be.”

Attorney uhler, while exhausting
the customary legal remedies, began
to dig up some disturbing facts,

Deputy Schmuhl, as is his custom
with all condemned men, began to have
long talks with Lobaugh. He wasn’t
happy’ about what he heard. In two
decades in the heart of Indiana’s big-
gest stir, Deputy Schmuh! had become
almost a human lie detector, Lobaugh,
who’d seen that ugly black chair on
the way in, had begun to talk fast and
straight. To Schmuhl, it sounded like
truth. The big deputy didn’t enjoy
putting guilty men to death, let alone
simple screwballs,

S° WHEN Mr. Tukey next visited
the prison in the course of his du-

ties as the governor's penal secretary,

Deputy Schmuhl talked to him,

r. Tukey was equally unhappy,
The prison had no power or authority
to reopen an investigation, Besides, it
was touchy. Fort Wayne police had
made a studied investigation. So had
the prosecutor, Lobaugh, before sen-
tence, had been given “due process of
law.” Against all that, was only the
new ‘story of an unstable creature
who'd told Many stories—and the
deputy warden’s intuition,

Yet over it all was the haunting,
terrible thought that an innocent man
might be put to death.

Mr. Tukey acted with masterful
discretion and indirection. He invited
Fort Wayne’s new chief, Les Eisen-
hut, and Inspector Garmire to come
up and sit in on a prison parole meet-
ing—a courtesy often extended to top-
rank policemen,

Chief Eisenhut and Inspector Gar-
mire came up for the February 20
board meeting, But they didn’t ‘hear
much of it. They went out to “chat”
with Lobaugh for a few minutes be-
fore the session, They stayed three
hours—and came away disturbed,

The story Lobaugh told the chief
and Inspector Garmire made sense
and plugged all the holes. He’d con-
fessed at first, he said, because he was

despo:
cause
crime
news.
three
to con
In |
chang:
benzed
anothe
a jail
could :
"Bu
ciate
guilty
“The
ratted
maim 1
out of
guilty
ders \\
freed.”’
For t
thing «
in thre:
had no
gusted
“Wh
Chief F
“Sha
replied.
To p
Lobaug
a list of
men, *'(
“They!
* truth!"

RI\
th:
dered h
handed
the trut
prosecut
painfully
be accu
chief wa
publican
And |
creature
tution—;
twisted
Jong in t
Chiet
“A good
Inspector
innocent
We've RQ
“But «
wryly. °
Next d
spector (
geant WW;
“Study ti
“Check t!
ten confes
support |
In the
Garmire ;
furiously-
studied th
ders. For
those fear
At 4:3.

t. How-
ible old

en close
| unrav-
- about
of their
big de-
ied and
ms and

ce per-
t Ralph
umself,
Warden

itine of
ine or
took a
. “This

austing
began
5.
custom
to have
wasn’t
In two
a’s big-
become
baugh,
air on
ist and
led like
enjoy
‘t alone

visited
his du-
cretary,
n.

happy.
ithority
sides, it
ice had
So had
re sen-
cess of
nly the
reature
nd the

unting,
nt man

isterful
invited
Eisen-
2 come
e meet-
to top-

wr Gar-
ary 20
't hear
“chat”
tes be-
three
“cL,
> chief
sense
d con-
he was

despondent and wanted to die, and be-
cause he loved headlines. An avid
crime fan, he’d always studied crime
news. He’d memorized details of the
three Fort Wayne murders—enough
to convince police he was guilty.

In jail, awaiting trial, he’d had a
change of heart. Then he began to get
benzedrine and even morphine from
another prisoner who was serving out
a jail sentence on, weekends and who
could fetch the stuff in.

“But why did you demand imme-
diate trial and insist on pleading
guilty?” Chief Eisenhut asked.

“The other prisoners thought I’d
ratted on them, They were going to
maim me, I was afraid. I had to get
out of that jail. I figured to plead
guilty and get life, and that.the mur-
ders would be solved later and I’d be
freed.”

For the first time he admitted some-
thing else, something distinctly vital
in three sex murders. Ralph Lobaugh
had no desire for women; they dis-
gusted him.

“What about your marriage?”
Chief Eisenhut asked.

“Sham! Just a cover-up,” Lobaugh
replied.

To prove his disinterest in women,
Lobaugh gave the chief and his aide
a list of more than twenty Fort Wayne
men. “Go ask ‘em,’ Lobaugh said.
“They'll tell you—if they tell the
truth!”

RIVING back to Fort Wayne

that night, Chief Eisenhut pon-
dered his touchy problem, He’d been
handed dynamite, If Lobaugh spoke
the truth, his own department, the
prosecutor and the judge might be
painfully embarrassed, Moreover, he’d
he accused of playing politics. The
chief was a Democrat, the others Re-
publicans.

And Lobaugh was a queer, hapless
creature who may belong in an insti-
tution—a small, insignificant bit of
twisted humanity. But he didn’t be-
long in the electric chair !

Chief Eisenhut faced it squarely.
“A good cop's job,” he said softly to
Inspector Garmire, “is to protect the
innocent as much as to find the guilty.
We've got to go to work on this case,”

“But discreetly,’ Garmire replied
wryly. “Most discreetly !”

Next day Chief Eisenhut pulled In-
spector Garmire and Detective Ser-
geant Walker off other urgent work.
“Study these sex cases,’’ he ordered,
“Check them against Lobaugh’s writ-
ten confession, Dig, and see if the facts
support Lobaugh’s new story.”

In the next two weeks, Inspector
Garmire and Sergeant Walker worked
furiously—but discreetly. First they
studied the known facts of the mur-
ders. Fort Wayne had had four in
those fearful thirteen months.

At 4:33 p. m., February 2, 1944,

Wilhelma (Billy) Haaga, 38, an at-
tractive blond, punched out of a Fort
Wayne war plant. Police found wit-
nesses who were sure.she crossed to
a wajting car, got in and drove off
with a man she apparently knew. It
was so natural that no one got a good
description of the car—an old, small
sedan.

Two hours later, terribly beaten,
Billy Haaga staggered into a farm\
house five miles out of Fort Wayne.
Police found a place on a river bank
a mile away where she had been at-
tacked. Nearly two miles from there.
a citizen found her emptied purse and
scarf along’ the road.

Billy Haaga collapsed soon after
she reached the farm. Three days later
she died, unable to tell what had hap-
pened,

An autopsy showed she had been
struck such a savage blow on the head
that a piece of skull was driven down
into the lower part of the skull with
such force it could be scarcely pried out.

In Lobaugh’s early confession were
two puzzling variances. He said he
met Billy Haaga in a tavern, from
whence he drove her into the country.
And he declared he’d beaten her with
his hands !

At 10:30 p. m., May 23, 1944, three
months later, Anna Kuzeff, pretty 19-
year-old brunette, left her home for a
night war plant job. She had to walk
along a dark, lonely section of Fill-
more Street near the city’s outskirts.

Next morning her nude, ravished
body was found there. Searching the
scene, police saw where her killer
had lurked behind a log, fought with
Anna, then dragged her into the field.
He left two important clues—a belt
buckle and man’s comb. An autopsy

Terribly beaten,
was unable to name her
in the 11 days before she

showed Anna Kuzeff had been gar-
roted, with a rope, wire or similar
noose.

In his confession, Lobaugh said
he’d brought pieces of clothes line
from his Churubusco home near Fort
Wayne for the express purpose of
garroting a woman. He identified the
belt buckle and even- supplied the
brand name of the comb—Pro-Co-
Pox.

Next to die was Phyllis Conine, 17,
a high school student whose body was
found in a field eight miles southwest
of Fort Wayne on August 8, 1944,
four days after she had failed to meet
a girl-friend for a movie date. A sav-
age blow had crushed her head, Her
clothing had been torn off. She’d been
raped.

Nearby, police found a man’s cheap,
tan trench coat, size 36, grease-
marked, with blood on one lapel, collar
and cuffs badly frayed. The girl’s
purse, emptied,-was found a mile and
a half west of the scene.

Lobaugh had insisted he had noth- :
ing to do with the Conine murder.
Yet it was strikingly patterned after
the others,

The cold morning of March 6, 1945,
a merchant policeman found Mrs.
Dorothea Howard, wife of a Baer
Field: soldier, completely nude, badly
beaten and half-frozen in an alley off
Calhoun Street, between Main and
Columbia, in Fort Wayne.

Rushed to a hospital, she became
incoherent. Eleven days later Mrs.
Howard died of pneumonia and com-
plications resulting from the beating.
She never was able to tell what hap-
pened. Back-checking, police learned
she had left a tavern with a soldier and

[Continued on page 78]

death row,
athes easier
rehearing.

does when
which can

sitor’s room
e of armor
glass that
ind remem-
The whole
med with
ied through
mnt gate in

prison was

afternoon,
rs were in
ekly movie.
i], who car-
officer he'd
e skirted the
—the one in
ewed potent
t with a full

wily
i {i /

News of this man’s arrest meant
a quick trip to Colorado by po-
lice authorities of Fort Wayne.

half-pint. (Prison Powderkeg, STar-
TLING DETECTIVE magazine, August,
1946.)

As we neared the hospital, our des-
tination, I glanced across the prison
street at a clean, small, two-story
building—the death house, backdrop
of today’s prison story. The silent
black chair would be loafing in its
corner now, waiting ... waiting...
waiting. ...

Inside the prison hospital, we were
led to a corridor serving the labora-
tory and two small, steel-doored se-
clusion rooms. The door to one was
ajar.

Behind the half-opened door, the
room was dark. Shades had been
drawn to blot the afternoon’s bright
sunlight. We could hear soft, mur-
muring voices—the voices we’d come
to hear.

“How do you feel, Ralph?”

“Fine, Dr. Zeller. I feel wonder-
ful.”

“That's good, Ralph. Can you hear
me all right?”

“Sure, Dr. Zeller. I hear you
swell... ,:/" .

TS ESE were preliminaries and un-
important. In the little corridor
outside we shifted on tip-toe and found
places to listen—a tiny, select audience
at an intense drama.

There was Frank Tukey, a solemn
gray-haired man leaning against the
wall with Deputy Schmuhl. Tukey
was the governor’s penal secretary.

Opposite the half-open door, Lester
Eisenhut, Fort Wayne chief of police,
hunched forward on a folding chair,
his head cocked, his clean-shaven face
alert. He had undertaken a most diffi-
cult and thankless job—unsolving a
triple murder case in which his own
department already had sent a man
to the death house, He’d come to listen
to a naked mind that couldn’t lie, It
would tell him what do do!

On another chair at Eisenhut’s right
was Robert Buhler, a busy little bun-
dle of nerves now stilled. A Fort

Standing behind Denver showup
lights, Charles Dodson identi-
fied the heavyset man at left.

Wayne attorney, he’d ignored a queer

client who spurned his advice—and
had dug up enough odd facts to make
today’s test dramatic.

On.a third chair nearby was A.
Everett Bloom, deputy prosecutor in
Fort Wayne’s big, thickly-populated
Allen county, brother of the prosecu-
tor, Alton Bloom. He -was leaning
back, thoughtful eyes on the ceiling.
But he was listening intently.

“TI was the outsider, the uninvited
guest—the only working newspaper-
man with a ringside seat on what
might be a helluva story!

Two days before I’d gotten a rum-
ble on what was cooking. In fifteen
years of working around police and
prison, you make friends. One had
tipped me. Ralph Lobaugh, a queer-
bewildering condemned killer, had
been taken secretly from prison that
week to South Bend. There he’d been
given a polygraph (lie detector) test.

To everyone’s consternation, the
test strongly indicated innocence. And
Lobaugh had a date with the chair
scarcely two weeks hence!

Two psychrometer tests, and a
handwriting analysis by an expert
followed. All indicated Lobaugh’s in-
nocence. ‘

But a phlegmatic moron or emotion-
ally unstable bundle of nerves can
confound these machines and analyses,
Lobaugh, physiologically upset, ben-

Wilhelma Haaga was
the first of the four
victims in 13 months.

Anna Kuzeff was slain
in a dark, lonely area
of the Indiana city.

zedrine addict and screwball, was as
unstable as a wandering U-235 atom.
The tests couldn't be conclusive.

So officials had arranged one that
would be—a truth serum test with
sodium pentothal, the exciting drug
that smothers the capricious or con-
trolled conscious mind and uncorks
the subconscious, which can’t lie.

That much my tipster told ime
vaguely, It wasn’t enough to. write a
news story, but it was enough to bluff.
I’d called Schmuhl, whose office is in
the death house, the day before.

“T got some tickets for the basketball
tourney Saturday. Want to go?”

“Can’t! I’ll be busy!”

“T know,” I said maliciously.
“You'll be busy with Ralph Lobaugh
and one helluva good story.”

“No comment.”

“Who’s talking?”

“T’m not. See the boss.”

Py areen HOWARD, a kindly,
helpful man With more than forty
years in prison work behind him, said:
“This isn’t our show. You'll have to
see Mr. Tukey. He’ll be here in the
morning.”

That night I dug like hell. I wanted
more details. They were hard to get.
The lid had been put on the story. No
one was happy about having a possibly
innocent man in death row, only two
weeks from St. Peter.

But here and there I got enough so
that when I reached Mr, Tukey that
morning I could say: “It'll be better if
I get everything first-hand than write
what I’ve got.”

“What’ve you got?”

I told him.

“You've got enough,” Mr. Tukey
said wryly. “You might as well listen
in, if Allen county officials have no
objections.”

When I appeared at the prison for
Junch before the test and was intro-
duced around, Deputy Prosecutor
Bloom looked at me with the expres-
sion of a man who had just found half
a worm in his apple.

But he didn’t object, and now I was '
hearing Lobaugh’s voice coming out

Phyllis Conine was
found with head
crushed in a field.

eA piel rte, Hot tah

ee a ee ye sian. 30

=a ees 5 , ¥

ua me

on ee Saemetgen peers
Binh CT —
——— >

ation, | WOW A BATCH OF REPORT. gave it. May God bless minister Gillam! State of Indiana, Qurroll Co. ss. | Ayer’s Cherr’

yer 28. ERS WEE SOL D for remembering me in my sore trouble) In the Carroll Common Pleas Cau/t, to January |
acy ie i. nin affliction. May God spare him to| : ~ ‘Verm, 1872. : LS Codke ald
ee onde yl Whole Corey-of heporters-F iat Deady warn aml instruct the youth of Logno-| Andrew J Thomas,. ae eee ri eh ned Canenaec
on the Day of the Fexccution of Brooks, | eport, and may they Irrken unto him) Ys; ; re “13 Probably never Seloce id

truit of se
medicine, bas anything wor

| Lhirsting for Blood—But Not Being \-gud-put theit trust in God.

generally i ig’ Snell, Drown Their ns : Civil action. 1

Ay i . . » f A ty ! he confidence of

iawib ait Able to Let @ inert, Ly > And now, my dear friends, one and ML teaue Kikenherry, yO Ley, SU Upon &

sal Sorrows in Delphi Whisky and you are well aware that you are not to ye Cc. fisenteos, fade a rar ideo

\ the past are Sent Home on a Shutter. live always; oh! henceforwatd prepare Noab Overhalser. i of m pa rer

Ph fee ot et : for death and eternity. I feel that God | I: it Remembered, That on, the Ist day of! timation, as it has becom
ete ‘ 7 | September, 1871, the said plaistiff Gled in tae | form character and power

lated our |: Cincinnati, Indianapolis Fort Wayne, | tins mercy on my soul and I sabmit my-
“nlamities, | etc, were represented, with blood and} self to my fate and am ready and willing! Court, his -complaiat. againgt. suid wdelendants;: trown ns’ liabl ;
sympathy | vengeance written upon : pb peers Fa?
Sage i brows. Penci's sharpened, and as they
aie here uvagined, their wits, too—and with 2B) Jesus in the clouds and go with him to
re recom: | air of importance only given to these | htaven. Oh! remember all of you that! geacy of said complaint, and that unless he be

eth day of] Knights of the.Quill, they. deinanded oi one short year. ago Liwas. a happy young! aad appear before the Judge of said ¢

t their re- | wntrance to thre execution, that they might man, and now doomed to die a fellon's! mon pleas court, on tho second day of the next | ja
ind there iw 40 oe erld the only true Lape of death, according to the laws of our coun: ; pen ghey peg si the fn beng 4 i ‘with this antidote far the iy
cments to|the awful scene. On their entrance to | try. a fate which I feel Ido not merit 3! he phi,on the 4thr Monday in January, 'f)=,, ¢ 3
the awittt st ‘ Laue Dl i be God, I shall 1 i ‘then and there to plead, answer or demur there- | ple, still great number of
gs He has} our little village, they at once beset the | but birssec »¢ God, T shall soon ye Where! to, the matters and things there alleged, will be | seemed settled, have bal
rerciful ex- | Sheriff with, “Now, Mr Sheriff, | repre- the liar and: false swearer cannot come. : taken as confessed, and a decree rendered: ac- |

is protec | sent the only paper that tells the ‘truth, Ob! young, remember my sid and un- cordingly.

: A : sealer Sites x +, Wit :G .e f sai i ;
s fortunate | and it has the largest circulation; and, in timely fate;. shun all appearance of evil,: i tage sesenorager ae'4 he Chote of oe baal

He deem | fact, the only paper.that is capable of do- and when the hour is come for you to| Delphi, thi ; ;
; . Ses “aps 1 bs phi, this 23d day of October, 1871. could reach them, unde
ing you justice, as well as your town and change worlds may you be 80 unspeaka- ; A. GARETT, Clerk. subside'and proms biraes
reunto set | citizens. We haye attended many execu- bly happy to gain admission into that; J, H, Gould, Atty for PIE 45-4we| Singers and Public Sj
i. | bright world where we shall meet all our, tion from it.

of, State to] tions, and always make it a point to write | ?© : rs SP AER t :
>...) fup the Sheriff for his bravery, and how | friends who have. gone before. | Dress-Making and Hair) Asthme is always re
igton, ya he ought to have the sympathy of the and ha hag od aie of ee Work. : Bronchisia in genernlly
ver, year of! whole people,” for permitting cs, who and clsew here, the brittle threa e ie NY eo M. BURK would respectfully inform | TY Pectoral in small and
ut hundred | jaye in our possession all the brains nec: is about to be severed, remember the) {¥] the ladies of Delphi and vicinity, that she is So generally are its vi
Independ- | essary to run this little universe, to occu: words of your _ dying friend, Jerome} prepared to make DICESS ES in the latest atyles | not publish the certifichy
the ninety-. front seats at this great banquet, that Brooks, “Prepare to mect your God.” aud also to execute all HAIR WORK intrasted nas:
3 hts py 4 AO ea. | and : id all adic ! to her aare, inthe most skillful. manner, aad at fully maintained.
GRANT. | we may seatter a few of our cheap ideas | And new I bid you a L adicu, may YOU; 1 ost reasonable rates. ‘ :
.. |among the heathen that inhabit this pre- all take warning from my sad fate ig MY | "Rooms in Martin’s block, Washington streot,| ~ A ywrey'ss A
' cinct, that you may be enabled to muke | Prayer. "Jerome W. BROOKS. | np stairs. Delphi, Indiana. . 45m3 yer

, For Fever and Ague,

-- 3 beginning towards becoming a great} ~ ; angte SE Cea TSE :
the Chie | yco a ‘i jp ihistie gE A Kansas paper says that M. C. Page,| Com missioners Saie. of | Fe: Remittent Fete
j ; sel ae ‘ or Bilious Fever. $c.

ya | Our Sheriff treated thiém with all the vena sigue ‘ iy a oe i Valuable Farm. © non: hon Oe
calculations | courtesy ‘due to such beings, but their short distance from Salina, in that State,| ir undersigned appointed a Commissioner to! Poisons.”

of the city | imaginations being “fired up,’ they could came upon the most perfect fossils yet , sell the real estate of the late Miles F. Austin, As its name
ts starting | not climb down to the plane occupied by found in. this country. He found wonder-| jn Jefferson township, Carroll County, Indiana,

vat-four and | our: ‘Sheriff and citizens, but raved and fully perfect specimens of onk, walnut,! (named in the petition for partition in the case

sy . Z oe » |-maple and pine leaves which would bej of Catharine Austin and others, against Catharine
width w lit- | snorted like so many kings, who give P ping icayes, Cowley and others), will proceed to sell nt ablio

le South Side | their cotumands, not in “small caps,” but of grent value. to a museun. Mr. Page| “toto the highest bidder at the Court House
estward five | by “kingdoms wheel ?? Our Sheriff could has also found good indications of oi door in Delphi, on ;
the southern | not see the command in the light they | UPO? his place, The many discoveries Of} gir ediy, the 30th day of December, 1871,

: ry . shine i inte petrified curiositica being made in that A ;
ani the dis-|saw fit to shine, and quietly informed ction of . the State Jhave directed the, the following described real estate to-wit :. The

iiton avenue, | them that the -statate of Indiana forbid | east half of the south east quarter of section num-

—_—_—_—_—*

obstinate cases, and
wholly failed.

three and a| bis admitting. more than a certain num | #ttention of scientific ‘men thither, ‘ber two (2), township number twenty-six (26) Unacclimated pers!
Le fires begin- | ber, and. that» being complete, he was eS a north, of raige three (3) west, containing | travelling through mia
5 | tected by taking the «|

. ive t . : q ; f Cala wwa': ( pace | eighty (80) acres, more or less. Kot u y -
is ubout one | forced to live up to-the letter of the law.| State of Indiana, Carroll Co., ss. | Sishty 60) ace moras shied eash ia hand, one For Liver Complain

street, south-} They at once gave our Sheriff to un | In the Carroll Common Pleas Court, Jenuary! thirdin nine months, and one third in eighteen the Liver, itis an exc

ee derstand that the Press had privileges be- Term, 1872. _ | months from the day of sale; notes und security | the Liver, into health

h waste is not | yond any law in the land; that this Goy- In the matter of the estate of Daniel Swall, dec'd.| for deferred payinent. : _ For Bilious Disord F

areful compu- | ernment could not stand a moment were | vey ; Notice of Insolvency. a JAMES H. STEWART, Commissioner. |" 8 excellent reme is

buildings of |it not fi the’i irati Reawud if Nos is hereby given, that James Koontz, Sims & Stewart, Atty’s markable cures, wherfiae

0 ag aad ens Pe , ‘t ‘ A pwc igen recelved bee Adininistrator of the estate of Daniel Swall,! * Oct.18, 1871. “ - 44-w4 Prepared by Dr. Jie
of which at} cs! Chislast*htgh-fiier ws too much | deceased, has filed his petition to settle said ex-}| ———— = apcbiguanecnperiedaaoeade «casita and Analytical Chem

all round the world.

al structures. | for our Sheriff, who thought he could gee | tate as insolvent, and that said petition will be Sale of Real Estate.
PRICE, #1

Lcuni . ad d hi » whe avert { heard at the next ten» of the Court of Common :
cuniury losses | trouble ahead, and his only plan to avert Nowice ia hereby given that the undersigned

pee Sorts i pr et . Pleas of said county.
idred million |a terrible crash was to “stop the inspira- A. GARRETT, Clerk.

een di : . ‘ Mee Adininistrator of the estate of leter Sée, -

s that we have | tion,” an imnrediately ordered every} , -) 0) By @.B. Garrett, Deputy. | late of Carroll County, Indiana, deceased, will sell F A | AF A )

the grand to- gitoon ‘in town closed. ‘The terribld} | JnoSH. Gonld, Att'y for Adm’r. ' at public sale, to the highest bidder, at the Court

liliion dollars. | “blow” had filled our streets with dust,and| Nov.J, 1871.—46-3we : ' House door in Delphi, on SATURDAY, the 25th t

ter will cover |the execution had to be postponed five |. Seen eae a ae ___. | day of November, 1871, the following described

nak TT a “utes that it might ttl dvaye tl : tract of land to-wit: A part of the west half of the

nal, Thursday | minutes that it migh settle, andrave the} °° > st * recchwest quarter of section four'een (14). town-
: t | péople from being crushed, who, in their; |< : ship twenty-five (25) north, of range one (1) east,

| blindness, were running pell-mell over bounded as follows: Commencing at the north-

soa dene other,on account of the gas being| Greem and BPried Hides | % comer of the above described tract of land,
#,. Democratic shut: off in the midst of the excitin Tee : +| thence runnin east eighty rods (80), to the east : *¢
‘ es Zz). oe WANTED! line of above described tract of land, thence south *

; eighteen rods (18), thence west eighty rods (80), to
| Pe which we will pay } of a cent more per the west line of the above described tract of land, ?
pound than you.can get anywhere else! e| thence north eighteen rods (18), to the place of be- BOOTS

1” purely Dem- “ oe Pye ge also want to. bu d inning, containing nine (9 1
zen watches, timing Brooks, as we sup- : ae ginning, g nine (9) acres, more or less.
urthly hope of Goxen : - : mesial! TeRMs OF Save :—One third cash in hand, one

cay, BTN posed, in his great race to the happy i tt lt third in six months, and one third in twelve
ential election. |Tin@. “But we were mistaken. As light l és atl 6 Sy months from the dav of sale, notes: and engarily Pot @ tothe
4 4 ; a iowr to

Ktat¢ clections required ; deferred payinents bearing iaterest.

eilowing dole- | play. “nS S
‘For afew moments all was calm—not
a sound was heard, save the click of a

- +! began to dawi upon us, we could see in ‘
~pgacbageed 45} the distance, seated upon’ barrels, rock- a a Lag ebay 4 in page WILLIAM N. GATES, Aduinistrator.
ak ne ae: ing ta and fro, as if in an editor's easy | tern market. Bring on your hibobbbdecisicl n4d-w4
. chair, these Kuights of the Quill, with = ad Pel Publi S
ansparent that | shingle in hand, upon which they were Kiides an elis. ublic Sale of Valuable
: , : :
yablican ticket | scratching off Brooks’ obituary, and’ a Remember the plage—the “old ment market” of Land.
1 i Democracy | aegcription of the manners : a t ‘ BYERSDORF & HOLT. |‘PHE undersigned, Administrator de bonis non
to yote at..all. oh of the: mannery ane 0° OMS) Helphi, Oct. 25, 1861- 45tf of the estate of Joshua Seats, will proceed to
2 a of the people of this unenlightened age!) _——-_—_-__ : ts sell ut public sale, to the highest bidder, at the
ogee sagen Tha sky © soon. became clear, when “ve : Court-house door mn Delphi, Indiana, on SAT- A
s and Wade} ooitd see written upon every countcn- GC. & ft ; URDAY, the llth day of November next, the
nets of the Ku- ance, The decd is done} whena pheral ; | following described real estate belonging to the
1 however MCN | graninede was the next “thio fo aedet estate of said Joshua Sentz, to-wit : ‘AW that por-
per cee no long: | and Ceapte by the thousand noe rush- nee ie De r se Na ete hg ree ‘omg
out this result. ing by, when we hastily inquired the wate Fe _ |horth of range two (2) west, lying east of the
ithe War Demo- ig crm ‘ . : ABE ‘ =: | Gamden road, passing on the westera ortion of
oan cacée.’ An excited old woman was cry- PB gon? P
4y their, votes 8)ing atoud, “Hurry u John! they are ' tg the west half, except a strip of laud taken from
g ’ y. Mp : y : ' , the south end of said west half, ot the width of

a4 rengers _" going to blow up thic town?’ We in- twenty-two rods,.containing eleven acres, which | They ean hardly
ns, supper’. formed the old lady to go slow—that they said west half lying east of said road, after do- |. the §

were “not in a cou/ition to do it, nor JUST IN RECEIP 1 ducting said eleven acres therefrom, contains |

Subilee. * i * not sixty acres, moro or less. i
e wouldn't be till they got home, a3 they Cera ae e.e.--nevihind cach 38 sind ais

ious or secular, | had spent all their powder, from the fact Byte third in nine montha, and one-third im eighteen
en in existence | that we saw one ef them iv at Johnny] . Pe months from the day of sale.

centty ; but the | Lathrope’s, who in his wild imagination pe IB EE ROE _ ETHAN DERN, Adin't de bonis non.
inces that it will | thought it ‘was a pawn broker's office, ind an Gries) A

car in the begin- | was inghe great act of pawning 2 small Byes - Uetober tL, NATL = f69 a
tablished as 1 re- Keepsake, that- ha‘represented a8 being A dministrator’s Sale.

ad it has been one | rope looked at him with astonishment, Administrator of the estate of |

“same time, one |and remarked that he didn’t go much on kinson, Inte of said county. deceased, will - »

journals in the | the French, bat would -recommend- hint). Lays omeaghst-c4 public, sale, at the late residence of said decedent
igh besiege fk « u , rap oF in Rock Creek Township, In gaid county an
it 7 {to Jack Fry, whe would no doubt sce Po by edt abt og | Mate on THURSDAY, the 19th day of October,

inee for the com:"| him shrough. pon on. ee a : £3 yt ge gs 4 A. D. 1871, the following personal property, to-

to'each of ‘theit Just at this moment the Sheriff was wit: Ten Horses, 10 head of Cattle, lot of Hoge, | May 10, 1871

f Book}; contain, | seen in the ‘distance, leading a crowd of oo eld,» large lot of Hay im the mow, Wagons,

formation Yn re: | people, vhen: our ‘reporters scized the} ..: ‘ Plows, Harrows, Harness. Farming Utensils,
ite; and all inipot: idea that their time hand come, when the GO Householdand Kitchea Furniture, together with 1871
fenl encyclopedia, | gathering up of shingles could be heard ; oteee articles too pammorens to org: ee ‘ oe
i. Mat hee p : + ; geus or Sace.—All sums o ree Dollars

neraon wislics’ to [in all directions, and. with curses loud : a eee ee oT aah in hand, and all sums over These | i u

Dollara a credit af twelre months will be givens} A

the most im- very-costly, and of-Freuch origin, Lath- A General Assortment OTICE is hereby given that the undersiened,

—————

.O Bee.

cen on what merchants call a good
ress Saturdays. nF ates Sees 2
e Governor liaving’ Aécll

‘xeputed for tlie: aiutden-of Ay W.

edith the particulars oft ys. oe.
Whe Exdcutions
eday was raw and cold, and by
o'clock the north'side df the square
retty well lincd with people, cager
a glimpse of the prisoner as he was
ht from the jail to the’ Sheriff'sof-
A’guard was placed ‘around, the
%, MO person being allowed to enter
-ut-a pass ‘from the Sherfgr, !s 74
nine minutes past ten the prisoner
ed frout the jail; his: motliet’ aceom-
ng him, and placed in a carriage.
sheriff and deputy, alsg taking.seats,
wridge moved ‘toward “the: Square,
five men on cach side,.armed with
ets. Arriving at the’ gate’ on thé
side, at fourteen minutes past ten,
irty passed up the walk and into
heriff's office... Here’: the: Sheriff
| the list of persons who had been
ed to’ witness : the execution. As
ame of cach individual was called,
epped upon the. ‘platform leading
» window and passed ‘out; descend:
1e steps from the scaffold into the
sure. During this sime,the prison-
s mother at.his eide),’ gat swith his
leaning upon his left hand, which
ined a handkerchief, and with the
finger -of his tight“dand“in ‘his
h, and for the first tine seemed part-
realize his awful situation; ©.)
precisoly half-past.ten:the prisoner
vrought upon the scaffold, after tak-
n affectionate farewell of his mother,

‘ns then offered up a short, and: fer-

ayer by Rev. GL, Stevens...
nighty God, our Heavenly. Fathor,
umbly invoke thy présence on‘ this

aercy to rest upon this young man
is about to be launched into eternit

Vist

ied,“ No, sir; L’am'rea

noose, when Brooks reached out bi

OH sayings), 0s Gael
My blood shan’t be on no other man’
ds only my own!” - ieee

‘There. was. ho excitement
very few ore people in tawn than

%
having’ ned ‘td”In-
-o with the sentence, Jerome Brooks

t, which occurred on the 19th of
last, at : Logansport. * Our -feaders:

ug the’ trialy'and we ‘sith at: ‘onee
, % 78 i Vaiss

was deeply affected.’ Rev. G.°L.

prayer, the prisonet Kneeling gt, bis
° ‘ five LL “, 4

in and impressive oc¢asion. We beg

@' hand* of the -violated Taw.’ We
< thee that he manifests. and ex-
es penitence for his sins, and that he
an assurance that: he ‘is pardoned
igh the blood and rightousness of
) Christ thy Son. Oh,. Lord, grant
now.thy grace, and' while ,the body
die may the soul find acceptance be-.
thee. Grant that this event may suit-
impress us:who'ate present} and the
unity in general,and may it be
before another such scene shall be
bed among us,", Havé tery and 6us-
thé afflicted parent. ia this trying
_ And now, Oh, Merciful -God, we
nit aud commend him to the soverign
y, through : Jesus! Christ, our Lord.
n we

fter which the?Sheriff read the

4 warrant, the prisoner yemaining
2, Hlehad qhus farQultereg. alot a
j ae

le sentence’ haying" Peén* read, {the
iff'asked, * Havé' you ‘quything. to.
Brooks?” To which the ‘prisoner,
ay! errr yaeey
t twenty minutes: to. elevéd -be'was
pon the fatal-drop, and one ef; tiq
ities proceeded: to'tie his fect-tégeth!
The Sheriff stepped around to the
ned man’s Jeéft side, and:stook hold ot

hand\and took‘ thé rope from the

ing to 8 man named Davis, aud took from
his shop four revolvers, valued at $12
eachcx Wa, were arrested apd Twas taken
}asa witness forthe State,and upon my
evidence West Was convicted and sent to
the Northern State Prison for. twa: years
ond L-escaped further prosecution, j
“About the 18th day of April last, Carr
cama to me.and ‘said he had: bee think.
ing of ‘going throughsthe old. may Slater.”
Ho said.that Slater had some money, and.
wanted to know if I’would help him get
it sad said himself and another mau liad
thonght.of it fora long tinte, but diewas
afraid ta trust -bim, and said tha,.gther
nian wanted.to go for it in day time, but.
he, Carr, was afraid they might be caught,
And-that the othen man. would. “squeel”
on him. ‘Carr said, the. ~way he knew
Slater had money he sold him ,a bucket
of lard; and that the old man‘and his wife
hada quarrct over it." Slater wanted to
P

[realy couversint, with’ the facts ate

ay for it out of the drawer, ana his wift
fuded, saying it," would take ‘all the
changé.” “I'told ‘Carr I did nut think it
would pay—I thought it would be @ fail-
uré? ‘Curr said when Slater came out’ of
the-front door aud went to close the win-
dow blind tu hit him. . Towards eveving
on the 19th inst., we went past his house
to see how the chances would be to carry
out our plan, and come to the conclusion
that we could not carry our designs into
exccution in that way, and came down
town and separated, I .going home and
Carr remaining down town. The next
day at about 12 o’clock Carr came to my
house and we went down town by our
selves. I pawned. my watch toa Dan
named Joe. Sciders, tor thirty five cents
for two days on which we took two glass-
es of becr. The next time we bad a con-
versation about the rebbery, Carr said
he knew a plan that would work this
time, and said he lad been to Slater’s to
get a plug of tobacco, and had seen how
things were on the inside and said we
could goin and call for a quart of molass-
es or vinegar, asthe barrels stood right
behind the front door, and then as he,
Blater, stooped down to draw the molass-
es we could either knock him over or put
a“mugonhim.” Atthis time the con-
versation ended until the next evening
st about six o'clock; we met at Broadway
corner, between Broadway and Sixth
streets, where we met another fellow who
was so drunk that I gave hima dime to
et rid of him. The man we met was
en. Buckley, who was a partner of Carr.
From Broadway and Sixth strects we
Went down to Joe. Seiders andI gota
glass of cider'and Carra glass of whisky.
Carr drank his whisky, then told little
Joe. Sciders to put something in my cider.
Whatever it was made the cider bitter.
It was whisky or gin he putin. At this
time I liad not promised him I would go
with him. We then went out on the street
and went up tuward my house and stop-
ped on the corner of Sixth and Broad-
way. Carr then wanted to go, and I told
im I would not go the way I was; he
then wanted to Know where he could
get atin bucket or jug to get some mo-
lasses or vinegarin. I told him I could
get atin bucket. We then etood round
a little while, then I went home and put
on a big overcoat. When I went in the
house | acted so funny that my little sister
asked me ifI had not been drinking. I
got my tin bucket and started down stairs.
My sister did not want me to go, saying
I would get into some mischicf, and
wanted me tostay at home and hear her
read ; that she had a good book and
would read it tome. Carr-said come en,
let us go, and said we would be back
directly. My sister said yes, I know how
you will get back ;it will be 10 or 1t
o'clock. ltold her I would not be gone
long. We then started, going up North
street. Ontherond up Carr said he did
not care what become of him, as his
mother had drove him away from home.
His mother said if he did not bebave
himself she would cut. him off short—
‘would not give him anything at all.. Ie
told jer to give-him $50 and he, would
leave home 'aiid bother her no “more, We
‘then came up to Fifteenth strect and the
conversation ended. From Fifteenth
street we turned off and caine to Market
strect, from Market we wentto Fourteenth
street,and went down toa wood pile,
where we hid two wooden dray pins the
evening before.: We could not find but
oneof the pins. I took up the pin and
we went up Market street past Sluter’s
house, There were two men in the house

-at 11 o’clock, and that we could prove

came over Irom dyinta strech to highth
street bridge and over to ‘town’ again,
down to Sixth street nnd met Carr gt my
house setting bn the halt door steps). Carr
said he thought I had “jumped” the town
én, him. We then went together.und Carr
wanted to divide the: more that night,
but I told him to wait till morning. We
then went up hetweem therivesand race]
and hid the money under:p log., Wo then
rcturned down ‘town; and I ‘went home,
and Carr said he, would go over. to, the
Unfon House and go to, bed. . "This was
the lust I seen of him that night. This
was-about half past. nine o'cluck, aiteen at
Next ‘morning I went tp town and
heard some men talking about a‘murder
that was committed the night before.
They said themurdered man had hipskull
split open with.a batehet. :. kasked who
it was; told them I didn't believe it;
that I thought. they had madex ik up.
When tlicy’said Slater, I Gidn’t™ believe
it, ashe was alive when we left uum... 1
did not belicveit until. I went home and
came down town again, when Iemet Carr
coming down Sixth strect, and he told
the same story.” I told Carr,.that we
would go upand see Whlicn we went up
to Slater’s house, they were holding an
inquest. Carr said let’s go out of this;
I don’t like the way they are looking at
me; they keep an cye on me tao close.
I told him he need not be afraid; that
West said he.saw Slater-the night before

that we were at home atQo'clock. Carr
said if you will not go, Iwill. He walk-
ed down town, and I got into » wagon
and went.downin about an hour. Doane
Beard and Bob Denlo came to me and
said they wanted to speak to-me,.. I went
to the Mayor's office with them. I had
onaclean shirt. They asked me ifit was
the one I‘had 6n the night before ; I told
them it was not; theonc I ‘had on the
night beforé was under’ the clean one.
They wanted to see it. I took off the
clean one and let them sec the’ dirty one.:
They said thst cleared up all. suspicion
on me, and said the reason they suspic-
ioned me was that they -saw me with
Buckley and Carr the day before, and
let me go. ey See tet te. Sy
I went to the circus in the afternoon.
In a little while I saw them take Buckley
down town, and several of us followed.
They took Buckley to. jails. Carney,-the
Deputy Marshal, -camé.to. meand said he
wished tospeakto me. He asked me ‘if
I knew where Carr and Buckley was the
night before. He took me. to where
Buckley was, saying he yzould go and
bring the rest of them, -He went up
town and brought Carr and put ‘him’ in
jail. EN BEL Lee er’ see BIE
On Saturday they wasto give Carrand
Buckley a trial, but did not. They
brought them back and locked thein up
incells. The Deputy Marshal told the
Sheriff to bring me out and try to pum
something out of me, . They, said. if
knew anything about the rest, and would
tell it, it would let me out of the scrape;
and if they could not get any informa
tion from-me gbout the. murder, they
would hold me on another crime—they
would send me up on that anyhow, anda
dozen other crimes which Carr. and. ury-
self had been guilty of; said that we had.
burned buildings im’ Lafayette and Lo-
gansport ; that they had men’ who would
swear they saw us Go at. J told-them.to
let them swear; that I could proge that
I was-not theroat the time ‘oft the fires.
They spoke of the Davis scrape and sonie
others, I told them it wasa lie if they
said Carr had anything to do 1n the Da

in these low grounds of sorrow...

down as it were In the boom of
ap end which I sincerely, fuat I do “ne
merit; bat Lam willinglet: the wors
come, I feek that-Lam ready tomevt-it
And in so ending my life,*Lleave un'ka
ful warning to all young, persons to sue
eyil company, atid to turn’ in ‘with th
overtures of mercy before itis fareverto
late. » Farewell to one an.all,:

ted as cvidente on the trial of Brooks, {
evidently thé hiore geliable. histor
murder,

«D now feel that Tam drawing my earth
ly career to a close, a sad close,’ tooy cu fe

Aye t youth-

1 eb
AS Senome W. Pnooks.
SAS) Sh ow vow say Ft,

‘Statement of Carr. **
“Tho statement of Charles Carr, admi:

ih veils

Sern

y of th

It is xs follows: tat
Tho? business: -wat -:talked: boat: an
made up-some, time before it, was-don
On. Wednesday..cveuing before it -w:
done. Brooks and I. started: up to:Slater'B
On'Eighth’ street, near the corner «
Broadway, ut ‘Nathan Aldridge’s stab!
Brooks took a, dray-pin. from a dru
standing there, and [ picked-one up fro:
the ground,. We went up and - passe
Slater's house and store looking aroun.
We both stuck our clubs in a_pile of woe
ricked up on Fourteenth street, north :
Market, where «we left them and: can
away. ‘ get day cotcy jbte
‘On Thursday, cyening, between eig
und hine ‘o'clock, we went again up
Slater’s: Brooks wore an old overco:
Brookstook his club out of the wo
pile. I left mine init. When we we
near Slater’s an alarm of fire was raisc
and the bell of the Champion engi
house was. rung. (We both started a!
ran around to the engine house, and to!
up the rope to haul out the engine, b)
a boy of Mr. Kerlin’s struck a match
light a lamp, and we ran off to keep Lf
from knowing us. We went on the
near the engine’howse and hung arou
there’until the engine went off. Th
we went on Market street and got ir
the alley nearly opposite Slater’s stopy
where we: waited until the people b
pretty’ much scttled down.’ Then
went over to Slatcr’s house. We look
in the window near the alleyand saw }
Slater reading a newspaper. Slater v
in the,store and he was reading. \
watched Mrs. Slatera short time to;
that she had not heard us. We went
the store.. Brooks opened the door a
went im. I staid ‘outside watching |
street. “Directly Brooks called and
went in, “Slater was lying on the fi
bleeding.. The lamp was burni!
Brooks was going through Slatcer’s po:
ets. [turned down the lamp, wi
around behind the counter and wide
through the drawer. Brooks said : “I)-
him, he aint got much.” Isaid: “W
better get out of this.” -We both star’
towards the door. I got out first and tu
ed up Market street. I went fast up
15th street, when I turned north to No}
strect until I got to Sixth, when I turr
south and stopped at Brook’s house
the east side of Sixth street, a half squ:
from North street. After I had be
there sitting on the step, Brooks ca)
up Sixth street from the-other directi:
When Brpaks came -up, I asked h
where he had been, and where his ov
cout. was, . Jie. told me he went do
ld4th.street, dver to to the Peoria sho
and tore his coat up and threw it awg
and that lic had smashed up the tin bu
et he had for the molasses and threw
away, .
I proposed that we go somewhere:

vis:scrape. °-I said there is the fellow now
that was in the Davis scrape, It was
West alluded to. I was then put’ in
the old jail until they arrested West.
Then I was taken back to the new jail and
kept until Monday morning, when we
had preliminary examination. _;West
turned Stite’sevidenco againat. Carr and
myself. because -E told on chim.» We
waived an: examination und were re
manded to jail to await trial in the’ Cass
County Circuit Court... ind ee

Ou Sunday following I was taken ouf
of jail and tothe bank ofthe mee near
Eel River, where promises were’ made to
me by Mr. Carney, who sald Bringhurst,
Taber, Dykeman, Wilson, G..D.° Adams;
DreoJ.M. Justice and himself-would. stay
with” us; “promised” we should> not be
prosecuted at'all; said. my “uofher . got
them todoif. Ltold him that if these
men would'igive mé a. written! contract.to

§| besides Slater.. Then we jvent acrogs the
Bs pve FS

street tothe Mission church where-~we

re Ary

alf'I knew; if not, they would get noth-

Ai PLS BRIT AEM

give me‘ fate trial, I would give. then

divide the money, but Brooks said
would not do, because the wind blew
hard, and said they had better go a
bury it for awhile under the log wh
he and West had hid Davis’ pist:
Then we both weut down to the race, ¢
on the bank between the race and
river, and hid the moncy under a}
nearly opposite the distillery. We t.
came back over the race, and parted.
went to the Union Ilouse, wear the ‘
bash depot, and took lodgings. 1
not stay for breakfast, because | only»
fifty cénts with me. ‘

Early in the morning I went dow:
the Scnate saloon on, Broadway, near
canal.» Keith, one of the proprictors,
just got up, and he asked me to bui
tire in the store for him. As I was do
it an old may came in, and said he “he
that there had been a murder lust nig
I asked iim where it was. The man >
“Up town on Market street.” Ik
then that Slater had-dicd, and I sta

WA ae

1 3

Pre . +s

_ {hand will make. you feel lik
| person—give : é
und energy?

thing. -“I’knéw tliat mother w
Annie leave’ home, so it’s no us
of it. Thered flag, Aaron—th pe
Depend _upuny ity. that’a the - f
done. © Five or ‘six’ hundred

you’: ‘courage,

“You may: be. right, Betsy 7 If

ad to Politics, Agriculture, &c. , &e.

“TERMS: $2.00 per Annum.

DAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1871.

PCNUMBER 46.

|
(i
i

out right avy to hunt up Brooks, T’met
him on Sixth’ street looking for me. I
said to him: “Old Slater's dead.” ‘He
said he knew it, and said, “we'll” go u
there and sec what was suid -about it.”
We went up Sixth street to North and
np North to Ninth street, and then south
to Broadway. As we ‘came toward
Broadway we saw Kearney, the police-
man, Standing at the corner waiting for
us. Allof us then went up to Slater’s,
There was a crowd about there, and we
separated to- listen to what was said by
the groupes of men. spy Ee

I got frightened and told. Brookg that
we had better get away ; but Brooks said
nothing was known. Several stories were
afloat. One told by West, the painter,
made it look as if Slater was in his house
at eleven o'clock. I was still scared and
concluded to jugp the town, but I after-
wards thought if I did that I would be
missed, suspected and followed. At oue
time I had concluded to go and get all
the money and run : j

About noon we inct again, and between
one and two o'clock we went to the place
where the money was hid and took it up.
We went up along the river, crossed the
head gatcs and went up across the fields
tiil we came to a couple of trees. We
stood there and divided the money. It
rained, and Brooke had an umbrella. I
held it while le divided.. The money
was not counted. He gave mea ten and
took one himself. Then he gave mea
twenty and kept onc—and so on, until it
was gone. Then we separated. Ie went
back along the track we eame, and 1
went up the river. IT went to the next
fence, and in the corner I buried my
moncy in a-round tin can. 4

When we were dividing the money we
saw &® Woman-about the back part of
of a house vn High street. I spokeabout it
to Brooks, but he said she did not see us,
or would not know. us, » J-buried ali my
money except two dollars. A lot of pa-
per which had been in Slater’s pocket
book I put in another can put a stone in
it,and heaved it out into the river. Then
I went down town, and in’ a little time I
heard that Brooks and Buckley were ar-
rested. I was at the Senate saloon when
[ heard it, and I expected to be arrested,
I slipped out and stuck the two dollars
in the roof of the saloon out-house. Then
{ went back to the saloon, and in # short
time I was arrested and put in jail. ; .

Letter from Carr to Brooks.

Micnigan City, October 8th, 1871,

Friend Jerome, : :
I Now set down to write you 4 few lines as I

{

I chuck full.

now have an Opportunity, I.would: have written
Before, but I am not allowed to write only Every
| two weeks, | wrote home twice which was my
| place to de or | would have wrote before. My
| mother told me Inher letter that the Governor
‘would net chinge your Sentence. It is pretty
hard, but {f It has to come ¢ry and meet It, and
be Prepared for [t, wont Stratton or Tntpie do
anything for you? I[f we had Taken Strattons
advice we would been all sight, although | cant
grumble much I consider my self pret:y Lackey,
and hope You will come outall right yet. you
Have no Idea howI fee} Every time I think
about [t. Jerome | suppose You would Like to
know something about this’ Place but I can not
tell you much a bont It, this Is the size Letter we
have to write, I see tharley west every day. he
works in the CooperShop. [Here follows some
account of his companions ity the Pesitentiar
Rep.] Direct your letters to Charles Carr mich-
igan city In care of charles Wayne. ;
H C. Carr, Convict.

| Sut Levengood at a Candy Pal-
ling.

I had a heap of trouble last Christmgs
and I'll tell you how it happened.

Dekin_Joncs gavea candy pullin’ and
I got a stool, as they say in North Curo-
lina, and over I goes. :

Sister Pol and I went together, and
when we gat to Jones’ the house it was

Dog my cats if there was
room to turn round. . ;

' There was Suze Harkins—she’s as big

‘}namskinned berse—and six-other Hara}

kins, and Simnonses,and Peddigréws, dnd’
'| theschool-magter and his gal,besides the
old Dekin ond the Dekiness and enongh
little Dekinses to act up halfa dozen

-nine cases. out of ten.

|e TELE YOUR WIFE.

‘Tell my «wire? said Aaron Little,
‘speaking aloud, yet to hirnself, ina half-
amused, half-troubled way, ‘Tell my.
wife, indeed! Much good that will dor
What does she know about business and
money matters, and the tricks of trade?
No, no; there’s no hope there.’ ons

And Aaron Little sat musing with a
perplexed countenance. He had a news-
paper in his hand, and his eyes had just
been lingering over a paragraph, in
which the writer suggested to business
men in trouble the propriety of consult-
ing their wives.

‘Talk to them freely about your affairs,’
it said, ‘let them understand exactly your
condition, Tell them your difficulties,
of your embarrassments, and your plans
fur extricating yourself from the entangle-
ments in which you are involyed. My
word fer it, you will get help for it in
Women have
quick perceptions. They reach conclu-
sions by a nearer way than reasoning, and
get a solution of a difficult question, long
before your slow moving thoughts bring
yeu near cnough for accurate observation.
Tell your wives, then, men in trouble, all
about your affuirs! Keep nothing back.
The better they understand the matter,
the clearer will be their perceptions."

‘All avery fine story,’ suid Aaron Lit-
tle, tossing the newspaper from him, and
leaning back in his chair. ‘But it won't
do inmy case. Tell Betsy! Yes, 1d like
to see myself doing it. A man must be
hard pushed, indeed, when he goes home
to consult his wife on business affairs.’

And so Aaron Little dismissed the
subjcet. Ile was in considerable doubt
and perplexity of mind. Things had not
gona well with him for a year past. Dull
business and bad debts had left his affairs
in rather an unpromising condition. Ile
could not sec his way clear for the fu-
ture. Taking trade as it had been for
the past six months, he could not.im-
agine how, with the resources at his com-
mand, his matured payments were to be
made.

‘I must get more capital,’ he said to
himself. ‘That is plain. And with more
capital must-come in a partner. - I don't
like partnerships. It is difficult for two
men to work together harmoniously.
Then you may get entangled with a
rogue It’s risky business. But I sec no
other way. out of this trouble, - My own
capital is too light for the business I am
doing, und as a measure of safety more

rmust Ye brought in. Lawrence is anxious

to join me, and he says he can command
ten thousand pounds. I don’t like him
in all respects; he isa little too fond of
pleasure. But I want his money more
than his aid {in business. He might re-
main asa silent partner if he choyse.. I'll
eall aad see him this very night anil have
alittle ‘talk on the subject. If he can
bring in‘ten> thousand pounds [, think
that, will settle the matter, :

With. this conclusion in his. mind,|.

Arron Little returned home, after closing
his warchouse for the day,. Tea being
over, he. made preparation fur going out,
with the intention of calling upon Mr.
Lawrence.. As he reached his hand for
his great-coat, a yoice seemed to say to
him: |, SAS ye on
‘Tell your wife. Tulk to her about it,’
But he rejected the thought instantly,
and commenced drawing on his coat.
‘Where are you going Aaron?’ asked
Mrs. Little, coming forth from :the din-
ing-room. cee ‘
‘Out. for a little while,’ he re
be back in half an hour or s0.’
Out where? : Mostyah
‘Tell her, Aaron, Tell her all about it,’
said the voice, speaking in hig mind. .
+: ‘Nonsense! . She. don’t understand
anythipg about, business. . She can’t belp
ine; he answered firmly, ;-~. tothe
‘:'Tell your wife!’ The words were jn
his mind, and .would keep repeating

plied. ‘Tl

themselves.

true

wD Al Me

wong
¢/ 3
wae nen ele eee rreaind

‘What do you know about her 9,

‘Only what Ihave secn. I've called on
her two or three times, and have noticed
the style in which licr house is futnished.
It is arrayed in. palneo attire, compared
with ours, And as for dress, it would
take the interest of a fortune to pay her
milliner’s and mantua maker's bills. No,
no, Aaron ; Mr. Lawrence jsn’t your man,
depend on it. He'd use up the ten thous-
and pounds in less than two: years’.

‘Weil, Betsy, that’s pretty clear talk,’
suid Mr. “Little, taking » long. breath.
‘I'm rather afraid, after what you say,
that Mr. Lawrence is not my man, But
what am [ to do? and his voice. fell ‘in a
troubled tone. I must have more capital;
or. . Mr, Little paused. ;

‘Or what?’ Ilis wife looked at iim
stendily, and ‘without any sign of weak
anxiety... Re or

‘Or I may become. bankrupt.’

‘I’m sorry to hear you say that, Aaron,’
and Mra, Little’s voice trembled pércepti
bly. ¥t4 Padees ;

‘But I’m ‘glad you'ye told me. The
new. parlor’ carpet, of course, I shall not
order,’ .'. “ayit2 Re er

‘Oh, as to that, the amount it will cost
can make no difference,’ said Mr; Little.
‘The: parlor does. look shabby; and I
know you've set your heart ona new car

ct.’ t se 4 j mee + °% ; a Be

‘Indeed, and it till make a difference;
then,’ replied the little woman in her de-
cided way. ‘The last feather breaks the
camel’s back. Aaron Little shalt never
fall because of his wife's extravagance.
Twouldn’t have a new carpet: now if it
were offered to me at half-price.’

‘Youarea brave true woman, Betsy,’
said Aaron, kissing his wife, in the glow
of a. new born feeling of admiration,

‘Lhope that I shall be ever a true, brave
wife,’ returned Mrs, Little, ‘willing al-
ways to help. my -husband, either in ea:
ving or earning, as the case may be.; But
let us talk more about your affairs; let
me sec the trouble nearcr. . Must ‘you
have ten thousand pounds. right away ?'

‘Oh, no, no; it’s not so bad asthat. I
was only looking ahead, and seeking to
provide the means for approaching pay-
ments, “I don’t want. partner as far as
the business Itself: is concerned: f don’t
like partnerships; they arc almost always
accompanied with annoyances or danger.
It was the ‘money thit L -was after; not
thd the man! = ES eee eld sl)
; ‘Tho money would come dearly at the
price of: the ‘man, if you took. Mr. Law-
rence for a partner.’ At Icast that ig my
opinion, But I am glad to licar you say,
Anron, that you are in no immediute dah
ger. May not the storm be weathered by
reefing enil ns the sailors sny 7") = 7° o"
“By reducing expenses ¥ |”, {4 ~ *
‘Yes? ~ <M ue ihe wat ats aN Pa
Mr. Little shook firs head, 8
‘Don’t sty no too quickly," replied his
wife. ‘Let us go over the whole matter
at honte ‘and at ‘the stofe, “Suppose ‘one
or two thousands were saved in the Year,
what difference would that make Y= *"".
‘Oh, if that were ‘possible, whicti'it is
not, it would ‘inake' a vast difference in
the long tun, but would hardly mect'the
difficulties that arc approaching.” ~~ :

‘Suppose you had tive hundred pounds
within the next two months, beyond
what, your, business will give you’?

‘That sum would make all safe for the
two months, But where is the five hun-
dred to come from, Betsy

‘Desperate diseases require desperate
remedics,’ replied the brave little woman,
ina resolute way. ‘I’m not afraid of the
red flag.’ i : treme tern ts

‘What do you mean by the red flag 2” ©

‘Let us sell off our furniture at auction,
and put the moncy in your business, It
won't bring leas than five hundred
pounds; and it may bring, mere...My.
piano alone, is. worth pearly, a. hundred.
We can bord for, n, year.or £wo, and
when you, gotalh, right sgeio returo re
housekeeping,” ji: 39° ptt) eclod Mar Pe
\tWe ras" iay Atak yet, Betsy, said Me,

Littl Oeics, dg aiccrpes Ete 2H ar eae ge oO
“Tut aomething. musts De Alone.

Efeb 3}

‘
whe

right,?

= the world.’

.{and sho set-her bright little head!

oi Thad aD weia de Cr fae ALAIO Blane

bear the thought of running o
flagzofwhich<you talk so light

‘Shall I say coward? ; Are y
to do.what common prudence ti

.-*E was afraid, Betsy; but am
fuint-hearted:;AVith such a br
wife to stand by my side, I nee!

In‘n week from that -day! th
was hung - out.-; When tlie’: a
nade up his accounts, he had
little: over eight hundred ‘po
which a check was filled out to
of Aaron Little. It came ‘into
just st the rignt moment, and’ 1
feul, to use bis own words, ‘as’ «
old shoe.” One ‘week later, .M
Little took: the’ place of Mr. H
chief manager’ and cash’ réceiy
Fhusband’s warehouse. ‘There
few signs of ‘rebellion among tie
and shop-girls at the beginning ;E
Betsy had a quick, steady: eye, a
rcliant manner, that caused her
to be felt; 'nnd'soon made everyt
servient tu her will. It was a re)
fuct that at the close uf the first
her administration of affairs, th:
ceipts were over’ thirty-pounda
of the reccipts -of any week, wi
previous three months,

‘Have-we ‘done more basin:
usual this week ?” she asked of «
and another; and the uniforn!
was, ‘No,’ oc. a

‘Then,’ said the lady to hersel/
‘been foul ‘play here. “No wo
husband: was in trouble.’ .
At:the end of. the next week,
came tip to the same average, ar
end of thu third week, were fort
better than before ‘Mrs. Little u
to. :mamge-~the . retail .\:dey
Whether there has been ‘foul
not, Aaron Little could never B
termine; but he was in no doubt
thing, and. that was the easy conie
the money market after the lng
half year.

For four or five months pr
Mrs:.Little’s administration of a
wason ‘thé strect for nearly, ha
time, during’ business hours, en
the work of, money raising;
regular réceipts had gut in’ ac
payments, so-'that bis balance
morning of each day was. usual
cees of the notes to be lifted.
he could give more attention to
and of course, business increased :
more profitable ‘under the impr:
tem., By the end of the. year, t:
own words, he was ‘all right.’
neighbor of bis, who, to get mor
had* taken: Mr. Lawrencé as-a
Instead, of, bringing .in. tent
pounds, that ‘capitalist’ was, onl;
put down three thousand; and’b:
end@ of the year he bad ‘drawn ou
seven thoysgnd, nnd «bad given
the firm for as:much more in pay
old obligations. ‘A failure of ti
followed as in incvitable result.
‘When the fact? of thé failure,
cause which led to-it, became. k
Mr, Little, he remarked, with a s

‘T’'m sorry for B——j; but” hc
have told his wife” °° 0"
Ofwhat?' nsked. a person to »
addressed the remark, ae
,OF his want of more capital,
tention ‘to make a partner ot Law
‘What good would that have ¢
‘It might have sayed him fr
asitdidme, |, i)

*You are mysterious, Little.”
‘AmIT? Well; in’ plain word
ago I, was hard: up for money
business, and thought of taking
rence, I told my wife vbout
said, ‘Don’t do it.” And I di:
her ‘Don't do it’ was follower!
gestions as to his wife’s ext
that opened my cyesa littl. 1
atthe same time, of my embar:

und showed, me the way to wor
them, Before this I always, ha:
opinion of woman's wit in me
businesd ¢4yut ‘now I say’ to efor)
troubla— Zell your wife.” 4 iP.»

Mee SY : ” rr
Sy). Sharp Bracttes.

A man entered the Dranch Bank
city on tho 0th of Beptember and
three drafts on the Third Nationa
nf New York, one payable to theo

sok a the eal0 do, AUAL 2a aw wees
vax arrested and phe in jail,
tier from Carr to Brooks,

Mromtgan City, October oth, 137%.

Jerome, ge

y set duwa to write you a few lines asl
ve an Upportunity, 1 would have written
bus Tara not allowed to write only Every
chs, | wrote home twice which was my
»de ort would have wrote before. My
told me Inher letter that the Governor
wot change your Sentence. It is pretty
at If thas to come try and inect It, and
ared for It, wont Stratton of Turpie do
« for you? If we had Taken Strattons
we would been all sight, although L cant
iiueh L consider my self pretry Luckey,
e You will come outall right yet. you
» Idea how L feel very time I Shink
Jerome | suppose You would Like to
ynething ubout this Place but [can not
much a bout Lt, this ty the size Letter we
write, L see charley west every day. he
nthe CooperShop. [Here follows some
tof his companions in the Penitentiary—
Direct your letters to Charles Carr mich-

-y In care of charles Wayne. :
C. Carr, Convict.

$A
evengeod ata Candy Pul-
ling.
«la heap of trouble last Christmgs
‘V tell you how it happened.
in, Joucs gaves candy pullin’ and
\ stool, as they say in North Caro-
nd over I goes.
er Pol and I went together, and
we got to Jones’ the house it was
full. Dog my cats if there was
to turn round.
‘re was Suze Warkins—she’s as big
xinned horse—and six other Har-
and Simouses, and Peddigrews, and’
hool-master and his gal, besides the
ckin and the Dekiness and enongh
Dekinses to sect up halfa dozen
«folks in the family business. -
il, bimeby the pot began to bile,
ie fun begun. We all got our plates
,and put flour on our hands to keep
sndy from stickin’ and then we pitch-
co pullin’. :
su’t it fun ? I never saw such laffin
uttin up inmy born daze.
cade a candy bird for Em Simmons.
nd me expect to trot in double
ss some of these daze. She made a
' goose for me.

ne another’s bair, and a runnin
one side of the Louse to.tuther, and}
ito the kitchin, till everything up-
e place was gummed over With can-

ot a pine bench and Em. Simmons
ose to me, :

-e Markin—confound her picture !

’'d a ball stock into my ize.

iade a bulge to run after her; ,and
something rip. Site :

‘stars alive!’ Wasn’t I pickled ? I

d around aid there was the gable

f my bran new britches a stickim to

ine bench. : ety

acked up against the wall, sort 0’

ish-like and grinned. *.

it,” said sister Poll, “what's the mat.

from that

”

hut up !’ sez I.
it,” says Em, “come away
; you'll get all over grease.” ,
et her grease !” sez I, and sot down
washboard that was lying across a
‘velin’ worse than an old maid ata
lin’. .

rty soon I felt something hurt, and
soon it burt agin.

.—whis—I jumped ten feet hi, kick-
-er the tub, out flew old Jones,Christ-
turkeys and you ought to seen me

ut for tall timber now, jumped atak
id rider fences, and mashed» down
1 like a runaway herikan till I got
and went to bed and staid. there
daze. Bates ates tip
‘old Jones’ barn burns down ‘next
er, and I’m arrested for it, and ef
ody peers asa witness agin me, I'll
his dogone’d head! There’s my sen
nts t ; 5 ay

{

pretty household ornament for the
er season can be casily made -by ta-
a large turnip and scrape out the
¢, leaving a thick wall around; fill
avity with earth, and plant init
-vine or morning glory. Suspend the
ip with cords, and in a little time the
‘will twine around the strings, and
urnip, sprouting from , below, will
‘orth leaves and stems that sill turn
ard and curl gracefully around | the
Fey Noe ,

aughable affair occurred ina Troy restau-
last week, a waiter having filled the vinegar
s with Bourbon whiskey instead ot vinegar.
) ers, judges, ministers, temperance men, aid
editors, were all seized with a’sndden de-

call and sce him this very night and have
alittle talk on the subject.

and commenced drawing on his coat,

Mrs. Little, coming forth from the
ing-room.

said the voice, speaking in his mind.

a we got to throwin’ candy balls}.

Then you niay: 4c cnlalpicd wets
rogue It’s risky business. But Isee no
other way out of this trouble. My own
capital is too light for the business I am
doing, and as a measure of safety more
must be brought in, Lawrence 1s anxious
to join me, and he says he can command
ten thousand pounds. I don’t like him
in all respects; he isa little too ford of
pleasure. But I want his money more
than his aid In business. He might re-
main asa silent partner if he choose. Pll

If he can
bring in ten thousand pounds [ think
that will scttle the matter.

With. this conclusion in his. mind,
Aaron Little returned home, after closing
his warehouse for the day, Tea being
over, he made preparation for going out,
with the intention of calling upon Mr.
Lawrence. As he reached his hand for
his great-coat, a voice secmed to say to
him:

‘Tell your wife. Talk to her about it,’
But he rejected the thought instantly,

‘Where are you going Aaron?’ asked
dib-

‘Out for a little while,’ he replied. ‘['ll
be back in half an hour or so.’

“Out where?’ : : :
‘Tell her, Aaron. Tell her all about it,’ |

‘Nonsense! . She don’t understand
anything about business. She can’t help
we,’ he answered firmiy. Peart he
‘Tell your wife!’ The words were in
his mind, and would keep repeating
themselves. | —~- Aa 3
‘Can't you say where you are going,
Aaron? Why do you make a mystry of
it? .-.- et
‘Obi, it’s only a matter of business, I'm
going to sec Mr. Lawrence.’
‘Edward Lawrence?
‘Yes.’ See eae eee eae
‘Tell your ‘wife!’ . The words. seemed
almoat,a3 if uttered aloud in his ears.
‘What are you going to sev him about?”
‘Tell her. 2-5 6% 28 ran’

Mr. Little stood irresolute. What good
would telling her do? a he
‘What's the matter Aaron? You have

been dull for some time past. Nothing
going wrong with you, I hope?» And
his wife laid her hand upon his arm, xnd
leaned towards him in a kind way.
‘Nothing very wrong,’ he answerd in
an evasive manner, ‘Business has been
dull this season.’

‘as it? I'm sorry. Why didn’t you
tell me?’ :

‘What good would that have done ?’
“t might bave done'a great deal of
good. When a man's business is dull,
his wife should look to the household
expenses; but if she’ knows nothing
about it, she may go on in «a way that is
really extravagant under the circumstan-
ces. I think that men ought always to
tell theif wives when anything is going
wrong.’ :
» You do? '*- os ea AE Se)

‘Certainly I do. What. better reason
do you want than the one I have given ?
If she knows that the inconie is reduced,
as a prudent wife, she will endeavor to
reduce the expenses. Iladn’t you better
take off your coat, and sit down and talk
with me a little, before you go to sce Bir.
Lawrence? : REG Mare
_Mr. Little permitted ‘his wife to draw
off his overcoat, which she took into the
passage and replaced on the hat-rack.

is ?

‘ ‘Now, Aaron, talk to me as freely as.
youchoosc. Don't keep anything back.
Whiatever the trouble is, let me know it
to the full extent.’ ' A
«Qh, there’s no very great trouble, I
um only afraid of trouble. I sce it coming,
and wish to keep out of its way, Betsy.’
‘That's wise and prudent,’ said his wife.
‘Now tell me why you are going to see
Mr. Lawrence.’ fees
“Mr. Little let his cyes fall to the floor,
and sat for some moments. in’ silence.
Thien looking up, he said :” .
‘The truth is, Betsy, T must have more
capital in my business. There will be no
getting on Without it. Now, Mr. Law-
rence can command, or at least says he
can command, ten thousand pounds, 1
think he would like to join me. He has
said as much two vr three times.’
‘Aid you were going to sce him on
that business ?’ ate :

wk Pe Gaet

fowas.’, ° tom
“Don't do it,” said Mrs. Little, empliati-
cally. ' mm

‘Why not?” asked Aaron. ***
‘Becanse he isn’t the man for you—not
if he had twenty thousand pounds.’

‘Because, is ‘no reason,’ replied Aaron

ing business fora time, or until the error
gums Hy ae otH

discovered,

o eat oysters at the resta tantly ® hich did a

Little.

| with Mr. Lawrence! first % a pa

Then returning into the parlor, she said: |

bige bate tits
‘The money would come dearly at the
price of the man, if you took Dr. Law-
rence for a partner. At Jenst that is my
opinion, But Iam giad to hear you say,
Aaron, that you are in no immediate dah
ger. May not the storm be weathered by
reefing sail as the suilors say?
‘By reducing expenses ”
Fey ae ; : :
Mr. Little shook his head. :
Nig suy no too quickly,’ replied his
wife.
at home and at the store. Suppose one
or two thousands were saved in the year,
what difference would that make ?” it
‘Oh, if that were possible, which it is
not, it would make a vast ‘difference in
the long run, but would hardly mevt.the
difficultiés that are approaching” > ©
‘Suppose you had tive hundred pounds
within the next ‘two months, beyond
what your,- business will give you?
‘That sum would make all safe for the
two months. - But where is the five hun-
dred to come from, Betsy
‘Desperate disease’ require desperate
remedies,’ replied the brave litt}e woman,
ina resolute way. ‘I’m not afraid of the
red flag.’ : TRH
‘Wkat do you mean by the red flug 2’. >
‘Let us sell oft our furniture at auction,
and put the moncy in your business, It
won't bring less. than five handred
pounds; and it may .bring more, .My
piano alone is worth nearly a. hundred.
We can board. for.a year or two, ,and|
when you get all right again retura to
housekeeping,’ : . ni gto res ea
‘We won't try that yet, Betsy,’ said ir.
Little..,... ‘ tity caged dg sasl
‘But something must be. done... The
discase is threatening, and my first pre-
scription will arrest its violence. IE haye
something more. to propose... It comes in-
to my mind this instant ;,.after breaking
up we will go to mother’s, You know
she never wanted. us, to leave there... It
wont cost us much over half what it does
now, taking rent into the account... We
will pay sister Annic something to take
the care of little Bddie,and Lizzie
through the day, and I will go into your
warehouse as chief clerk.’ eae
_ {Betsy ! you're crazy.’ aha:
‘Not a bit of it, Aaron; but a sensible
woman as you will find before your're a
year older, if you'll let me have my way.
I don’t like that Hobson, and never did,
as you know, I don't believe he’s a fair
man. Let me take his place, and you
will make a clear three hundred pounds
a year; maybe, as much pwre.’ renee
‘I can’t think of it, Betsy. Let us wait
a while.’ Ws eiBis Sed dee : :
‘You must. think of it, and we won't

What is to be-done is best dune quickly.
Is there not safety in my plan?’ .-
« Yes, I think there is; but——’

‘Then lct us adopt it at once, and
throw all buts overboard, or,’ and she
looked at him a little mischievously, ‘per-
haps you would ‘rather: have some talk
} ut
‘Hang. Mr.;-Lawrence?’ ejacutat
Aaron Little." ; Boy eee

“Very well; there being no help in Mr.
Lawrence, wo will go to work :to help
ourselyes. Self-help, Uve heard it said,
is always the best help and most to de-
pend on. We may know ourselves, and
trust ourselves; and that.is a great deal
more than we can say about other
When shall we have the sale ?

be sure to make .« certain luss.

half its cost.’

ened.’
without that.

Iobson's place.

‘Let us go over the whole matteg| |

‘4and she set her bright little head to wo

wait awhile, replied the resolute wife.,

people.

‘Not so fast, Betsy,>not. so fast. » T
hayn’t agrecd to the sale yet. That would
Furni-
ture sold at. auction never realizes above

“dt would be a certain gain, Aaron, if
it saved you from bankrumptcy, with
which, as I understand it, you ure threat-

‘I think, said Aaron, we may get on
I like the i!ea: of: ydur
coming into my warchouso and taking
All the money from re-
tail sales passes through hia hands, and
he has it in his power, if not honest, to
rob mescriously. -I've not telt altogether
easy in regard to him of late. . Why, I

PARAAGY VED bea

put down three thousand; and before t
end of the year he had drawn out six
seven thousand, and had given notes f
the firm for.as: much nvore in payment
old obligations, "A failure of the hopes
followed as an inevitable result. “
. When the fact’ of the failure, and tf
cause Which led to it became known
Mr, Little, he remarked, with a shrug:
‘I’m sorry for B——; but ho ‘shou
have told his wife" "0 +" 4-4
‘Of what?’ esked: a persoh to whom
addressed the remark, | 6.01 '? gan Ba
.Of his want of more capital, and ip.
tention to makes partner ot Lawrence.’-
“What good would that. have done?’ [.@
‘It might have. saycd him from: yu}:
asitdidine,” .. aera .

Poe

pepese)

‘You are mysterious, ride Se
‘Am? Well, in’ plain words, « yh
ago I. was hard;up for. money in.

business, and thought of taking in La
rence. I told my wife about it. 5
said, ‘Don't do it” And I didn't; 4
her ‘Don't do it’: was: followed. bys
gestions 3 to his wife’s extravagan
that opened my eyes a little... -I told 1
at the same time, of my embarrasmen

and showed me: the way to.work’ out
them. Before this I. always, had a po
opinion ‘of woman’é wit in matters
business ; -but ‘how I say to every man
tronble—Ztll your wifes) (>. 2s

2.1%

rate! agi! yise¥ Q Bt tit Phe
7") Sharp Practice, :.
“A man entefed the Branch Bank of the
city on the Ith'of September and bough ~
three draftsomthe ‘Third National Bur
of New York, one payable tothe order
M, Davis & Co. for $1,410 50, one to t}
order of E. Dow for $41, and @ third
the order of L. Brown’ for $48. The
drafts he took ty the Second Nation
Bank of Chicago and sent through. t
first check for $1,410 50 without any #
teration. This‘ introduced him‘to t
Bank at Chicago, and he again present
himself with the draft for $41 raised
$4,110 00 which was cashed. Afterwar
he regen the draft for $48 raised
$4.810 00, which: was also cashed. The
checks were sent to the». Bank:: of: Nor
America, at New York and from there
the 3rd National, Bank of the same ci
where they were of course charged up
the Nationsl Branch Bank of Madia«
At the end of the month, as is the custohm
the account was sent in for setticme
The Cashier wroto*to the Bank of Nd
| York and informed him that he kn

nothing about the drafts for $4,110
and $4,810 00. :
» The checks were sent here upon fecti
of the letter and were recognized. as t
ones issued for $41 and and $48: Erer
thing but the signature of DG. Philliy
Cashier, had been erased‘ with, chemica
and re-written >the dates-were ctteng
from the 9th to the 18th and 15th, t
number of the checks also were cha
and they were'made payable to differe
firms; on the, backs they were made- pr
able to the order of and endorsed’ by
H. King, all in® the ‘same hand@writir
showing plainly'that-the names used w«
forged. ‘The drafts were returned to t
Third National Bank of New York w
imniediately sent. them to the Bank
North America, from where they wi
forwarded to the 2nd Nationa] Bank fe
Chicago, which: loscs the money. Jf.
ison Courier. Hegit. gaahias 2985

Restoring the Public.
ings in Chicago.’

Those Cabinet officers: whose duty
will be to make recommendations in th
annual reports relative.to restoring |
government buildings destroyed in C
cago are disposed to be very Iberal
this respect.” Those méembers of Congr
| from the Eastern’ and Southern * Stat
now at Washington, are of the opini
that there will not be the least difficu
in getting gencrous appropriations 7:
ing the winter to resturs these buildir
on amore maguiffcent seale than ever.
is atated that ac proposition has alrea
been submitted to the Secretary oft
Treasury, to recommend to Cvungress t
purchase of an entire square near the f

can hardly tell., I've seen nothing wrong.
But, if-you take his place, three hundred:
ounds will be saved certainly.” ley
- ‘But if. I havemy house to keep,’ Mrs,
Little answered to this, ‘how can I help.
youat the warchouse? The first thing in

order is to get the house off my sands’ | troyed. .

‘mer site of the Custom House and P<

office, whereon to erect all the pul

buildings for that etty. .The proposit:

is said to call for four million doll

wherewith to replace the buildiags «
Reve

‘Don't you think that Addie could be
induced to come and ‘live a few months
‘| until we try this new experiment? _
«But the money, Aaron; the money
this furniture would bring! That's what
I'm looking after. You want money
now, 9. oe) °

‘Very true.’ -

To MoTHERS, AND

Henry’s

answered’ firmly. .

ted
r

‘The ‘extravagatice of his wife js,’ was

‘ ephen: let us hang out the red flag. | ti
Half way measures may only rum: every> sickness, ae

Nurses.—M

Whitcomb’s Syrup for Diarrhea, &c.,

children, whether induced by teething

other causes, isthe safest and best reme
‘ Tso aananenisepnietiant ey

: A Safe uard.—QOne or two doses of |
Boot and Plant Pills if taken

time will often “preyent a scrjous attact

ny ege aa
YB Fe iy > by aes TROT Daven te

Gd. Len Wis 5 anssd ove a hr

bs Rit Kc ae hii iad ata Sal Seye ie tee
bed. Beil 3 ba

the ietnbl ft thd }

wiry lagen Lp park
fF OL. S ; 2 bite GS foy
Thecu had CCM at DOLLY a F Seu Mgas Ces o7 (LAMM, “Penn

€
.

foe ve aA) a Zre ce tCY v on Li $F ' Drclacerie Volirtee Tad denh Sere
Y e& 7 ~ -
p so. ~~ 4 ' \ /~ ‘RA LL rer I: ’ Og fm Cidt « Le S14
Pycrul. CLewhu Le ve Ly Ltda (St LI ACLS shite Ht Lu tty t ; eg LE Z
: ara A . =, Pn . LN Gh ng pre BL 4h Atl
ae Copa el Clb ley £14 Lend se bite bet pce BOs of Seti’s HENGE
“at (- bite ge oe ( . o / Z fos
5) L er a ak g i at - Se ke =) LIAO Cae of POR rte
Sig trig SV AVAE DIMM, Stitd CAMA « ae <: 7 J

/fli2, hod ae cry PvE: pee [PE CAS Lijit

Loy Ye Ned o11et aad Wot C4 Wt
sett eirel tlisiar

i”

Lh: bineres AOD Cn &eten LU Ef Leg KE
iL VPurI, Rovers Bare Lael ELE Lt EN OL Cesta, [Pir L0w0

ee Ea en Lin dentenctd LE Sidv grate “Unfiscsenmnent
AoA, * Lat third poe Rete pectin OZ2Z4 aa,
ape Nal Broaclhewsbad Luursea thiore Lian aa of Fees Loirrt

OQ gusolion WL A aratel LIA GALA (Lo be ts OL cei ceulielt Grn tke

wohelence ba Lilt, Mbt Bi eA BAMA! lieved sale Lt end
Orclir he Serna GitI OWN ‘lun WWa tb Wad ge itl A Mt Cecat

and Grong ittiaed Z preietcn (flere! ov vc 011 Princeton f fee
bat a lev a3 Ug hi Croia owt rut e0farel ; He wenstolerecl
Lee Lois a Stamm Matha Wives Sie) ut Gad. Wy prt Ctr

ane ‘sal pfrosecceia: geen Lee etachtd Cee feel at Norn

ups b fromm Lie Vad Aug WALNKAA OM po Puatetrl

fad pared of Mid ar pene ren tle Rusgucase Lu coer lc,
free sibb, Be asjied aomussicu L The Prison es a Yestkr-, feu

Ue: Merecttu Mpg Cle any bate Cony 11 baer. biteadefwet’~
|.

S tins mat tppedbep de Lerovs, Nal taal geme treaeh vi Oretor
Labs Ls LroSher Ley Lo Lactfat, We Wels Kole, mae

wy A frien Og Aw out kLevved out Lhe stvnarntler ove

fmm

tom Maral thtilt AOA,
Le ancl ile bh twit Athy

oS Valet mn Mbginning Lat Wotueo a wood Lpofofuer Cte &
comanen Literer, Howeror De iad Dieu Feu Crip Lal cr FeLer

7 a

(yes when Ju aahtinal Bud ts Le wa L/ tepihbene Carre + One

Ler Coetier Ne nad Mey va SUL t/t Habu Et Saeele, Jf CE VNIER

Aug Aewee strowagLtel ner bun oe he ace Zeus Aten Khe werfirel Of
Pes Lia arc Hugs § fer @ Le! Wtdet axlev VLA eclubr id ore Pi
prison and Lian mara Laat L Scme Localiim Ln Marc Louk,
fore tt On AU 7 wo anoti-tr G5 hat Opec ritecl Lhriacnee! rw,
Peet » bond Lht gamed look a juan Cy lhe mauve of Shomee
Comedy & a half web gables w whe mo doubt wes lo Ce taste &3
the Seap« fore ef Leer Cs Qecauw PETLI ORY Ls Beane Bee
Cede Ow a & Hires petite ‘Yebles bach Serve arnt, (Led
Wag ong frscased OLE: Perot Scmaleattetablil LEO ee

ay fuuctit bl ourm dWMiney Ded of ne 53 prowfucel> tte Gove

du lent Wel on Cees, | Covey CALL AAA |iblarteoek Myo
—~6/-

witehs

ib fest ee rect: tae

ee hd

hi is : th ah

MOO dane tracts. i sv; -y tn @ Lew Lop whath fad
Foc wth Ahr st lye von, Camp Thin Lok Bididbacks Gees O11

clrtnung Oud Wert” 2 Kinchialer ia Cuts ou rutero LLrv9
Pome wn Warne Ceunly Lbs @ ad bot th | Sy VSA get ere euiter—
tatns Coot ane Yel Ana LHtie ants ced grelctiucle sop) lin Le
Le, Babelertacs fate acccestel Cag pf fecrciering Fa a
Myriad hu. Morley ited, Cet ver Sette als aakuaald Dow (EL
Mad Cvrre | oy Lhe coalavud Vial of Lives mosses GUIAN, 1 toay*
ht broks ava ane SAAS Chat Pay ad eetias foeision back
Ks bun Qucetidt a parts a CeVtenw @ be para ce Ve, AR Bock,
WE ! Milt Bid bbvmed Lit BUD Gu bad ered LZ Alt Zs
hyclivn, ung We Gin (laced tin cle Rertat genet Fics far—
Lemay ¢ Cue AilA Caners Sgeece dacet. Sfeclliw AAA
Th lSrove col ALLO Lewd Lain crer LZ Lye Cert Caw, (FE 029
Lege LN Pevisacelor CAN # Serle 6H LS he Beeers, Lhe Club Ltd
Miack. Lb Chine Hw’Ad Comnlhyd Le Hee Lit £04 Movie of LK
| Leeeet Stuy Mad Og Pret eo atepporacler tu Ppoqeete Pee re
| eres Of Lu For SCckwor webieig An Buri cel ature <3
Camken cites fee

(Qing LOAD Pi Bsol ae fact to nae CA
trot x Comparator Meet ck, Wes part bier ee pA SS 211 eee,
ota, Ws jour C26 Su etrt pnol hee At tater Draere Say

fee ttc Baad int be Sleefe Cha rev Saf he gocege Case

tif, and Lila Deir Lhal bu Baol Cctiapee Ge sroret aa
~ s=

Sut aa cal sé Chu lp ro acblit ccna Gey 11 | Ce Le bie conlemflalrbre
A NCA Cl aaa Veh 2 be ial Gu LUCLUA J pave fle ele >
out ox is Abell De | Leoly, / Wow febele raek per ever ty Mul
gehts Pires Oud a aa Le guenlin Comfy [priege ‘wo feere Pu
Canusd all ADS lig ound Aid pers we ree & on “fe fy eres

[IB Sde rLaen Liev Cvs cau Ly tirwatlénr Le (lvoe ojiers § eves
Mite Lyfe lr“ suuleadd lhey ge lp Jt tnrerty F for Ceciiiy
Lr Ltiaclécd Lite "hey baci [hex LOE CE Le Wave O SInecliieg Or ~
Q re cai Sali a) Sew Jinrtlher Wicd Proce lect LO pL 20 EE

Lu Dyin’ bers sect (Ly present one 5 SS Cie WMA (7 (HEL fo Inti

Ond bnel Creu LAL, Tite Wed Wai, Lio Lh meres aman
Lari,

| Bibdertack append bi lt ane Cb bite Syapecsiili Wiis a’ Ab Ath Casing

| ced if fr" ' Counhs faretect Llp a eel aL! Alig chet? aaa
Ran alge” newe enctes Lith Witte pp Ltzih H3 a Lely eres
ALC Ke ' She. Litto 22 cewzEcl Ot runs lA eee 07 ci bis Ce

| tee ANd Legh ther et Leerroxceen gotigcrn Wes ieee
| Late Reed BA ie Paes 9 patric Srerte- >

| He2e Xe Lit Ao. CLtf- ae tHe pe stadt ieteat ot gece

| oticcer rac ee licet ts: jeer ww & debecns aid Lhe vite
, bat autumn GU bie GYM anf Wattle Le. 1g ee wnt’ tle eg Ad
| Leperng gurls Lan) Beloierv Oath tance Cea yy Sle feteS
| cut or Lie grcend & Ait lr Lewes arlceye. fro Cha Lege

| fac ¢ ttior aria kewtot Ne Leno ede el tA. the elie Ge

| Wich Coed Foe AP AAtto As A evathoia Abit ESD Coed

wan,

Veer me-

_ terial on the table narrowly.

to make some tests of your hands,
along with others who might be sus-
pected of this crime, and if you’re in-
nocent they’ll go a long ways toward
proving it.”

“Tests?” Carter observed the ma-

what?” ;

“Well, we want to find out who's
shot a gun lately, and if it wasn’t too
long ago we may be able to tell by
this test. Have you shot a gun lately,
Mr. Carter, say since about Friday
morning?” j :

“No, sir. But suppose this test don’t
work right—”,

“Well, that will be all in your favor.
It can’t put grains of nitrate on your
hands if they aren’t already there.”

Scowling doubtfully, his eyes nar-
rowed, following the detective’s sys-
tematic -movements, ,Carter held out
his right hand as he was instructed.
Hot wax was applied and a band of
gauze laid over to bind it. When the
wax was set it was removed dnd the
process was repeated with the left
hand.

“Now, Dink, unless you have some-
thing you want to tell us,” Winegard
said, “I guess we'll call it a night.
You're going to be our guest tonight
until we get at the bottom of this
thing.”

Protesting loudly, he was led to a
cell. Winn chuckled with satisfaction
when Winegard returned. “I guess we
took him by surprise. He didn’t even
offer the usual alibi that he’d been
shooting rabbits or something. I'll
take these things over to the lab and
have them processed by mga « If
we get a positive reaction we'll have
something ‘that’ll be hard for him: to
beat.” . oft

Sunday morning the detective’s
eyes gleamed excitedly as he entered
the sheriff’s office. Winegard knew
the answer to his anxious question
before it was_ answered.

“Positive—plenty,” Winn reported.
“The more he tells us from now on
that he hasn’t done some _ recent
shooting, the deeper he’s getting his
foot in the mire.”

But even when he was confronted
by the results of the test, Carter main-
tained a vigorous denial through sev-
eral hours of questioning.

Still checking the numerous state-
ments taken the evening before, the
investigators obtained only confirma~
tion of increasing suspicion against
Virginius Carter. He had definitely
known of the money supposedly kept
by Leo in the wooden chest. - .

Lengthy questioning during most of
Sunday -evening failed to shake his
early denials.’ At length it was Winn
who offered another suggestion. \.

“Dink,” he genne. dropping his
previous formality, “I’m going to give
you another chance. You've heard of
the polygraph—the lie detector?”

Carter nodded, suspicion creeping

‘into his eyes.

“Well; then you probably know that
the lie detector has been the means of
proving many a man’s innocence as
well as the guilt of many others.. Of
course, nobody has to take the lie de-
tector test, but it looks bad for them
if they don’t—”

He paused, awaiting the full effect
of his remark. Carter’s.eyes shifted
nervously about him, he cleared a
lump from his throat and nodded.

“Now, of course, if you’re as inno-
cent as you say you are, you certainly
will be willing to take this chance of
clearing yourself. We'll take you up

“For'

- TRUE CRIME CASES

tomorrow morning if you say—”

‘Carter fidgeted uneasily, staring in-
to space. “That lie detector business,”
he queried at last, “it don’t stand up
in court anyhow, does it—just in case
it made a mistake and made a guy
ook bad?”

Winn agreed that the polygraph
findings were not admissible as court
evidence.

The suspect shrugged resignedly.
“Okay. I’ll take it. Tomorrow morn-
ing’ll be jake with me.”

That was the beginning of the end
for one of the most ruthless: killers
in the annals of Indiana crime. The
following day, after studying Carter’s
reaction to the test conducted in the
State Police scientific laboratory in
Indianapolis, Chief Technician Robert
Borkenstein reported tersely that, ac-
cording to his findings:

“He lied gla Scone Rie shar ig es on

two eg when I asked him if
he killed the five people on the Agrue
farm and if he used Johnston Agrue’s
gun.” :
Late Monday night, after more
hours of questioning had left him
hopelessly entangled in a net of his
own inconsistencies, Carter sat back
with mouth agape while Sheriff Wine-
gard outlined the chain of evidence
that had been forged against him.

“Now, Dink,” the sheriff concluded
in a low voice, “don’t you see what a
fool you’re making of yourself? You're
not so blind that you don’t know when
you're caught. Why don’t you give
yourself and the rest of us a break
now and get it all over with the easiest
way—by telling us all about it?” .

Carter grunted, “Okay, Sheriff.” A

. stenographer was called and, with
‘ Prosecutor Lester G. Baker present-

ing the questions, recorded an alleged
32-page confession.

enying any pre-conceived plot of
either murder or robbery, he admitted
going to the Agrue farm Friday
morning, “just to see the folks.” First
talking with Mrs. Agrue as she washed
dishes in the kitchen, he asked her
where the boys were.

“She told me they were on the hill
planting corn,” the statement related.
‘When I got up there Leo had a gun
with him and he sort of lowered it
when I came near him. I ducked un-
der it and hit ,jhim in the jaw, then
grabbed thé gun and shot him. Willie
started running up the: hill and I
took after him and shot him, left him
lying there and then picked up the

- shells Leo had. . I walked on down to

the house and talked with Mrs. Agrue

eee

and the little girl until it was time
for the old man to come home.
went out and met him on the path in
the hollow and shot him twice.

“After that I returned to the house
and Mrs. Agrue asked me what was
the matter. She or the kid heard the
shots. I was around behind her and
she whirled around to face me and I
shot her. I asked the little girl to
come with me to the barn and when
we got there she said she wouldn’t
f° in and she started to scream. Then

shot her, too.

“I walked on up the hollow then
and hid the gun in a hollow log, then
went out on the highway and got rides
into town, went home and had supper,
then went downtown for a glass of
whiskey and went to a show.”

He repeatedly denied that he had
is to the second floor or had taken

eo’s savings from the wooden chest.
Subsequent investigation, however,
was to prove that he had spent unac-
countable sums of money on a trip
to Cincinnati on the very night of the
crime. é

Considerable doubt was attached to
many points in the confession, espe-

_Cially to the order in which he de-
clared shooting his helpless victims.

Likewise the manner in which he

had obtained the gun was considered
merely a desperately falsified attempt
to add a note of self-defense to his
Savage butchery.

Despite these questionable points,
however, when the lethal weapon was
found in the identical log which he
had described as its hiding place, the
case was promptly referred to a grand
jury which, on Thursday, May 29th,

~ issued five separate indictments charg-
me, him with first degree murder. -
ounty Attorney Willard Dean,
former abe poe was appointed by
Circuit Judge William D. Ricketts to
defend Carter after the latter pleaded
lack of funds. The first move of -the
alleged confessed slayer’s counsel was
to obtain a delay of his circuit court
arraignment to June 18th to allow
the preparation of a proper and suit-
able defense.

So onto the scales of Justice is cast
this macabre tale of massacre that
shocked the nation. Wholesale slaugh-
ters such as this one are not unknown
in the archives of crime files.. Who is
telling the truth?

Soon, perhaps, Justice may triumph.
Clues indicate that. just one
was the killer. Have the police the
right man in custody? :

ae THE END

An officer is pointing to the spot in the doorway of the barn where the child-victim

was felled as she tried to struggle to freedom. The killer slew her without mercy.

erson.

= 4 ee ; ‘
oe nn Oe ee ee

pus Na Bsn.

vim
BTS

re are Se

a5 Se

Ser er =

a ke

Saree see

said
think
then.
-they
2 and

er oof
dis-
iowed
»bber.
ooden
the
pried
with
a few
ne axe
per to

Harry
repare
to a
ogular
h -of
s dis-
ehind,
1 each
spent
| area
ead.
fairly
or 16
There
shell
is for

rity of
1 Sur-
inston
) @X-

They
nough
which
ctim’s
letely

gun,”
both
Ines.
the
shed

ioved,
iietly
dlans.
dep-
oring
matic
iding
lham
» day

tives.
slain
these
rried
iple,
born

County, and very easy to locate.

“Then, too,” Voit reminded,
“there’s William’s wife, living over
by Lawrenceburg. Maybe she can
tell us where he is, or if he got
home after helping around here
yesterday.”

Winegard nodded. “I wish you’d
run over there and see her yourself
right now, Arch. What she can tell
us may be of real importance, since
it’s pretty certain that William was
over here working yesterday. And
while you’re in town, notify the
State Police. Unless I miss my guess
we're going to need all the help we
can get on this thing.”

Stopping first in Aurora, the near-
est of several small cities to the
Agrue farm, Voit called district
headquarters of the Indiana State
Police at Seymour, some 60 miles
to the west, with a request for
fingerprint and photographic equip-
ment. Ten minutes later he pulled
up before a modest trailer home a
short distance beyond , Lawrence-
burg. A shy little girl of three re-
sponded to his knock on the door,
gazing in wide-eyed wonder at the
appearance of a stranger. She fled
back squealing to her mother.

Voit sensed fresh and bitter trag-
edy the instant he saw the tired,
drawn features of the woman in her
middle twenties who arose from a
tiny davenport and came toward
him. Her eyes, he saw, were red
from weeping, her expression one of
fearful anxiety. He knew instinc-
tively without asking that this was
the wife of William Agrue. He knew,
too, the answer to his first question
before he heatd it from her trem-
bling lips.

“No,’”? she said, ‘Bill hasn’t been
home since six o’clock yesterday
morning when he went to help his
brother Leo on the farm. I—TI can’t
understand what has_ happened.
He’s always so considerate and all
about letting me know when he’s
going to be away.”

The Undersheriff found himself
wishing fervently that his errand
might have been anything but what
it was. The pathetic, pleading fig-
ure before him, the signs of im-
poverished living about her, the
child clinging to her dress, all made
him wonder just how best to ap-
proach the subject on his mind. She
left him little chance -to plan. Her
eyes read the turmoil in his mind.

“Come in,” she said, holding open
the door, ‘“‘and tell me what has hap-
pened.”” Her voice now was dull
with fear, firm

with a new and desperate courage.

Voit seated himself on a chair and
explained as briefly ‘as possible that
‘an accident had occurred to Mr. and
Mrs. Agrue and their little grand-
daughter, that: her husband and his
younger brother were missing.

“Wad your husband or Leo ever
had trouble with the old folks,” he
questioned quietly, “that might
cause either of them to do a thing
like that, perhaps in the heat of
anger?”

“Never!” she cried positively.
“They were both very fond of their
parents. If they can’t be found, then
something has happened to them,
too.”

Voit’s eyes narrowed steadily on
the trembling features of the fright-
ened young woman.

“Mrs. Agrue, do you know what
was kept in a wooden chest upstairs
in the old house that might have
been of value?”

She started, her eyes widening
with apprehension. “Why that—that
was where Leo kept the money he
was saving to buy a new car. He

told us only recently that he had |

saved nearly $300.”

The undersheriff concealed his
outward reaction, but inwardly he
sensed a feeling of exultation. That
amount of money was sufficient to
provide a possible motive. How
many persons had known of the
sum Leo was accumulating?

Promising to inform her of the
first word of ‘her husband, he left.

still another victim

Back at the farm, he found
Troopers William Woods and Harold
Joliff of ‘the State Police busying
themselves taking photographs and
searching for fingerprints about the
kitchen, the looted chest and the
axe. No word had yet been re-
ported by the posse searching the
Agrue fields. Evidence had been
found, however, to indicate that the
two sons who had been engaged at
the separate tasks of marking and
planting in the corn field . had
worked to a late hour. Both horses
had been unhitched from their im-
plements. A broken branch drag-
ging from the lines of one indicated
that they had been tied at the edge
of the (Continued on page 59)

a fh Yr a ‘4 . 2 * oe ete w-< P
ae MRS erey rst Stee
ode 4 pe ae ¢
‘ oe My ee
‘ * Fei a
TE, he eee oy :
Ge F % See Eb Mety:
: oe ¢ De age he x ay
3 ; ye ~
Ne -
~ 3 vi
Hay" fs
ven pera <3 sa
ae SES
A iiacenedl p< Oe
: = er Ms
—- jo ae St rt
non | = ee \t!
= — “
& —- “
ve ee Qe
an x e eva!
= nit Nee} cnttee |
LAA we Man
wr pasha 2 ?

BOWER TO DEATH: It was through this peaceful bower that the killer
entered and assassinated motherly Mrs. Agrue as she was preparing dinner.

demanded. eagerly, “and in the mean-
time, if there should be another call
from there, call headquarters at once.”

shrewd gumshoe work

The driver who had made the run
was soon located and said that he
had taken a youth of Rolland’s de-
scription, accompanied by a woman
and a child, to the Monroe Hotel.

At the very moment when Leonard
and Sgt. Maxwell were listening to
this information, things were happen-
ing at headquarters. The cab dis-
patcher, excited, phoned that a young
man had just arrived at the stand and
was waiting for a cab. Maycock and
Hill sped to the cab stand. There they
took into custody a wide-eyed youth
whose handsome features clouded
with a sudden indignation.

Methodically, the officers sought the
labels in his new suit and Overcoat.
Both bore the name of the Bay City
clothing shop where the killer had
changed garments. In his pockets was
American currency and coins totalling

$101.75!
“Well, ‘Buck’,” Maycock grinned
familiarly, “I guess you’ve run out

your string. Want to tell us about it?”

The youth continued to stare in be-
wildered fashion at the swift pro-
ceedings.

“I think you’ve made a mistake,”
he insisted. “I haven’t the slightest
idea what you mean or what you
want with me.”

Maycock wasted no further words,
but whisked the protesting prisoner
to police headquarters where he was
confronted bluntly by the murder
charge awaiting him in Michigan. Still
shaking his head emphatically, he
denied that he had ever been north
of Bay City, admitting that he had
purchased the clothing there several
weeks before while he was employed
on a farm outside the city. He had
never, he declared, known anyone by
the name of Bergman or Gilliland.

“As far as that American money
is concerned,” he said earnestly, “I
saved that from the pay I got in No-
vember for working at Midland, On-
tario, where my mother lives. It was
in Canadian currency and I had it
changed right after that when I went
up to Bay City to work. My job

didn’t hold out up there and I’ve been

field before being taken to the barn.

Meanwhile, several relatives failed
to shed the slightest ray on possible
enemies who might have planned the
awful crime. Neither did anyone
know who might have been the guest
invited to the evening meal. That the
broken chest had contained a sum of
money which Leo had been saving
was confirmed. The fact was known
to only a few and the amount was
only guessed at.

Yet Leo had confided to his brother
and the latter’s wife that he had saved
nearly three hundred dollars. It was
a circumstance that seemed to bear
greater significance with the passing

TRUE CRIME CASES

back here about a week.”

When it was suggested that he re-
turn to Michigan to face witnesses
who would know at once whether or
not he was the wanted killer, he
showed no hesitation.

“I suppose,” he said ‘thoughtfully,
“that’s the only way I can convince
you of the mistake you’re making.
Let’s go!”

What peculiar psychology had
prompted his surprising willingness
to stake his chances back on Ameri-
can soil was lost on the officers. And
his smiling confidence faded into a
sickly grin as the State Police. car
rolled back across the Ambassador
Bridge. Sensing the moment for a
psychological thrust of his own, Leon-
ard remarked casually:

“They say Bill Gilliland is coming
along fine in the hospital up at Alpena.
I guess ‘he’ll be plenty glad to see
-you back.”

The youth’s face paled to a chalky
white.

“You mean Bill didn’t—”

Sudden panic seized him with the
realization that he had checked his
words too late. Leonard pressed his
advantage calmly.

“No, Bill didn’t die. He’s already
identified the clothes you left in Bay
City. And he’s just one of a couple
dozen who are waiting to identify
you.”

The youth lapsed into a sullen
silence for the remainder of the ride.
A few minutes later he slumped re-
signedly into a chair in the homicide
office at Detroit police headquarters
and agreed to make a full confession.

“My name,” he began, “is Gordon
Nelson Norman Rolland.’ I’m 20 years
old. I know Frank Stanley, but I
haven’t seen him since last June when
he stopped to see me at my mother’s
home at Midland. He left his sea-
man’s papers and some other stuff in
that box because he said he was go-
ing down into the American oi] fields
and wouldn’t be needing them. I
took them with me when I went to
Michigan in the fall. I don’t know
why, because I never used them. I
crossed at the Soo and went to work
down there at Rudyard until I met
Gilliland and then went to Alpena.

“T don’t know why I took Gilliand’s
gun in the first place when I went out
Wednesday night, or why I told that

hours as there was no sign of either
‘of the missing brothers.

Close questioning of every neighbor
residing ior several miles around like-
wise brought no word of a stranger,
or of an extra hand who might have
been hired by the Agrues.

The Agrues, it was recalled, had
resided on their present property for
more than ‘a quarter of a century,
having moved there from Kentucky.
Industrious, neighborly, they never
had any trouble.

That some long-forgotten feud
might have followed them from the
trouble-scarred hills of old Kentucky,
visible just across the muddy, swirling
waters of the Ohio River, seemed a
remote possibility.

“Things like that have happened,

girl that crazy story about shooting
somebody. Just to impress her, I
guess, I’d been doing a lot of drink-
ing before I met her, and after I took
her home from the cabin I drank an-
other dozen bottles of beer.

“Then I took the revolver and went
into the cabin where I slept with
Bergman and Gilliland. All I could
think of was that I wanted’ money
for clothes. I wanted to get back
to the city where I could really turn
on a few good times. My mind must
have been pretty hazy, -because I
never stopped to think how easy it
would have been to take their money
and scram without awakening them.
I shot Bergman before I even stopped
to think what I was doing. Then I
heard Gilliland getting up and I went
in the other room and plugged him.

“T took the money from their pants
pockets, before I left Gilliland asked
me for a drink of water. I thought he
was dying, so I got him a drink and
sat on the bed talking with him for
several minutes before I left. You
know all the rest,”

Saturday afternoon he directed Sgt.
Person to the place where he had dis-
carded the murder gun near the high-
way less than a mile from the tavern.

His only excuses were drinking and
carousal. On Monday, December 12th,
he appeared before Circuit Judge
Herman Dehnke and entered a guilty
plea to murder. After a brief formal
hearing to establish the degree of
guilt, he was promptly sentenced to
life in the State Prison at J ackson,

Only by the fortunate circumstance
of the recovery of one of his victims
did he avoid the double murder that
would have assured a death convic-
tion. Among the musty records of the
case in years to come, authorities will
find an unused warrant charging “as-
sault with intent to murder one Wil-
liam Gilliland,” which they may em-
ploy at their own discretion,

(The names Don Byrne, Frank
Stanley and Jack Kirby are not the
real names of the persons who played
a part in this strange case.. Their
names are changed deliberately for
they are innocent of any wrongdoing.
All the other facts and names are true
and have been culled from. police.

files).
The End ;

though,” Winegard mused. “Bitter
enemies have suddenly found each
other after years apart, old hatreds
have flared anew. We'll just keep that
in mind in case nothing else turns up.”

Several pistol shots in quick succes- -
sion rang out from a distance up the
hillside. uandng toward them, Wine-
gare and Voit saw Cook, surrounded
y a group of the searchers, franti-
cally waving a_ signal. “Bring a
blanket,” he shouted. “We’ve found
another one!”

The body was that of Leo Agrue.
Like the others, it lay face down-
ward in the brush a short distance
from the corn field, a hideous wound
torn in the back of the head.

“Stay with it, boys,” Sheriff Wine-
gard ordered when the body of Leo

59,

EXPOSE DETECTIVE

Weeping horrified neighbors at the funeral of the five victims who met a bitter,
sudden death. Lined up in a row are the caskets immediately before interment.

Agrue was borne solemnly toward the
ill-fated home he had shared with his
parents. “Bill Agrue didn’t just dis-
appear in a cloud. Either he’s lying
out here somewhere like the rest of
them, or—well, just ‘don’t overlook a
spot where he could be, that’s all.”

In the meantime, fingerprints within
the house told nothing. Nowhere were
impressions found that did not prove
to be those of immediate members of
the family. . Significantly, the axe and
portions of the chest had been wiped
clean of all save a few useless
smudges. i

The value of the axe itself became
nil when it was identified as one which
belonged on the premises.

It was past mid-afternoon when
Troopers Woods ‘and Joliff, their

special tasks performed, joined Wine-:

gard and Voit in a widespread effort
to locate the first tracé of the missing
William Agrue.

But nowhere was a hint that the
missing man -had been seen at any
time since he left his own home early
in the morning.

Other relatives arriving at the farm
in response to the shocking news of
the massacre were able to add nothing
of importance. All male arrivals
joined with the searchers still comb-
ing the fields for a fifth and possibly
sixth victim.

Only one, Virginius Carter, husband
of Leona, one of the younger of the
Agrue girls, could suggest an angle
not already considered. The elder
Agrue had told him some weeks ago,
he recalled, of a hired hand with
whom he had had some trouble the
year before over a misunderstanding
in the matter of wages. The man had
reappeared early in April, demanded
‘a job and threatened revenge when
he was refused.

“T can’t say that he ever heard of
the fellow again after that,” Carter
admitted, “but that’s just a thought I
had, that he might have come back.
My wife and I have been in Chicago

for quite a spell and I haven’t had a .

chance to see the old man since.”
While Carter, leaving his wife and

two little daughters among other.

mourners at the house, hastened to
join the searching party, Sheriff

inegard and his aides sought some
further information about the. mys-

terious farm hand. Seemingly none
of the neighbors had ever known the
man described by Carter. They had
never heard the elder Agrue men-
tion threats of any kind that had been
made against him.

It was nearly 5 o’clock. Suddenly
a lone figure ran panting down the
hillside. Bursting in he cried ex-
citedly:

“We’ve found him—Bill. Over on
the Miller farm, near the ‘Wilson
school house. He’s dead—shot—like
the others.”

A_ half. hour later, Sheriff Wine-
gard, Voit, the two troopers and the
coroner looked upon the body of the
fifth victim of a mad killer’s cam-
paign. William Agrue lay exactly as
the others had, face downward in a
field of stubble, an ugly shotgun
wound in the back of his neck. A torn
section of fence between the Miller
property and that of his «parents
bore mute evidence of his frenzied
flight from the corn field in a vain
effort to escape the gunman. Detailed
footprints had been obliterated by
the night’s storm, but vaguely out-
lined in the soft earth there still re-
mained sufficient trace to picture the
gunman’s pursuit of his victims.

Sadly the body of Bill Agrue was
borne from its tragic resting place
while the unhappy news was dis-
patched to his bereaved little trailer
family. Death had erased any ugly
cloud of suspicion that circumstance
might have directed toward him.

Death accounted ‘for five of those
whose plates had been set in the

Agrue kitchen on the fatal evening. '

Who had been the sixth?

“Those of you who want to go on
searching until dark, go right ahead,”
the sheriff agreed, “but I’ve got a
hunch that the last one has been
found. The only other person on this
farm yesterday was the killer, and
he was someone who was trusted—
someone who had more than a casual
knowledge of the premises and the
habits of the folks who lived here.”

“What’s your plan?” Voit queried.

“We're going to have every one of
these relatives come into the office at
Lawrenceburg and question them in-
dividually until we uncover some-
thing important in their stories, some
hint of a grudge or other motive—”

“What about the money in that
chest?”

Winegard shrugged. “That may be
it, but I have an idea it was only inci-
ri ee to a fiendish, deliberate plot
o kill.”

suspicion mounts

No objection to the routine of ques-
tioning was offered by any of the
dozen or more close relatives of the
victims. With the assistance of De-
tective Don Winn, who had been as-
signed to the investigation from the
Seymour headquarters of the State
Police, all were interrogated at
length.

Slowly, patiently, the grim-faced
sleuths noted inconsistencies, the
barest hints of suspicions. Gradually
a pattern for murder began to appear.
Meagre as it was at first, it developed
steadily. The tireless investigators
worked late into the night, assembling
and checking seemingly unrelated
bits of rumor and gossip.

One of the first facts established
was that Virginius “Dink” Carter had
lied in the first words he had spoken
to the police—that he had not been
near the Agrue farm in several weeks.
Following rumors that a long-stand-
ing grudge had existed between him
and Leo, and of other difficulties be-
tween him and the elder Agrues, of-
ficers traced his movements from his
parents’ home in Aurora to a highway
leading toward the farm.

There he had thumbed a ride from
passing motorist who was tenta-
tively identified as an Aurora resi-
dent. The latter, when he was lo-
cated, recalled positively that he had
given Carter a ride Friday morning
and had let him off at a corner only
a short distance from the Agrue farm.

Had he been the extra guest whose
plate had been set at the table? Why
had he denied the visit?

Other facts quickly learned were
that Carter and his wife and children
actually had spent several weeks in
Chicago, but had returned a few
days before the crime. Another
strange circumstance revealed: was
that prior to his marriage to his pres-
ent wife he had been the husband of
another of the Agrue girls who later
divorced him.

Further trouble between the two
had developed, it was said, when Leo
was said to have accused Carter of
making suggestive advances’ toward
his little. niece, 12+year-old Mary
Elizabeth Breeden, one of the murder
victims. Then, too, there was talk of
an illicit affair with a neighbor’s
wife. :

“There’s motive enough among all
that to satisfy me,” Winegard de-
cided. “Let’s get him in here.”

Faced by the mounting accumula-
tion of damning circumstances, Car-
ter merely shrugged, but denied
vehemently that he had been near the
Agrue farm since his return from
Chicago.

“It’s a lie!” he declared, his eyes
blazing. “If somebody told you that,
he’s crazy.”

“You'll have a chance to tell him
that, Dink,” the sheriff commented
drily. “But right now Detective
Winn here wants to talk with you
about something.”

Winn_ flashed a_ disarming grin.
“Sure, Mr. Carter,” he said, “we're
going to give you a break.” He waved
a hand over a layout of paraphernalia
spread out on a table. “We're going

He motioned Sellers, the latter’s son,
and the Coroner to step back a few
paces behind the shelter of a large
spreading tree, and shouted .into the
house, There was no answer. .Every-
thing remained deathly still.

Then he pulled the cap from a tear-
gas bomb and tossed it through the win-
dow, with another command to “Come
out, or we’ll come in.”

Nothing happened and the men,
throwing open the kitchen door, which
they found unlocked, stood waiting for
the gaseous fumes to die down.

At last, with revolver drawn, Deputy
Voit stepped inside, followed by his
companions, their eyes smarting from

“The youngest son of the family—the
only one who hadn’t married and left
home. Leo’s twenty-four,” the youth
returned.

“When did you see him last?”

“Not since yesterday and then I
wasn’t close enough to talk to him. I
think he was planting corn in the field.”

“We'll have a look in the other
rooms,” Voit decided, and cautiously,
almost fearfully, they made their way
throughout the clean but unpretentious
farmhouse, upstairs and down, taking
time for only a brief but thorough
glance within each room.

They discovered nothing. Leo was not
to be found.

in line behind the frenzied collie and
followed him across the field.

Satisfied now that they were coming,
the dog flashed across the ground and
waited at a spot near the barbed-wire
fence that enclosed the Agrue property.
He stood, like a sentinel, above some-
thing sprawled across the earth, and,
as the men approached, they made out
the figure of a man.

Silently they gathered around the
body of the tall, dark-haired youth
lying face downward.

His left arm lay beneath him, his right
stretched: above his head. He wore
heavy farm shoes, blue denim pants
and no shirt. ,

The Agrue family. Mr. and Mrs. Agrue (extreme left), William (fifth trom left) and Leo (extreme right)

the lingering vapors of the tear gas.

Only silence greeted them and they
started across the kitchen to an adjoin-
ing room when a sight met their eyes
that froze them in their tracks.

Beside the paint-chipped legs of the
massive table lay the crumpled form of
a white-haired woman. Her house dress
and apron and the linoleum beneath her
were deeply stained.

Her spectacles lay where they had
fallen when she had been felled by her
assailant’s bullet.

@ “IT’S NINA—Mrs. Agrue,” Harvey

Sellers said tremulously. “She was
Johnson’s wife and .Mary Elizabeth’s
grandmother.”

“Shot in the chest,” Coroner Moon
announced tersely. “Unlike the other-
two, she must have known death was
at hand. She faced the killer when the -
blast was fired.”

“Three of them dead,” young Sellers
said incredulously. “Now, I’m begin-
ning to wonder about Leo.”

“Leo?” Voit repeated. “Who's that?”

30°

And it.was apparent that none of the
beds had been slept in Friday night.

“That’s strange,” the Deputy thought,
“What about this Leo?” A gnawing
suspicion. was beginning to take form
in his mind. .

Johnson Agrue, his wife, his grand-
daughter and Leo had made up the
family on the farm, And Leo was miss-
ing. Leo’s bed, too, had not been dis-
turbed. Voit shrugged the thought
aside for the moment.

“We'd better have a look about the
farmland,” he suggested, and they
stepped from the house. A collie pup
came streaking toward them across the
ground from the fields beyond.

“That’s Leo’s pup,” young Sellers
disclosed. “He’s acting funny.”

The dog ran up, crouched at the feet
of the four men, whined, barked and
ran a few steps. Then, turning to
see if they were following, ran back
and repeated his maneuvers, barking
furiously.

“Looks like he wants us to go with
him,” the Coroner stated, and they fell

“It’s Leo,” Harvey Sellers said in an
almost inaudible whisper.

In the middle of the youth’s unclothed
back was a ragged bullet hole.

Coroner Moon looked up from his -

kneeling position beside the fourth vic-
tim. “He’s dead,” he said grimly. “That
means that the whole family has been
wiped out.”

At this point an automobile turned
off the lane and came swiftly across
the farm and a few moments later
Sheriff Winegard, in response to their
calls, had joined them beside Leo’s inert
form.

After a careful examination ‘of the
four victims, Coroner Moon began to

‘make preparations for the removal of
their bodies to the funeral home in
Lawrenceburg while Sheriff Winegard
and his Deputy began their search for
clues that might lead to the apprehen-
sion of the mass slayer.

But there was nothing to be found.
No cartridges were uncovered on the

. round and there was no sign of ‘the
murder weapon.

TRUE DETECTIVE

to ReHe aes

CARTER, Virginius ("Dink"0, white, elec. Ind. (Dearborn) 2/10/1942, .§

RS. NINA AGRUE epushed a:
spot of flour from her clean,
freshly starched print apron,

“glanced briefly over the rolling hills of |

her southeastern Indiana farmland and

then walked slowly along the flagstone .

path, through the budding rose trellis,

. into the kitchen of the weather-beaten

farmhouse... .. ,
‘It had been a beautiful day, Friday
the 16th of May, 1941, and everything

on the Hoosier farm was coming to life,.

but now the sky was. overcast and rain
clouds hung heavy against the threaten-
ing gray. There was an almost deathly
calm and here and there an eerie light
shone from ‘behind an ugly cloud. The
heavens seemed to portend impending
tragedy,

As Mrs. Revie entered the linoleum-
floored kitchen, which, like everything
else was spotlessly clean, her twelve-
year-old granddaughter, Mary Eliz-
abeth Breedon, glanced up with a smile

from the pan of lettuce she was cleaning,

. The snowy-haired, sixty-year-old
woman spread a checked oilcloth cover
over the large, old-fashioned table in
the middle of the room and turned to

. the little girl. }
** “Pll -finish the lettuce, honey,”.. she
said. “You set the table, with two extra.

Plates tonight.”
* & .

A few hours later the fury of the
storm broke and throughout the night
a driving rain drenched the earth and
beat against the window.

Farmfolk, their chores: done, were .

, glad to seek the shelter and security of
their abodes and few stirred at the usual
early hour the next morning to begin ,
their Saturday labor. :
Consequently, it was after 9:30 a.m.

on May 17th when Harvey Sellers and | ta

his son, William, in scouting over their
_ 8round adjoining the Agrue farm, no-
ticed the absence of activity at their
neighbors’ place.
'. “Johnson and Leo must be taking
things easy this morning,” William
commented, while his father. nodded,
his eyes sweeping the wide expanse of
acreage and coming to settle on the old:
farmhouse nestled among the trees at
the foot of the rolling hill upon which
they stood.

“Look, Bill,” he said suddenly, “aren’t
those cows crowding about the house
over there?” °

Bill transferred his gaze from the
fertile fields and agreed, “They’re cows,
all right. Looks like they’re waiting
there to be milked. But look over in the
field a minute, Dad. I just noticed that
team of horses hitched to the corn
planter. They’re not moving. Haven’t
moved since we’ve be standing here.”

A puzzled frown deepened on the
elder man’s brow. .“That’s the same
spot they were standing in yesterday
afternoon when I let Johnson out of the
car in the lane,” he said. “Maybe we’d
beter go and see if something’s wrong.”

By M. L. FORGY

RoE Deve. WE

Pen, LIFAZ

weet William Winegard (above) points to the spot, just inside this barn door, where one of the victims was found

ie | The two men started over the path-
| way which led from. the lane to the
Agrue home. They were only a quarter

| of a mile from the house when William
stopped abruptly, catching hold of his

father’s arm.

|| “Dad, look, it’s Mr. Agrue, ” he cried,

| pointing to the stocky figure of an
| elderly man who lay face-downward

just a few paces ahead.

| | Sellers hurried forward and knelt at

the side of his neighbor. “Yes, it’s John-

| son,” he said slowly, “and he’s dead.” .

| | “His clothes have been soaked. He’s
| been lying out here all night in the
_ storm,” William declared, “What are

| we going to do?” -

|| “We'll have to leave him dai as we

found him,” Sellers replied softly. “But
| come on, son,” he added a moment later,

| leading the way toward the house past
‘the ramshackle old barn.

i The wide door of the barn was open
and pushed back against the building

and, as the two men drew abreast of the |

| entrance, sloshing through the wet loam
and short cornstalk lengths that were
| ‘scattered about the barnyard, they sud-
| denly stopped, their. eyes glued to the

| pitiful object sprawled just inside the

barn,

|| For several seconds they stood there,
| stupefied, neither man saying a word.
| ‘Then Sellers called out in a voice that
| trembled with alarm, “Mary Elizabeth!”
|| There was no response from the
| small, bobbed-haired child, Like her
grandfather, she was lying face down-
ward, and the two farmers knew even

TRUE DETECTIVE

Se am 2)

This pecceful y sy in the hill of southern Indiana was the background of the killing phantom s crimion fra So *

before they moved near her, that she,
too, was dead.

They bent above her inert form, then!
drew back with sharp ejaculations.
Their eyes had found the single bullet
wound in her back.. it]

“She’s. been shot,” William said
grimly.

“I guess that’s what happened to
Johnson, too,” his father agreed. \||

“But a child—and to ‘be shot in the .

back!” The youth’s tone was bitter.

“I know, son, nothing could be more
cowardly,” Sellers replied, “but our job
is to notify the authorities. We’d better’
be getting to the telephone.” ~

A short time later Sellers cranked the
rural wall phone and put in a call for

Sheriff William Winegard at the Dear-.

born County jail in Lawrenceburg. _

Deputy Sheriff Arthur Voit answered,
to receive the startling message of
double death,

“Sheriff Winegard is out of town, but '

I'll.come right away,” he told Sellers,
reaching for a notepad and pencil to
take down directions on how to reach
the lonely, isolated farm near Laughery
Creek, fourteen miles —_ of the
county seat.

He stopped only long uit to pick
up Coroner Harry Moon at the funeral
home and then sped over U.S. Highway
50, where, at the previously designated
turn into a two-mile country lane, he
found Sellers and his son awaiting them.

They climbed into the deputy’s car
and directed him to a spot not far from
where Johnson Agrue’s body lay.

MarcH, 1942

In the farmyard the men alighted and
walked toward the still figure.
Deputy Voit and Coroner Moon made
a cursory examination. “His head has
been bashed and he was shot twice.in
the back,” they announced tersely.
“Twice in the back,” Sellers repeated
musingly, “I wonder.
The officers turned to him question-

ly.

“Yesterday afternoon I picked John-
son up at the highway, after the
fellows he rides to and from work
with, had let him out at the lane,” the
farmer disclosed.

Madison:
“Defense work?”
Sellers nodded. “I drove him the ji

miles down the lane that he usually ~

walks from the highway and dropped

him off where his path joins the country -

road,” he resumed. “I started home and,
after maybe ten minutes, I heard some-
thing that sounded like two shots. I
never thought much about it then but
now I am sure those were the shots that
killed him.”

“About what time was that?” Deputy
Voit wanted to know.

“Around five-thirty.”

“Then that sets the time of Agrue’s
slaying about eighteen hours before you
discovered his body,” Voit announced,
after a moment’s pondering.

The farmer led the Deputy Sheriff
and the Coroner next to the small form
sprawled so helplessly and pitifully in
the barn doorway and the officers were

“He worked at the ”
Jefferson ordnance proving ground at

vehement in hele. Ranotseenmerite “of.
any killer heartless enough to kill. a

. defenseless little girl. She had. been.

shot once at close range. The freshness’
of her cotton wash; frock was marred
by a wide crimson stain. Sep
Presently, : their examination com-'
plete, the officers turned, from their
vantage point atop the ‘high knoll on

which the barn stood, to regard the

farmhouse below. 8%. ogee:
. “Did you go to the house?” they asked
Sellers. 40

“We made no “attempt to enter the

house after we found Mary Elizabeth’s ;

-ing two-of them dead Rate
_ “T understand,” a peputy, Voit as
him. nS pice Na Bs

He walked a short ‘distance down the
slope, then paused, turning back to. the. .

others.
‘“There’s not a sigh of life about ¢ the”
place. The house looks like it’s barred ,

—most of the shades are drawn—as_ if

someone might be’. barricaded in
there——” He broke off suddenly and
went back to his car, returning a few

moments later with several tear-gas ~

bombs.

“Just to be on the safe side,” he com-
mented, leading the way and skirting
the side of the house, to the door opening
into the kitchen.

There was something ominous about
the place. The officer decided to take
no chances. Already the killer, who
might be hiding within, had taken two
lives.

body,” the farmer replied. “After find=. sal ae

“There aren’t even any footprints or
evidence of struggle to aid us,” Sheriff
Winegard declared in disappointment.
“That heavy rainstorm last night
wiped everything out. We might as
well go on to the house.”

The tall, mustached official stepped
just inside the kitchen door. Removing
his rimless spectacles, he polished them
thoughtfully as he surveyed the room
before him.

It was unusually neat and well-
furnished for a backwoods farmhouse.
The painted cabinets and the cooking
stoves were scrupulously clean. Only
the stain where the body of Mrs. Agrue
had lain marred its spotlessness.

Sheriff Winegard walked over near
the window to the coal range, its top
loaded with skillets, percolator and
pans containing half-cooked food. '

Then he turned back to the table in
the center of the room. Thoughtfully
his eyes moved from the heaped bowl
of lettuce, the glass bow] containing the
spoons and butter knife, and the condi-
ment cruets, to the six service plates
and thick cups and saucers.

He counted them slowly. “I thought
you said there were only four in the
family,” he said in wonderment.

“That’s all,” Deputy Voit assured
him. “Sellers and his son said there
were just Agrue, his wife, his son and
his granddaughter.”

“Then they were expecting guests for '
supper,” the Sheriff pointed out. “Two
of them.”

Voit swept the table with a glance.
“They set the table for six,” he said in
surprise. :

The two officials decided to complete
a minute examination of the farmhouse .
before they made another move and
they went from room to room, over-
looking nothing. ' :

It was not until they entered the up-
stairs room that William Sellers said

Captain Walter Eckert of the In-
diana State Police questioned the
suspect during the lie detector test

MARCH, 1942

had been occupied by Leo that they
found anything unusual or out of place.

A long, flat-topped wooden chest had
been pulled out from the wall. Near it
stood a walnut-finish metal bed with its
quilt-covered feather-bed and long
bolster pillow. Between the two, on the
pine flooring, lay a heavy axe.

“Hmmm—someone seems to have
used the axe on the chest,” Sheriff
Winegard opined. “Its lock has been
roughly broken.”

They lifted the lid of the chest and
it was noticeable that its contents had
been disturbed, as if by someone search-
ing hastily for some article near the.
bottom.

M@ “WE’LL TRY to learn if anything is

missing from the chest,” the Sheriff
concluded, and he and Deputy Voit
went downstairs and out into the farm-
yard where they found a surprising
number of people had gathered while
more were turning into the long path
from the country lane beyond.

Sellers’ call to the Sheriff’s office at
Lawrenceburg over the extensive party
line had broken the news to many
listeners throughout Dearborn County
and they had lost little time in gather-
ing at the spot.

A man stepped apart from the crowd.
“I’m Joseph Smith, a neighbor,”: he
explained. “Last night about five o’clock
I heard something that sounded like

several shots being fired—and the ©

sound seemed to come from the direc-
tion of the Agrue farm.”

The Sheriff nodded. It was possible,
he reasoned, that Mrs. Agrue, Leo, and
Mary Elizabeth might have been slain
before Agrue arrived home. from work
and that the killer had made a hasty
getaway after his fourth murder.

Just then Winegard’s attention was
attracted to a man, a woman and a
little girl who had alighted from an

ss se af

automobile and were walking slowly
toward him, The woman holding to the
arm of the tall, broad-shouldered,
sandy-haired man, was startlingly like
the slain Agrue youth.

“Y’m Dink Carter,” the man intro-
duced himself as the trio stopped before
the official, ‘and this is my wife, Leona.
She’s Leo’s twin.”

-No wonder the likeness was so great,
Winegard thought, as Carter continued,
“Is it true what they’re saying over the
radio?”

“I am afraid it is,” the Sheriff
answered,

“I was at my father’s home in Aurora
today and he told me what they had just
said,” Carter explained. “I got my wife
and little girl and we came right away.”

Winegard drew them aside from the °

rapidly growing crowd.

“Maybe you can give us a little help,”
he said, lowering his voice as he began
to ask the questions that filled his
mind.

A few moments later at least one of
the supper guests had been accounted
for. Carter explained that William
Agrue, eldest son of the family, was
supposed to have helped his brother in
the fields Friday and undoubtedly would

‘have remained for supper. “And his |

wife might have come with him.

“Bill,” he added, “is married and
lives at Homestead, a settlement north
of Lawrenceburg.”

Sheriff Winegard glanced at his
watch. “Twelve-forty,” he noted, then
called to Deputy Voit. :

“TI want you to drive to Bill Agrue’s
home and learn all you can,” he di-
rected. “According to these relatives,
he was supposed to have worked here
on the farm with his brother all day
yesterday, yet nobody’s seen him or
heard anything of him.” .

Voit raised an eyebrow quizzically
and Winegard nodded significantly.

‘
0 oe oe om «8

Six places were set on this table
but there were only four in family.
Who were the expected guests?

1
ie

—

| Riddle of the Sixth Guest

Mary and, fol- officers plied Carter with interrogations

(Continued from page 33) one bit of first married his dauchtey
information that will give us a lead on lowing a divorce from her. marrying “Tell us about the movie you saw Fri-
which to work, we may be able to crack = Leona, Leo's twin sister day.” Captain Eckert urged, and Carte:

| this case,” they all agreed. Lately. investication howed, things floundered noticeably. finally admitt
Their words held prophecy. hadn't been going so well with him and that he couldn't tell much about what
Driving through the backwoods, stop- his second wite. ‘They had two little had seen on the screen because he couldn?
| ping at farms here and there, they learned daughters, one two years old and the read.
from Carl Elliott that he had seen one of other four, and Mrs. Carter had objected “I can't write either,” he disclosed.
| the Agrue relatives in close vieinity of to her husband). feeqtent crunk ings. acknowledging that he had only finishe |
| the farm about 1:30 Friday afternoon. He had lost his Job it the Government the first two or three wrades af schoo!
| “And they all declared that they hadn't ordnance eround and money had been when a child, and had made ho late:
| been near the place,” Sheriff Winegard searee, He had been refused a loan by — effort to further his education.
| ejaculated. “Keep right after them, — his father-in-law the latter part of April, The test was not decisive and was con-
boys.” and it was an anonymous note hinting sidered unsatisfactory. State Detect:
His, words were heartening but un- at this loan but mentioning no name, Winn made a careful search of the file=
\ necessary, for nothing could have stopped that had been delivered to the Sheriff. and learned that Carter had served at
least three terms in prison, one of them

furthering their in- Mrs. Winant revealed that Carter, on
an auto ride with her to Dillsboro, had on a statutory charge in 1929 involving

criticized the entire Agrue family a girl under eighteen.

m@ BEFORE LONG they had located an- sharply. Continued investigation brought
other person who knew that a man who When the officers talked again with light the fact that he was also well known

rf was some kin to Agrue had visited the Mrs. Beatrice Agrue they found her bitter — to Kentucky police officials, having

! farm on the fateful afternoon. It was over the murders of her husband, Bill served two years in the Kentucky Re-

| Charles Campbell, a truck driver, who said and his relatives. and ready to disclose formatory. His record showed,’ too, tha!

| he had given the fellow a lift in Aurora the fact that Carter had had trouble with he had been arrested numerous times on

the officers from
vestigation.

| and driven him over U. S. Highway 50 to them all quite recently. charges which included passing bad
the country lane that led in the general di- “In a quarrel with my husband, he checks, stealing automobiles, adultery
threatened to kill him by knifing him,” and drunkenness.

rection of the Agrue farm.
H “It' was sometime after the noon hour — she said tremulously. “And, not more When the officers returned Carter *o

disclosed. “I’m not than a week ago. he went to the farm Lawrenceburg following the lie detectcr
Not as late and quarreled violently with Dad Agrue, test on Monday, they were accompanied
by Captain Eckert and, as the authoritie=

Friday,” Campbell

sure about the exact time.
as one o’clock, though, I’m sure, when I making threats, and: Dad ordered him off

| picked him up. He was thumbing a the place.” launched
|

into an extensive questioning
ride out from Aurora.” “Before we go any farther, we'll see of the suspect, a mass funeral for the
by

e first had believed what Carter has to say for himself,” one five victims, which was attended
that the mass slayer had been the un- of the officials remarked. When a short’ throngs of curious onlookers, was being
identified sixth supper guest, who had time later Dink was facing them in held at the Funeral Home in Lawrence-
been trusted and welcomed by members Sheriff Winegard’s office, he denied every- burg, after which the five flower-covered

The officers from th

‘sf of the Agrue family. This recently thing. caskets were taken to an Aurora ceme-
| uncovered information that one of the tery for interment.
relatives, all of whom had denied being mg “I THOUGHT you said you didn’t go There followed at the Dearborn County
anywhere near the remote farm on the near the farm all day Friday,” the jail an all-night grilling of Carter by
day of the slaying, had: been driven there Sheriff reminded him. Captain Eckert, ‘State Officers Winn, Ball
by one man and seen a half-hour later “I didn’t.” and Jolliff, Sheriff Winegard and his
on the premises by still another, proved “And I suppose you didn’t hitch rides deputies:
their early theory. with Charles Campbell to the farm and For the most part Carter simply de-
d forward in their investi- with Paul Chase back to Aurora. And nied everything but occasionally he

They presse
gation and a
rewarded when they located a farm _ thirty in the afternoon,
youth, Paul Chase, who was said to have Winegard’ continued. with his wife on Friday, then later
given a hitchhiker a lift not far from the Carter lost none of his aplomb. “I tripped himself by declaring that he had
lane leading off U. S. 50 late Friday didn’t see any of them. I wasn’t outside hada sandwich for dinner at Aurora.
afternoon. . of Aurora,” he contended. : The long hours of the night dragged
“Why, yes, I-picked up a, fellow along He also denied ever having trouble past and at last, at four-thirty Tuesday

: in there somewhere,” Chase revealed. with any of his in-laws. morning Captain Eckert arose from his

4 “It was raining terribly hard and I saw ‘He was led down the long corridor to chair and nodded to Officer Jolliff.

few hours later they were you didn’t meet Carl Elliott about one- tangled himself up. At one time he
either, I guess,” stated that he had eaten noon dinner

him walking along the shoulders of the the rear of the Sheriff’s Office and resi-
4 Th highway. As I drew near he stepped out dence and ushered into a cell, while the MM “WE'LL HAVE to be leaving now,” he
and gave me the signal and I “slowed __ investigators prepared to continue their said, explaining to the others that he

down and let him in. He was pretty well probe. and Joliff were to attend the funeral of

i soaked and seemed glad to get the lift.” They traced his movements from his Officer Forrester who had been killed in
1 The youth said he and his passenger home to a beer tavern whence, they an auto accident south of North Vernon
at talked casually the few miles into Aurora learned from a man who had been in a few days before and was to be buried
aa : and that the man climbed out when they the tavern with Carter, Friday noon, he Tuesday from his father’s home near
: reached the small Ohio River town. had thumbed a ride with Campbell. | Columbus. " :

{ His description of the hitchhiker was a Throughout Sunday night Carter con- For several hours the other officers
H | vivid one. “Tall, broad-shouldered and__ tinued to make a sweeping denial of being continued to question Carter, until finally,
\ sandy-haired.” at the farm or having any connection with sometime after 6 a. M. he suddenly

j
|| “Tall, broad-shouldered and sandy- the slaying and_the county authorities looked across the desk at Sheriff Wine-

haired!” Sheriff Winegard was echoing and the State Police officers arranged gard who was alone in the room with

a short time later and the eyes of his with Superintendent of Public Safety Don him at the moment, and began to talk.

|
aan
an | deputies and the State Police officers met F. Stiver and Captain Walter Eckert to He launched into a confession that, for
| || his meaningly. remove him to State Police headquarters, a long time, he had harbored a grudge
iy. “That description fits only one male at Indianapolis on Monday, May 19th, for against the whole Agrue family and that
| relative of the Agrue clan,” the Sheriff a lie detector test. there had been particularly bad feeling
aan went on, “and that’s Virginius Carter!” They whisked him through the side between him and Leo, his wife’s twin
th “The fellow who so obligingly threw door of the State House and into the brother.
| suspicion on Bill Agrue, one of the vic- elevator to descend to the basement © “I made up my mind to kill them,” he
| | . tims—who helped us find his body—and which houses the chief offices and lab- acknowledged.
Hy - who later, in the posse, was up in the oratory of the State Police. He denied that he had robbed either
' lead in the search for the bloodthirsty Carter sank. sullenly into a chair, re- Leo’s chest or the elder Agrue’s body.
killer,” Deputy Voit pointed out. moved his hat and ran his hand over He disclosed that he had left his
As their next immediate move, the his head. * father’s home in Aurora at midday Fri-

} authorities decided to check up closely He continued to deny everything, in- day and hitch-hiked a ride with Camp-
{| on Dink Carter’s activities on May 16th sisting that he had attended a movie in bell.

and the status of his relations with the Aurora on Friday afternoon. : At the farmhouse he had found Mrs.
Agrues. Robert Borkenstein, State Police tech- Agrue busily engaged in the kitchen with
aa They learned that Dink had been twice nician, indicated that the test was not Mary Elizabeth helping her.
| 1) a son-in-law of the elder Agrue, having proving a very satisfactory one as the “TJ talked with them for awhile and
| 80 TRUE DETECTIVE
\
1)

+ soc

It was decided, however, to make
one last thorough examination of the
grounds and the authorities fanned out
and moved slowly, their eyes scru-
tinizing the still damp earth as they
moved. Virginius—‘Dink”—Carter and
some of the neighboring. farmers
joined their search, while the women-
folk huddled together and talked not far
from the farmhouse. | :

Past the spot where Johnson Agrue
had lain—past the barn door where
Mary Elizabeth had fallen, past the
place where the faithful collie puppy
had led them to Leo’s body, they
moved, and beyond.

So it was that, as they walked near
to the boundary of the farm, marked by
triple barbed ‘wire, about four-forty
o'clock they came upon their fifth as-
tounding discovery.

In a wooded spot, not more than three
hundred yards beyond the point where
Leo had dropped’ from the assassin’s
bullet, they stopped, staring in disbelief.

Before them lay sprawled another
figure, his face buried in the verdant
soil.

They stepped nearer. The short,
broad and stocky form was clothed in
overalls. He was lying in much the same
position as that in which Leo had been
found. .

Dink: Carter broke the spell.

“It’s Bill,” he said simply.

“Yes, it’s Bill,” echoed in the minds
of the investigators. Bill, to whom for
several hours evidence had seemed to
point as the jealous and greed-
motivated slayer, but who had given up
his life to a kill-crazed murderer with
the rest.

Bill, into whose back had been fired,
perhaps, the last of the death-dealing
projectiles.

His body was removed, as the others
had been, to the Moon Funeral Home in
Lawrenceburg. —

— THE COUNTY authorities and the

State Police officers went back to the
farmhouse and reentered for a final look
around.

“Five of those places have now been
fully accounted for,” Sheriff Winegard
said, indicating the table service with a
sweeping motion, “but the sixth is as
much a mystery as ever.”

“Yes, but if we learn the identity of
the sixth guest we may find ourselves
on the trail of the slayer,” the others
suggested.

“tT believe that’s true,” the Sheriff
agreed, and launched into a reconstruc-
tion of the crime as he interpreted the
meager evidence uncovered thus far.

“I think the killer shot Mrs. Agrue as
she sat in the kitchen cleaning lettuce
and that her granddaughter, frightened,
ran from the house and was shot down
at the door of the barn by the pursuing
assailant,” he began. ‘“The killer then
walked over the hill to the field where
the two brothers were planting corn. I
believe they fled when they saw him
coming but that he overtook them and
shot them in the back. It looked to me
like they were running down hill and
that their bodies skidded in the loose
soil.”

“You may be right,” one of the officers

marcH, 1942

might even then be hiding

commented, and the Sheriff
continued.

“Then, it strikes me that
the slayer, lying in ambush
for'the elder Agrue along the
path from a road to the
isolated house, slugged him
with a stone or some heavy
implement and shot him in
the back twice to make sure ,
he was dead.”

It was not difficult, as he
looked out over the rolling
farm from within the house
of death, to visualize the
maniacal murderer at work.

“There’s a possibility that
the Agrues might have been
wiped out with their own
twelve gauge shotgun,” he re-
sumed. “Such a gun is miss-
ing. We haven't been able to
locate it anywhere.”

“And,” Deputy Voit inter-
posed, “Coroner Moon be-
lieves that all five of the
victims were felled by shots
from the same gun.”

“Tf the sixth supper guest
was the perpetrator, he must
have been someone the en-
tire family trusted,” Sheriff
Winegard concluded.

The officers considered the
possibility that the slayer

out in the protective woods
that covered the surrounding
hillsides and a posse of
twenty men, including the
volunteered services of
neighbors and friends and the
son-in-law, Carter, left the
farm to comb the countryside in a
search for the mass murderer.

Sheriff Winegard and his Deputy de-
cided to return to the Dearborn County
jail in Lawrenceburg to determine what
success Deputy Cook had had in locat-
ing others of the Agrue kin.

He found several of the married
daughters, with their families, and
Oakie Breedon, father of the slain Mary
Elizabeth, who had been divorced from
Bessie Agrue Breedon and who lived in
Aurora, awaiting him in the reception
room to the right of the long staircased
hall.

Mrs. Winant, the child’s mother, he
was told, was on her way to Lawrence-
burg from her home in Chicago. Mary
Agrue Marksberry of New Richmond,
Ohio, her sister, had also left for
Indiana.

The Sheriff slipped into his private
office directly across the hall and told
his deputy to send each of the relatives
in to him, one by one.

They came unhesitantly but could
throw little light on the subject.

Just before Sheriff Winegard sig-
naled for Breedon to be ushered into
the room, one of his deputies handed
him a sealed envelope which had just
been delivered at the door.

He ran his paper knife under the flap
and drew forth a note. The Sheriff
raised his eyebrows as he read.

Thoughtfully, he returned the note
to the envelope and shoved it into the
long, narrow middle drawer of his desk.
Turning the key in the lock, he told

William Sellers (left) and his father realized
something was wrong on their neighbor's farm

Deputy Cook, “Send Breedon in.”

The father of the child expressed his
sorrow that his daughter had been one
of the victims and said that he had been
on friendly terms with all of his former
wife’s relatives.

“Do you know anything about a loan
that Johnson Agrue turned down last
month?” Winegard asked.

“No, I don’t,” Breedon replied. Wine-
gard gleaned little information.

Later Saturday night the searching
party reported that, although they had
scoured the southeastern Indiana hills
in all directions for miles beyond the
Agrue farm, they had found no trace
of the cold-blooded killer.

Feeling was running high in Dear-
born County and resentment against
the mass slayer was mounting by the
hour.

Sheriff Winegard, his deputies and
the Indiana State Police officers went
into a conference. They would lose no
time in pressing their investigation,
they decided, but would prepare for a
tough session ahead until they had
successfully brought the murderer to
justice.

It was not a promising outlook but
determinedly they branched out to
make a canvass not only of the country-
folk who might know something of the
habits, friends and foes of the Agrue
family, but of acquaintances ‘in near-by
Aurora and Lawrenceburg as well.

They would check the haunts, too, of
every male relative of Johnson Agrue.
“If we can get (Continued on page 80)

——

Deputies Cook and Voit and Sheriff
Winegard (standing, left to right) are
seen here with. a confessed murderer

Friday morning to get Bill to
help him in the fields with the
corn planting, but I fixed
breakfast for them and they
didn’t leave until nearly six.”

“You didn’t go to the farm
with them?”

“No.”

“And you’re sure you haven’t
seen him since—that he hasn’t
been home?” the Deputy
prodded.

“No, I haven’t seen him
since,” she asserted, “and he
hasn’t been home. But what is
the matter? Why do you want
to know? Is anything wrong?”

M@ VOIT STUDIED the wo-
man’s worried features.

' “Were you expecting anything

to be wrong?” he countered.

“No,” she said hesitantly,
“except that I was afraid may-
be Bill and Leo had got into it
again.” ~

“Got into it—how?”

“Oh, nothing serious. It’s
just that they quarrel some-
times.”’

“Over what?” the Deputy
urged.

“Well, Bill’s been awfully
pressed for money. He hasn’t
been able to earn much on just
odd jobs and steady work has
been hard to find,” she ex-
plained. “Leo’s had it awfully
easy, being the youngest and
single and all——”

“He was supposed to have stayed for
supper,” he remarked. “Find out every-
thing you can about him and whether
or not his wife came with him.”

The Deputy lost no time in getting
started and Sheriff Winegard continued
his interrogations among those on the
farm.

He learned two pithy facts: That a
twelve-gauge shotgun belonging to the
elder Agrue was missing and that, when

slain, the man had been carrying on his ,

person his wages from the Federal
Government ordnance testing ground.
He had been given. his full pay on
Friday afternoon.
- On Saturday morning, when his body
was discovered, the money was gone.

The Sheriff also learned that the slain
child, Mary Elizabeth, had made her
home with her grandparents ever since
her parents, Mrs. Bessie Winant of
Chicago and Oakie Breedon of Aurora,
were divorced several years before.

Meanwhile, at a squalid little abode
in Homestead, Deputy Voit confronted
Bill Agrue’s wife. The woman’s face
seemed strained as she admitted him
into the crowded quarters.

“T’d like to see Bill,” the officer told
her.

“I don’t know where he is, unless

you'll find him at his folks’ farm. He
didn’t come home last night,” she
replied.
“When did you see him last?”
“About six o’clock yesterday morn-
ing,” the woman answered. “Leo came
here about three-thirty or four o’clock

“Then Bill was jealous of:

Leo?”

-“Well—maybe not jealous, but he did
think he was shown partiality and Leo
never had to worry about money,” the
woman went on. “He even had a hun-
dred dollars saved up.”

Deputy Voit thought of the wooden
chest in Leo’s room. He saw again the
heavy axe on the bare pine floor.

“A hundred dollars,’ he repeated,
“Do you know where he kept it?”

“Sure. He kept it in a trunk or a
chest in his room upstairs. Why?”

The Deputy ignored the question.
“How many people knew he kept
money in that chest upstairs?” he
wanted to know.

“Plenty of them,” she averred. “We
all knew it. Leo didn’t make a secret
of it.”

It was obvious that news of the mass
slaying had not yet reached Bill Agrue’s
wife, and, assuring her that she need
not give herself alarm, Voit admitted

briefly that there had been a little

trouble at the farm, and hurried back
over U. S. 50 to Lawrenceburg.

Instead of going immediately to
the farm, he turned ieft at the traffic
light and drove through the main busi-
ness section to the county jail, meeting
Deputy Theodore Cook at the office
door.

“There’s been a mass slaying of four
over at the Agrue farm in the county,”
he announced, “and it kinda looks bad
for Bill Agrue. Arrest him on sight,
Ted, and, meanwhile, be rounding up
any of his relatives you can locate for
questioning.”

“Yl take care of it right away,” Cook
promised, while Voit went inside to find
Indiana State Police Officer William
Woodrow Woods sitting at his desk.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Sketchily Voit reviewed the happen-
ings. “You’d better notify ‘the Post.
We're going to be needing State Police
aid,” he suggested.

As Officer Woods lifted the phone
from its cradle, Deputy Voit left the
jail, reentered his car and headed again
for the Agrue farm.

A moment later the officer had the
Seymour Indiana State Police Post on
the wire and was talking to Detective
Donald Winn.

“We'll meet you there in Lawrence-
burg very shortly,” Winn stated. “And
I'll report the affair to Captain Eckert
in Indianapolis.”

When Deputy Voit drove once more
into the farm, he found the crowd had
swelled surprisingly. From Lawrence-
burg, Aurora and throughout the whole
of Dearborn County they had been
drawn as the radio announcer had
added each new name to the toll of
death.

Voit joined Sheriff Winegard.
“There’s no trace of Bill Agrue,” he
said. “His wife doesn’t know why he
didn’t come home last night and she
Says she hasn’t seen him since he left
with Leo early yesterday morning.”

“Then that leaves the question of the
sixth plate at the table still a mystery,”
the Sheriff said.

Voit nodded. “But I’ve learned why
the chest upstairs was broken open. Leo
had at least one hundred dollars put
away in it,” he revealed.

“And Agrue had his full pay in his
pocket.when he was shot and his body,
when found, had been robbed,” Wine-
gard disclosed.

“It would look like the motive was
solely robbery if it weren’t for the fact
that ‘they all were wiped out,” Voit
pointed out.

“I’m afraid it goes deeper than that,
although the money was undoubtedly a
factor,” Winegard decided.

The two officers talked over the sus-
Picious absence of the. thirty-year-old
Agrue son. The fact that his wife said
he had been badly pressed for money—
had often quarreled with his brother,
Leo—and believed that his parents had
shown partiality to the younger and
more popular. son, certainly shaped up
as circumstantial evidence against him
in the face of his sudden disappearance,
they agreed. .

Sheriff Winegard and Deputy Voit
were joined before four o’clock Satur-
day afternoon by State Police Detective
Winn and Officers Woods, Raymond
Ball and Harold Jolliff. .

The axe handle and the wooden chest
were dusted for fingerprints but were
found to contain only smudged prints
that were useless in the investigation.

And there was nothing else that might
be regarded, even remotely, as a clue.

“No cartridges. No footprints. No
murder weapon. It really is a blank,”
the Sheriff told the State Police officers.
“Outside, the storm washed away any
evidence there might have been. Inside,
there were only smeared fingerprints.”

TRUE DETECTIVE

te A

Ot dM MH wn

crn A

then Ma Agrue said the boys were plant-
ing corn in the field,” he explained. “I
told her I’d go and talk to them for a
spell and I went over to where Leo and
Bill were working. Leo had his pa’s
shotgun and, before he knew what was
happening, I hit him one on the chin
and grabbed the gun away from him. I
fired at him and Bill began to run. He
was making for the fence, but he didn’t
get far. I ran after him and shot him.”

® CARTER SAID that, after he had killed

the two brathers, he returned to the
house and “sat around for several hours
talking to Ma Agrue and Mary Elizabeth.

“Not knowing anything about the kill-
ing, she asked me to stay for supper and
she had Mary Elizabeth set the table
for six,” he continued. “About the time
I knew Pa Agrue would-be coming in
from his job, I left the kitchen, walked
down the path and waited. When he
came along I let him have it too.”

Without qualms Carter’ had again re-
turned to the farmhouse.

“This time Ma asked me what was the
matter and I told her nothing. But she
said she had heard some shots and she
turned around just as I aimed the gun
at her and fired,” he disclosed. “I told
Mary Elizabeth to come along with me,
but she ran screaming from the house and

I chased her and killed her too.”

Carter said he had then hidden the gun
and thumbed his way back to Aurora
with Chase. After changing his water-
soaked clothes and getting cleaned up,
he had gone to the movies, he said.

At seven o’clock Tuesday morning he
accompanied the officers to the Agrue
farm and led them to a hollow log, be-
tween the farm and the highway, where
he had secreted the murder weapon.

Because of the strong feeling against
Carter since he had been taken into cus-
tody, Sheriff Winegard took-the confessed
slayer to the Franklin County jail at
Brookville following the trip to the farm.

They were joined there by Prosecuting
Attorney Lester G. Baker and Carter re-
told his story of mass slaughter. The
confession was taken down by a ste-
nographer and, in the presence of five
witnesses, he marked his X.

Carter was promptly indicted but ‘his
trial, set at first for June 30th, was post-
poned many times due to the illness and
subsequent death of Judge William D.
Ricketts, 58-year-old jurist, who had
served on the District Court bench for
fifteen years. It was not until Monday,
October 13th, that proceedings began,
with Judge Morris McManaman presiding.

Prosecutor Baker asked the death pen-
alty of the jury which was composed of

nine farmers, a saw grinder, a school-bus
driver and a carpenter-contractor, and
Carter made a desperate, belated fight for
his life, wildly accusing another man,
whom he had never previously men-
tioned, of perpetrating the mass murder,

On Thursday morning, October 16th,
Sheriff Winegard prevented. Carter from
breaking jail when he found that the
defendant had sawed through three bars
of his jail window. He was moved to a

windowless, solitary-confinement cell on,

the second floor and a 24-hour guard was
put over him.

In the courtroom the handcuffs were
not removed from his wrists until he was
seated at the defense table with his at-
torneys and guards were placed on all

sides of him and at each door and win-

dow of the room. ‘

Tuesday, October 21st, after a littl
more than an hour’s deliberation, the
jury returned a verdict of guilty.

Carter arose and stood staring straight
ahead as Judge McManaman imposed a
sentence of death, naming February 10th,
1942, as the time for him to go to the
electric chair.

Carter was sent to the Indiana State
Prison at Michigan City, where, in the

death row, he awaits his execution, giving -

to the state only one life for the five lives
he mercilessly snuffed out.

Along the Main Stem

(Continued from page 73) rule to inves-
tigate—and quick, when anyone ever
pokes a blute at you in this way. And
the second rule, if you should get hep and
discover a hand in your kick that is
not your own, is to haul off and sock
the owner of it in the kisser and do not
bother to grab for his hand. Because,
if you do this last, he will only take a
sock at you.so as to get loose and lam.
It is much better, as the fellow says, to
take the first sock than never to have

. socked at all.

But you must act very fast indeed, be-
cause once the okus leaves your pocket
you are way behind the eight. If you do
rumble that something is amiss and then
discover you are robbed and make a grab
for the guy who is handiest to your pocket,
he may very well be the guilty party, but
when you get a copper and frisk him,
another vanishing act has happened, be-
cause by now he does not have your roll
any more at all.

This is because he knows his business
and has been weeding to a backstop, mean-
ing that as soon as he snags the poke,
he passes it on to one of the stalls. And
this guy always slips it into his left coat
pocket so that if he should get collared
too, the other stalls can quickly pick his
pocket and clean him of it. So, no matter
who it as you tackle, some other gee
is taking the ball for an end run. By
the time you beef gun and find a copper,
he could frisk everybody in sight and
never locate what it is you lose.

If you should be carrying a rabbit's foot
and happen to be lucky enough to rumble
the play before the hook can weed the
poke to his stall, he has a couple of other
outs left. He either drops it on the floor,
or sticks it back in one of your other
pockets, or even in the pocket of some
innocent gee near by! This last is gdod
because there may still be a chance later
of copping the dough from him.

Trying to catch a cannon with the evi-
dence on him is greatly like trying to get
your dukes on a greased pig. He knows
very well that as long as you do not ac-
tually find the poke on him, you are going
to have a tough time meking the charge
stick. This is why a lot of pickpockets

MarCH, 1942

‘ have a record of arrests as long as your

arm and hardly any convictions.

I once heard of a Hungarian wire in the
old country who drops the poke on the
ground as soon as he gets it, and his moll,
who in those days wore long skirts, steps
over and covers it. And she is an expert
in what you might call sleight of feet, be-
cause what she does then is slip her foot
qut of her shoe, pick up the okus with
her toes, and drop it into a wide pocket
which she has built into the ‘underside of
her dress. You would have to be very
quick on the trigger indeed to catch that
one. |

Now, after the mob works its way
through a crowd, and a good one can go
through a tip in five or six minutes and
come out on the other side with at least
that many pokes, they split out and keep
a meet at some prearranged spot where
they cut up the score. Then they get
rid of the empty leathers far enough from
the place where the touches are taken off
that they do not attract any. attention.
The very best place to ding an empty poke
is in ene of those green boxes that Uncle

Whiskers provides on street corners as a‘

place for citizens to mail their kites!
Sometimes, if he is an expert, a hook

will work single-handed. One that I

know of confines most of his efforts to

assisting elderly citizens onto busses, cop-
ping their cush in the process. This is
a good dodge because the bus then leaves,
blowing the victim off before he gets
hep.

Streetcars and subway trains are good
spots for the same reason, the guns get-
ting off as soon as they have worked their
way through the car, which then obliging-
ly carries the victims on down the line out
of reach.

The Go-Fasy Kid whom I met recently
tells me about one time that he works
alone and gets rumbled with the okus
still in his duke It is a fat one which
he hates to let go of, and so he hangs
on and takes a powder fast, with a crowd
of excited savages whooping it up after
him. But he is well aware that there
is quite a large amount of larceny in prac-
tically any mark.

So what he does is to weed the leather

and toss a few pushnotes overboard. The

vigilantes behind him cannot resist. all.
this good folding scratch they see kick-

ing around underfoot, and they go down
on their knees to rake it in before the next
guy gets first grab. And Go-Easy rounds
the corner and gets away. _

I know of other times when this same

thing happens, and the funny part of it
* is that this scratch that is picked up very

seldom ever gets turned back to the gee
who loses it. By the time the fuzz ar-
rives, the pickpocket is not the only one

who is gone, but also all the citizens who .

stopped to pick up the dough. So many
of the marks I have met up with in my
time are so dishonest that sometimes I

do not know whether I am coming:or.

going!

M WHERE, I can hear you ask, is a good

place for you to carry your roll so that
no cannon mob can get at it? Well, that is
certainly a tough quizzer to answer: A
left breech kick is maybe a bit harder to
pick than most because, being on the off-
side, it is somewhat awkward for a wire
who is right-handed. But I do not think
I know of any place where’ it is sure to
be safe unless maybe you swallow it.

Pocket picking is something that has
gone on ever since some gee first invents
pockets and the boys have the racket
taped. When the going really gets tough,
they just resort to rip-and-tear methods,
which is simply cutting the kick open with
a razor blade so that the poke just drops
out.

Windy McPherson, for instance, was
once working a circus parade in a hick
town and actually manages to take off
a very handsome score which some dame
had sewed up in the leg of her long under-
wear. Windy, who is an expert with a
shiv, cut it out without a rumble!

Awhile back I said that it is hard to
make a pickpocket charge stick because
the gun is careful never to get sneezed
with the evidence on him. Another reason
for same is that most mobs, especially
the locals who stick to one town, are well
known to the fuzz and work under pro-
tection. When a beef gets too strong or
they happen to beat some gee with influ-

Siti Stig id LIPS tt it

Cn ne FL

Indiana S +ate Prison

CARTER, Virginius ("Dink"), white, elec,
(Dearborn County) on February 10, 19)2,,,

5 28 88 86 Bw com ew «ee -o eo
“SP RS AR Ge Rw ge nw ee eplge epege oe me sep Me es pe pe
. «ae be we Be 68S. ob oe wbude nh ds -@ 6.

at tan?

One man ate a hearty meal at the table set for six, and his later lack of appetite hinted at guilt

The KILLER STAYED
PPER

WHOLESALE MURDER STRIKES IN A PEACEFUL
FARMING DISTRICT IN INDIANA

HE TABLE was set for six. The

plates were spotless and the sil-
ver gleamed upon the gayly check-
ered cloth. Six chairs were pulled
up to the table. Only one of them
was occupied.

A big man with a balding head
sat in solitary state at the head of
the table and ate voraciously and
without manners. He devoured an
entire fried chicken without the aid
of either his knife or fork. He wolfed
several boiled potatoes and gnawed
hungrily at a slab of bread lavishly
spread with butter.

When he was replete he rose,
crossed the room and took the coffee
pot from the stove. He swilled down
three cups of it. Then he rose again.
He picked up a shotgun which was
leaning against the wall, stepped

BY JACK D’ARCY

carefully over the body of Mrs. Nina
Agrue, which was lying on the floor,
and strode outside into the pelting
rain. The night was dark and the
storm was savage. No one saw him
leave.

On the following morning, Satur-
day, May 17th, Jefferson Peet and
his son emerged from their farm-
house and prepared to perform the
morning chores. Peet stood in his
kitchen doorway and glanced at the
property of his neighbor, Johnson
Agrue.

“Say,” he said, “that’s peculiar.
That team of Agrue’s horses are
standing hitched to the corn planter
and there’s no one with them. They
were standing in exactly the same
place when I drove Johnson home
last night.”

The son nodded. “The cows are
raising a racket, too,” he said.
“Sounds as if they hadn’t been
milked this morning.”

“Come on,” said his father. “‘Let’s
go over and take a look.”

The Peets crossed their own pas-
ture and entered upon the Agrue
property. They walked up a lane
which led from the main road to the
farmhouse. They were halfway
there when they found Johnson
Agrue.

Agrue lay face downward in the
grass. There was a bloody wound in
his back and his head had been
smashed in. He was. indubitably
dead. The men looked at each oth-
er, then sprinted up the lane.

As they approached the Agrue
house where Johnson lived with his

Group snapshot shows victims: Johnson and Nina Agrne (I.) William (fifth from 1.) Leo (r.)

vat 7 <1

i a Date, Calne Ber thes MEE

wife, Nina, his son, Leo, and his
granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth
Breedon, they saw no sign of life. As
they crossed the barnyard they saw
a definite sign of death.

Sprawled before the barn door
lay 12-year-old Mary Elizabeth.
Like her grandfather she lay on her
face. There was an ugly red blotch
on the back of her dress.

Jefferson Peet said, ‘Son, run
back to our house and call the sher-
iff. ’11 wait right here until he ar-
rives.”

Sheriff William Winegard of
Dearborn County, Indiana, was not
in his office at Lawrenceburg. Dep-
uty Sheriff Arthur Voit received
young Peet’s excited message. Voit
paused only long enough to pick up
Coroner Harry Moon. They raced at
top speed over U. S. Highway 50 to-
ward the Agrue farm.

The coroner examined the corpse
of Johnson Agrue and announced
that he had been shot twice in the
back with a shotgun blast and that
his skull had been battered by a
blunt instrument, possibly the butt
of the gun.

Little Mary Elizabeth had suf-
fered a similar fate. Her head had
not been battered but she, too, had
received a mortal wound from a
shotgun.

“Y drove Johnson part way home
last night,” Jeff Peet told the deputy
sheriff. “I picked him up on the
main highway about half past 5.
I drove him down the lane to a point
about 50 feet from where we found
his body. Then I turned off and
went home.”

“Did you hear any shots?” Voit
asked.

“Now that I think about it, I heard
something which could have been
shotgun fire. But I didn’t pay any
attention to it at the time.”

“All right,” Voit said. “Let’s look
inside the house.”

They did so, to find the body of
Mrs. Nina Agrue lying on the
kitchen floor, her head against the
leg of the table. She lay on her back
and there was a gaping wound in
her chest. _

The table was set for six but it
was obvious that only one person
had eaten there. One plate, one set

“I was nowhere near the Agrue farm,”
said the stubborn suspect (seated), but
Deputies Cook and Voit, and Sheriff
Winegard (I. to r.) believed otherwise

of silver, one cup were soiled. The
remaining dishes had not been used.

Peet shook his head miserably.
“They’re all dead,” he said. “All ex-
cept Leo. I wonder where he is?”

“Teo?” Voit said. ‘“‘Who’s Leo?”

“The youngest son in the family.
He’s 24. He’s still single and the only
one who hasn’t left home.”

“When did you last see him”

“Yesterday. morning. He was
planting corn.”

A swift search of the house re-
vealed only that Leo alive or dead,
wasn’t there. The kitchen door
opened and young Peet came in.

“Leo’s collie dog is outside,” he
said, “and he’s behaving very
strangely.”

The others went out into the yard.
The collie saw. them, whined and

barked. He started out toward the
corn field, stopped and_ turned
around.

“I think he wants us to follow
him,” Voit said. “Come on.”

The dog dashed past the barn,
across a field to a barb wire fence
which separated the Agrue property
from that of Peet. He stood there
whining. :

As the coroner, the Peets and Voit
approached, they saw the figure of
Leo Agrue. He was clad in denims
and heavy work boots. He wore no
shirt. He lay face downward and
there was a jagged wound in his
neck.

“Good night!’ said Peet. ‘The
whole family’s been wiped out.”

Voit nodded. “Four of them are
dead,” he said. ‘‘And the table was

set for six. One person, evidently,
ate his supper. The immediate prob-
lem is to find out for whom those
two extra places were set.”

A car drove in to the farmyard
and Sheriff Winegard alighted. ye!
got your message,” he called to Voit.
“What’s wrong?”

Voit told him what was wrong.
Wholesale murder had been com-
mitted in a quiet, farming district
in the middle of Indiana. There was
no obvious motive.

Jeff Peet told the sheriff what he
knew of the Agrue family. There
were a half a dozen children, all of
whom—with the exception of Leo
—were married, Johnson Agrue and
his wife were hard working and
highly respected in the area. Re-
cently Johnson had taken a factory

job in Lawrenceburg,: while Leo at-
tended to the farm chores.

“It’s a pretty big farm,” the sher-
iff commented. “Did Leo handle it
all himself?”

“Mostly,” said Peet. “If he needed
help he sent for one of his brothers.
The oldest boy of the family, Bill,
used to come over a lot. Sometimes,
Dink Carter would lend a hand,
too.”

“Who’s Dink Carter?”

“LLeo’s brother-in-law.” |

The sheriff and Deputy Voit
walked across the yard and entered
the Agrue house. They searched it
minutely. They found nothing of
significance until they reached Leo’s
bedroom. A large rectangular chest
stood near the single bedstead. ‘Its
lid was open and an.axe lay on the
floor.

Winegard examined the chest. Its
contents, chiefly clothing, were in
disarray. The lock had been
smashed.

“Now it looks like robbery,” the
sheriff said. “Someone used an axe
to break this lock, then went
through the chest looking for some-
thing.”

“Maybe,” Voit said, “but that
doesn’t explain the murders. Obvi-
ously, no one caught him in the act.

Captain Eckert sent technicians to go over the Agru

e farm (above) for evidence

The bodies are widely scattered.”

Winegard frowned and ran a hand
through his hair. Murder was rare
in Dearborn County and a murder
as pointless as this seemed to be had
never occurred before.

“Maybe,” he said, “the robbery
was incidental. The killing of an en-
tire family implies some sort of a
feud. Let’s go back to the office, file
our preliminary report. Then we'll
check with the other Agrues.”

The sheriff and Voit returned to
Lawrenceburg, made out their offi-

cial report and called upon Captain.

Walter Eckert of the Indiana State
Police for aid. Eckert agreed to send
his department’s fingerprint and
identification experts to the Agrue
farm for a thorough going over.

In the meantime, Deputy Theo-
dore Cook, State Trooper William
Woods, Voit and Winegard set about
interviewing the numerous mem-
bers of the Agrue family.

It was Voit who happened to call
on Virginius “Dink” Carter and his
wife.

At first, Carter professed to know
absolutely nothing of the killings.
He could not explain why the table
had been set for six. Then as Voit
prepared to leave the house, Carter
said (Continued on page 88)

CHIRKA, John,

White, elec, Ind,

38 (Lake) 2/20/1914,.,

Ana to the Pythian Jubilee, way

J ers, had been
‘Michigan City, he said:

sfor his firmness in punishing the

Ocala Me Eee we oe deta.

“JUSTICE,” :
: SAYS RALSTON.

(By United Press.)
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 20.

~—When Governor’ Ralston, who
is here as a delegate from IJndi-

informed today that Steve Chirka
and Harry Raisco, wife murder-
electrocuted at

. “It is justice. That's all.”

The governor then told his.
friends that he has received many
letters since. hig refusal to com-
mute the sentences for gine wife
slayers and that practically with-
out exception they praised him

men.
“One = ex-prison official has
written me. He said that these

executions would be the greatest
boon of a decade for Indiana: that
they were the most logical argu-
ment to be used against brutal

John Chirka is Buried in Prison Ceme-
tery This Morning at
Ten o’clock

SIX MEN HELPED |
TO KILL CHIRKA.

DEPLORES THE
ELECTROCUTION. |

husbands who would listen to

. = — +
:
{
|

a : To the Fadittor: One
No one man. directly executed: ee ee ee ee eae

LAWE Coority ‘1NES
TNDLANA
220 -1U4

PU)

=f =

Lloo kpeou1 aa TIRCH6 YW

NAME PLACE — CITY OR COUNTY DOE & MEANS
John Chirka Ind, SP (Lake County) Blece 2=20-191)
DOB OR AGE RACE OCCUPATION RESIDENCE GEN
1873 White Indiana Harbor Austria native

RECORD

CRIME DATE OTHER
Murder J whi
VICTIM . AGE RACE
ih, 2,
SYNOPSIS

wife,
Execution pareseupsves an by 6 -men. pepe were 6 ase ones which were nenaxee tid as Lage A beat

METHOD

MOTIVE

surnee on current so none really mnen who was 5 exeout oners Both he and Raisco ho “died for killing
ate lightly on night be-

fake ane ment tine with priests. "Both exovdsadd sorrow for deeds. At one o'clock on &fternoon
before, Chirka's three children allowed farewell visit with him, Remained with him about 15 mins,
When his little boy asked him to return home with them, Chirka broke down, Raisco went first.
Chirka left cell at 12:35. Face was ashen but gave no.sign of fear. Pronounced dead at 12:58
Chirka had no money and no relatives except 3 small children and his body buried in prison cemetery
while Raisco's father clained his he _ ies vg ssuneeee co ohare Pd pevpre had irk ies

made—arrangements-with—Austro-Hungaria p mn—th : a
as they had no ee indy and no Legal guardians were appointed my courts zr Lake County. His

a y z 5 nd of had refused to allow
him is Tivad “qullty pee achive a life salient. He was "Genticted with death penalty on 9-17-(19£37)
Both defense and prosecution surprised at verdict. Jury made up of farmers, Testimony introduced
showing Chirka to be of unsound mind and one of the physicians for the state, Dr, Blackstone of
Chown Point, practically admitted his mental deficienty, The history of the Chirkas was shown to

have been a stormy one, They had frequent quarrels and on many Occasions she had caused the —————
—— of her husband At seve time = shot nie tes he was under the pee of sane te a the

catled 'c on Sovacine "ena evr. him to snake ca father's life, tev, Ralston Hecalia 6 angry, cayeha that

: h athies." (QXRX LAKE COUNTY TIMES, Hammond

Indiana, 2-20-191), and 2-21-191),

TRIAL

APPEALS

LAST WORDS

EXECUTION

SOURCE

The members-of the notorious Archer gang who have been in the county jail for

/) mid air. Ina moment the lynchcing party was gone, leaving its victims still warm 4)

several weeks on a charge of several brutal and unproved murders were hanged before 1: 00 th

“this morning at the hands of an armed mob. Prepared to carry out their purpose Sah cg

the keys were demanded from the jailer but were refused. The jailer was . mag
pushed aside and with a few vigorous strokes the door was pushed in with a crashe 7:
The prisoners were led out into a court yard adjoining the jail. They were led up the Nees
road where three trees extenpoiezed into three ghastley gallows. The prisoners
were given a few moments to talk or make confessions. Nooses were slipped around

there necks, the ends of the ropes then thrown over the limbs of the trees and . .

a strong pull was given by the groups at the end of the ropes, and in ancinstant
three lifeless bodies of John, Martin, and Thomas Archer were dangling heavily in. °

in death.

The Journal 1/27/1886

Soh

Holly Epps the-black-man who murdered Mr. Dobson of Greene County on the ilth of Jamary,

paid the penality of death this morning at the hands of an infuriated mob. They

torn down the door of the jail and took the negro. They hung the murderer on a maple ui ite
tree in the court yard. The mob was quiet and orderly, but a more determined set ee 3
men never under took to storm a jail. Bi

- Two Negro Murders Lynched See baeneyi ES he
George Robinson colored, who killed Millard F. Parker on the ith of Dec. last
was taken tonight from the parish jail at Monroe, by a mob of 100 men Seetaet to the
scene of the killing and lynched. : g
A colored desperado named games who had escaped twice from jail was aipcovardd’
in his old neighborhood on the night of the 15th and surrounded by a posse of citinepe?
He refused to surrender and was shot he escaped into the dark. The entire community su
tracked him down, he surrendered and was taken to Rockport bridge where he was hanged |
to a treee © a Teva ta

Yh Pon 2: ces, s fl a ce

hocstheg 2) Offer
Cruheuce

Thais es igs “ae |

f my wife and started to say some-

Continued From Page le thing, and then got all trembly and

ficial and was threatened with ar- [walked away, Later my wife ac-

rest. for “obstructing — justice’) cused her of some knowledge; and
should he continue with his work.} she left, never to return.”

Moreland, who said he took the] After the death of Anna, Mr.
Special assignment without retain: cuveff explained, Mrs. Click often
ing fee “ax an easy Way to make'came across the Street to the Ku-
$!5.00)° based his deductions On: zelf home, Mrs, Click appeared
bundrests of photographie expo!to have something .on her mind, '
sures between the Inca plant.; Kuveff recalled, “after she packed
iwhere Miss Haaga was employed.;up and prepared to live with her
‘and a fonmely marshland east of the! father in Chicago. But she w as!
jetty where she was fatally beaten. back again in a short time, Click |
:These photographs, he explained.!saw to that.” Mr. Kuzeff said. It!
jestablished ao tumetable _ Which was at this time, the father of the!
brought out as the chief clue a! murdered girl said, that Mrs. Click

| tatunete st ticket found a short dis-| appeared to have something on her |
‘tance east of the murder SCENC.: mind. ; '
Moreland then switched his investl-{ r¢e sruzeff leaned fat across the!
| ne bis a whe Papas , 1 Pip la |
akin $6, Wee laundry ticket to! Mayor's desk during his brief ap;
iGetermine that it had been drop-} arance before the commission.

4 + New AT 3
wu owned | ite explained that the shock of,

Anna's death had weakened his
For reasong unknown, the lau! hearing.
dry theket clue was never fully Tells Of Diacarded Clue
Sa 5 ; _
ichecked out, until 1949 while de He attached much importaner to

teetiy - ‘king the state-|
tectives were checking the state a discarded package of cigarettes

‘ ot ilar hehe! {
pn id ge standry tek found near the murder scene, The
ai att igh A Hee for the | Police regarded it as of no value,
bende ston Deg ri Mr. Kuzeff shrugged.
Probing Moreland in 1944. At the | ir stinet® Meveged : .
time of his probe, Morcland did} The commission‘s deliberations
not even know Click {stretched through two sessions be-
: : ) cause of the legal question whether
Contacts of the other claimants | S2U5° ° :
with the Shnienaned man were less | Cligibility @ the claimants should

remote, Mes. Sparks was the view | hinge ee ong ane be ps
jm of a kidnaprape on the Ditch! on Y a ina or bingy ended to a
‘Road the mght of August 26, 19491 cas alke pSotaneniae: :

cand copiet the license number of{ This matter was researched

twith her hushand.’ he told the
MRS SPARKS ' commission, “Once she came to
e
! t

the autemobile after she had been! Tuesday morning by Reiber and
jchoked, almost fatally, and ray-|Hayes. They reported that Indiana
ished. Cuck was arrested a few! Statutes on reward matters are
hours later and subsequently sen- | liberal and cover all persons giving

teneed to life imprisonment for Pertinent information in such cases,
jthe abduction of Mrs. Sparks. °° 150 the board's action followed the
i ‘Confessed” To Mra. Click Pattern of determining the merit
Mex. Click, the mother of five (i? the offerings of the various
children. claimed her husband con | Claimants. : ‘ 5
fessed the three homicides first to! During the opening session, he-
her and that she delivered this! fore the Irgal technicalities Arose,
Statement to Chief of Police Fisen-|'Ne claims of Ferdinant Nicode-
shut. mus and Mrs. Naomi Phillips of
Mr. Kuzelf? was a pathetic figure; 'Dls city were ruled out.
as he steppevt slowly into the May- Nicodemus Files Lien ;
or’s office, where the commis- Yesterday, Nicodemus appeared
sion was in session. Since he was at the county recorder’s office and Ssspamctiis it ne
the father of the slain young wom-! filed a lien for the $15,000 reward. | ward matter wag brought to a vote
an, members agreed that his ap-| County Attorney J. Robert Arnold | immediately, : i
pearance before them was a cour-'held that a lien could not he filed Ready Detailed Report i
tesy due him. | Against anything that does not exist) Mayor Branning offered the mo:
“ET belleve Marie (Mrs, Click) | and ruled that the lien be held on tion for discussion, but the com-:
suspicloned something was wrong | file as an affidavit, The Nicodemus | missioners decided on a vote,

claim for the reward was based on! A detailed report wil! accompany!
information supplied in the investi-! the commission's decision to the
gation of Ralph W. Lobaugh, j council, This could not be pre-
After the legal policy of the com-: pared in time for last night's reg-
mission had been established, Mr.j ular mecting of the councilmen.
Hayes opened the deliberations } President Herber of the council
with the following motion: ; Was not prepared to make a state
“I make this motion—that It Is\ ment, last night, whether a special
the finding of the commission that meeting of the council wilt be
rewards provided for under general called to receive the report,
ordinance No, 2133 in relation to] Ir was considered possible, that
the deaths of Miss Haara, Miss* monetary determination of the re-
Kuzeff and Miss Conine be award- ward will be left. to members of
ed to the following persons in the the incoming City Council.
following shares: , The ocstinance setting up the
Mrs. Leona Sparks, one-third of' commission and authorizing the
the total reward; Mrs. Marie. rewards in 1944 did not appropri-
Click, one-thirt of the total re ate any money for this purpose.
ward; and Floyd = and Dorothy ft is only an authorization for re-
Moreland, jointly, one-third of the (ward appropriations up to $15,000,
total reward and that the reward! depending upon the decision of the
commission so report to the City eommission, which Is stated to be,
Council.” i final, f\
The: motion was quickly second-+ * ee ee
ed by Chief Eisenhut and the re-/

PNitenl ok peor's tricycle, but he jet +year-old Kopin a
koe Lt gare Le (Globe photo by Bill canine

akilath Sores Uehd aie

tea ay
*f wy

United Press International
INDIANAPOLIS — Ratpty Lubaugh.-who spent]
three devades in prison for murders he didn’t commit;
says he wants “to forget the past and make a new}
“hfulure”

Bah ane Se WO cg aa ET

_ Lobaugh, 60, arrived at a work-release center:
here yesterday to take a job under supervised parole. .
He walked out of the Indiana State Prison at
Biichigun City Tuesday — 39 years after he entered
and 28 years after a state investigation determined he}
Was innocent of the three slayings to which he had
confessed.

‘blame for my troubles. Now, I want to forget the y yast

3
“I'm not bitter or angry,” he said. “Im mostly ad
‘and make a new future.”

‘He declined to answer any questions as he:
-boarded a bus outside the prison, and refused to talk
to reporters.

SEE.

Lobaugh will stay at ee six months at ‘the:
work-release center. If he adjusts, he will be allowed !
‘to move and be required to check eccasionally with a!

‘ parole officer. : i}

Lobauyh confessed to the rape-murder of three;
Fort Wayne women during 194-45 and was convicted jj
ata trial without a jury. i

In 1949, a special investigation ordered by Gov.}
Henry Schricker concluded Lobaugh was “a4
degenerate and a homosexual, not a fit person to be j
free onthe streets of any city, but not guilty of |
killing any of these three women.” Schricker commuted :
Lobaugh’s death sentence to a life term. :

In 1975. Gov. Otis Bowen noted a parole report:
showed two other men had been convicted, for the]
same murders and one was executed. Bowen ordered

a new investigation that led te Lobaugh’s parole. ;
: ry
Lobsugh once said in a truth serum test hea

confessed because Fort Wayne authorities threatened }

ta have jail inmates take him to the shower and ‘s
castrate him. Lobaugh also was cleared by a lie }
detector test, but his case went into limbo euntil
_spotted by Bowen.

See.

¢ IL_MUST VOTE

‘Mrs. Sparks, Mrs. Click, V orelands hare Reward

By KENNETH KELLER { Sharing equally in the total re- father of the slain Anna uzet{, #ilotted Mrs, Click be for her coe at the request of Otto Hf. Adams, ably was guilty of that crime.
Four persons whose lives in ward to be appropriated will be:that Mrs. Click’s claim for the!’ pperation in inducing her husband: former city controller and superin- also.
same way shed th { Frank. Flovd L. Moreiand, Angola phatog- | reward be disallowed _bpe % : eich at j : * i
some way touched that of Fran : ivaater P prewar ISA eG. ‘yy submit to liexletector tests and:tendent of city ulilities. In his ree) Soon after reporting his fimtings.'
hn Click, who was executed for rapher and his wife, Dorethy;| “She should have known what.’ ' Moreland said, he was orderrd off
murder last December 30, will Mrs, Leona Sparks of Kainsville, her husband was dcing,” the eb ipet for the Teason that she gave, port. Moreland added That Site eee by the foemer, elt ati
cnare the rewaris offered in 4h Tex. and Mrs Franklin Click,,derly father declared. shaking his her husband's first confession to {Clck at the time lived across the; a ; :
he tha city for saiution of the Mir. and Mrs. Moreland will share head, “If 89, she hid him for sit, tne police department.” jaareet from the Kuzelfs, he prob-| Continued On Puge 2!
Haaga, Kueetf and Comne flay: rere one-third of the total reward | years before he finally was ar-!) The commesaion fixed only the. Rn ka tet : ; ;
ina, t Jointly . the commission decided, i rested ee : ‘percentages of tae cinimants.;
This wax the decisinn yesterday; Kurelf Makers Appeal ; The commissica’s decision ¥48 Ihe apprepriation of the reward, |
of the special reward commussion.! Before it delved into eligibility | !* to one. Sheriff Harold S. hich intals $15,000 for the three:
It waa quickly arrived at after and percentazes, the commission | 2018. Ws of the opinion that A pases, will be the duty of the.
hours had been spent threshing out heard A dramattc pier from Sam) third 4d the ns eels anak ‘ity Council.
ega echnicalines. re izet i o(% RL ir go only oO AIS : par iS, " a .
les }t 1 ck s = ia {f, ite th (whose memory a at Sedans mum. | Murder Cases Closed
jber actually led to the arrest!; In reaching its decision, how,
jof Click on August 26, 1349, The fever, the commission officially re-,

‘sheriff explained his stand as fo]. :earded the murder cases of Wil-;
i lows: ‘ jhelma Haaga, Anna Kuzeft and:
i "LE have this offering: I feel that Phyllis Conine as closed, As At:
{Leona J. Sparks should be the sole ,torney Hayes explained, the con-!
‘recipient of the reward, to receive jViction and execution of Click in!
jone-third the entire amount, inas- [the Conine case gave his confes-
!much as she offered law entorce-tsions of the other two murders:
; ment officers the license number jthe same legal status as convic-}
‘which led to the apprehension of;tions, The commisison worked |
‘Franklin Click..” i from this Iegal premise in arriving |
Tisenbor Qualifies Veto: 18¢ the eligibility of The claimants. |

All the rest of the commissioners, {When Monday's sessicn,of the com-;
Mayor Henry E. Branning, Jr., Mission was recessed, ® appeared |

chairman, Prosecutor John Reiber, {that the deliberations might be,

i Chief of Police Lester H. Eisenhut, confined to the Conine tase. Boe

;City Council and C, Byron Hayes;rmission gave official recognition:

ia member of the city legal dez:to the civilian sleuthing of Photog-}

i partment, voted “‘aye’’ on the re-irapher Moreland, who told the : A

iward distribution, ireward body November 19 that he! : ve 2 wade of
The police chic qualified his had singled out Click as the slayer : : : BES r

‘ . ‘ ae vote as follows: “J vote ‘aye’;of Miss Haaga in a private In; SST. = : ent
FLOYD L. MORELAND MKS. DOROTHY MORELAND | with the exception that the reward, vestigation made in August, 1944] MRS. FRANKLIN CLICK MRS. LEONA SPARKS

-o—__

wow

{<-cyears |

Pte at we i = 3 testy: oe. Fe at Vr Bens Siagin ace ait .
a ote i AD Land romps oes tS
| Re eT TH, cote eee
mee * OR Loe ee ms 4

-4- Pay oer 3% <
iif Tee Sal ee. ete FS ee me >

- ee

75) - 30-year convict is released;-~ *

‘ties were fully aware he didn’t commits? £ r-

a curity institution that he could not cope with the -
_, freedom he had sought. for 14 years and after only |

} “. two months outside he returned to his eels: ae,

“o = tohaugh, 60, told officials he could not relax on

34 -prison job. Fo bal Bik qe ete Isa reettt Ieee
¢, . - . , o- =

9G ce .

L “the outside and went back behind the gray walls

repre ryt

Yow reer

locked up too damn long.” 0 «- > anus
“2SF" Lobaugh was freed Aug. 24 when Gov. Otis R.

“S>Bowen -approved clemency.. but” ordered. him - to
-.: spend six months in.a work release center. before

* veceiving full parole. - Lone Se
bog a ee Pn ngs SP Th oes a me AS

; % ke Tobaugh -was assigned ‘to the Indienapolis cen-

pe «ter and. lived there quietly, sweeping floors and
‘<.. minding: his: own . business, until he requested a

«» days ago. He -found:a job. sweeping -floors ‘in @
.~ church there but worked: only three days before
“telling officials he. would rather. be in prison: =

*f* 3 Pohanch first entered prison in 1947 under sen-
“tence_of Geath in the electric chair. after he-con-

? eeution dete: was stayed three times. It is not

Ce ee Te PRT UT EY ETIT YF

£
pees ee ee .
fo-rcfdnitvommit. *-.. +: Pi Stags art
~ a tes wes ee Stat tele bate te OS EE Se:
ie See ; ieee gem ee eee :
ae ltett er oe Ae ako} mhekste is woth ae wees «
Pe ia” ~~
‘s. tect A oy eu pees hy a w b.6 eh
~- eee "Las ’ —~ - ‘ .- ais .
- - — o
=

- “transfer to the South Bend work release center 11 ~

'¢

” jfessed to the rape-murders of three women. His.ex- —

_ known. why he-confessed'to a series of crimes ke ~

CLICK, Franklin, white, electrocuted Indiana (Allen) ‘December 30, 1950.

CotkT

-
a
-
ies ~
-
a
— ~
~ a :
-
-
~
-
- * ¢
=
a ~
-~

CLICK,

Fran

PART V.

N QUICK, tragic succession, four

women were attacked and murdered .

in the peaceful, busy industrial city
of Fort Wayne, Indiana—Wilhelma
Haaga, blonde and a former vaudeville
star; Anna Kuzeff, a war plant worker;
Phyllis Conine, seventeen-year-old
high-school student, and Mrs. Dorothea
Howard, wife of a soldier stationed near
Fort Wayne.

Two years passed with no one ar-
rested, in spite of intensive police inves-
tigation and rewards totaling $16,500.

Then, in the first surprising twist of
the many that have led Governor Henry
F. Schricker of Indiana.to call this case
“the most involved legal problem in
Indiana’s history” and a “sordid mess,”
an obscure machinist named Ralph Lo-
baugh walked into a police station and
confessed that he had killed three of
the four women,

Lobaugh’s confessions were accepted.
He pleaded guilty in spite of the pro-
tests of his attorney, Robert Buhler, and
was sentenced to death

Determined that justice would be
done, Buhler obtained a stay of execu-
tion and had further lie-detector tests
conducted. Under the influence of .the
new “truth serum,” sodium pentathol,
Lobaugh talked freely to physicians.
They announced that he actually had
killed no one.

A new police administration headed
by Chief Lester H. Eisenhut re-investi-
gated each slaying. Almost by accident,
a@ new name was brought in—that of
Robert Christen, a former Fort Wayne
resident. Three persons declared that
they had seen Christen with Mrs. How-
ard near the spot where she was slain
in downtown Fort Wayne.

Christen was indicted and brought

to trial. The testimony of two prosecu-:

tion witnesses was discredited, but a
jury somehow found him guilty of sec-
ond-degree murder and he was sen-
tenced to life imprisonment—a verdict
which was to be upset later by the State
Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, Christen went to prison
at that time. Two persons now were
imprisoned, one awaiting execution, for
the murder of Mrs. Howard—and pub-
lic sentiment, plus a great deal of evi-
dence, indicated that neither of them
was guilty.

Then the tall, long-faced, laconic
father of five children, Franklin Click,
was arrested for kidnaping a farmer’s
wife. And he, too, promptly confessed
that he had killed Phyllis Conine, Anna
Kuzeff and Wilhelma Haaga.

Or FICIAL DETECTIVE

Full Inside Detective Story Beh
he Murders of th
ort Wayne Women

Still Another Had Confessed

These Murders.

Could Police

Find the Evidence That Would
Prove This Man Was the Real

Killer — Or Would This, Too,

Only Confuse Further a Case
Which the Governor Already

Had Called a "Sordid Mess"?

By Joseph Fulling Fishman

Special Investigator for
ACTUAL DETECTIVE STORIES

Still another confession! Was this
the correct one at last? And then—
But go on with the story from here:

IFE IMPRISONMENT for kidnap-
ing was staring her husband in the
face that afternoon when Mrs.

Franklin Click received an urgent sum-
mons to the Allen County jail in Fort
Wayne.

Frantic, her eyes red from weeping
and still unable to realize that her hus-
band actually had confessed to such a
horrible crime as the kidnaping, Mrs.
Click found someone to care for her
five children and rushed downtown.
She would be able to talk to Franklin in
an office, instead of facing him through
cell bars, she discovered.

When she entered the room Click
embraced her, then said, “I’ve got some-
thing to tell you which will shock you.”

His wife looked at him fearfully.
“Yes? What is it?”

« “It's about those three girls who were
murdered.”

STORIES,

Mrs. Click was dazed. “Those three

girls? You mean, those—those attack:

cases?”

“Yes. I did it.”

A mental resistance, hard as marble,
was reflected in the pretty woman’s
face. Her mind couldn't comprehend
what she had heard..

“You—oh, no!”

“Yes, I did it.” He rushed on, as if
he wanted to get it all out at the earliest
possible moment. “I did it. I killed
them all—Haaga, Kuzeff and Conine.”

“But why?” Mrs. Click asked me-
chanically, still only. half comprehend~-

. ing what her husband had said.’

“I don’t know. I was drinking.”

“I don’t believe it!” Mrs. Click said.
“You're just not that kind of person!”

The conversation went on, back and
forth, with Attorney Buhler listening
but saying nothing. Finally the broken-
hearted wife departed, carrying with
her two letters. She presented them the
next day to Chief Eisenhut.

The first, addressed to her, stated:

september,

1950,

ind

“I want you to be the first to learn
from my own lips that I am guilty of
murdering Billie Haaga, Anna Kuzeff
and Phyllis Conine. No other person
was with me or participated in these
crimes. I know this is a terrible con-
fession and I want you to hand this
confession to Chief of Police Lester
Eisenhut. I the murderer, and
you are the first person to whom I have .
confessed.”

The.second had been composed by
Click although it was written over his
wife’s name, as if she had written it
herself. It said:

“I hand you herewith confession of
my husband to the murders of Billie
Haaga, Anna Kuzeff and Phyllis Con-
ine. My husband, Franklin Click, has
confessed to these murders and signed
a written confession to me. . I now de-
mand. that ifimy husband should be
convicted of these crimes, that the re-
be offered, totaling $16,500, be paid

me.” '

Te letters astounded everyone. Here-

tofore, police had no indication that
Click might be involved in any of the
murders—except, possibly, the simi-
larity of motives between the slayings
and the kidnaping. Throughout Fort
Wayne, persons read of the letters and
wondered:

Could this confession be true? Or
was this merely an attempt to collect
— ee crackpot confes-

ion

Chief Eisenhut and Sheriff Harold s.
Zeis issued a joint statement:

“It is true that this man, Franklin
Click, has confessed to the slayings of
Wilhelma Haaga, Anna. Kuzeff and.
Phyllis Conine. However, we, as law-
enforcement officers, are not accepting -
this as conclusive evidence until every
detail of each confession has been thor-
oughly investigated.

“This may take considerable time, as
these cases are quite old and many wit-
nesses must be located, some from long
distances. To this extent, we ask the
indulgence of the press and public until
we have had’ an opportunity to check
details.” -

Then the police got busy. A group
of officers, consisting of Chief Eisen-
hut, . Sheriff Zeis, Deputy Sheriffs
Arnold Dicke and Walter C. Adams, In- —
spector Bernard Garmire and Detec-
tives Walker, Cleveland and McCarthy, .
surrounded Click and shot question
after question at him concerning the
three murders, while a stenographer
took it all down.

They went over innumerable details
of the various slayings—the location
of the attack on Miss Haaga; the

ern to tavern looking for the civilian
who had been in the anes with you?"
“No, Sir.”

“Isn't it also true that on the evening
of March ninth, nineteen forty-five,
Sergeant Horace ‘Smith had driven you
to the store where Christen was ‘em-
ployed so that you could see Christen,
that you went in while Smith remained
in the car, and that then you came out
and said he was not the man?”

“No, Sir.”

“and you still insist that you didn’t,
in civilian clothes, in the early part of
March, spend three days riding around
Fort Wayne with Sergeant Smith look-
ing for the civilian who had been in the
alley with you?”

“Yes; I never saw Smith before
today.”

The defense now called Smith to the
stand. “You heard the testimony of
Charles Dodson, didn't you, concerning
not having seen Christen before being
taken to Denver by Chief Eisenhut and
his men?”

“Yes.”

“Is it true?”

“No; every word of it is false.”

“Will you please tell what actually
took place?”

“I spent three days with Dodson,
March eighth, ninth and tenth, and
part of the night also, driving around
Fort Wayne with him, stopping at va-
rious taverns to see if he could identify
the civilian he said had gone into the
alley with him.”

“Did you ever bring him face to face
with Christen to see if he could identi-
fy him as the man?”

“Yea, I did.”

“Tell us what occurred.”

ELL, I drove him to the store
(where Christen was employed)
and I sent Dodson into the store to buy
a pack of cigarettes from Robert
Christen. I sat in the car, but I could
see into the store as Dodson went in,
and while he was in there I saw him
talking to Christen face to face.”

“You talked with Dodson when he
came out of the store?”

“Yes; I asked him if he could identify
Christen, and he said no, positively that
he was not the man who was in the alley
with him...”

This testimony, of course, was directly
contrary to Dodson’s.

The testimony of Wilford Tepin fol-
lowed.

“To whom did you report that you
saw Christen going into the alley?” De-
fense Counsel] Giles J. Pierre queried.

“I think it was Lieutenant Axt.”

Pierre asked former Lieutenant Axt
to rise. “Is that the man?”

“Yes, I think he is.”

“Did you tell him the man with the
woman was Christen?”

“I don’t remember telling him it was
Christen.”

“Did you tell him you thought it was
Christen?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re certain you gave this in-
formation to Lieutenant Axt?’’

“Yes, Sir.”

When Axt was put on the stand, how-
ever, he denied that he ever had seen
Tepin in his life, or that Tepin ever had
made any report to him concerning
Christen or anyone else. Chief Eisen-
hut thereupon arranged for an adjourn-
ment of court. He hurried to Fort
Wayne and returned with the record
establishing that Axt had seen Tepin.
Axt still insisted, however, that he had
no recollection of it.

Alice Quentin, when put on the stand,
was as positive as Dodson had been that
Christen was the man she had seen in
the alley when she turned her car lights
on it, saw something was amiss and de-
manded, ‘“‘What’s going on here?” .

The defense countered with the testi-
mony of Captain Figel, who also had
been reduced to the ranks by the new
administration.

“Did you talk with Alice Quentin fol-
lowing the Howard murder?” he was
asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“What about?”

“About the possibility of her identify-
ing the civilian who had gone into the
ailey with the soldier.”

“What did she tell you?”

“She said she could not ever identify
you In person, (hat she would never be-
cause he had his hat turned down on his
face and he. was slouched over so that
she could not see his face.”

“Did she ever actually see Christen?"

“Yes. I had her take a look at him
without his knowing it. She Said she
was sure he was not the man.’

“Did she ever repeat what she told
you in person, that she would never be
able to identify him?”

“Yes, she did.”

“When?”

“At a conference in the Prosecutor's
office. :

“Who was there?”

“I was, and Prosecutor Alton L.
Bloom, Sheriff Harold S. Zeis, the late
former Deputy Sheriff William Oswald
and Miss Quentin.”

“Just exactly what did she say then?”

, “That she could not testify against”

Christen either before the grand jury
or at his trial, if he should be indicted.”

Thus the trial went on, “an amazing
fantasy of stark contrasts and para-
doxes in this zaniest of murder cases,”
as one newspaperman reported it.
Christen took the stand in his own de-
fense. He categorically denied that he
was anywhere near the alley on the
night the attack occurred. He admit-
ted he could not remember back to that
particular night in early 1945, but as-
sumed that he was working until two
in the morning, as he usually had.

Listening intently to his words were
his mother, Mrs. Harry H. Christen, his
brother, Norman, and the defendant’s
exceptionally pretty wife. All of them
had stuck by Christen, and all of them
were supremely confident of an acquit-
tal or, at the very worst, a hung jury.
They were sure, in view of the contra-
dictory nature of practically all the
evidence, that no other verdict would
be possible.

The summing up, begun by R. C. Par- -

rish, comprised not only an attack on
the conflicting nature of the evidence
and the character of some of the wit-
nesses, but also a bittter onslaught on
the political situation in Fort Wayne
and an implication that Christen was
just a pawn between opposing factions.

“There are forces at work 1n the city
cf Fort Wayne which you would not
believe,” Mr. Parrish said. “However,
you have been: getting a slant on some
of them this week.”

The summing up by Mr. Biddle, the
youngest prosecutor Whitley County
ever had had, was much milder in tone.
It. was chiefly remarkable for two
things: First, he did not ask for the
death penalty; and, second, he did not
attempt to defend the State’s witnesses.

On this note the case went to the
jury. Newsmen who had covered the
trial, as well as many others, were will-
ing to bet on a speedy acquittal.

The jury was unanimous on the first
ballot. In an unexpectedly short time
it filed back.into the courtroom. The
foreman passed the verdict to Judge
Pefliey. Christen, supremely confident,
calmly chewed gum, as he had during
most of the trial. His wife and mother
leaned forward with tense, anxious
faces. Judge Pefley opened the paper,
and read:

“We, the jury, find the defendant
guilty of murder in the second degree.”

Almost everyone in the courtroom
was astounded at the verdict. Veteran
lawyers quickly declared that the con-
viction probably would not stand up if
it were appealed.

In this they were correct. The
Indiana Supreme Court was to void the
conviction and send the case back to
Whitley County for a retrial, following
which the State dropped its charges
against Christen and he was released
and exonerated in full.

That, however, was not to happen for
some time and no one, of course, could
be positive that it would come about.

All that Christen, and the others in
the courtroom knew at the moment,
was that he had been found guilty of
second-degree murder.

Under the Indiana law, the verdict
carried a mandatory sentence of life im-
prisonment.

Christen’s attorney made a motion for
a new trial. It was promptly denied.

Thus, Christen went to prison. Two
civilians were within the walls of the

State Prison at Michigan City convicted ;

of being the slayer of Uhe same woman,
yet obviously only one man had been in-
volved. Ralph Lobaugh was awaiting
execution—~by this time he had had six
reprieves—and Robert Christen was
facing a life sentence.

Obviously, something was wrong.
One of those men had to be innocent.

R. C. Parrish, head of the battery of
able attorneys handling Christen’s de-
fense, was outraged at what he consid-
ered an unjustifiable verdict. He made
an immediate appeal to the State Su-
preme Court.

OR the first time in more than five

years, a spell of quiet settled over the
murder cases. Lobaugh, living on the
borrowed time of his seventh reprieve,
was in the ‘death house. Christen,
whose appeal was pending, was going
through the routine of the prison, that
difficult time when new men try to ad-
just themselves to the living death that
stretches ahead over countless despair-
ing and monotonous years. Dodson had
returned to Memphis.

Then a farmer living on the Ditch
Road a few miles from Fort Wayne, who
had not the remotest connection with
the cases, advertised his place for sale.

His act was entirely unrelated to
these crimes. But roads of destiny fre-
quently have a curiously roundabout
way of pursuing their course before
they finally meet.

That night, August 17, 1949, around
eight o'clock, the farmer’s wife was at
home with her three-month-old son
and her eighteen-month-old daughter,
her husband having gone out on busi-
ness for ashort time. When she opened
the door in response to a knock, she saw
standing on the porch the same young
man who had been so interested in the
property that afternoon,

“Good evening,” she said.

She gave a startled, frightened “Oh!”
as the young man grabbed her. She
struggled fiercely, whereupon her un-
welcome visitor struck her viciously
about the face and head. She fainted.
He then threw a rope around her neck
and, holding it just tight enough to
avoid actually strangling her, dragged
her to his car, threw her in and sped
down the road...

HEN she again became conscious
she found herself still in the car
and approaching home. -

“Don’t tell the cops,” her attacker
warned her. “If you do—well, if you
know what's good for you, you won't.”

He followed the threat with a clumsy
effort to placate her. “Just forget it
and I'll buy the kids and you some nice
presents.”

He helped her alight from the car
and escorted her to the steps. But as
he left, she turned around, made a men-
tal note of the license number of the
car and staggered into the house to
write it down,

Her husband returned a few minutes
later. After his semi-hysterical wife
had told him, through puffed and swol-
len lips, what had occurred, he bundled
the family into his car and took them
to Fort Wayne and the home of friends.

.Then he called the police.

While doctors were attending the
woman, Detective William Dileo traced
the license number of the car. It was
owned by Franklin Click. Officers Scor-
gham and Bollman were sent to arrest

im.

Franklin Click, a 30-year-old, icy-
mannered, gangling young man with a
wife and five children, was one of sev-
eral prospective buyers who had called
at the farm, looked over the place, dis-
cussed prices and said he would like to
think about the matter.

The officers found Click in bed. He
denied the charge, became belligerent
and abusive and resisted arrest by
butting Officer. Bollman in the stomach.
However, he was subdued and taken to
Police Headquarters. Here he con-
tinued to assert his innocence.

Fort Wayne by this time had pur-
chased a lie detector. Various lie tests
in the past on those suspected of com-
plicity in the four murders had been in-
conclusive or contradictory, or both.
Nevertheless, five tests were given Click,

all-of them by Police Lieutenant John
Havelet, who reported that they were
positive and thus showed Click's guilt.

. Despite identification by his victim—
who was so unnerved by her terrible ex-
perlence that she refused to return to
the home which had been the scene of
it, and was staying with friends in a
near-by town—Click continued to deny
the crime. When, however, he was con-
fronted with the results of the five tests,
he admitted his guilt and signed a con-
fession.

Although one man was in prison and
another in the death house at Michigan
City awaiting execution for the murder
of Mrs, Dorothea Howard, the officers
questioned Click closely concerning not
only this murder, but also those of
Phyllis Conine, the seventeen-year-old
high-school girl; Wilhelma Haaga and
Anna Kuzeff.

Lobaugh also had confessed two of
these murders,

But the police by now had become
cautious. The admissions of Lobaugh
had seemed to settle the Haaga, Kuzeff
and Howard killings once and for all.
However, since that time many things
had happened, which threw more than
a little doubt on the authenticity of the
Lobaugh confessions. This was con-
vincingly shown by the fact that Lo-
baugh was now living on the borrowed
time of his seventh reprieve.

Ts police attitude was revealed in a
statement which Chief Eisenhut and
Sheriff Harold S. Zeis gave to the press
in which they indicated that they would
make a thorough investigation of Click’s
possible connection with the various
murders.

But Click anticipated them. On
August 21, 1949—just three days after
his attack on the farmer’s wife—Mrs.
Franklin Click walked into the office of
Chief of Police Eisenhut and handed
that official a letter signed by herself
and witnessed by Robert Buhler, her
husband's attorney:

“I hand you herewith confession of
my husband to the murders of Billie
Haaga, Anna Kuzeff and _ Phyllis
Conine. My husband, Franklin Click,
has ‘confessed to these murders and
signed a written confession to me. I
now demand that if my husband should
be convicted of these crimes, that the
reward offered, totaling $16,500, be paid
to me.”.

With this letter she passed over an-
other, from her husband to her, in
which he stated:

are the first person to whom I have™

confessed.”

Thus another name was added to the
score. It now read:

For the murders of Wilhelma Haaga
and Anna Kuzeff, murders obviously
committed by only one man, acting
alone: Ralph Lobaugh, confessed, con-
victed and awaiting execution; Frank-
lin Click, confessed and awaiting
possible trial.

And for the murder of Mrs. Dorothea
Howard: One man, Ralph Lobaugh
awaiting execution; another man,
Robert Christen, sentenced to life.

What was to be the final outcome of
this amazing case?

The case of the four Fort Wayne
murders is hopelessly muddled. AIll
three of these men can not be guilty.
Is any of them? Or is the slayer still
at large, still prowling the streets of the
quiet little city on the Maumee River?
Will more women have to suffer before
something happens to bring this puz-
zling, fantastic and unprecedented in-
vestigation to an end and a guilty man
to justice?

The equally amazing climaz to this
case will be presented in the September
issue of OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STO-
RIES, on sale Wednesday, August 23.
Be sure to read it.

The reward poster

i fo confuse, rathe

: four murders. Stor

a grim, gray line as she

5 Her hands were clenc!
over the knuckles of her

on the hospital bed cov:
“Whi:

at about my f
asked. “The house is a
have to stay someplace "
“We'll do our best to
tection. But the only
is to find the person res}
| : A nurse came to the d
; reporters were outside.
to take a picture of Sh:
her to ask them to wait.

“Say, is this going to
Pers?” Sharp cried,

‘ “I’m afraid it will, Tr
FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST AND CONVICTION OF THE a have to sliow ther
MURDERER OR MURDERERS OF THESE THREE SINGLE GIRLS: Picture. However, I don

in it. We try to coope
Press whenever possible.’
Sharp turned to his wif.
ter call Lawrence right
hears about it through .
over the radio, he’ll be wo
You go out and call him;
Mrs. Sharp left and Sh
that Lawrence was their 2:
. who was attending the
Washington in Seattle.
The newspaper reporter
raphers came in, They
of Sharp and asked Lord
Lord told them he had
at the moment but they
' him later in the evening a

MBS. SHARP returnec
talking to Lawrence
ternity house. He had n
news before. she said, and
ing at once for home.

e Sharp seemed relieved.
fe “He’s a smart kid,” the f
. ly told Lord. “He’s study

Heep and ae only Fo +
$5,500 REWARD $5,500 REWARD vice-president of ie Asso
For the murderer of Wilhelma For the murderer of Anna Kuzeff, For the murderer of Phyllis Conine, enudent Body, He ag
(Billie) Haaga, 38, who died Feb, 5,

t when h Ke
} 19, whose body was found 17, a high school student, whose par- pe promiieed ghar
/ pias gt bap pd nd ~~ fend May 23, 194, lying in a field just with- be f emposed ae was found in a Soon as he arrived. “Maybe
/ , ye nk five miles i rn limi i i i ity .
j ; in the western limits of the city, The eld eight miles southwest of the city a lot. There's got to be ¢
* mt hte werd > yal girl was murdered while on on Aug. 8, 1944, The girl had been re- this and it may be so insi
i loyment in aed a i r ‘aa her way to work at a defense plant ported missing after she failed to meet you that it’s skipped your m
z ~ on Feb. 1944 Sia wen beliced about 10:35 P. m. on May 22, 1944, a girl-friend for a movie appointment Sharp smiled at his fam:
sea cneaee dm = Siar the ton Death was caused by a fractured neck. on Aug. 4, 1944. Death was due toa lightly, “Well, I always said
. i > aan \ severe blow on the head. Her clothing more dead than alive. I ca
{ tory. An hour after she was choked and Bruises completely encircled the neck, had been torn from her body. Lat two thousand in insurance.’
her skull fractured by heavy blows, she indicating she was strangled with a pac ¢ 4 felled red : thet h pora- “Please.” Mrs. Sharp re
i staggered into a farm house, about 1% narrow belt, stocking, small rope, wire eth ‘A pesar por anew that she was “Don’t say that even in a jo
{ . miles from where the attack occurred. or similar article. Found near the — ney Lyin Lord could get nothing ft
i Her dlothing had ve eon srarranged Scene was a small black pocket com) near the body was a man’s chear, tae the family. He left the hi
| Fa thee rene emene wat Mah end carn tha) er the by 86, grease marked, | Feturned to Hendquasiers
found 114 miles from the scene of the buckle from a belt about 34 or 7% inches with blood on one lapel, collar and cuffs pag and Johns were talkin:
attack. Before working in, the defense wide. badly frayed, and the left pocket badly "They went over every ph
plant she was on the vaudeville stage - worn indicating the owner might have pb
| 14 years prior to 1932, and worked in been left handed. The victim’s purse, hos yl teas at the o% ‘
i a Chicago department store from 1936 with contents missing, was found 114 Sore . —
to 1941. : miles west of the murder scene. “Our big hope is in finding
: ing link between the two fam
| Pointed out. “They're friend
1 ANY DEPARTMENTS HAVING SUSPECTS IN SIMILAR CASES KINDLY CHECK peters eer has some
| > against both of them.”
} THEIR ACTIONS AND WHEREABOUTS ON THE DATES MENTIONED IN THE me Sheriff pbrady disag
{ ; think you're ta ing the wro
ABOVE MURDERS AND NOTIFY: reasoning.”
“Why?”

“T’'m not saying your theor
be right. On the other hand,

J U L E Ss T U M FP F could throw you all off. The
hd “ ge — hav

fo do w: e ns. R

= CHIEF OF POLICE bare was . 8 of publicity

. rst two explosions. It could }

ES 2s _ FORT WAYNE 2, IND. pared mind thinking alo:

; nes.”
“But they are friends and

instances dynamite was used.”
“I know. Just the same, if:

cluded your whole family, but you were know what the trouble was. Further-

“You have a deadly enemy,” Lord your investigation on that a)
the cenfral target.” more, he wanted to make sure of your went on. “One who knows you well. may overlook other important
“Me It could have been any of us.” death above the others. That is the He knows the habits of you and your If you keep your mind open
“No, fi at's why the rea¥on the charge was placed above the familydad the details .o F- into facts that indicate a co!
fuses we edf Whoever set the bathroom and grease was“$meared on * é b are like you haven't missed anything.”
bomb figured thatAy th the juice off, (fuses. He knew you-wo d go to the is, but d"we have to find him Lord was forced to agree,
the explysive couldh't } detonated u bathroom to wash and turn o the ligh before you oF Your family can feel safe, Brady went on: “The san
the fuse ed. He figured You ave the one e’s after.” Isn't there anyone you can think of?” holds for your thecry that th
that you wer Oo would Sharp’s eyes clouded. Mrs. Sharp's lips were compressed in '

of the bombing was Sharp.

block on Indiana. Avenue—just one
block™from the death scene.

“There. he said triumphantly.
“That’s the Place where I picked up the
trunk and took ito the railroad station.
I didn’t have any™part in killing that
old woman.”

“Where can we find th
gan asked.

Allison’s head came up with a ‘ner:
vous jerk. “I can’t exactly tell you. He
went down south for a few weeks.”

man?” Or-

pap rele NELSON agreed with the
detectives that Allison’s grade on the
quiz was far from passing.

“Better take him to the crime lab and
run him through the lie-detector,” he
said, “Let the lab men have a crack at
that bloodstained envelope to see if the
smear matches the victim’s blood type.”

With this end of the investigation in
the hands of the scientific experts,
Joachim, McGrath, Satunas and Organ
went to the 4100 block on Indiana Ave-
nue. They split up, a pair to each side
of the street, seeking residents who re-
membered seeing Allison make the
pickup the fatal day. Each team car-
ried one of the slayer’s gloves as a mem-
ory refresher for prospective witnesses.

The going was hard. Some persons
were reluctant to talk; others were
voluble though uninformative. A few
had hazy recollections of “seeing some
mover around about that time.”

And then, with no warning, a new
lead developed. A pleasant-faced, gray-
haired woman in a stove-heated fiat
clucked her tongue when she took a
look at the glove carried. by Satunas
and Organ.

“T don’t know any mover at all,” she
said. “But that glove looks mighty lik
one that carpenter owns. He wgs-fere
about a month ago to do-sothe work
and I remember thériebecause I bor-
rowed the gloves to lift the hot ash-pan
out of my stove.”

And what was the man’s name?

The woman hesitated, looked uneas-
ily at the detectives. Finally she told
them: .

“If you’re looking for a criminal you
might as well forget Frank. I’ve known
him for years and there isn’t a wrong
thought in his mind.”

The officers were firm. If Frank, the
carpenter, were innocent he had nothing
to fear from them. Reluctantly she
gave them the facts. The carpenter was
Frank Young and he lived across the
back alley from the victim’s home.

Leaving McGrath and Joachim to
wind up interviewing those who lived in
the block, Organ and Satunas went to
Young’s home.

They found that the carpenter lived

in @third-fioor rear flat. They climbed
the outstde steps to his porch. No one
answered th knocks.

“These gloves have

ild-goose chases.
who can tell
p looking

Organ was gltjm
sent us on too mal
We go looking for soméon¢g
us about Allison and we ent
into—”

oe AIT a minute,” Satunas cut in’
He had been so intent on study-
ing the buildings across the alley that
he had heard none of his partner’s com-
plaint. “Take a look that way.”

Organ stared out over the drab back
yards, trash cans and the accompanying
litter usually found in an alley, past the
sloping roofs of lower buildings and
garages.

“Say, that’s the Kennedy back yard
over there.” .

“Right. Anyone standing here
looking out of the kitchen windows”be-
hind us could see what’s going oh over
there and even watch a persofi coming
in or out of the back dor of the
Kennedy home.”

Neither of the officers had to say
more. The impeft was obvious. If the
killer had én in this home it would
have be a simple matter for him to
spo ary Kennedy in her yard, then to

ip down the stairs and through the
alley to waylay her.

Eagerly, the officers went into action.
They knocked on the doors of all other
flats in the building. Those who
answered gave Young and his family a
clean bill of health—they were “fine
people, respectable in every way.” No
one had any idea where Young could be
found. Generally he worked for various
people in the neighborhood.

“Maybe,” Satunas said, “Young
worked for the Kennedys. Elizabeth
should be home now. Let’s ask her.”

Once again the elderly woman went
through the ritual of peering from be-
hind the chained door and leashing the
snarling dog before she permitted them
to enter. Her melancholy eyes stared
out of a grief-lined face as if the savage
attack which had taken her life-long
companion was something she never
would be able to comprehend. She
didn’t indicate it, but somehow the
officers had the feeling that she would
have been happier if they had let her
alone with her grief and with the bond
of bygone, merrier days that was hers
when she moved through the high-ceil-
inged rooms with faded lace curtains
and heavy furniture. /

Quietly they broached the subject of
Young. Miss Kennedy knew him. /He
had done odd jobs about the house‘ She

ad seen him with gloves but/wasn’t
. ertain if those the officers carried were

is, f

-The evidence was mounting. Organ
and Satunas.headed“up the street, to
find Joachim 2 cGrath winding up
their ill-fated-@hetk.on Allison, and the
officers rettirned to tltebuilding where
YoungAived. Carefully “they secreted
themfelves and awaited his m.,

E WALKED into their trap 30

minutes later. Young hardly
looked like what the officers had antici-
pated. His working clothes were neat
and well kept. A husky, middle-aged
man, he spoke slowly, politely.

But his friendly grin of greeting
vanished when the detectives said they
were taking him to the station for
questioning.

While the others escorted him into
one of the small detectives’ rooms, Mc-
Grath sought out Sergeant Nelson and
told him what they had on Young.

“You fellows really made a good thing
out of a bad deal,” Nelson said. “We
just got our reports from the crime lab
on Allison. He passed the lie-detector
with no trouble. And the blood type
from the envelope didn’t match the
dead woman’s. We let him go.”

Nelson joined the four detectives in
questioning Young. The carpenter
squirmed uncomfortably when. they
showed him the gloves the slayer had
left behind.

Opposing council in the second
of many trials in the infamous
Fort Wayne murders. At left,
Prosecutor Bloom, See Page 34

Yes, he said, they were his.
e had used them for dirty work and,

for\vandling rough objects, Young ex;
plaifed. For that reason he had
mi. them until the day before, four
days\ ‘after the slaying. When

find them then he wasn’t par-
concerned. They weren't
worth much anyway.

The officers bore down on hi
auestiong about his relations wjth the
Kennedy§. For the first time/ Young
realized that he had been pic up in
connection with the slaying. He popped
the joints\ of his stubby fingers and
moistened his lips uneasily. / ‘

“T don’t know anything/ about that
lady being killed,” he mumbled. “She
always treated me fine and paid me
well. I wouldk’t have harmed a hair on
her head.”

Young was s\physically and verbally
agitated by thi& time that he paced
quickly between the chairs and desks in
the small room. Qnce the officers had
soothed the man, they asked for his
whereabouts at the ime of the fatal
assault.

Young rubbed his forehead with the
back of his hands and closed his eyes to ~
think. After a /false staht he gave the
name and location of a farhily for which
he had worked that entire\day.

“They .moved in rig after I
finished,” hé explained, then added
fearfully, “They weren’t around all the

time I was there, though.”

ers allowed him to\cool off
while they conferred outside tha&room.
good customer for the lie
box,” rgeant Nelson said. ‘“That’s
the safest way to back up his story. I'll
send him to the crime lab while you fel-
lows check his alibi. Also talk to his
family and see what they can tell you.”

OUNG'S alibi whe as shaky as he had
anticipated. Members of the family
that had hired him thaday Mary Ken-
nedy was slain explainéd that they had
been in and out of tieir house through-
out the day and-touldn’t say definitely
the exact hours Young had been there.
Also he had made two trips to a hard-
ware store to buy items he needed to do
repair work during the afternoon.
ose in Young’s family told a story
of confused living. Their door always

Awas open to friends, neighbors and rela-

tives, they explained. No day passed
without one to six persons dropping in
for a chat or a bite to eat.

Perhaps, someone said, one of these
visitors had stolen the gloves. But
which visitor? They had no idea.

Meanwhile Young took his test on the
polygraph. Despite his uneasiness, he
passed unscathed.

Only one fact saved the weary of-
ficers from a complete letdown. Young
had identified the gloves as his. If
someone really had stolen them from
Young and if they could find the per-
son who had taken them, the detectives
were certain they would have the slayer.

To develop this angle, they needed a

uJ] list of the frequent visitors to the
Yoimg home. The carpenter, greatly
relievethto be free of suspicion, joined
his famil) giving the names of per-
sons who had visited them. When it.
was finished, e list contained 30
names.

Glumly Sergean elson took it to
Captain Blueitt. In order to make any
semblance of speed in Covering all of
these persons, more help was needed.

The Captain glanced at the list.

“Any of these names familiar to you?”

Nelson pointed to three who, he was
certain, had police records of some sort.

Blueitt nodded. His heavy finger
spotted one name, Henry Abner. “This
fellow was just released from the pen
about three months ago. I don’t re-
member the details but get to work on
him and the other two right away. They
look like the best bet. I don’t want to
pull any more men off their other work
unless it is absolutely necessary.”

Internet. It was thought to be the first time the Internet had been used by a prisoner facing execution to
distribute his last words, usually only heard by witnesses in the death chamber.

Michael Sharp, 43, was put to death for the 1982 kidnapping and murder of a woman and her daughter.

While strapped on a gurney awaiting the injection of a fatal mix of chemicals, Sharp asked that his
victims' family forgive him. "I beg your forgiveness and would like to ask the lord Jesus Christ for
forgiveness," he said.

In his lengthy Internet statement, Sharp railed against the death penalty.

"I WAS ¢ reflection of you, a reflection of society... You have placed YOURSELF on the injecting table. I
lay on the gurney heavily bound with straps as I await Death to pass over me," he wrote.

"No eye has pity on me. Iam despised and forsaken of men. Love, compassion and mercy have
disappeared from your hearts."

The message ends: "I'M OUTTA HERE!!! See ya!," followed by a note that Sharp was executed on Nov.

19. The-entire message, entitled "Jericho Road," could be read at www. phoenix.net/ksebung/jericho. html.
(note "phoenix.net/" is followed by a tilde sign).

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Larry Fitzgerald said Sharp's message was posted Wednesday

before his execution. "As far as we know, it's the first time ever that the Internet has been used for this,"
he said.

The page is sponsored by the Lamp of Hope Project, which describes itself as an organization established
by death row prisoners and once headed by Sharp.

Sharp was the 35th person executed in Texas this year, the highest number in a year in the state's history.
He was the 142nd person put to death in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated in 1982.

: ; i
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 108 meeei | |*
of this activity in behalf of.his client he was hung in effigy in front of i
the Vigus tavern, corner of Third and Market streets. 2
“The early risers were struck with astonishment,’’ says Mr. Pratt, b> :
‘fon seeing a figure resembling my own, but eight or ten feet in height, a

and the legs extended like the Colossus of Rhodes. I was indebted to a4
the friendly hand and heart of John B. Dillon, Indiana’s historian and
one of the sweetest poets, for taking down the image and denouncing
the outrage.”’ ;
Mr. Pratt was allowed a fee of $20.00 for his services.. This munifi-
cent sum may provoke a smile from the present generation of lawyers.
The prisoner was finally condemned to be hung on Friday, June 1, 1838. ; a
The sheriff had erected a gallows near Tenth street, between North and i
Broadway, then in the woods, but on the night of May 31st, the prisoner ;
hanged himself in the old log jail by twisting into a rope the silk hand- wait
kerchief his wife had left in the cell. He formed a noose and fastening
it to the wall on a peg in the log, bent forward as if in prayer, and met zat
- his doom. As the stars were fading out before the approach of day, his
soul went forth into the vast expanse of its journeyings. A multitude,
estimated at five thousand people, came from far and near on the day
preceding the execution. All the livelong night, the crowd outside the
jail had added to the horrors of the prisoner’s condition by the up-
roar, its unfeeling jests, its cruel revilings, and the band that was to
precede the procession next day to the place of execution, practiced the.
dead march in close proximity to the jail. When it was known that the
_ prisoner had cheated the gallows, the crowd was furious at its disap-
pointment. They would not be convinced that he had anticipated the
executioner’s work until his body was brought forth and each man could
satisfy himself by lifting the stiffened limbs or placing a finger upon
the marble cold cheek. For many months, until bleached by sunshine
and storm, the gallows stood, a ghastly spectacle on the hillside north of
Broadway, near Tenth street. Thomas Richardson erected the gallows
and the record shows he was allowed $20.00 for its construction at “the
September, 1838, term of commissioners’ court. Also that William
Sellers and Christian U. Kreider were allowed $135.00 for guarding
the prisoner, Harrison.
The suicide’s body was buried outside of the old cemetery, near the :
northeast corner, where his shoemaker’s sign marked his grave for many
years, but its identity was finally lost and when Tenth street was im-
proved about the year 1894, the writer, then in the city council and.
chairman of the cemetery committee, removed the bones of many un- ee
known and unclaimed human remains to Mount Hope cemetery, and no
doubt all that was mortal of this unfortunate victim of drink was in-
cluded among them. .
There have been a number of murders in Cass county since the above
case, but the murderer has always escaped the hangman’s noose, al-
though Brooks and Carr, who knocked Mr. Slater down and killed him
in his little grocery near Twelfth street in April, about 1872, were con-
victed, and the former paid the penalty of death, yet the trial was held
at Delphi, on change of venue, and the execution took place there, thus
relieving Cass county of such an extreme penalty.
Again in 1880, Andy Monehan was convicted of the murder of one
Jackson on the south side, and the extreme penalty was pronounced and s
Sheriff Himmelberger had erected the gallows in the courthouse yard,
just outside the jail, but at the last moment Gov. James Williams com-
muted the sentence to life imprisonment, again saving Cass county the
unenviable act of executing the death penalty.

FTE PSI HAE
Te a i aaa,

Deg dibeae

oxy

me a tee
~s

Pid
mst.
ees

te
pees

i Geinty % ii

epaat Li el.

Bod hai So UTE

teenie om

idwabake

para Stl
eee
es

IE HENGE RGR So Be PALE EEN MEAG SEI AE LIN RCL RAS oo OTR UREA TOE Cha ol: RETA WAG OH COMET EY

2S Se ec ees ere ae era ts

tee eee are teen dtcerraseereeree
a

nia ii ich a esa
«

ca eet

ye pet eet =
be 2 Sere a?

; oat ae heey Be Jide ‘herttia
| LELOLA fechbvad 7 ihas
102 HISTORY OF cass county 7772 Mad a

I77P? /OzY/O2 :

HARRISON MurpEr TRIAL

This being the first conviction for murder in Cass county excited

a great deal of interest at.the time and some incidents connected there-

with may be of general interest to posterity. On Saturday night, Feb-
_ruary 10, 1838, the community was shocked at the wild rumor that David
Scott had been fatally stabbed by Jeremiah H. Harrison. The homicide
had occurred on the north bank of Eel river, a short distance east of the
Sixth street bridge, where, at that time, there was a tavern, into which
Harrison, a shoemaker by trade, had moved from Rising Sun, Indiana,
the previous fall. Harrison knew-Daniel D. Pratt in Rising Sun in
1833 and sent for him at 9 o’clock the ‘night of the murder and Mr.
Pratt describes the scene: ‘‘I found Mr. Harrison in the bar or east
room where Scott lay bleeding on the floor in an insensible condition,
with pools of blood about him. There were two other men in the room,
but they were too drunk to give any information. Harrison stated that
he had a sick wife in an adjoining room. Scott and the other men came
in drunk and made:a noise and disturbance, that he tried to quiet them
but could not and ordered Scott out of the house; he resisted and he
defended himself with his shoe knife with fatal results to Scott as was
plainly manifest.’’ ;

Coroner Yopst held an inquest on the following Sunday and Harri-
son was arrested and confined in the county jail, a building made of
hewed logs and standing at the southwest corner of our present court-

house. On Monday, February 19, 1838, the circuit court met in the _

“Old Seminary’’ with Charles W. Ewing president judge, Thomas
Johnson, of F't. Wayne, prosecuting attorney, and James Horney, sheriff.
A grand jury was impaneled consisting of Jesse Julian, foreman ;. Abra-

ham La Rue, John A. Calvin, Daniel Bell, John Clary, John Adams,

Jonathan Martindale, William Murphy, David Patrick, Thomas Kinne-
man, John Kistler and Alexander Gray. The grand jury returned an
indictment on February 21st, charging Harrison with murder in the first
degree. The trial began on Tuesday, February 27th, Williamson Wright
assisting the prosecuting attorney, Thomas Johnson, and the court ap-
pointed Daniel D. Pratt and William Z. Stuart to defend the prisoner
as he was not able to employ an attorney. z

The ‘‘Old Seminary’’ being small and in a dilapidated condition,
the court adjourned to-meet af once in the Presbyterian church, which
still stands on the back end of the lot on the south side of Broadway,
between Fifth and Sixth streets. Here a jury was impaneled composed
of the following persons: Lewis Johnson, Jos. Galbreth, Christian Arma,
Peter Berry, Robert Bryer, John Rush, John McMillen, Richard Tyner,
John Adair, Joseph Corbet, Thomas.MecMillen and Joseph Ballew.

The trial lasted two days. The jury was out just half an hour and .

returned a. verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. Motions

for a new trial were overruled and on March 2, 1838, sentence was pro-_

nounced. Mr. Pratt in his reminiscences states that the verdict was a
foregone conclusion, as Harrison was not known and Scott enjoyed a
high degree of popularity among pioneer settlers. ‘‘He was a farmer
and had influential brothers, and possessed a happy wit which made
him a welcome. presence in any crowd. When ‘half seas over’—a con-

’ dition:common to him whenever he came to town—he was in his happiest

vein, and public sentiment was indulgent to this one bad habit.’’ Had

the trial been postponed six months and the public excitement subsided,
the verdict would have been different. Mr. Pratt made two trips to .
Indianapolis on. horseback to present a petition to Governor Wallace -
-for a reprieve, but only succeeded in delaying execution and because

rg |
7 Ch vs gj

‘

Sp Vein

* a
AG Fhe

I bei

5. eee 4
4 My

$e Tt ie

tga ay r
“a fois haa

Thursday, Be, pe
November 20, 1997 JOURN Al;

Three convicted of killing drug informant

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- The daughter of a police drug informant
whose headless body was found in a Fayette County forest applauded
a jury that took just two hours to convict three men of murder.

"Justice has been served," said Ronette LeGrain, the daughter of
Patricia Malec, a cocaine addict who was working with state police.

Authorities believe that Malec was shot in the head before it was cut
off. Defense attorneys suggested that she was killed by a bear.

“I think the people of Fayette County have sent a message -- you're
not going to get away with murder here," said Trooper Gary
Brownfield, who investigated the slaying.

Malec died as she was preparing to testify against Edward Layman

Monroe, 37, one of three men convicted of homicide Wednesday in
Fayette County Court. Malec was working undercover and buying

drugs from dealers including Monroe when she was killed.

The others are Stanley Terry Brown and Ronny Austin, both 21. All
three men are from New York.

LeGrain said her mother became addicted to cocaine late in her life.
Authorities believe the men found her while she was smoking crack
cocaine at a house in Uniontown.

Authorities said Monroe had promised to give Brown and Austin a
motorcycle and a car to thank them for killing Malec in June 1995.

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty in a hearing beginning __
Thursday in Uniontown. If all 12 jurors cannot agreed on a death
sentence for any particular defendant, then he will automatically go to
prison for life.

The first trial of the men ended with a hung jury in August.

Killer of cab driver executed in Indiana
Nov 20, 1997

_ MICHIGAN CITY, Ind., Nov 20 (Reuters) - Convicted killer Gary

Burris was executed Thursday by lethal injection after his lengthy legal
fight ended with the denial of a last-ditch appeal by the Indiana
Supreme Court, prison officials said.

Burris was convicted of the Jan. 29, 1980, murder of Indianapolis cab
driver Kenneth Chambers, whom he robbed of $40, then ordered to
strip naked before shooting him point-blank in the head and leaving his
body in an alley.

Witnesses to the execution said Burris said, ‘beam me up" prior to
being given a lethal dose of chemicals in the execution chamber at
Indiana State Prison.

He was pronounced dead just before 1 a.m. local time, becoming the
-third man to be executed in Indiana since the U.S. Supreme Court
‘Teinstated the death penalty in 1976.

The Indiana Supreme Court turned down his final appeals on
Wednesday.

Death penalty opponents said Burris should not have been executed.
Amnesty International said Burris was brain-damaged after he shot
himself accidentally with his own gun in a robbery attempt in 1976, and
that Burris received a miserable legal defense at his murder trial.

‘During the death penalty phase of the trial, jurors did not learn of his
childhood living amid prostitutes and drug dealers. Burris had been told
his real mother abandoned him in a trash can as a baby.

He was sentenced to death a second time in a 1991 court proceeding,
but just 11 hours before Burris' November, 1995 date with the
executioner, an appeals court judge halted the process to review his
convoluted legal history. Several judges right up to the U.S. Supreme
Court reviewed his case and decided he should be executed.

In Indiana:

On May

the body to get a clearer view
of the mangled face partially
screened by the high weeds.

Then he saw that his worst fears
were confirmed.

The body was that of Johnson
Agrue, venerable 60-year-old patriarch
of Laughery Creek and Sellers’ good
friend for more than 25 years.

Agrue lay on his left side across
the wisteria-fringed path that led from
Highway No. 50, a mile north, to
Agrue’s home, a half-mile south in the
heart of Laughery Valley, a scrubby,
hilly farming section in southeastern
Dearborn County, Indiana.

The sun, blistering by ten o’clock on
this Saturday morning of May 17,
1941, beat relentlessly into the blood-
crusted gashes marking Agrue’s right
temple and forehead. There was a
ragged hole in the back of the aged
man’s right shoulder. Gleaming points
of two ribs protruded from a second
crimson cavity in the left chest.

Johnson Agrue had been blasted
twice at close range with a shotgun,
once from behind and a second time
from the front. The killer had com-
pleted his ghastly job by beating the
gray-haired farmer-carpenter about
the head.

Sellers, horrified, hurried south
along the winding path, dodging the
overhanging willow trees, still damp
from the heavy rains of the night be-
fore. His single purpose was to reach
the Agruc home and get help at once.

Sellers was wheezing audibly by the
time he reached the Agrues’ ram-
shackle barn, perched on a knoll 40
yards north of the house. A new and
paralyzing sight stopped him dead in
his tracks. :

On a cluster of corn stubble in the
barn’s entrance lay the body of a
slender, chestnut-haired girl, dressed
in patent leather sandals, candy-
striped ankle socks, pink panties and
a fluffy cotton dress. She was face
down, her feet inside the barn, her
head outside.

Cautiously Sellers moved to the side
of the body, becoming aware for the
first time of the ragged puncture be-
tween the child’s shoulder blades. Like
Agrue, she had been shot in the back.

| J fihe bo SELLERS stepped around

16, 1941:

By John L. Bowen

Special Investigator for
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES

Sellers recognized the girl at once
as twelve-year-old Mary Elizabeth
Breedon, Agrue’s granddaughter.

With mounting terror Sellers won-
dered what to do next. There was no
sign of life about the Agrue home. The
kitchen door was closed and the win-
dow directly to the right of the door
was shut. Where were the others?
Had they been slain too?

In his distraction Sellers had but one
thought—contact Sheriff William A.
Winegard at Lawrenceburg. Certainly
some insensate monster was stalking
the Agrue farm. Sellers circled the
barn and headed up the hillside past
the pig house, northwest of the barn.
Once atop the ridge, he would cut west
a half-mile to Joseph Smith’s home
and phone Winegard.

Sellers, although toughened by years
of farm work, found himself fatigued
to the point of exhaustion when he
reached the grove of oak trees at the
top of the hill behind the pig house.
He paused to catch his breath.

“Well of all the—” He didn’t finish,
for what he saw aroused new doubts
and fears.

Through the trees Sellers saw a team
of horses hitched to a plow in an open
field. The reins were dragging at the
horses’ sides and the animals stood still
and close together as if waiting for
their master’s familiar “get along.”

Sellers emerged from the oak grove
and started down the hill that edged
the ficld. He had gone but a few steps
when his bulging eyes spotted another
body—the third he’d found since the
beginning of his macaber excursion
into the Agrue farm a few minutes be-
fore.

There wasn’t any question but what
the third body was that of Leo Agrue,
Johnson Agrue’s 22-year-old son. Leo
was the pride and joy of the old man’s
life, the only one of the Agrue children
who hadn’t married.

| =e tilled the scrubby hillsides while
his father supplemented the fami-
ly’s income with his earnings as a car-
penter at the Government's ordnance
proving grounds at near-by Madison.

Leo wore only a pair of shoes and
dark-blue pants. His head, pointing
down the hill, was shoved under his

Through a blinding haze of
tear-gas Deputy Sheriff Ar-
thur Voit first saw the body of
Mrs. Nina Agrue lying on
the floor in this pool of blood

CARNIVAL

(Continued from page 17)

shore beats hell!” he said. “Who could ’a
done sech a dast’d trick? Pore Leo!”

The speaker was Virginius Carter, the
double son-in-law, who had been volubly
conspicuous throughout — the investigation,
spurring the manhunt, offering suggestion,
for tracking down the murderer. Now his
small eyes were blazing with wrath, his long
face was twitching angrily and his hands
were clenched in rage.

“Leo,” he told the sheriff, “is—was—th’
twin brother o’ my wife, Leona. We was al-
ways jes like that.” He extended his hand
and lapped one finger over another, “Ef I
ever git my hands on th’ skunk . . .”

Sheriff. Winegard, dumfounded by this
fourth horror, looked at him silently. An
ugly premonition was slowly taking shape in
the sheriff's mind. It found utterance in his
~ sharp command:

“Find William Agrue!”
They found William Agruc in a clump
of bushes 300 yards away. And they found
- him dead. The ugly Premonition was hor-
ribly fulfilled. Like his father, his mother, his
niece, and his brother, William had been
cravenly murdered with a shot in the back.

Five murders! A whole family wiped out!

And black mystery enveloping all!

S° EACH OF THE five shots Farmer
Schmidt heard just before Friday’s thun-
derstorm had meant a human life!

The search for the quintuple) murderer
was intensified. More posses were organized.
Practically everybody in the county joined
the manhunt. Fury ran rampant. The cow-
ardly mass murder of a law-abiding, peace-
loving family enraged all who heard of it.

The Indiana State Police, under the able
direction of Superintendent Don :F. Stiver,
joined in the hunt, augmenting the sheriff’s
force.

Tips, all anonymous and mostly false, pur-
porting to give the identity of the mass mur-
derer, poured into the offices of the sheriff
and police superintendent. All were run
down, no matter how fantastic.

One of these ‘anonymous tips declared the
murders were the result of a family feud.
An in-law of the Agrue family was men-
tioned.

Toward twilight that Saturday the state
Police questioned the father of little Mary
Elizabeth Breeden. The father, lived in
Lawrenceburg and was divorced from the
child’s mother, Bessie. The mother had re-
married and was living with her second hus-
band in Chicago. The little girl was visit-
ing her grandparents when she was murdered.

While the state police officers were ask-
ing the girl’s father what he could tell them,
if anything, about the atrocious murder of his
little daughter and the wholesale murder of
his four in-laws, Sheriff Winegard was con-
centrating on other angles, working tirelessly,
determined not to rest until the mystifying
case was officially marked “closed.”

Emerging from his bewilderment at learn-
ing he had five murders on hand, instead of
three, the sheriff methodically marshaled all
the known facts and carefully examined
them one by one:

The discovery that both missing brothers,
William and Leo, had also been murdered
automatically eliminated them, of course, as
Possible suspects.

Further, their presence on the farm ex-
plained two of the extra places set at the
Supper table. That left one place, the sixth,
unaccounted for.

Who was to have occupied this sixth place?

Undoubtedly the murderer.

What did that argue?

It argued clearly enough that the mur-

derer was a friend of the family. Possibly a
relative. At any rate, a person so well known
to the Agrues that they had invited him to
dine with them.

He had accepted the invitation, had ar-
rived at their farm and then had_ repaid
their hospitality by deliberately killing all
of them.

Why had he killed all?

Perhaps to avoid detection. Perhaps he had
intended killing only one, but had killed the
others in order to destroy all witnesses.

With the whole family dead, he had rifled
the trunk in the attic and fled into the storm.
And there was nobody left alive to say:

“T saw him do it.”

What had he been seeking in that rusty
old trunk?

The sheriff went back upstairs to the attic
room and looked at the objects scattered
about, odds and ends of no special value.
He went downstairs to the kitchen and
looked at the ugly red stain on the linoleum
floor, where he had found the third body.
Then he went outdoors and looked at the
discolored splotch in the grass where the first
body had been found.

“Gittin’ anywheres, Sher’ff?”

It was the irrepressible Virginius Carter.

The sheriff turned and looked at the lout-
ish fellow—looked him carefully up and
down. All clues uncovered thus far paraded
through the officer’s mind. And he began to
see, now, where all were tending.

“Yes,” he said slowly, watching Carter’s
lank face, “I think I am getting somewhere.”
He went on in a very friendly tone, “Dink,
suppose you and I go into town. I’ve an
idea you might be able to help me on several
puzzling matters.” :

Carter’s thin lips parted in an affable smile.
“Shore, Sher’ff. I wanta he’p all I kin. You
know that.”

“Yes, I. know that, Dinke”’

In the sheriff's office at Lawrenceburg no
words were wasted in preamble.

“Dink, before these murders, when were
you last at the Agrue farm?”

“T hain’t been there in a long time, Sher’ ff,
afore this happened.”

“You’re sure you weren’t there Friday
afternoon?”

Dink Carter wagged his long head. “I
wasn’t there till Sat'’day, Sher’ff. That’s
when T heerd about all them folks bein’
kilt.”

“Where were you Friday afternoon?”

“I was home in Aurora.”

The questioning went on. Carter answered
all questions in a straightforward manner,
apparently concealing nothing, ostensibly as
anxious as the sheriff to clear up the mystery
of the mass murders.

That was late Sunday afternoon, May 18.
It was not a peaceful Sunday in that part of
Indiana. Two days had passed since the five
bodies were found, but the wrath of the
countryfolk had not subsided. If anything,
it had mounted.

Word spread that the sheriff was holding
a suspect and crowds began gathering. Be-
cause of the feeling in the town, the sheriff
Rave out no news, but held his prisoner
incommunicado.

Next morning, Monday, he took him to
state police headquarters in Indianapolis.
There he was given a lie detector test by
Superintendent Stiver and Captain Walter
Eckert.

“Where were you last Friday, Carter?”

Carter repeated he had been at his Aurora
home on that day.

“What were you doing Friday afternoon?”

Carter scratched his head and looked at
the floor. “Fer one thing,” he said finally,
“I went to a pitcher show.”

“What picture did you see?”

“I jes don’t remember. All I know is, it
had some dancin’ gals.”

“Didn’t you read the title of the picture ?”

Carter looked up with a shamefaced grin.

‘ # ehhh rn RENOM aw aie ter a *
i r ime. tes

ohh
id

I cain't

“T hain’t had no schoolin’, cap’n.
read,”

It was proved that in this, at any rate, the
lout was telling the truth. He could neither
read or write.

He more than made up for his illiteracy, °
however, by his sexual excesses. A checkup \
on his past disclosed he had twice been
arrested on statutory charges,

The lie detector could not shake his story,
and Sheriff Winegard took him away, though
not back to Lawrenceburg. Knowing the
temper of the townsfolk, the sheriff took his
prisoner to the Franklin County seat, Brook- “is
ville. tee?

For all the man’s stout denials, the sheriff “Mes
was convinced he was the guest for whom
the sixth place had been set at the Agrue Lees
supper table—and the cold-blooded mur- Hens
derer of the entire Agrue family, ; ‘

Winegard began tightening a web around
his stubborn prisoner. He found a truck
driver, Charles Campbell of Aurora, who had
given Carter a lift part way to the Agrue
farm on Friday. He found another man \
who had seen him walking in the direction :
of the farm that afternoon. :

On Tuesday, May 20, after ceaseless grill-
ing by Sheriff Winegard, Deputies Voit and
Cook, and Dearborn County Prosecutor
Lester Baker, Virginius “Dink” Carter spread
his awkward hands and drawled:

“All right, men, I done it. T'll tell you all
about it.”

AFTER A PAUSE to collect his thoughts,
he continued in his slow voice:

“When I got to th’ farm Ma Agrue told
me Will and Leo was:in th’ field plantin’
corn. I went out’ to th’ field and seen a
shotgun layin’ on th’ ground. I took it and
shot Leo. Will started to run and I took
after him and shot him in the back, same
as Leo. I went off and left ’em layin’ in th’
woods.

“Pa Agrue was gittin’ home from work
and I shot him in th’ back as he walked i
toward th’ house. I went inside and Ma 8
ast what all th’ shootin’ was about. So I oe
shot her, too. The kid was there and I told ier
her to come along with me. But she screamed
and ran for th’ barn. I took after her and 3
shot her down, 2

“After that,” he concluded, “I went on
back home and changed my clothes and went
to a pitcher show.”

Such, substantially, was the appalling con-
fession of this incredible monster.

Why had he committed such a_ horrible
crime ?

Because, he explained, he “never did like Bee
Will and Leo” (the latter the twin brother nae
of his young second wife) and “Ma and Pa shoe
Agrue was allers nosin’ in my affairs.” ee

There were two further motives, the police ea

believed—he had designs on the little girl,

and there was also the secret of the attic

trunk. The trunk had contained a con- ;

siderable sum of cash, which Carter coveted. s
What had he done with the shotgun ?
He had hidden it inside a hollow log in

the woods, along with the exploded shells. ial :
Later he led officers to the lonely spot, iF

where the shells and gun were found.

Prosecutor Baker went before Circuit
Judge William D. Ricketts to ask that the
Dearborn County Grand Jury be convened
as quickly as possible so that justice might
be expedited.

Funeral services, meanwhile, were held for
the five victims of the monstrous murderer.
Almost everybody in Dearborn County
flocked to the Moon chapel in Lawrenceburg,
where the last rites were conducted by the :
Reverend E. E. McConnell. Se

The five bodies were placed in five caskets :
and driven to the Riverview Cemetery at
Aurora in five hearses. All were buried in a :
single grave in the presence of a vast throng. bey:

It was an impressive sight that will be by
long remembered—a tragic reminder of a
crime that Indiana will never forget. igh

HEADLINE DETECTIVE

How... Trap- This ‘Shotgun. Assassin. Who Wiped- Out: Everyone: Living--on-a’ Farm
Near -Aurora, Indiana, ‘When He Left Only a Half-Empty Bottle as a Clew?

Five Agrues?

thue.. Voit:.“Only. a”
. dirty, yellow coward

& es
jes =e

. . ts a ‘ag
ee Cg:

ba le g-
“ a2 zs

When the officers saw that the Agrue. table had heen
actual photograph,

twisted shoulders. A significant hole
in the back of his neck told Sellers
that Leo had been shot from behind.

In speechless amazement, - Sellers
turned away from the body and ran
toward Smith’s home. There he called
the Sheriff’s office. Winegard was
absent on business in La Porte and
his deputy, Arthur F. Voit, one of the
most popular men in the county, took
the call.

Sellers quickly gave him the de-
tails of his gruesome discoveries.

“I was standing in my own barn-
yard this morning,” he explained to
Voit, “when I saw Agrue’s cows in
his alfalfa field. I knew the old man
had given this field a lot of care and
I decided to go over to his house and
tell him about the cows. I had walked
down the lane only a hundred yards
when I came across the old man’s
body.”

Sellers hung up and turned to Smith,
said:

“Voit’s calling the coroner. They're
going to hire a truck in Aurora to haul
in the bodies. They want me to meet
them in twenty minutes at the head

Into the peaceful atmosphere of
this rural home came a killer who
cold-bloodedly stalked and shot to
death every person on the farm

set.to Include.a guest, as shown in this
they were certain. that the slayer was no stranger to his five victims

of the lane where it cuts into Fifty.
I'll have to highball.”

“Maybe I know something,” Smith
said, his mouth hanging open. “Last
night—”

Sellers was gone, too impatient to
wait for Smith to finish.

When he reached Highway No. 50
at the head of the lane, Voit and
Dearborn County Coroner Harry T.
Moon were waiting for him. They had
driven the fourteen miles from Law-
renceburg in Voit’s car. Back of them
was a truck and ‘three men from an
Aurora transfer company.

ELLERS introduced himself and led

Voit, Moon and the three transfer
men down the lane. Voit stopped be-
side Johnson Agrue’s body only long
enough to hsgar Moon’s peremptory
judgment on the cause of death.

“Shot in the back and chest and
beaten about the head,” Moon said.
“Tl stick with these fellows and help
them get out all three bodies. You
and Sellers can go ahead.”

Voit, looking at the body of Mary
Elizabeth Breedon a few minutes later,
said angrily: “Only a dirty, yellow
coward would shoot the kid.” Then he
glanced toward the Agrue home, men-
tally noting its quiet calm, undisturbed
except for the rustling of the wind
through the trees which nearly sur-
rounded it.

have an idea,” Voit said to Sell-
that the killer may still be in the
You stay here; show Moon
e the boy’s body is. I’m going to
rouse.”
th gun in hand, Voit moved down
‘illside, careful to remain in line
a thick-trunked tree that would
‘et him from any direct fire from
vitchen.
irty minutes later, after he had
don fear-stas bomb into the kiteh-
vithout results, Voit was con-
.d that the house was deserted.
cooked around toward the barn.
three transfer men were placing
hild’s body on a crude stretcher.
, and Sellers were walking up the
de toward the spot where Leo’s
lay. Voit decided to tackle the
e alone. He edged his way through
yard, grasped the kitchen door
‘le and twisted. The door opened
y and Voit stepped into the kitch-
‘oughing fitfully as he breathed the
gas.
vit was in the center of the kitchen

Mary Elizabeth Breedon:
not fast enough to outrun a determined slayer

fore he saw the body of a wrinkled,
iy-haired woman lying in a pool of
sod on the floor directly under a
le, Although he never had met her,
: Deputy knew instinctively that she
is Mrs. Nina Agrue, wife of the
ad man in the lane, mother of the
uth on the hillside and grandmother
the child in the barn entrance.

‘OIT, his eyes smarting, dropped to
his knees to examine the body more
isely. A great hole had been torn in
© woman’s chest and part of her
in had been blown away. Someone
d stood close by and fired point-
ink at her.

Voit stood up, pulling at his chin.
\t least,” he said to himself, “she
isn’t shot in the back like the
hers.”

He glanced at the stove and table,

Her young legs were

both of which testified that Mrs. Agrue
had been killed while preparing a meal.
On the stove were two skillets. One
was heaped high with hash-brown
potatoes. Several pieces of sugar-cured
ham were in the other. In the center
of the table, already serviced with
plates, cups, water glasses and silver-
ware, was a bowl filled with leaf let-
tuce. At one corner was a galvanized
pan with the cleanings from the let-
tuce.

Voit now was choking badly on the
tear gas and he decided to inspect the
other rooms in the house while the
gas cleared through the open door and
window. This examination, however,
proved fruitless, so far as any clew to
the identity of the killer was con-
cerned. The two bedrooms at the east
side of the house were tidy and order-
ly. The large living-room which ad-

joined the kitchen at the south showed
no signs of disturbance.

Glancing through a living-room win-
dow, Voit observed that the doors to
the cellar were pulled open. He went
through the living-room door, he
stepped around the side of the house
on the flagstone walk and entered the
basement.

Voit flashed his light into the opaque
shadows. Large stones, evenly spaced
and close together, provided a floor for
the chamber which served the family
as a milk house. A bench ran along
the east wall, holding a row of crocks
of various sizes. Voit walked along the
bench, lifting lids from the crocks and
scrutinizing their contents.

As he neared the end of the bench
he saw a nearly empty half-pint
whisky bottle concealed by the crock.

Voit picked up the bottle by its
metal cap, observing that it was a
particular brand of blended bourbon.

There wasn’t a particle of dust on
the bottle, indicating to the Deputy
that it hadn’t been in the cellar very

long.

“What I’d like to know,” Voit said
to himself, “is what it’s doing here at
all. Who would have any good reason
to cache his liquor in the cellar? Why
not drink it upstairs or outside?”

Voit’s meditations were interrupted
by a booming, familiar voice upstairs,
which he recognized at once as that
of his superior, Sheriff Winegard.

Placing the bottle in his pocket, Voit
left the cellar and moved around the
yard to the kitchen side of the house.
He was amazed to see the yard
crammed with townspeople from Law-
renceburg, Aurora and other parts of
the county, drawn to the scene by the
fast traveling news of the killings.

Voit recognized one man—Virginius

—Dink—Carter, husband of Leona
Agrue, daughter of the slain couple.

“Howdy, Dink,” Voit said, stopping
to shake Carter's hand. “Awfully sor-
ry to see this happen. I imagine Le-
ona’s pretty upset. I think I’ve heard
that she and Leo were twins.”

ARTER nodded, listlessly. “Yes,

they wuz twins. Don’t know what
Leona thinks about this. Ain’t seen her
fer a month or so. I been stayin’ with
Mom and Dad. I was listenin’ to the
radio ’bout eleven o’clock when I heerd
the news. Turrible, ain’t it?”

“Sure is,” Voit said. He left Carter,
walked into the kitchen and greeted
Winegard who stood in the center of
a cluster of sober-faced men. Among
them were State Detective Donald
Winn from the Seymour Post of the
Indiana State Police and State Patrol-
men Harold Jolliff and Woodrow
Woods.

Voit had never seen the two other
men, both of whom looked like typical
Laughery Valley farmers. He said to
Winegard: “I was hardly expecting you
here by this time.”

“I got back to the office about a half-
hour after you and Moon had left,”
Winegard said. “I highballed it over
here. I picked up Dink Carter on Fifty
just out of Aurora. He’d heard the
broadcast over the radio and was try-
ing to thumb a ride. He ought to be
helpful. But what’s the setup, Art?
Any pointers at all?”

“Nothing definite,” Voit replied,
pulling the whisky bottle from his
pocket, holding it carefully with his
handkerchief to protect possible finger-
prints. “I found this a minute ago in
the cellar. Looks like someone delib-
erately hid it there but it could have
belonged to Leo or the old man, so far

oD—6

‘Httle Mary. 'Tears rolled down the

Friday, Feb. 20, 1914.

———— oes roared

Girls’ High Button Shose.

Ortt &

SPECIALS /TY which deters, To substantiate this
; “statement I wish to call the public's
$4.50 Men's English Custonr Bals, cut to.......$3.45 Feeney teat oor ine nant ota
4.00 Ladies’ Shoes, all leathers, cut to........
3.50 Ladies’ Shoes, all leathers, cut to........ 2.80
3.00 Ladies’ Shoes, all leathers, cut to........ 2.40 Jideath, prevents the prosecution, con-

i pecuadies’ Shoca, albleathers, cut tos .2. 6, 1.05. pet and tus encenssre she property

, b 4 $ | aholis 4 4
Rave Button Shoes, sperial.... 2.6.5.8 0 ees LE ee ice che usar avaatth for

Hammond's Largest Boot Shop ‘recited abolished the death penalty
169 EAST STATE STREET

| tox a tooth,” but when Christ appeared

947 in the arena of life he turned ‘his back ,
OR | i & j Owl E &y ‘upon it all. His was a gospel of love |
and mercy.

It is CERTAINTY and not SHVERI-

attention to the petition against pun-}

forgery, presented tuo parllament fn |
3.20 1830 by a thousand bankers, repre-
’ {senting 214 cities in England, reciting
“that the petitioners find by expert-
enee that the infliction of death, or
even the possibility of the infliction of

,Vietion and punishment of the erim-
.it is Intended to protect.” Parliament

'death, and after the death penalty for

1 25 (forgery had been abolished the crime
Ccveweorr wees ee wees . tig forgery became very rare in Eng-
| land.

ad; They have abolished the death pen-
alty in many states In this country.

It was abolished in Kansas’ in ,1872,

VW e Towa in 1872, Michigan 1846, Wisconsin

‘ 1853, Maine in 1876, and in Rhode Is-.

itund In 1853. <All of these states above

and people live in peace and security.
The number of murders committed tn
these states per capita compared to

MEN WALK TO |
DOOM BRAVELY |

(Continued from page one.)

from a stone. Chirka loved his chil-
dren passionately and was adored sh
eyes of the stolid guards as Chirka
preesed his last kisses on the soft lips
lof'the little ones. As the clang of the
bolts shot into the socket when the
heavy door, of the death chamber
swung to, a moan escaped Chirka’s lips
and he sank on his knees.

Witnesses Had All Assembled.
Shortly after eleven o'clock, the war-!
rants were read to the doomed men and'
they were prepared for the death chair.
The witnesses—a handful had asemb!-
ed in. the warden's offices. Neither
condemned man had adsked for any
friend or relative to witness the elec-
trocution as the law provides.

At midnight Rasico'’s hour came. His
death guard and Father Bleckman
started the procession. Down the cor-
ridor only a short distance from the
“death chamber” was the electric chair.
Two physicians, Drs. Paul E. Bowers;
and J. M. Milligan, Father Bleckman
Warden Fogarty, two prison guards
and the hidden electrocutioners were
the only persons present in the corrt-;
dor beside Raisco. He walked calmly
to the chair and he was strapped in.|

His trousers were cut to the knee t0|

permit the adjustment of the electrode
there and the other was placed at his
head.

Prison Attaches Work Quickly.

At 12:07 Warden Fogarty raised his
hand silently in signal and 32,300 valts
of electricity shot through Raisco’s;
body and at 12:15 @ nominal examina. |
tion was made and he was pronounced
dead. His body was removed and in
ten minutes or at 11:26 exactly, the|
waiting Indiana Harbor man was call-{
ed. ‘The prison officials in charge of}
the electrocution had worked very
rapidly and witheut a slip.

Chirka was very brave. He was
supperted by Father Bleckman whose
‘ministrations evidently gave him great

{tions visited him and no stone was

other states Is much lower.
Felonious intent is the essence of
cials at 12:58 went through the the crime of murder, and the Jury must \
formality of pronouncing Chirka deaa,;drtermine them in each Instance. The,
John Rasico, father of ‘the Terre| *t#te of mind of the accused, in many |
Haute man claimed his son's body. Je} CHses this fa a difficult task. In the |
|
|

was turned over to him after it haa] {!rka case it was worse than a mere
been put in the prison coffin and taken} ®'e for the evidence produced both
to Vincennes where it will be buried hy the state and the defense could not

today. help from raising a doubt in the mind
pet "i of any ordinary man as to the sanity
Chirka's Body Buried Today. of -the: defendant, and the benefit of

Chirka’s body was unclaimed. He} each and every doubt should and is
had no relatives outside of his children: given by law to the defendant.
and they poor tots couldn't bury it, so| If the death penalty is for the pur-
at ten o'clock this morning it) was; pose of detering people for committing
buried in the prison cemetery. crime, why isn't it inflleted before the

The execution of the two men fs the] public?
first in seven years in Indiana. Fif-} The governor of this state, Mr. Ral-
teen altogether have been executed In
Indiana for murder since it became a -—
state.

Chirka {s the first Lake county man
to suffer death as a law penalty.
Warden Fogarty on whom the double
execution has heavily preyed for some,
time was visibly relleved when it was.
over, for as the final preparations for ,
the electrocution had been going on »
almost within hearing the men, he had,
hoped against hope that the governor, Suits Or Ove
would commute the sentences.

15,000 Ask For His Life. ! fran 34 fo 4

When Governor Ralston set at rest
all doubt that the men were to die he
sald that 1,790 people had signed a pe-

tition for the life of Harry Rasico.

| Fifteen thousand signatures were plac- | S > @ &

ed on the Chirka petition. These names
included men, women and some men of

prominence. Governor’ Ralston said; W € just bought part of a st
that numerous kind hearted fathers of | house who'said make us a bit

the Catholic church had asked him to! ‘ ; P :
ancie the Sceseariiy eg. ae psd We paid. spot cash and are 1

Scores of telegrams went to himif# goods at 25e on the dollar t

from manufacturers, business men, BE HERE MALY — 7

professional men tn Lake county as}
late as yeaterday but he was not in In- '

dianapolis to receive them. Delega-: R Trousers

left unturned to get him to-make the
mentally deranged man a life prisoner./ 9.
Went to Bible For It.
The crime for which Chirka was @

electrocuted was the shooting of his
wife whose conduct and relations with

other men for some. time had driven Si
him mad. He declared that the Bibie

OF EUNON Ce Unter mas
written me that ft is a fittings
example for the bloodthirsty,” the
Bovernor added. He said he was
entirely in accord with Warden
Fogarty in the latter's refusal to
allow an audience to the electro-
cutions,

“There was nothing to make a
show of,’ ‘said the governor.

ATTORNEY
CRITICIZES
GOVERNOR.

See ee

tom Mat De

in ‘REGARD TO THE. ELECTROCU-.

eh Bolas OF JOHN CHIRK A,

4 East, Chicago, tnd., Feb. 20.

It seems to me that some One has
to pay the price for society as a whole,
and I do not know how my _ client,
John Chirka, or the other party, Harry
Rassico, whom I do not know, could
better serve their state than to give
their lives in this horrible manner, for
mark my word, when the. switch is
turned on that sends the death deal-
ing electricity through the bodies of
_these victims, for the purpose of com-
.mitting legalized murder, that current
,of electricity will not stop in the
bodies of its victims, but will travel
all over the state of Indiana until it
‘strikes the chord of human sympathy
in the heartr of the thinking and God-
fearing people, and the rank and file
_of this state will rise up against such
j Atrocities and demand the law to be
changed so as to prevent a repetition
iof of such a disgrace to our state.
L ‘Some people justity tHe deliberate
taking” f life by the state. for the un-
lawful taking of life’ Bs mah, en the
‘ground that life is sacred and he who
; takes it must CRDC OLS the most severe

| (Continued on 4 page “geyeny,

who was electrocuted in the state
prison at Michigan City this
morning.

The “legal murder was par-
ticipated in by six'‘men. There
were six switches which were
handled by as many prison em-
ployes. None saw the death scene
and each pressed his lever at a
given signal. However, only one
switch turned on the death cur-
rent so none of the six execution-
ers really knew who did the
slaughtering. A similar perform-
ance took place in depriving the
Terre Haute slayer of his life.
Warden Fogarty had no direct
hand in the task gue to give
the signal. ee

(BY STAFF CORRESPONDENT.)

MICHIGAN CITY, Feb. 20.—John
Chirka of Indiana Harbor and Harry
Rasico of Terre Haute. were electro-
cuted shortly after midnight in the
corridor of ,the state prison for murd-
ering their wives.

The electrocution was said to have
been successful by Warden Fogarty
as with solemn face he stepped quiet-
ly into the prison office and inform-
ed waiting newspaper men_ that
Chirka and Rasico were dead.

Both Died Like Men.

Both men met death bravely. They
walked to the death chair without a
tremor. Religion systained them tn
thetr last hours and Indlana's first
barbarous details is a matter of his-
tory.

So quietly had the preparations been

{made and the deed accomplished hy the

——-—~----—----— -- Semen nf
. Twarden’s staff that nothing save the

restleas reporters in the offices Indicat-
ed that any thing unusual had occurred,
~The two men sustained by the con-
sOlatory mintstrations of the Rev.
John: Bleckman, priest at St. Mary's of
Michigan City--knew that they were
to meet their fate soon after midnight.
They were asked what they desired for
supper, but both men who were under
the watchful eves of guards in the
death chamber ate very Hghtly. They
spent much of their time in prayer and

accepting spiritual consolation. Both

expressed regret for the deeds they
shad committed but evidently failed tu

Jreallze that their doom impended in a

short time.
No One Came to See Rasico.
At 1 o'clock in the afternoon the
‘three children of John Chirka, con-
demned wife murderer, called at) the
prison in charge of Mrs. Nicholas
Ituchin, whe Hves near Gary, and haa
their firval visit with their father. The
! children remained with him for about
‘fifteen minutes,
{ (Chirka talked to the children gently.
;The little lad asked his father to come
‘home with him and the condemned
;man simply broke down.
was cone that would wring

anguish

twin-electrocution with all its last -

The scene!

(Continued on page soven.) ie

es aT cerca) ere see vena canis nto a enaecanen on maa

To Page Pa eee Cie etn s righ? Tes:
eM Arend. ca The led of 4 ned a bey
Of a pleud tig WIC Chie wonennery of
MEAL OM ROR AE. the Ee at tyes
taken frites,
the promenee of the posernor the
little girl premmed Wo btenm peor Non
hind Pollowlon m ofuntom tn fr,
elm darda, and tram Chitdteah walre
mpoke wn few wordns In behalf of her
futher

fathrer “Uni tee brag

“Won't wou please RAVe tIny
beg Red the child es

And why abllould it net be fPaw
Unreasonable anid WEonm te pugtets
the futher of these two chileren pty
doing to. him, Actiberately the
sare ne he did to his poor wife,
Impulaively---take uwAy obig ilfe
Surely there je ao omore
way of
wihret of eriminala than the bar
baroun practice of puntahing “liken
with lbke."’

In cases of no other forma of
crime da we dg thie, and surely a
rational people, with «x well or-
ganized government, ouKhe nat to
act thus in the highest and moat
sacred renim of alle human Ife
Weare worry for the twe Mitthe
children And we mre. sorry fer
our grent atate of Indiana Hieav-
en hasten the day when the delth-
erate taking of any human life, tn
a CIVIlized state whall be no more

: A READE),

Crown Point, Ind

frie jonn

earellent

PO eee eee nee seem went ene siperiicnr antes

dealing with aven he |

Sonera staror ere er
“is “VLE.

ston,
that gave hin the power
these
power to say
his acts Int
to be oa
whose hi

hese two case

JOSEPH A.
Attorney for

cannot shirk the responagibility ¢
of this execution, for the same law f

men ehall die, gives him the |
that they shall live. and

man Without inercy, and one
sind smacks of the
the blood-thirsty of burbarle ages.

e
h € March and de ei 1
le k 4 plex’ t tak to thee eeeh ib dic Basia t
F el) To Vea le
ateertary JP ren, 1f von *Peclal tore PPOsee deo '
r t . ca 80 i
th 0 x en n M f the Wis re n Ne ate
mes Ma oon en i sear rt° ne hs
Ved, en aS @ rin 8 hy e| a \
double Ow js Vs ™mep freck} pe armory my 1
frackin rageePRth, tlme Unleny eet, tony: nad
6s Ptio 8¢ othi,. | ey rod
ne! Ur

hy i 3, Whit

to say that !

s show him
cravings of

MEADB,
Defendant.

is |
By . e k :
mi, AC > en 4
Stakes PRESUprouRh | |
mop |

NAME

John Chirka Ind. SP (Lake County) lec, 2=20191),

DOB OR AGE RACE OCCUPATION RESIDENCE GEN
1873 White Indiana Harbor Austria native
~ CRIME DATE =f OTHER
rte wo;
Murder o/ /WE
VICTIM 5 AGE RACE METHOD
4

| paviied on — so none ‘really knew as was ection Both he cok Raisce who ‘dies for killing

-Chirka had no money and no relatives except 3 small children and his body buried in prison ct emetery

Yloo hho a4 JURCH6W

PLACE — CITY OR COUNTY bec & MEANS

Wife,

MOTIVE

SYNOPSIS

Sxouyhion amg eae in by 6 rmen. re were 6 ewitones perewpirt were peneet by as onged prison

= ome = Both men ate lightly on night be-
fore and ae time with priests, “Both expressed sorrow for deeds, At one o'clock on afternoon
before, Chirka's three children allowed farewell visit with him, Remained with him about 15 mins,
When his little boy asked him to return home with them, Chirka broke down, Raisco went first.
Chirka left cell at 12:35, Face was ashen but gave no sign of fear. Pronounced dead at 12:58

while Raisco's father eannes his ney and took to Vincennes 8 presage mh people nad Pr ips
ex= 's . ASK Lhe " t De Spareds i> aa s e = 6 4 36 De
affeirs eual some time <n steer — The eee ee Priest at St. Mary's eral in Michigan city

Ae AcE Ch AMO ae ‘ne ak oY en e 4 Aun Cry

ZHHHS ©

as s they ‘ed no relatives here es no Legal guardians were appoint ed by courts in Lake teviiley, His

2 : 2 ed on ound of sanity, had refused to allow
him to plead “guilty iad veaiav a life Cease: He was peaviates with death penalty on 9=-17-(19037)
Both defense and prosecution surprised at verdict. Jury made up of farmers, Testimony introduced

showing Chirka to be of unsound mind and one of the physicians for the state, Dr, Blackstone of
Chown Point, practically admitted his mental deficienty, The history of the Chirkas was shown to

have been a stormy one, They had frequent quarrels and on many Occasions she had caused the ~~
arrest of her —, At the time he shot his see - was under burs sai TMence of Liquer. -* the
@ alia 1a sie ~ ~ ") wits oe =f@ J “5 town: ,

™ nts the idect. AEE 5 I-years-old eloped to Ohio. heen she was dskertet by her gers AB

r) aa. awla & or £2" via ye" -Bale = fd O SON x Stzie

aitied on Governor and asked him to spare father's life, Gov. Ralston became angry, s aying that
" his sympathies." QARX LAKE COUNTY TIMES, Hammond,

Indiana, 2-20-191) and 2-21-2191)

TRIAL

APPEALS

LAST WORDS

EXECUTION

SOURCE

FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY—DOTHAN

Franklin, white, elec. Ind,

“No! No!" the girl screamed, alert to:her danger, 22.”
her inevitable fate. The mat: 'crouched;smiled-
smickingly as. he eyed his terrified: Victim. There
was no escape. This was'e trap-~a death trap!)

er toy ue (Speciatt pased yh eset,

4
iret

hieine ee
Bee ae oy

B56 OSS

TKK

ace t!

ARAN

—

Rape Slayer With A Silent Partner

(continued from page 37)

the last in her young life.

‘‘She got into the car. I stepped on
the gas and quickly turned the corner
to my left, and she said, ‘You’re not
going to town this way.’ I said, ‘Yes,
I am.’

‘‘She said she had to meet someone
downtown at 3:30 or 4 o’clock, and I
said, ‘Well, we have a little time.’ She
got suspicious. She tried to get out of
the car, but I kept on going.’’ Click,
his excitement rising at the thought of
what he was about to do, sped into
the country and out along lonely Ditch
Road, then stopped.

“‘T started getting fresh with her. She
bit me. There is the scar. I got mad
and hit her in the eye.”’

Click was strangely calm as he
described an episode which, for the
pretty teen-ager, was a crescendo of
screaming horror. ‘‘She resisted, but
I didn’t tear her clothing then.’’ Her
struggles quickened his lust and frenzy.

‘*She jumped out and started
fighting... I followed... I tore the
clothes off of her. She ran to the fence
and I started after her. I got hold of
her. She came back to the car. She
grabbed a coat in the back part of the
car... It wasn’t hers or mine... It must

have been there... and she held it in

front of her. She must have been
embarrassed. She started to run for
the fence. That’s when I started after
her again.

‘‘She got over the fence. After I
followed her over the fence, I had
intercourse with her again. I assaulted

her twice. She was not unconscious.

After the assault, she had about half
her clothes on... .

‘‘She was fighting, scratching and
kicking. She tore my shirt clear off. I
took this belt and wrapped it around
her neck and started choking her. I
hit her with something — I don’t
know what — but she was giving me
a rough time. She really fought.

“‘] didn’t intend to kill her. I don’t
know whether the girl was alive or
dead when I left. I didn’t know she
was dead until I read it in the paper a
day or so afterward. I didn’t tell
anyone.

“I never went back to the scene. The
girl didn’t tell me her name. I didn’t
know it until I saw a picture in the
paper and it was the girl I had taken
to the Ditch Road.”

In the car, Click sped back to town
and there met the squad car. The chase

and the wreck followed.

“That is all there is to it,’ Click
stated wearily.

Far past midnight the session went,
as Click tried to remember exact
details and fill in gaps. Finally he was
returned to his cell. He fell sound
asleep.

Next day he signed his formal
confession and directed officers to the
scene of Phyllis Conine’s murder and
the route to the spot where he crashed.

Detectives showed the trench coat
found at the Conine murder scene to
the salesman who had owned the
stolen car. Until then, everyone had
assumed that the coat belonged to the
killer. “‘It’s mine,”’ the salesman said.
“It was dirty and out of style. I kept
it in the back of the car and used it to
wrap my samples. I didn’t even know
it was missing when I got my car
back.’’

Next the officers checked records at
the defense plant where Click was,
working at the time of the Conine
slaying. His time card showed he
worked the day before and the day
after the murder, but not on the fatal
day.

Click pleaded guilty to the kidnap
rape of young Mrs. Day and received
a life sentence. On October 10, he was
indicted by the grand jury on three
counts for the murder of. Phyllis
Conine, which the prosecution felt was
the strongest case against him.

Nine-Finger K im:

A jury in San Jose, California, a- |
warded $27,500 to a Monterey woman
because a female friend of her ex-hus-
band bit the pinkie off her right hand! _
- ‘Without the finger, 50-year-old Wah-_
ja Kim, a professional acupuncturist, ©
said she would be unable to stick pins
‘into her patients. Worse than that, it”
would prevent her from joining her
family in the afterlife.

~ _ According to court documents, Kim’
broke a bathroom window in the ho-
me of her former husband and climbed
in while her husband was having dinner

with a lady friend. A hassle broke —
‘out and in the skirmish the lady friend —
bit off Kim’s little finger. ;
_ Kim claimed her unorthodox entry
was to rescue two pet dogs and to —

“gave my former husband from this |

woman.””.

Then, in a new twist, Click renoun-
ced his confessions, saying, ‘‘I only
did it because I thought my family
would collect the reward. I figured I
was going away for life anyway, and
they wouldn’t bother trying me for the
murders.”’

His trial in a jammed courtroom
began November 28, 1949, and lasted
four days. The state demanded the
death penalty and Chief Deputy
Prosecutor Chester A. Lincoln

declared: ‘“Never has there been nor —

ever will there be a more disgusting
and cowardly creature.”’

- Prosecutor Alton L. Bloom warned
that Click ‘‘might be turned loose on
the streets of Fort Wayne again to prey
on your sister and mine.”’

The jury of nine men and three
women heard a parade of witnesses,
Click’s confession and denial, the story
of the stolen car and the telltale time
card. They took 11 hours and 38
minutes to find Click guilty and
recommend death. He was sentenced
to be electrocuted March 27, 1950.

The score in the fantastic Hoosier
nightmare now stood at four murders,
six confessions, six denials, two men
sentenced to die, one indicted and one
in prison for life. Click and Lobaugh
took credit for two of the same
slayings, but Click denied the Howard
murder and Lobaugh the Conine
killing. Dagmier, the merchant, who
was serving life in the Howard case,
said he had nothing to do with any of
the murders, and his lawyers were busy
fighting for a new trial. And Click and
Lobaugh, after admitting three
murders apiece, now both insisted that
they had been lying when they

confessed and really had not killed

anyone at all!

To top everything, news of Click’s
conviction leaked into Lobaugh’s
death-row cell five days later, and the
weird prisoner fired off a half-dozen
letters to eminent officials, insisting
that he — not Click — had murdered
Phyllis Conine!

As the execution dates drew near,
Attorney Buhler was battling to save
both of his doomed clients. Briefs,

‘petitions, affidavits and pleas swirled

in a paper whirlwind.
- Click’s appeal for a new trial was
denied.
Lobaugh did another about turn and
insisted: ‘‘I never killed nobody.”’
Governor Henry F. Schricker
announced: ‘‘I think these crimes are
the most sordid messes in the history
of Indiana. They present the most

(continued on next page)

a Sree an
ax BERR LE

Rape Slayer With A Silent Partner

(continued from page 35)

Lake, 30 miles from Fort Wayne, on
the night of the Billie Haaga slaying.
Her parents said Lobaugh was either
at their home near Churubusco or
digging graves in nearby cemeteries on
the dates of the Anna Kuzeff and the
Dorothea Howard slayings and for
“some time’’ before and after both
dates.

Prosecutor Bloom and his staff said
they were convinced the confessions
were authentic. Detectives looked up
the ex-GI, Mark Gantlo, in Memphis,
Tennessee, and he identified Lobaugh
from a photograph as the “‘unknown
civilian’? who had accompanied
Dorothea Howard into the alley. State
police gave Lobaugh lie tests and again
he confessed. The Allen County grand
jury indicted him for the Haaga,
Kuzeff and Howard murders.

His family hired a capable lawyer,
Robert L. Buhler, who saw quickly he
had more to fear in his client’s quirks
than in the strength of the prosecution.
For in a surprise move, Lobaugh
ignored his attorney’s advice and
pleaded guilty without jury trial to all
three murders. He was sentenced to

‘die in the electric chair on February
9, 1948.

Two days later, Lobaugh once again
was ‘‘innocent.’’ He claimed that he
had been doped with Benzedrine
supplied by fellow prisoners when he
had made his surprise plea; also that
he had feared several prisoners were
planning to kill him, thinking he was
a stool pigean, and that he had figured
the death house at the state prison
would be a safer place than the Allen
County jail. - :

Attorney Buhler, checking polic
records, learned that Lobaugh, when
younger, had turned in false fire
alarms and had confessed phony
crimes to get his name in the newspa-
pers. Once he had confessed stealing
a car, although at the time he had not
been able to drive. Another time, he
confessed carrying a 350-pound safe
from a store in a burglary. Buhler was
convinced that his client was a
psychopathic liar, an opinion which
soon became widespread. A new lie
test, two psychrometer tests and a
handwriting test all indicated that the
ex-grave digger was innocent!

Buhler finally, as the execution
hour neared, had Mark Gantlo, the

ex-GI, visit Lobaugh in his death cell.
The witness was emphatic: ‘‘He’s not
the man who was with Mrs. Howard.”
36

Lobaugh won a stay of execution.

Then a truth serum test, the first in
Indiana crime history, disclosed that
Lobaugh was in reality a homosexual
who found women “revolting’’ and
whose ‘third wife’? at Kokomo was in
reality a man with whom he had been
living. Lobaugh, under the influence
of Pentothal Sodium, admitted’ that
he had grown miserable and upset
when the man had left him to go back
to his wife. He wanted to die, and
bought a knife, planning to cut his
throat, but he lacked the courage.
Having read at great length in the
newspapers of the Fort Wayne mur-
ders, he decided to confess them and
die in the electric chair. He also felt
he was doing the police a favor by
““clearing up’’ the slayings and
declared: ‘They wanted it cleared up,
didn’t they? Well, I cleared it up.”’

More than a dozen witnesses — psy-
chiatrists, doctors, officials, Attorney
Buhler and a newspaperman —
watched Lobaugh as he lay on an iron
cot in the state prison hospital at
Michigan City and heard him answer
question after question in a husky,
hollow voice.

He described his early life, his
discharge from the Navy in 1942, after
six months’ duty, on grounds of
homosexuality.

He admitted many trips to Fort
Wayne in 1944 and 1945, but said they
were all made to conduct homosexual
affairs.

“*You never went out with women?”
the doctor asked.

“‘Absolutely not. Women revolt
me.”’

Questioned about the girls whose
murders he confessed, he answered
repeatedly: ‘‘I didn’t know her... I
never saw her.’’

One doctor tried to draw him out
about other possible crimes that he
might have committed: “Ralph, I

_ think you’re hiding something... some

crime that you committed... you killed
a young man... or a boy.,.””

Lobaugh answered, again and
sone “No, I didn’t kill anybody at
a ae

Fort Wayne’s new police chief,
Lester Eisenhut, who had asked for
the truth serum test, felt doubly
skeptical now and ordered a new full-
steam investigation of all four
murders.

As a result, the homicide detail
picked up the trail of Orin Dagmier,

, 4
the store-keeper. He was taken into
custody at Denver, Colorado.

On November 8, 1948, he was
brought back to Allen County and
indicted for the Howard sex slaying.
At his venued trial in Whitley County
the following March, Dagmier was
identified by the ex-Gl, Gantlo, as the
‘‘man in the alley.’? He denied the
accusations, produced alibi witnesses
and pleaded innocent. But a jury
found him guilty of second-degree
murdtr and in March, 1949, he was
sentenced to life imprisonment.

The same grand jury that nailed

Dagmier now indicted Mark Gantlo,
the ex-GI, for first-degree murder in
the same slaying!
i The weird fact was that the state had
indicted three men, had convicted two
and sentenced one of them to die for
the murder of Dorothea Howard! But
the big payoff was yet to come.

Early on the hot summery afternoon
of August 17, 1949, a tall, polite,
husky young man with handsome
angular features pulled into a
driveway off Ditch Road, south of
Fort Wayne, to look over a home
which had been offered for sale.

The man of the house was away but
the woman was there, and she was an
eyeful — an extremely shapely, blue-
eyed, blonde 19-year-old Texas girl,

. Mrs. Angela Day.

_ The caller, who didn’t bother to
introduce himself by name, said he was
interested in buying. He looked over the
premises, including Angela Day’s
luscious curves, and then left.

But he returned about 9 p.m. for
another look about the house and
garden, casting frequent glances at the
shapely young housewife, whose
husband had not yet returned. For
comfort in the summer heat, she was
wearing Only a flimsy halter bra and
brief, skin-tight shorts.

When the caller returned to. the
house, he said: ‘‘I’ve got an idea. Why
don’t you get in my car and I'll drive
you to my house? We can talk the sale
over with my wife. I’m interested in
buying, but I’d like to get her view-
point.’’ ‘

Angela Day, though, rejected the
Suggestion, saying she could not leave
her two children alone.

Abruptly, the husky young man
twisted strong fingers in her blonde
curls and dragged her out through the
doorway. He hurled her to the ground
and tore off her flimsy playsuit. Then
he dragged her naked to his car and
raped her.

His lust spent, the brute whipped

(continued on next page)

off his belt, looped it into a noose,
twisted it around her neck and began
to choke her.

She looked up into his face and he
was gritting his teeth. The muscles in
his jaws stood out and the cords in his
neck were rigid. The terrified young
woman blacked out.

When she regained consciousness,
the blonde housewife was in the rear
seat and the car was moving. Her
attacker stopped the car, grabbed her
and began choking her again. She
begged for her life. The assailant
relaxed his choke hold, grabbed the
wheel of the car and started driving
again. :

“Tf I don’t hurt you, you promise
not to go to the police. Understand?’’
he said.

‘*All right,’’ she consented lifelessly.
She crossed her arms over her breast,
trying to cover her nudity. Then she
asked for a cigaret, thinking that that
might convince him she wasn’t afraid
and would keep her promise not got to
to the police.

‘‘Don’t go to the police, and I’ll
tell you what I’ll do,’’ her attacker
said. ‘‘I’ll bring some presents,
presents for you and your kids
— Christmas presents.”’ -

Minutes that seemed like hours
passed as the terror-filled ride
zigzagged along country roads. At last
the car pulled up in front of the Day
house and the driver let her out,
saying, ‘‘Remember your promise.”’

The young woman’s husband drove
up two minutes later. His wife was still
nude and appeared dazed. A purple
welt from the attacker’s belt was
swelling on her throat. Day called the
sheriff and then his wife declared: ‘‘I
got his license number.’’ Day passed
the information along.

Registration records showed the car
belonged to Franklin Click, and a half
hour later a Fort Wayne police cruiser
pulled to a quiet stop in front of a neat
white cottage at 3240 Taylor Street and
knocked at the door. An attractive,
dark-haired woman of 25, wearing a
housedress and apron, answered and
said she was Mrs. Marie Click.

Patrolmen Leonard Scrogham and
John William Bollman inquired, ‘‘Is
your husband at home? We’d like to
talk to him.””

In a back bedroom the officers
found Click lying in bed, apparently
half asleep. But he leaped from bed
when he saw the policemen. He flaired
his arms and tried to butt Scrogham
in the abdomen. The officers grabbed
him, held him fast and snapped cuffs
on his wrists.

Fifteen minutes later at police
headquarters, Click was denying the
kidnapping and rape of Angela Day.
The next morning, in the line-up, the
young woman, welts still visible on her
throat, pointed at Click and said,
‘‘He’s the man.’’ Click denied the
accusation. .

Click, aged 31, was working at the
time on a celery farm only a stone’s
throw from the spot where Anna
Kuzeff had been killed. He was the
father of five small children. He had
a police record showing two arrests for
car thefts, but none for sex crimes.

Chief Eisenhut, quick to notice the
similiarity of the Day attack to the
Kuzeff and Conine murders — the
strangling technique — ordered a
thorough look into Click’s past. His
detectives did a good job.

They learned that at the time Anna
Kuzeff was killed, Click, married and
already with two children, was living
with his mother across the street from
the Kuzeff home. Almost daily Click
went to the Kuzeff home to draw water
for the Click household, but Mrs.
Kuzeff told the detectives: ‘‘He never
paid any attention to Anna and she
had never paid any attention to him.
He was married and Anna was a good
girl.’”’

After two days, Click still denied the
attack on Angela Day. His pretty wife
hired Attorney Buhler to defend him.
She begged her husband to take a lie-
detector test, saying it would prove his
innocence. With reluctance, Click
agreed. Lieutenant John Hazelet of the
identification bureau conducted the
test. Each key question on the Day
case made the needle jump. Click was
taken to South Bend, where a lie test
on a different device had the same
results.

Using a new approach, detectives
now asked Click about the Kuzeff
case, jabbing with question after
question. This did the trick. ‘‘O.K.,”’

said Click, ‘‘I’ll tell you about the Day.

case.’? He made a full confession.
Sergeant (later chief) Mitchell
Cleveland and Sergeant McCarthy
next day switched their technique in
questioning Click about the rape
murders. ‘‘Your wife’s under a terrible
strain,’’ said Cleveland. ‘‘What about
her? What about your kids? Don’t you
have any feeling for them? Can’t you
see what this is doing to them?’’
Twenty minutes of this and Click
broke. He asked to see his wife and
his lawyer. For about an hour Click,
Mrs. Click and Buhler conferred
privately. Once Buhler emerged from
the closed room and asked the officers:

“‘Can you check back and see if you
had a Chevrolet stolen from South
Calhoun near Creighton on August 4,
1944?” Later he came out and asked:
**Was the Chevy wrecked on Broad-
way later that day?’’ Cleveland and
McCarthy now had the old report and
the answer to both questions was yes.
Buhler said gravely: ‘‘You’d better call
the chief.’’

When Click, his wife and his lawyer
reappeared, Mrs. Click, crying and
near hysterics, handed Chief Lester
Eisenhut two handwritten notes. The
first read:

“‘My dear Wife: I want you to be
the first to know and learn from my
own lips that I am a murderer... I am
the one and the only one guilty and
the only one that murdered Wilhelmi-
na ‘‘Billie’? Haaga... Anna Kuzeff...
and Phyllis Conine... No other person
was with me or participated in either
of these murders... This I know is a
terrible confession and I want you to
hand this confession to Chief Eisen-
hut.’’

In the other note Click explained
that he was confessing so his wife
could get the rewards, which now
totaled $16,500.

A dozen officers and witnesses,
including Chief Eisenhut, Sheriff
Harold Zeis and Click’s wife and
lawyer, were crowded into the sheriff’s
office as the rapist poured out his lurid
confession for the official record. His
admissions solved the mystery of the
final hours of pretty Phyllis Conine.

He spent the morning drinking ina
tavern and left about noon, planning
to start out early for his 3 to 11 p.m.
defense plant job in the Rolling Mill
District. He caught a trolley to Phyllis
Conine’s neighborhood, planning to
transfer to another trolley, but instead .
wandered into a South Calhoun Street
tavern and drank some more. When
he came out, it was raining.

“TI thought,”’ he said, ‘‘if only I had .
a car!’’ Walking along, next to the
building, he saw one — a black

Chevrolet with Illinois plates; and the
keys were in the ignition. ‘‘It was too
late then, anyway, to go to work,”’ he
said, so he got into the car, started
the motor and drove aimlessly around
the neighborhood. It was raining hard.

“I saw a girl standing on a corner
with her head down. I drove up beside
her and asked her if she wanted a lift:

‘“‘Where are you going?’ She said,

‘Downtown.’ I said, ‘I'll take you to

town.’ She hesitated a little.’’ As it

turned out, the decision she made was

(continued on page 39)

Rape Slayer With A Silent Partner

(continued from page 39)

- involved and tangled legal problems °

on record.’’

Fortune had at least a crooked smile
for Dagmier. The Indiana Supreme
Court, on January 4, 1950, granted
him a new trial and, for lack of
evidence, the case was dismissed. He

was free. The indictment against.

Gantlo, the former GI, was dropped.

Lobaugh won 11 stays of execution
during a nerve-racking three years, and
on May 2, 1951, Governor Schricker,
after hearing psychiatric reports on the
queer prisoner, commuted his sentence
to life imprisonment. The governor,
sidestepping the Conine case, said it
was highly doubtful that Lobaugh had
committed the Haaga, Kuzeff and
Howard murders, but that even so, he
was too dangerous to be turned loose.

Since then, Lobaugh became a
cellblock lawyer and filed petition after
petition in vain attempts to win
freedom.
' Click’s execution was postponed
until December 30, 1950, and his
lawyers fought dramatically until the
11th hour for a reprieve. None came.

At 12:03 a.m.; still proclaiming his
innocence, Franklin Click was strap-
ped in the electric chair at Indiana
' State Prison in Michigan City. At
12:05% a.m., 2,300 volts of electricity
surged through his body and, exactly
three minutes later, Dr. P.H. Weeks,
the prison physician, pronounced him
dead.

Was that the finale to the Hoosier
nightmare of too many murders, too
many killers and too many confes-
"sions — of terror, lie tests, truth tests,
dramatic trials and endless investiga-
tions? Almost.

There was still the $16,500 reward,
and on December 11, 1951, five
claimants, including a woman clair-
voyant, appeared at a crowded public
meeting of the Fort Wayne Reward
Commission to state their cases. The
money was split three ways.

One third went to the young house-
wife who was attacked by Click and
whose presence of mind and sharp
memory in getting the license number
led to his capture.

One third went to Floyd L. More-
land, the private eye who traced the
laundry ticket found at the Billie
Haaga murder scene.

Moreland, in reconstructing the
crime, assumed that the laundry ticket
had fallen or had been kicked from a

car — possibly the killer’s automobile.
He took the ticket to the laundry which
had issued it and learned that, several
months earlier, the ticket had been
given to David Royal with a bundle
of laundry. Moreland went to Royal’s
home and learned that the man had
died two months before.

The private eye asked Royal’s
widow: ‘‘Did your husband own a
car?’’ She said, ‘“Yes, a Lincoln sedan.
But after his death, we couldn’t keep
up payments, so we let it go back to
the finance company.”’

Moreland now checked with the
finance company and learned that, on
January 31, 1944 — four days before
Billie Haaga’s fatal attack — the
Lincoln sedan formerly owned by
Royal had been sold to Franklin Click

— and that Click was driving it at the
time of the assault!

This evidence, Moreland decided,
fingered Click as the sex-mad killer.

If the authorities had acted on
Moreland’s information, at least two
women might have ‘been saved from
death and horror.

And a third of the reward went to

the executed killer’s pretty, young
widow, Mrs. Marie Click.

History has her secret§ and her
dupes. One of her secrets is the
ultimate truth about the Dot Howard
slaying, which remains officially
marked ‘‘unsolved.’’ One of her dupes
is Lobaugh, the man who lied his way
into prison and thought to be too
dangerous to release.

But on one point, history is unmis-
takably clear: The death of Franklin
Click ended the long, terrifying
Hoosier nightmare of lust, rape and
murder.

‘Please Help...1 Can’t Stop Killing!’

(continued from page 23)

team was called out to a location in
the South Valley where police had
established a stakeout, after receiving
a tip Crump might appear. The tip
proved false, as did four other
sightings. .

At 10:35 on Friday evening, Ian
Smith, a 40-year-old cabbie who had
worked for Yellow Cab for about six
months, picked up a fare at the
Caravan East Motel on University and
Manual boulevards. Earlier in the day,
Smith went to Presbyterian Hospital
to give his wishes to fellow cabbie
David Caballo. Smith, like other
drivers, was unnerved by the shooting
of the unarmed driver, but decided to
work his shift anyway, though aware
the gunman was at large.

Fifteen minutes after picking up his
fare, Ian Smith was gunned down in
his cab in the parking lot of the Royal
Inn Hotel.

The gunman was Thomas Wayne
Crump, who went crashing through the
doors of the Four Seasons Hotel. This
time, he would not get away clean.
One of the bullets fired at the cabbie
wounded Crump in his own forearm,
sending blood spurting everywhere and
throwing him into a wild panic.

He charged into the hotel and fell
to the carpet screaming for help. A

' hotel security man told the press that

Crump was ‘‘lying there crying like a
baby.”’ Police recognized the two time
convicted killer and put him under

immediate, heavy-security arrest.

- Once again, murder charges were
filed against the now 42-year-old
escapee. And once again, Crump
managed to elude the death sentence.

In a plea bargain agreement, Crump
agreed to plead guilty to the first-
degree murder of Ian Smith. He also
pleaded guilty to six felony counts in
connection with Smith’s death and the
nonfatal shooting of cabbie David
Caballo. In return for the guilty plea,
prosecutors assured Crump that he
would receive a life sentence.

On March 7th Crump was ordered
returned to prison and to serve an
additional 62 years tacked onto his two
consecutive life sentences. The
additional prison sentences virtually
assured that Crump would never be
eligible for parole.

Just about everyone believed that
— except Thomas Crump. Leaving the

courtroom, he never looked happier.

A reporter asked him why.

“I will be out again,”’ Crump said.

“*How is that?”’

Crump’s eyes sparkled. “*By think-
ing positive.’’

Crump still had to face charges in
Clark County, Nevada, for the 1980
murder of Jody Jameson and the
attempted murders of his two former
roommates.

The Clark County DA had followed’

(continued on, next page)

2) oe 4 et Bs : -
OK Qa hte)

by Cleo Desmond

Two men are awaiting execution for the same crimes
which only one of them could possibly have committed—
both have confessed and proved their guilt! Yet some-
hody is lying . . . Who?

WILHELMINA HAAGA, the first victim
of a brutal rapist, was found dead on
a vacant lot in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

EGINNING with 1944, Fort Wayne, Indiana, has had a series of
rape-murders which have got the officials of that thriving city so
tangled up that they scarcely know where they are.

The first attack took place.in the early part of February. Wilhelmina
Haaga, a 37-year-old blonde who was regarded as one of the out-
standing beauties of the community, was brutally beaten and raped.
She died a few days later.

Less than four months thereafter, Anna Kuzeff, a 19-year-old war
factory worker, was strangled and violated; and in a little over two
months following, Phyllis Conine, a 17-year-old high school girl, was
found stripped naked, raped. and
savagely beaten in an untilled oat
field a few miles from Fort Wayne.

And eight months later Mrs. Dor-
othea Howard was found nude in
an alley in the heart of Fort Wayne.
She died about ten days later of’
pneumonia, brought on by her ex-
posure for several hours ‘to the
freezing weather of early March.

The police found not a worth-
while clue to any. of these rape-

- murders. But on June 10, 1947,
something happened which was to
bring in its wake some of the
strangest shenanigans which have
ever taken place in the criminal
history not only of Indiana, but of
the entire United States.

It was brought about by Ralph
Lobaugh, a (Continued on page 39)

FRANKLIN CLICK being led from the
Allen County jail on his way to Michigan
City Prison. Left to right, Deputy Arnold
Dicke, Franklin Click and Sheriff Zeiss.

RALPH LOBAUGH: His confession backed
by undeniable proof that he was the mur-
derer of the three women convinced po-
lice officials and a judge of his guilt.

and that’s where I went.” He got to his
feet. “And I can prove it.” .

“Sit down,” said Reardon, “What's
this fellow’s name?”

PRE know his first name. It’s

Bob! Bob for Robert—and the ini-
tials on the lighter were R. A. G.

“Did he say where he lived?”

Holden shrugged his shoulders. “On
Heath Street, I think he said, and
that’s all I know about it.” ;

Reardon and Godfrey conferred.
“We'll hold him for awhile, anyway,
while we see if he was actually home
by ten,” said Reardon. “Later, if nec-
essary, we can have the bell-hop look
at him.”

“J think he’s telling a straight story,”
said Godfrey... -

Reardon agreed. “So do I. I think
this Bob is our man—and we're go-
ing to find him if we have to search
every-fouse on Heath Street.” .

Within a few minutes, Reardon and
Godfrey were leading a detail of detec-
tives into Heath Street.

Crisply, Reardon issued his instruc-.
tions. “Go from house to house. Ask
first for Bob, as though you expected
to find him there. If anyone named

Bob lives there, you know what to do.
‘We're going to grab this bird if it takes
all night,”

It--was then shortly before ten p. m.

As the detectives carried‘ through on
their assignment, Reardon and Godfrey
paced the sidewalk impatiently. They
were reasonably certain now that’ they
were nearing the end of the trail, but
they would be unable to relax until their
man had been taken into custody.

So they paced.

MaANWwas, the detectives were
running into a spell of bad luck.
House after house was canvassed, sev-
eral men named Bob were found. But
not the right one. Had Holden been
telling the truth? Or, if so, had he
made a mistake in the name of the
street?

The canvass was nearing an end. The

— were reaching the foot of the
street.
And then a cab turned into. Heath
‘Street and drew to a stop. A man
stepped out.

Godfrey and Reardon tensed.
_ The man was wearing a red sweater
.with reindeer on it.

The police officials sprinted for the

cab. The sweatered man saw them. He
ran.

“Halt, or we'll fire!” shouted Reardon.

The man hesitated, then stopped. He
was seized immediately.

“What did I do?” he demanded.

“You're Bob?” said Reardon.

“That’s right.”

Reardon showed him the lighter.
“And this is yours?”

Caught off ‘balance mentally, Bob
nodded. “Yes,” he said.

The manhunt was at an end.

At Headquarters, Bob, whose full
name was Robert Anthony Gunning,
admitted that he had been in Miss
Flynn’s room the night before. He in-
sisted, however, that he had met the
elderly lady in a restaurant, that she
had asked him up and that he had done
her no harm.

This story was punctured when a
search of Gunning’s possessions re-
vealed personal papers belonging to
Miss Flynn, as well as her bank book.
Robbery, officials were certain, was the
motive for the crime.

Beyond that, however, Gunning re-
fused to talk. He would not explain
why he had remained in the room long
enough to smoke several cigarettes after

beating the maiden lady; he would not ‘

account for the ladder dangling from
the window, although he undoubtedly
had made it in an attempt to slip out
unseen but had realized it would not
hold him. | ;
But the investigators had enough.
Gunning, age 22, was arrested and

charged with manslaughter late that —

night of May 5, 1949, only a little over
24 hours after the commission of the
brutal murder.

On June 13, Coroner Louis Schaeffer
conducted an inquest and found that

Gunning had killed Miss Flynn “with--

out justification.”

On .October 19, a grand jury re-
turned a true bill indicting Gunning for
first-degree murder.

The following day, on October 20,
1949, State’s Attorney Albert S. Bill per-
mitted him to plead guilty to second-
degree murder in Superior Court in
Hartford. . s

Judge J. Howard Roberts sentenced
him to life imprisonment at the Con-
necticut State Prison in Wethersfield.

The names Agnes Malone, Madeline
Sommers and Donald Holden are ficti-
tious to protect innocent persons,

The Murders of the Fort Wayne Women (Continued trom Page 39)

Possibly Click had figured that, af-
ter he was given a life sentence for
the kidnaping, the State would forget
about the three murder cases to which
he had confessed. Because, as soon as
he learned that he was going to be tried
for murder anyhow, he‘ said that he
wanted to talk with Chief Eisenhut.

“lm - entirely innocent of those
crimes,” he asserted. “That confes-
sion was a phony.”

“Yeah?” Eisenhut came back skep-

“Because of the reward.”

“T don’t get it.”

“J mean I figured that after I got
that life rap I wouldn’t be prosecuted
for the other. Or, even if I was, I might
get off with another life term. I
wouldn’t be any worse off with two life
terms than one. But my wife would
be a lot better off with that reward
money to take care of her and the kids.”

HE Chief studied the long-jawed pris-
oner. “Does your wife know that

-you say this is your only reason dor

confessing?”
“No; she thinks it’s on the up and

“Well, why are you changing your

mind now? You haven’t been tried ’

yet.”

“J know. But I’m pretty sure they
will give me the chair. I don’t want to
take any chance on that.”

“T’m afraid it’s too late now,” Eisen-
hut told him. “You can, of course,
withdraw your plea of guilty and fight
the case. But you’ve given us those
written confessions.” :

“They’re all phony, I tell you.”

“You'll have to prove that to the
court.”

This was the situation on November
29, 1949, when Click, with a plea of not
guilty, faced a jury in Judge Schan-
nen’s court for murder. The jury
consisted of seven farmers, three house-
wives, a construction employe and an
unemployed factory worker.

After the opening statements of at-
torneys, Mr. Bloom put on the stand
Reuben E. Marlowe, the owner of the
car which Click said he had stolen.
Marlowe gave the details of the theft,
where he had left the car, where it was
when he found it wrecked, and other
incidental information.

“Why didn’t you report to the police
when the car was first stolen that the
trench coat belonged to you?” Mr.
Bloom queried. }

“Because I didn’t recall that it was
in the car.”

This question of Mr. Bloom obviously
was designed to take away possible am-

- munition from the defense, as on the

BAD a nines Sali ide bai RATT ar on ws ll i on OF

surface it looked strange that such a
long time should elapse between the
theft and the identification.

Other witnesses were of the routine
kind: The brothers who had found Miss
Conine’s body; the Coroner, Doctor
Mendenhall; the officers who had
checked Click’s story.

T= three defense lawyers fought the
case hard, seeking to show that Click,
had an ulterior motive, the reward, for
confessing, and that Miss Conine was
dead at the time Click alleged he met

- her or that she had been seen in a

theater an hour later than the time
Click asserted that he had “picked her
up.” s e
The case went to the jury at 5:30 in
the afternoon of November 30, 1949.
Neither Judge Schannen nor any of
the attorneys thought of sleep. At 4:30
in the morning, after deliberating for
eleven hours, Lawrence Tippman, the
foreman, sent out word that the jury
had reached an agreement.

Click, sleeping soundly in his jail cell,
was awakened and ‘brought to court.
There was the usual tense, breathless
moment as the foreman handed the
verdict to the Judge. Click, nudged by
a bailiff, arose and faced the court.

“Franklin Click,” Judge Schannen
read, “the jury finds you guilty of mur-
der in the first degree and recommends
the death penalty.” .

This, under the Indiana law, made
the electric chair mandatory. The
jury, had it so desired, could have
recommended life imprisonment.

Click displayed no emotion whatever
as Judge Schannen sentenced him to
die “on March twenty-seventh, nine-
teen fifty, before the hour of sunrise.”

Asked later why he hadn’t taken the
witness stand in his own defense, Click
replied, “There wasn’t any reason for
it, as my lawyers didn’t see any evi-
dence to prove I was guilty.”

“Well, how about those confessions?”
he was asked. “Why did you confess
if you weren’t guilty?”

“I wanted to get the reward, that’s

Attorney Robert Buhler, who had
represented Ralph Lobaugh, also was
defense counsel for Franklin Click. In
both cases he served practically with-
out compensation.

He announced following Click’s con-
viction that he would file an appeal.

LLMOST immediately there was a

new twist. For, a few days after
the trial, Lobaugh announced from his
cell in the Michigan City penitentiary
that he alone had killed every one of
these women, including Phyllis Conine.

This was the first time he had made

such an admission concerning the
young schoolgirl. Prior to then he had
insisted that he knew nothing what-
ever about her death.

Chief Eisenhut and his top officers
were more than a little skeptical of this
latest addition, to the Lobaugh con-
fessions, the Chief believing that it was
merely another effort of Lobaugh to
focus attention on himself.

But the attorneys for both Click and

x, Christen seized on it eagerly as a help

to their cause in obtaining new trials
for their clients.

They had plenty in writing. For Lo-
baugh followed up his verbal statement
by writing to Governor Schricker, Judge

_ Schannen, Chief Eisenhut, Prosecutor

Bloom and Judge Pefiey, who had tried
Christen. The letters, all the same,

stated: :

“If you will come to the prison your-
self or send the Chief of Police to the
prison, I will be glad to give you a full
and complete confession of the murder
of Phyllis Conine by me, and me alone.

-“This confession can be used by you
in securing a new trial for Franklin
Click, and I will be glad to testify in his
behalf if he is granted a new trial.

“Franklin Click is innocent of all the
murders he confessed to, and I am not
going to let a man be executed for
crimes that I committed. ,

“Robert Christen did not kill Dor-
othea Howard because I killed her my-
self, and I, myself, alone. You have my
confession in the Howard murder, and
if you will please send Christen’s law-
yers to the prison, I will be glad to give
them a sworn affidavit to the effect that
I, myself, Ralph W. Lobaugh, killed
Dorothea Howard.”

In a letter to Mr. Buhler, which also
contained the above statements, he
added:

“If you won't help these men out, I’m
going to appeal to Governor Schricker
in their behalf.”

The Governor’s only comment con-
cerning the letters was that they were
“just another confession” which added
to “the mess.”

UST a few days after Governor
Schricker gave out this statement, on
January 4, 1950, the Indiana Supreme
Court reversed the conviction of Robert
Christen, and remanded the case to
Whitley County with an order that he
be given a new trial.
Almost invariably such reversals are
based upon some error in the case or
some point of law. But here the Su-

-preme Court practically ignored legal

questions and concentrated on the evi-

= being almost caustic in its deci-
on:

. “In the case before us there was a

lapse of four hours between the time

Christen was last seen with Mrs. How-
ard and the time the deceased was found
nude and badly injured in a dark alley
with her clothing scattered about.

“It was during these four hours that
the offense charged was conimitted. It
was uncontradicted that the locality in
which she was found was a lawless and
morally low. section of the city of Fort
Wayne. ;

“With four hours unaccounted for
and a woman in a helplessly intoxicated
condition in a dark alley in a neighbor-
hood of low type taverns and houses of

- ill fame, almost anything: could have

happened.
“Christen had the opportunity, but
so had hundreds of others. 4

“Opportunity is not enough ...tosay

that Christen (is guilty) must be based
on the acceptance of a mere possibility
and upon guess and conjecture, in which
neither we nor the jury may indulge in
rendering or affirming a judgment
which sends a man to the penitentiary
for the balance of his natural life. -

“It is the opinion of the court that
there was no evidence from which it
reasonably could be inferred that ap-
pellant murdered the deceased.”

Mr. Bloom, the Prosecutor, declined
to make any statement concerning his
next step in the case until he had read
the entire opinion of the Supreme Court.
“Even then,” he said, “I would not feel
free to discuss the matter until after a
conference with James F. Biddle, Pros-
ecuting Attorney of Whitley County.”

OX JANUARY 27, 1950, Prosecutors
Bloom and Biddle, after a confer-
ence in Columbia City, made a motion to
dismiss Christen because. they had no
evidence in addition to that already pre-
sented in the trial, which the Supreme
Court had declared insufficient, At 3:15
that afternoon Christen walked out of
the courtroom a free man.

At this writing two men remain in
the penitentiary, both of them under

_ sentence of death. But the Lobaugh

case, on orders from the Supreme Court,
will be re-investigated. i

And Acting Chief Justice James Em-
mert of the State Supreme Court has
granted Franklin Click a stay of execu-
tion while his attorneys continue with
their efforts to free him.

In this concluding instalment, the
name Reuben E. Marlowe is fictitious to
protect a man not involved in any crime.
In previous instalments, the names Mr.
and Mrs. Bill Dempster and Dempster’s
tavern, Barbara Criswell, Parker Ens-
low, Emden Schuyler, Jed Leontine,
Alice Quentin, Claude Parker, Arabella
Sumner and Paula Stearns also are fic-
titious. .

buckle and comb found near Miss
Kuzeff’s body; the trench coat, um-
brella and one or two other items picked
up at the roadside and in the field
where Phyllis Conine was found by two
brothers. -

And Click gave what the officers con-
sidered Satisfactory answers to the
majority of their questions,

But the police were now under a dis-
tinct handicap. Hundreds, if not thou-

Franklin Click: Was he a Je
personality? Compare the:
him, above as a respected father,

at the left as a confessed murderer

sands of newspaper stories had been
e various murders since
on Billie Haaga. En-
terprising reporters had dug up numer-
ous details concerning each of them. °
Pew—very few—remaining facts had
not received publicity.

it was difficult to judge
prisoner was telling the
Peating what he had read in the news-

Eisenhut and the othe
in the back of their min:

written about th
the first attack

Consequently

rs kept always
ids the Lobaugh
, Seemingly so authentic at
they were made, but now so

When the offic
he had commit
gave the same a:

ers asked Click why . |
ted these attacks, he
nswer he had given his
that he had been drinking. He
at he got sudden and imperi-
insisted that Miss Haaga
e@ were casual pick-ups
d enticed them into his

ous urges. He
and Miss Con:
and that he ha
car on various pretexts,

with what was
acters, as neithe
type of girl wh
with a stranger,

This statement about seizing his vic-

on the street was also at variance

Only the killer would have
known this car was used in
one murder, police declared

with Lobaugh’s confession. The con-
demned man had asserted that he lay
behind a log and seized Miss Kuzeff as
she took a short cut over the field on
her way to work.

REPEATEDLY Eisenhut and his fel-
low officers prodded Click concern-
ing his alleged pick-up of Miss Conine.
They informed him that everyone who
knew the young schoolgirl said that she
was exceptionally shy among strangers
and asked him how he explained her
getting into the machine with him.

“I don’t recall exactly,” he told them,
“but rain may have been falling at the
time and this induced her to get into
the car with me.”

too was somewhat contradic-
tory, as little if any rain had fallen
during the days the body of Miss Con-
ine lay in the field. However, since the
murder had occurred five years before,
Click possibly was unable to recall all
the details: .

“Have you still got the car you Picked
her up in?” Garmire queried,

“No. I stole it.”

“Where did you steal it?”

“At the corner of Creighton Avenue
and Calhoun Street.” .

Here at last was a concrete fact.

Chief Eisenhut unwrapped a bundle
and showed its contents to the tall,
frigid-mannered Suspect. It was the
filthy trench coat that had been found
near the scene of the Conine slaying
and which had been untraceable.

“This yours?” he asked.

Click shook his head.

“Try it on.”

The prisoner complied. It obviously
didn’t fit him. . '

“Ever see it before?” the Chief de-
es

“Yes.” ‘

“I think it was in the car that I stole.”

“Where did you leave the car?”

“I didn’t leave it,” Click answered.
“It left me.”

“Meaning what?”

“Well, some cops in a squad car rec-
ognized it and chased me. I managed
to get away from them, but I wrecked
the car.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know exactly. 1 wasn’t

watching streets; I was just anxious
je get away. It was somewhere in the
city.”

CHIEF EISENHUT went to the rec-
ords. And there he discovered that
a car had been stolen from the corner
oe Spgs a day ute oe
eet on the very Conine
had been slain.

The car had belonged to Reuben E.
Marlowe, a Chicago salesman; it was a
1936 Pontiac sedan.

Furthermore, according to those rec-
ords, the car had been spotted by a
patrol car later that night and a wild
chase ensued. Finally the driver
— it into a tree and escaped on

oot.

This was in strict’ accordance with
what Click had said. Furthermore, it
was something that had not been pub-
lished in the newspapers at the time.
The officers, just to be sure, consulted.
the files of both Fort Wayne Papers.

As yet, of course, it established that
Click possibly had guilty knowledge of
the car theft, but it did not connect the
car with the slaying of Phyllis Conine,

The trench coat would Prove the
connecting link. ‘

An officer hurried to Chicago with it
and looked up Mr. Marlowe. ;

Without revealing its significance, he
showed the coat to Marlowe, who in-
stantly and unhesitantly identified it.
It was an old coat, he said, and he used
it only when he was working around the
poe’ this accounted for its dirty condi-

ion.

At the time his car was stolen, the
coat had been in the back seat. Its loss
had been so insignificant, he said, that’
he had not reported it to the Police.

This, the police believed, was pretty ~
damning evidence. But what about the
other crimes—the slayings of Wil-
helma Haaga and Anna Kuzeff? :

They decided to see if Click could Te-
enact the murders. ;

Before taking him to the scene of
the Conine crime, the officers them-
selves went there to refresh their recol-
lection concerning the area and the
spots where the various articles were
found, particularly the trench coat,
They then returned and, after a con.
ference, drove slowly along the road
with Click, waiting for the prisoner to
stop them where he claimed the attack
had taken place. Click called a halt
near the proper field but after alight- |
ing, he pointed to a spot 1,000 feet from
the right one. Later, however, he cor-
rected this error. ;

Without appearing to do so, his‘cap-
tors watched him closely, He showed
no reluctance, however, in re-visiting
the scene of his alleged crime and spoke
in a quiet, steady voice which gave no
indication that he was emotionally dis-
turbed. He went into detail concern-
ing the crime.

But still the officers were not con- ‘
vinced. For Lobaugh had gone into
similar details and more than a little
doubt had been thrown on the accuracy
of his statements. ‘

Next, Click was driven to the field
where Anna Kuzeff’s body had been

‘discovered. Here Click Positively de-

nied that either the belt buckle or the
small comb found beside her body had
belonged to him.

“You’ve got nothing to lose if they

are yours,” Garmire suggested. “You've

already admitted killing the girl.”
“I know,” Click responded, “but you

want me to tell you the truth, don’t

“Of course.”

“Okay, they’re not mine.” : :

“Did you own a pocket comb at the
time of this attack?”

“No, not then or any other time.
fe never used a pqcket comb in my

eo”

This matter of the comb was very
disturbing to Chief Eisenhut, but it
made him more cautious in accepting
Click’s confession at its face value.
“We aren't saying yet whether he’s
guilty or innocent,’ the Chief told re-
Porters later. “We'll wait until we get
ees facts, and that may take some
e,”

4 :
The prosecuting attorney, Alton L,
Bloom, felt, however, that he had

sufficient evidence to present the three
aig cases to the grand jury.

indicted for the three slayings. He al-
ready had been indicted for the kid-
naping and Bloom decided to go to trial e

1949, Click was °

Buhler, that he had Nothing to retract, ~- Th
- that his confession was true, and that q
to the query, “Do
feeble-minded?”

fully unde
pleading

Latest chapter in the case b
this peaceful home, where

_ At first he kept his word. As calm as
anyone in the courtroom, Click
down beside his pretty wife and cha
with her and his atto
ing for proceedings
Prosecutor C. A. Lin
the State.

Click told both attorneys that

torney made an objection to the ques-
tion. But Judge William H. Schannen

by saying that what he wanted to know L urt
was whether “anyone has been giving finds you guilty and commits you to

the defendant false hopes.” the Indiana State Prison for the dura-

Kor the first time Click showed
motion. It was anger.:

“No one’s been giving me any false
hopes,” he replied testily.

“Do you consider yourself sane?’
Lincoln went on.
e prisoner hesitated, then Said, “I
he answered “No”
you consider yourself

lon’t know.” Later

_ Mrs, Franklin Click and her four daughters and one son:

He confessed, Click said, in an effo

rt to provide for them

rney while wait-
to begin. Deputy
coln appeared for

rstood the implications of
uilty to kidnaping. He knew - his
that, under Indiana law, he could be
sentenced to life imprisonment for
offense,

6 Ake you,” Mr. Lincoln queried, “un-
der the influence of drugs, nar-
Cotics or alcohol, or have you been in
vals or three days?”
o (0) ”

“You at one time said you intended
changing your plea from guilty to
guilty. Now
again. Have you done this because
think it will

egan when Click wanted to move from
e, his wife and five children lived

tell you.”

he _He had told Chief Eisenhut and the
other officers that he first had noticed
imperious urges after he had been

thrown off a truck in 1941...

this “I was in the hospital for a long
time,” he added, “and when I came out |
I started drinking. I found that whisky
made me crazy, so I stopped drinking it
I’m sure an
the operation would make me _ normal

and only drank beer,

again.”

wrong?” Mr. Lincoln went on.
“I guess I do.”

: . Judge Schannen then queried, “
at- you have any reason, any legal reason,
why sentence should not be pro-

seg ee ps
“ 0.” 7
The Judge then Said: “The co

an tion of your natural life.”

the murder of Phyllis Conine.
(Continued on Page 64)

He may have had a good reason for
sat these answers, During all the time he
tted was talking to the officers after he had
made his confession to his wife, he kept
repeating, “There’s something wrong
with my head. I need an operation, I

The officers didn’t know how much
of this was real and how much pretense,
not Some suspected that Click was laying
the groundwork for an insanity plea.
you “Do you understand right - from

Prosecutor Bloom immediately an-
nounced that Click would be tried for .

aru Teut Vien Chie fact is Tranheparense tat
ree Democrats voted, the Republican ticket
because they had lost falth ju Democracy
as itis, or praferred not to yote abcall.
The course pursued by such irreconstruc-
tibles as Stephens, Tombs and Wade
Mampton, added to the acts of the Ku-
Itiux in the South, which . however men
may wish to disbelicve, they can no long-
er deny, have brought about this result.
Men have lost faith, and the War Demo-
erat3 have repudiated by their votes a
party which they could no longer, with
respect to their convictions, support.”

10 whole
Jolin H,
rant, and
was con
thetaxcs
Ueged in

Newepaper Jubilee.:
“Very few papers, religious or secular,
ow published, have been in existence
are told | more than a quarter of a century ; but the
gy up the! New York Observer announces that it will
decisiuns | enter Upon its fifticth year in the begin-

;ning of 1872. It was established as a re-
varticular | ligious paper; giving also, the most im-
searching | portant secular news; and it has been one
heard its | ofthe ablest, and at the same time, one
jof the’ most» -suecesstul journals in the
Lediantryy B75 TOL rig led) TRG pes

‘She Publishers atinotinee for the cam:
ing year, asa tree pitt to cach -of* ‘their
subseribers? a-Nety Year-Book} ‘contain-
ing a vast aimottht of information ‘fn re-
gard to Church and:State, and all iinpor-
tant business afiairs, a real encyclopedia,
such ‘as any intelligent person wislics’ to
have always at hand. Specimen copies of
the paper and’ Prospectus of the Year-
Book, sent free to all who will apply.
New Subscribers will receive the paper
free until. January ‘1st.

ee
They have exhumed a very neat little
bit of “personal ‘history” for the Hon,
James R.* Dootittl¢,' candidate of the
Democratic ‘party of Wisconein for Goy-
ernor, to:mcet in the campaign he is now
tr, of the making for that’ office against General
ty are al-| \Washburne.” ‘The Milwaukee Sentinel
and will | puts tin this: shapes).
Yourt up |, Aft. Doolittle had a son who went into
> p :

: the army, lost his health and returned
not UP: | home to dic. Ina speech at Lafayette,
are to be| in this State, in 1865, Mr. Doolittle told
2 achicy: ; bis auditors who murdered his son. He
esi ieee said: “My friends, the Democracy that

PD | are now tryihg’ to rise into potver in this
ent will! State, and that‘in doing so are appealing

ength by @

question
t term of
t known
has been
‘legal tax
can }ot
hich will
edly. Of
It is to
ige Reed
once, as
In the
tions has
d a com-
ot taken

-*: |to you for your suffrage, are the oncs in a
= measure I Holdgresponsible for his death.
Loudon | They fired the embers of rebellion, giving

the passionate leaders thereof ‘aid and

comfort.” i : :
It must be pleasant tor Mr. Doolittle to

ask for the votes of his son's murderers.’

—Indianapolis Journal. ear

, Among the richest'révelations aguinst
“| the Tapmny. ring,,the fact. sppears that
{two negro minstrels were. paid $100 a
month each for making jokes at their
public performances agsinst the Repub-
lican party,and iss prominent leaders.

The parents of the double baby, which
recently died in Boston were insulted by
an offer of sjx thousand dollars for the
remains of their dead danling. The. pro-
posal was indignantly rejected. They de-
mand ten thousand. aaah ey

SIE
ros¥? svaee

e; they

General Robert’ Anderson, of Fort ‘Sum-
ter fame, died at Nice, Franee, on Thurs-
day evening last. He has been on the
/ retired list for several years on account of
ill-health. ;

; The official returns ‘complete of the
‘| late Ohio election give Noyes 20,186 over
Meradke S? hh x Meas

Saat oeeeeneeeneeneneneie nnn .
Father Sullivan informs us: that the
Catholics of Chicago estimate that they
lost as muclr-us $1,000,000 in church
‘S| property, by the late conflagration—in-
clading, of course, theif schools, orphan
asylums, Gc. St. Michact’s, perhaps the
finest church edifice in the city, isin ruins.
‘|~-Japorte Herald.’ °

res

Delphi is arixious for g new jail; anotli-
er railroad and to furnish the lime for
-| the rebuilding of Chicago. Tht’s right,
"| set your mark bigh and then go for it—
Williamsport Republican, ° .).’ *

mmapy
, ince
senda

A Safceguard.—One or two dosea of Dr.
Henry's Root and Plant Pills if taken in
time will often prevent a serious attact of
sickn¢ss, sf

shingle in Land, upon whic they were
scratching off Brooks’ obituary, and a
description of the mannerg and customs
uf the people of this unculightened age!
The sky soon became clear,when we
could sce written upon eyery counten-
ance, The deed is done! when a general
stampede was the next thing in order,
and people by the thousand came rush-
ing by, when we hastily inquired the
case. An excited old woman was cry-
ing sloud, “Hurry up, John! they are
going to blow up the town!’ We in-
formed the old lady to go slow—that they
were not in a condition to do it, nor
wouldn’t be till they got home, as they
had spent all their powder, from the fact
that we saw one of them iu at Johnny
Lathrope’s, who iv his wild imagination
thought it wasa pawn broker’s office, and
was inthe great act of pawning n smal}
keepsake, that-he ‘represented 3 being
very costly, und of French origin, Lath-
rope looked at him with ustonishment,
and remarked that he didn’t go much on
the French, but would -recommend hini
to Jack Fry, who would no doubt sce
him through. - 9." - fees
Just at this-mouient’ the Sheriff was
seen in the distance, leading a crowd of
people, when our reporters scized the
idea that their time hud come, when the
gathering up of shingles could be heard
in all directions, and with curses loud
and clear, they “break for camp,” sweur-
ing vengeance on our tow, and have
made a solemn promise that they will
neyer hang out their shingle again in
such a god-forsaken town as Delphi.
SARDINE,

Krom Jcrome Brooks to his
Wriends and Associates, and
especially the Methodist Sun-
day School at Logansport—A
Sad and Awful Warning to all

Young People.

The Logansport Journal contains the
following exhortation purporting to have
been written by the murderer - Brooks,
but.in view of the stolidity:he manifest-
ed up to the last moment there may be
question as to its authenticity:

Deru, Inb., Oct. 26, 1871.

I, ass doomed young man, who when
one more short day shall roll around will
be called upon to resign all curth and
earthly things, and my spirit summoned
to meet its God, to be judged according
tothe deeds done to the body. Oh! young
people, a sad warning take from me—to
keep away. from. saloons; shun bad com-
pany ; quit off the evil of your ways and
lead honorable and upright lives.” Young
men cspesially; you all have. mothers,
fathers, brothers, take warning by me
lest you have to share a ‘similar fate, and
the reproach of a ‘sinful: world. fall not
only on your family but on your memory,
Oh! beware the first step to downward
ruin which is evil desire, and after hay-
ing glutted your first desire it becomes
an cvil habit, apparently chained on you
which cannot easily be shaken off, only
through the werits of our Saviour. You
all know me, and perhaps have noticed
my downward course, and apparently
you checked me nor, but I thank God
that he: has thus spared me until I can

| say that. I have hope beyond the grave;

and toacher and Sunday school scholars,
redouble your efforts to save the youth of
Logansport. Oh, may they be led into
the fold of the Saviour before it is ever
too late, :

Olit had I listened to instruction I
haye learned at the Sabbath School when
I was young, it would have been far dif-
ferent with me to-day. Although in the
onset of this piece 1 accused you of not
checking me, Y meant onby this, that as
a gencral thing the teachers had not the
sincerity, the every day walk in life that
they should; as they ought to sct a
pattern for their scholars, “Aud now, oh,
teachers and scholars, do all in your pow:
er to reclaim’ the fallen youth of Logan-
spurt who used to be your attentive schol-
ars. If tbcy are pursuing the downward
road to ruin, oh, point not at them the

‘finger of scorn, but approach them tna

mild and gentle way that they may take
warning of me, and tlee from the wrath
to come. f

I would like to see you all once more
on earth, but that will never be, for ere
this is read in your hearing Jerome
Brooks, your former associate, will be no
more, his lifeless tenement of clay will

‘be given back té Mother Earth, and the
‘spirit, that jmmortal part, to God who

Om ESO Seeeewe t Deus

BYERSDORF & HOLT.
Delphi, Oct. 25, 1861. . 45tf

C. & G. G. MOORE,

OF. ‘

“PURCHABED IN

ALL TO BE 5OLD AT

‘

DON PRICES FOR CASH

examine Goods and prices.
October 4, 1871.—i2

FURNITURE!
Jacob H. H. Culler,

Successor to
John Culler,
FASHIONABL~x.

~
Sor A. H. Bowen's Corner, Delphi
the kind inthe place. Ihave the largest and
best assortment of custom-made Furniture ever
offered in the west,all of which I warrant to
be of the best*material and wo.kmanship.—
Prices as low as any house tnthe trade, All
kinds of repairing done at short notice. Mir-
rors. put into old frames. New Mirrors for
sale, from 15 centsto 20 dollars,an{ higher—
will be farnixhed when called for. Pictares
framed and Frames madehere. -

eMOpuy

bo af

The Undertakirg Gusinessis connected with
my establishment. TI can supply all others that
may favor me with a call. Coffins furnished
atthe shop, or furnished and teaded with the
hesrse, as may he required.

JACOB H. H. CULLER.

Jan. 12, 1870 a - 33

Executor’s. Notice.

4% ed has been appointed Executor of the
will of Robert Ramsey, late of Carroll county,

Tndiaua, deceased. The etrate is probably ec!
vent, 1.6. LANE, Exscuter.
October 13, 1871,.—a4-3-v

Remember the place—tho told meat market” of |

JUSTIN RECEIPT?

A General Assortment

NEW GOODS

New York and Philadelphia !

Cw Buyers of Goods are invited to eul! and

Furniture Manufacturer

ALE KOOMS on Main Street 2 doors east
A Indiana.
This is the oldestand best establishmert of

A] OTICE is hereby given that the undersign |

bet undersigned, Adm
of the estate of Joshuafe
sell at public sale, to the &
Court-house door in Delp
URDAY, the llth day «
following described real ¢
estate of said Joshua Seu
tion of the west half of theP™
section eight (4), ix Towns 4
north of range two (2) we <
Camden road, passing on t}
the west half, except a stri}
the south end of said west
twenty-two rods, containir
said west halflying east off
ducting said eleven acré
sixty acres, moro orless, Be
‘Teams or Saue.—One
third innine months, and

ETHAN DERN,
Sims & Stewart, A
October 11, 187
Administrat
TOTICE is hereby gire:
LN ‘Administrator of the elie
kinson, lnte of said county,
public sale, at the late resic
jin Rock Creek Township
State, on THURSDAY, th
A. D. 1871, the following
wit: Ten Horses, 40 head
100 head of Sheép, Wheat
the fleld, a large lot of Hay
Plows, Harrows, Harnes
Householdand Kitchen Fu
other articles too numerouspie
Terus oF Sace.—Alls
and under, cash in hand, a»
Dollars a credit of twelve r
the purchaser giving his now
curity, bearing interest tro
DANIEL McC§
'N. B.—The late residencE
aboat five miles north-east
October 4, 1871.—42-3w

State of Indiana,

EIT KNOWN, That
1870, or about tnat tir
bash & Western Railway}
ance of her business asé
freight, received at Peru, |
to Delphi, indiana, both po;
herrailroad, consigned to;
Delphi,two reapers, mar!
1,522, respectively ; thai si}
ers accordingly, paid the b
hear own local charges for | 4
in all $21.20, which still ny”
paid, aad the said consigngs
nor has any one on his be}
reapers or either of ther
charges ov anypart thereo ps
way Company or her ageme
manas Aaron Wolfe, Snits
ed, besides said numbers,
Chief. Aaron Wolfe, Pervie
J.S. Marsh & Co., Le
Harrison Judd & Co., Jan¥=
reapers have now been in '—
Railway Company, at Delp
of June, 1d70—~—a period off
unclaimed as aforesaid.
further known, that on Sf |
day of November, 187!, at
and warehouse in Delphi, 4.
diana, where the goods we:
have ever since remained
Company will sell said rea;
they will bring, for the pur;
charges the eon and the cor
ing, &c., in pursuance of
case made and provided, of
and the consignee, and al
will please take notice and
accordingly.
By order of the Toledo, \
Railway Company.
Il. b.

W. Z. Stuart, Attorney.
Delphi, September 2, 137

Sale of I

OTICE is hereby given :
N the Administrator of ti
Burres, wil! proceed to sell a
highest bidder, on the premis|
the llth day of November,
described land, to-wit: The
parts of fifteen acres of land
the south-east corner of the w
east quarter of Sectioa t
Township twenty-four (24), 1
(1) west; said land is locate
ship, Carroll County, Indian

Terms or Sare.—One-t
one-third in six months, and .
months from the day ofaale.

WILLIAM TRESS
Sims & Stewart, Attornes
October 3, 1871.—42-4w

Sale of Real
NOTICE is here given:
| the Executor of the ests
| ling, will proceed to sell at
| highest bidder, on the premise
the 4th day of November next

; scribed land belonging to the
Yengling, to-wit: The east t
' of the north-west quarter of &
ship 24, northof Range | ea
| acres, more or less ; said lan
) ton ‘Lownship, in Carroll Con
Terms of Sate.—One-t
one third in six months, and «
months from the day of sale
P.M WILLIAM
j Sims & Etewart, Attorney.
Ociobes 2, 1271.—-13 40

rroll County, Indiana 1916
#.5bowen & Ga.Indianapolis,iInd;

220 un CARROLL COUNTY, INDIANA.

day, October 27, 1871, between the hours of ten o'clock a. m. and four
o’clock p. m. of said day, “the shall be taken to some proper and convenient
place and then and there for said crime shall suffer the punishment of death,
by being hanged by the neck until he is dead. And the sheriff of Carrol]:
county is charged with the execution of this judgment.”
There was no appeal taken to the supreme court. On the day fib
for the execution, John K. I’ry, the sheriff, erected a scaffold at the north. - oe
west corner of the court house, on the west side of the present office of the 324 Be
Sheriff, and enclosed it with a board fence, sixteen feet high. The prisoner
was taken to the scaffold, out of the sheriff's affice and was hung. On that ~
day there was a Jarge crowd of people in tow ' and after the execution and
the body had been taken down the people were permitted to sce the apparatus, 7
A certain man, whose life and character was none the best, appointed him,
self a committee of one to show the curious-minded people just how the ou
trap worked, operating the lever for an hour or more. The boards were -4>
removed so that a good view could be had. ee
This was the first and the only legal’ execution that has taken place x in
Carroll county. i
PRISON SENTENCE FOR CARR

Charles Carr, who was indicted with Brooks, and granted -a separate:
trial, was arraigned before Judge Biddle on the 23rd of August, 1871; the ce
defendant appearing and by his attorney, David Turpie, entered a plea of ;
guilty of murder in the second degree, to the indictment. He was sent to’ oC 2
the state prison for life. 5

BROOKS, Jerome, white, 22, hanged at Delhi, Indiana, on 10-27-1871.

‘ 2 ae > cat nat my a i ! Saegintce 2 Bo oe Nee : 3 ats JEN in . : : pert. pe ait aE
8 Byte oe" e ee on - vs tae: FS ¥e oz gergnty ‘ ‘ « - * ye 5 ty a Ee, J >
hr eae "CARROLL COUNTY, “INDIANA. Ph ee ae ke BIOS

you are not. going ‘to burn me; you 5 Fe come and: to cudedar + me, ‘ond are

3 i going to do. it, but do it like civilized men.’ The mob cried out, “Give eae ee

=the stake.” ot . “Burn. him.” : - “Torture a. ‘confession. out. of him.” mine gs

* “Green ‘Fequested that his body. be sent to a ‘sister. in Ohio. | ~The. chief
ey Lactor placed’ a rope around Green's neck, the rope“was: placed over a ‘limb, ©
“and he was launched into eternity.in a few-minutes without a struggle.
The coroner- next day took charge of the body. The court ordered *
t the. immediate convening of the grand jury, and delivered a charge to. the
“jury, which’ was published i in the papers. The grand jury examined over
sone hundred ‘witnesses, no one of. whom was able to tell who the chief
actors were. The people generally believed Amer Green was guilty of mur-
dering Luella Mabbitt, but desired that the law should have been permitted
to take its course. It is said that not one of the gee engaged in at
affair is living. 2 Be ai ze wos ;
= A LEGAL EXECUTION.

. ‘In the spring of 1871 an old man by the name af Slater, living in the
city of Logansport, was foully murdered, and Jerome Brooks and Charles .
* Carr were arrested for committing the crime. The motive was supposed
‘to be robbery. The Cass county grand jury returned an indictment against
both men, charging murder in the first degree. The prisoners took a change
~ of venue from Cass county and the case was sent to Carroll county. At
” that time the circuit court convened in August, this county then being in
the eleventh judicial circuit, with Cass county. Horace P. Biddle was. the
presiding judge. Alexander Hess wag the prosecuting attorney. —
% At the August term, 1871, and on the 17th of August, the case was
called for trial. The state was represented by the prosecuting attorney
with D. H. Chase assisting and the defendant was represented by David
-. Turpie. Carr was accorded a separate trial. The jury was quickly obtained
- and the following persons were empanelled to try the case: Ira L. Bridge, °
Samuel Meyer, Horatio Warrick, J. M. Bryant, William H. Sleeth, John
Lane, H. H. Deo, Eli Wingard and Daniel McCain. The trial consumed
three days. The jury returned their verdict on August 27, 1871, as fol-
lows: “We, the jury, find the defendant, Jerome Brooks, guilty as charged
in the indictment, and make his punishment death——W. H. Sleeth, fore-
man.” A motion for a new trial was filed. )
On the 3ist of August, 1871, there being no cause’ aan Phy ¢ the
court should not pronounce judgment on the verdict of the jury, Judge
Biddle then pronounced judgment on the verdict of the jury and need Fri-

History of Carroli County, Indisns 1916
L.F Bowen & Cé.Indlanepolis, Ind.

wabitt abducted from

Co. A body found in
Lar abe: ta in Feb, LBEB? Whe

IGS

i) » foeL GSeee was found in

ali

sport and

Colunns in the

on bota Cases, fang
vavid Tur ote, a OTD , : r
U.S. Senator fron

OF toe veipni JdournelL

CARTER,

In Los Angeles, R. L. Hawkins, twenty-
seven-year-old carpenter, was put on
trial for the murder of Clinton N. Thomp-
son, an aircraft worker, who reputedly was
over-friendly with Hawkins’ wife. Immedi-
ately after the jury voted a "not guilty"
verdict, Hawkins sought the comforting
arms of his mother, as pictured at right.

One of the most horrible multiple-murders
in 1941 crime annals occurred recently
at the farm home of Johnston Agrue, not
far from Aurora, Indiana. Five members
of the back-country family were wiped
out. ‘Authorities arrested Virginius Cor.

ter, who allegedly confessed. He is shown
below (right) with Sheriff Winegard.

("Dink")

Indiana's multiple murder of which Virginius
Carter stands accused took place at the sealudd
house shown at right. Those slain were Johnston
Agrue and his wife, Nina, both sixty; their sons,
William, thirty-three, and Leo, twenty-one, and a
granddaughter, Mary Breedon, twelve.

white

elec,

Ind.

(Dearborn)

t down

xpected
ier-ser-
ly com-

: doings
4y, sir.”
anguid-

be first
on ex-

an—got

atement
ws who

TECTIVE

desk. Hurry back with it. I’ll want
you to give my field belt a good shine
—it’s been looking badly lately, par-
ticularly the holster.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Striker hurried off on his er-
rand. But while he was half way to
the Company Street, from the offi-
cer’s quarters he heard first-one shot
and then another—the sound coming
unmistakably from Captain Whisler’s
quarters,

Running back, the Striker cried out
when he entered his Captain’s little
room. Whisler lay on the floor dead—
a rifle by his side, with two cartridges
fired. The first bullet had grazed his
cheek, the second tore out his brains.
On the desk was a hastily scrawled
note.

“I have been thinking of commit-
ting suicide for a long time but I have
never had a good reason. Yesterday
I went out and made myself a rea-
son.”

The note apparently had been writ-

ten the day before the crime, had
been kept in view of its ultimate use.

When the investigating officers ar-
rived they directed that Whisler be
dressed fulty in the ‘uniform that he
had disgraced. Thus clad and placed
on a stretcher the body was taken to
the Post Hospital. Then it was lifted
into a wheel-chair and taken before
Wornall.

“That’s the man—that’s the mur-
derer!” said Wornall.

With this identification part of the
mad case was closed—all except the
recovery of the money and the trac-
ing of missing parts of Whisler’s ca-
reer in the army and outside it.

Careful search of Whisler’s quarters
resulted in the discovery of some
$70,000 packed away in a cubicle
made by the joints in the rafters be-
hind the beaverboard of his quarters.

But so carefully was the amount
taken from the bank kept an official
secret that reports persisted he had
gotten away with at least a quarter

Five Murdered Here

Shown at the top is the Agrue farm home near Aurora, Indiana, where a mys-
terious assassin killed five members of one family. Below are William and Harvey
Sellers, neighbors, who discovered the crime.

Aucust, 1941

of a million, of which the recovered

- Sum was only a part. Consequently

until the war ended and Camp Fun-
ston was practically abandoned the
search for missing money continued
to be made—but without success.

The mystery of the missing fortune
fitted to some extent with the hitherto
unknown chapters of Whisler’s life.

Whisler had married a beautiful
young woman in Kansas City and was
the father of a son, then growing to
school age at Salina, Kansas, where
Whisler’s wife had taken him after
divorcing her husband. .

Despite the divorce, Whisler re-
mained on terms of friendliness with
his family and visited them fairly fre-
quently.’ Just before the murder he

‘ had written his ex-wife that things

were going well with him and that
he was in good health. -°

However, besides the domestic pat-
tern that marked Whisler’s affairs, the
investigators found traces of a beat-
tiful blonde sweetheart, whose iden-
tity he had stoutly shielded but who
was remembered by officers who had
seen the Captain dancing attendance
upon her on frequent visits to Kansas
City.

Who she was, where she came from,
like the mystery of the missing money
belongs in the limbo of eternally hid-
den things.

However, Whisler was known to be
what is called “tight” about money.
His care in spending money, his cau-
tion against anything that seemed like
extravagance was a by-word among
those who knew him best.

One theory that may have account-
ed for his desperation and his desire
to have money at all costs was that
his blonde sweetheart was a German
spy, who had somehow been able to
blackmail him or to entrap him to the
point of madness.

Such things have happened in other
armies—as witness the case of ex-
Lieutenant Baillie-Stuart of the Sea-
forth Highlanders—a young man of
good family, convicted of espionage
just before the outbreak of the pres-
ent war and confined in the Tower
of London—its last prisoner of state
before his court martial.

Since .the Whisler crime steps
have been taken to prevent any such
tragedy happening again. All Army
banks and the institutions serving the
Army near posts and camps are
guarded night and day by armed sen-
tries or M.P.’s—ready to shoot. Again,
this incident is one of the reasons why
the Army is so insistent that all men
and officers serving in it have clean
records, why no man who has been in
jail can ever wear the uniform of the
armed forces.

However, these things belong to the
more prosaic aspects of the situation.

But to one person the tragedy is an
ever-present reminder of horror, un-
slaked to its maddest extent. This is
Kearney Wornall. Miraculously, so it
seemed, he recovered from hatchet in-
juries, seemingly severe enough to
have killed an ox. ;

Consequently night and day since
that dread blizzard in January, 1918,
he has had to live with the specter
that came out of the night into the
little bank at Camp Funston — the
red-handed death that turned the in-
terior of the frame ‘building into a
scene reminiscent of the operations of
the savages who once slaughtered
their foes with tomahawks on the
bleeding plains of Kansas.

_ = a -acs meV EVES bis kh TU teak. Ladd eb WO “TOe@)3.°:= Sigipone ee SBS Sts

a SE SULEEL WAS S 0 “e t part of F February, 1871. ks ‘stopped | 1orse, wi ieh Thad put in 1 the liver y|more men with Dim talking. These ie lefts anon oe ‘dinner- tists -home. _ on
ed Friday over a successful corucr in gt Taylorsville. Warrick county, ata tables would de Aa the way: ° Helinen were Charley Kemp and Astho- When near: Lyunville, ca Mr. Taylor
Northwestern by Jay Gould and liis~ liotel where three carpenters—natne- | said t ied he would take the horse and! ‘ny Heminger”” From here*we went} syortook me, aud. be andl talked. ~ I

4 Oe asc ‘lee. Nathanial .. -Broadhurst,..J.__F. eS ve me his note for.315.__ This Was, down the “Evanayille road. towards told: himabout-Mr--Bilderback:. I
clique. Later in the day Mr. ould ae —, pe - ‘
SToadhurst and Edward Cox were, at th dav or sary. Ss Hisar! ey Stonrees:-—Fhis—was-abontT told that 1 wentoll with -him; bat did

ntmsell_was sitprised with an re at woEk repairing. It was Badger’ 3 en Brown prepesed to vo ado wit! 11. oe loc k- “at night. ‘On thé: Toad’ not know-where he-bad-gene--Then~
Fe from the rie Company, on a charge: otel. I got there on Tuesday in | among the negroes on the fats. and: Bilder? yack proposed ta.meiochanget+y went on” ‘one shome;: got there on
a of embezzlement, &ec., to the extent Sebruary, 1871, and stayed t there till LS sicel.norses; ¢ cattle, or_any eLtirg ove paiits, as Le thought he would go’ to Wednesday night: about 12 o’uluck..
ofervercrinemitons. te appeared - <aTNTday “Eley wapted-ineto stay | | quite ae dof, for. Oe i ok ihe) Evansville next morning onthe train, ~My wife wasnot at-home;:but_at ~
4 before the Sheriff, and was released... wit i thenr: slearn the trade, ana; 7" ¥ he did when he got a rd up. Liand Win pants were not as good. as my tnele’s close by.” - She came home
j ee oa ’ ae an they would learn me how to) "93 to help stca& stockin connection | mine. So we changed pantgge: in the moming.: Stayed home nearly
_— on one milion dallars*bail. make an easy living without work, 7! Authony papienity ei and the! Then we came to a road toifuing ‘all day. ‘Thureday: and. traded tho
= 99 ‘They said, first-I had to promise to |’ ‘wo Xemps. We went down in the! west from Haubstadt. —We proposed horse off toa Mr. Jones, a cousin. for
ts A HOME 2 keep everything to myself. i dettoms, and we separated at Har ryey to turn aside in the woods and 3tay!a cowand amare. Then Saturday: |
pe ! AEA BARE AES ei ve Ltwoid them: a tell me whatit Was, * On we were to meet ab) till Mnmoruing, So we turned west went ~' “Pikevill ey to my father : '-
Tocated two blocks (rum ate andif kalid not like it I wouid not peweive 9 at ock that aight at J. W. about ialfa nile, and stopped j in 8l law's. cos
s ‘gay-anything about it to any one, [) 2rown's th any bhing we could get. little patch of woods about dfty yards; Here iimet some of Blideoiachte 3

Square. Wood shed, stable, well jeit them on. Saturday und went |; #est to. Fake MeCurty'’s and touk! from. the : oad. i went and got some | rejations... Being very exciied I told

—- Fes ‘and cistern. +Fences in g geo repain home; and the next Tuesday 1 went | /ls yellow mare and three colts. L wheat from a stack nearby to feed | mest anything. They asked me if |

Lot high and dry. Will be soid i back to Taylorsville on my mother’ 3! irodet the mareabouta mile and a dalf,, the horse, and when I ot back anoth- would go with them to ‘nd Bilder.
“chen stt C. BROWNLEE. | mare. . - -| and there just about 3gundown | met. er man was present whe gave me bis! pack. | [told them that I would: it
‘() At this place-I- met’ ie above | tae owner, and as I passed I heard aume as John McDonald I gave the. thei would-cemedown. They'came

ct fer: The Commiasioners who have/named three-gentlemen;¥and ‘Nat, | 2im say there goes my mare, wheat to the ‘mare, and orie’ pulled [=a brothepand-) a. brather-indlaw—___ }

oe Senn investigating the. depredations| ‘Broadhurst Hired ahorsazéut ofta [run the mare about one hundred] out ‘some “whisky and Bilderback ang:I went with then towards Haub-
eand he andl wont ont ityards-and-let-hergo-and-+ an-in—the/draile-and—pulled—off—hie—coat—and gemtramt stays o—-t

sd ae -into- the-calinty}-about_tliree miles, Yoods and-then.to the railroad and gave-lt_to ‘me. He then put the horse} this-sime.t-had. not- given them much——

‘ ' ‘the total” loss te ‘Anierieants by. the! Then he told meall about jails ana’ to Princeton. Herel met the/ blanket around his own shoulders, | satisfaction as to the whereabouts of

, Mexican and Indian raids, will nae ‘prisons, and-said he could get out, pote who bad broken into # water-| laid his head’ on his saddle, and soun Bilderback.: ee
Py ehokt ac - $100, 000,000. They! when he pleased. ‘Then he caid he | Melon car, or anloéked the car with | fell asleep. Here Mr. Heminger said) . On Tuesday morning Ttokd - thee
— = arge an increase of cav >; eoultd-make-and- use.counter{vitmon-; theitrown-key.—.Here the_ tem ps, we had to_put Bilderback. out of the ‘where-the-mare-was,—and-went: a
2 a ¢ ovalry . on they told me that I must voto Mt. Vernon: ide o keep him frem making ‘a a ca: ‘
ee “border. ~ Las ey when he pleased;+.said he hid- 3 to Keey : Tt; got her. Then a deputy sheriff and |
- killed a-couple of men in the “State. and gettwo horses anda two year expose, and asI had told him the Rilderbaclas brother, insisted.that:1..
— 13" Mr. Buskirk ae hiscdacad’k pill: of Ohio; saidthere was a gang é6f! aid mule that was therein the woods. secret, I must do the killing ag a should tell them-where. -the dead man _
oo aiecnas ee ~ into the State Asenbly, making the lst them=in-Indiana-and.. Illinois; -and} Phe-partiestived-in-a family boat on rpunishment-tor-tei ling =-T-refitacd- “was--which-Eaid-
: == or sanwarPine Mh ore uly,the 3 35th of ‘De said-iftimenid: joinaimaiecib— then" soeriver in ‘tront of St Fernow: - eo ee ee
eatin, ia! an ld feed by the Pregi-! ;that I need not join-in doing the| veal home and got my other | horse, | kill. Bilderback, or lose my uwn |. thém that‘Tdid net do it:
—. ent of the United States, or the’ Gover-| killing or stealing, but could do theta borrowed a Duggy of Reuben ‘life; when they said there was a big)-- Then [ was'arrested. erat oo

ae » or ofthe State,asa day of thanksgivin
BA repeat aan teal concealing. ee. | Miles, of Lynville,- Warrick county, board bolt t lying close by, it being) Then the brother of the dead: man»
tried to shoot me,- but’ the - pherift

one are held, legal holidays, and regulating; - Then I told him 1 wae “not r ‘aised |’ vod then tried to borrow a revolver. ‘moonlight. I took the belt up an

- es gether» with, the lot on which it) wes the 23d day of June, - “ABT71:: :J. Saturday. night. -.,On Saturday he-| Land the ono called ’ oy “MéDonald Sta Seal Pres,

stands the Whole valued at $15, 0Q0. | Stayed with Mr.Thomas Gill till Sat. fore the. murder ~ ‘was done went out to the road, whilo the other

a the payment ot notes, ic., falling due on; that way, and did not know wheter | -aen I met Charles Kemp uearjdrew dkck, but failed to hit him.— would not let him. : Won: oe ae
ee such days. i Tcould do thats way or nof, but would | *fancisco, in Gibson county, coming}; Then I told them thaf if he had to he The-same day I--was. put ‘inthe
Soe ee a ae es | nee ee ngelock at me while one of them dd the Hoody | emer Jail where T now, am un-—
a ee into trou a Ste gee i
[oo the State Senate with.aview to regu- onld oe Bs 2 o pene went to Mt. Vernon.to see about] work, that 1 woald: never ‘tell, Mor “El ss SpAphis RRS ce lees :
o>. ; De lating freight and passenger, tariff on I left the State for Minois. ind Sth | he stolen horses,and when we- “get could not do it. Then they proposdd “a
= Mae ace doing business. in _this | of Mardh.-1871. I commenced ork! _: ae horses were sold and eke re ree take ke oes chia BOSTON. FIRE i
“| re < : with.a good, honest far ejmu e hac got eo% ve | rid-of ner, an not take her Dac into (lobe og
Sg Ree remees 2 reoaon on Tranan Oe We ane fhe mci ved in th bata he ghar: and sega |e wauape i OGLOOG fa
_ i ; ibelieriehd aahial ne ce by the name of Russell. Bont. Mt. Vernon were John ’ aaa Sit plat Wel was lled 46 Yet tie pits Py : orth. of — ;
oe , whalfpermile. = _F 4 ing came. to. the field,one day were WV tiliam Pasker atias William Miller, | picion fall oti me, they would do. this Boats and Shoes were lestroyed by y
a pone ih }and the other was Frank, Surrey. - | killing of Bilder back. I: roed-ne the Boston’ Fire, an “consequence .of =
3 ° tea. Rev. Dr. Norton; Sfioa setts | Lwas at work and gave me a ietter a agte (which: Boots. and—Shoes—h ds
ae ae ”+ from Broadhurst. "He ‘wrote for me. Chey gave. Charics- Kemp- money | er to tell who did “it, with: the “undér : oe lees have>a £
oS Bas presented: ‘to the colored people to come back to Indiana,” is Russell | and he came home on the the cars) standing that if: suspicion fell on’ “me vanced from 15 to 20 per. wont. Oe od 3
er ae _of. that city anew chureb edifice, to- Bunting was one of the gang. | ~Lhis | and I in the buggy; This was on they would help ne out. iy ale hs Sa pon We are happy, to State, thats; awe se- a

which we will sell at same low prices. ...

—
: a urday.aftex the fourth of July. ‘That John R.- Bilderback came. toj (svo-didthe murder. I heard ‘them : .
ie “or b. Gi in along article ai the: | day I goto Princeton ; there ‘I met. Broadhurst and showed him: the: list strike the blow, and heard the -atiug- vo so tH.Q JUNKER, BRO, ee
eae _ Lribune, puts the question: , “Does! -Jobn W? Brown: who is a member of 2f 2ames he-had- a ks from me.’ “Then gle. I ell back inthe, fondo’ Gomer |. ais cies ROM Se: Public! Sqiutreiw:—. :
ast Some

= . ag id o i q
wee He : ed the B “t 3. Brow | Bi lderback told Broadhurst that:if| sick, «The next thing shat, Tiéan re. az Raed ee

ie ee: gn ee — ae se Pasty BOE peoprictme! > did not sce that I paid him (Bil- melee of. was my standing” “aboit ane fon olde binthRoilrdnd <2 HG |
Acie: national election seem o:

1 Oss 3 __—----_--. Joining; the. band= - That evening ‘he. erback)), by the. coming. week he} threo-fourths of a ‘mile. from where}: ' SL coryes pondent in She mtidlaia. |
oe oe ee ‘Hegative. response 7. aye eto drink little with bin and Bilderback)” wwould divulge-the/the murder- was ,-cammitted, * ; Hero) tole Se’ thre? an me ey Wii) ‘frat:mort:. 4

- | 13 ust alittle made mé tight: “I start-| ! hole: gang and: expose them.---Then| they gave ine my pants: and vest the e honds oft oulsvifia, “New: ue
‘Ter After all Louisiana, givegl formother’asthat me and.got| 3oadhurst told:Bilderback ‘to:.take|I’had changed with him, and t took: Aifoay y-and St fee outer e Rai)

eas =e “Grant her-electéral-yote-by= som Me ‘ag-far-as where Brow lived, three, Meto Haubstadt if tcoutt not raise oft his and-put ow mine. Thon ‘they | way’ ie enow on A tig. Baroy ean. bmark- —s
me ge ‘2 thing over 12 000 majority.” Bo, ‘say miles eistlot “Pringatont 3 There: I. ~ money for. him; that they would] wanted me to take. the miro and get ct, atid ‘late’! advices’ ‘indicate’ thay—
RI Sy oy Ee “Apres: Feports."- Rae hc enn ae ra payed: out all-nig ay Ehie Be Sate horsewhip me and pay Bilderback| rid.of her, saying that if? fold of this these bonds: will'ait's péedily' Wo talren ~

Sieh

. a
ey

5 ess nig sed |, 3500 to Lees the segret and ee ee murder they would kill mé or some} byEnglish' capita fata! “This Will is-

4 rs ane 8 ari in’ > Mary: } nbée bany, Card ost g) look elie took ate pe eo of my bat Hoy even up. ‘to, the very- sie Heiceamble yng: the entire
beach € ning: e took this plan @ een: bad. rit :

spermanentlg fines 22 +| Mondhyysraiiag, BOR ROE? 6 =| as aR GY het illo RUE te NaC Reale

e ore

ee Aa ere

Py a ah a Nak agit NN a a ik A a a aR UMM ORM S'S cla Ab MR a
CLICK, Franklin, white, electrocuted Indiana (Allen) 12-30-1950

Pertinent Faets

In Murder, Cases

AY
In as bivarre 9 Fe o series of criminal and legal events
as are Hkely to occur, the names of four men have been Invelved
in the sinying of four Fort Wayne women. Three of the men are ;
now under sentence for these slayings—-two protesting their inno- |
cence and one, Ralph Lobaugh, in a surprise move Monday, again
admitting bis guilt.

Frankiin Click now faces execution for the slaving of Fhyliia
Conine, Ralph Lobaugh, after nine stays of execufion, Is scheds
uled to dle in the electric chair May"UW-WG50r vor the murders of
Wilhelma Hanga, Anna Kuzeff and Porothen Hownrd.

Robert V. Christen, former Fort Wayno drug store operator, ts
| now serving a life term in the Indiana State Prison for the murder

of Mra. Howard, His plea for a retrial ja scheduled for hearing
before the Indiana Supreme Court Dee 16
Charles Dodson, former Beer Field soldier, although indicted for
the murder of Mrs. Howard, had the true DIM against him dis.
missed at the request of the prosecution.
Tu provide some eort of chronology to this grotesque serion of
events, theefollowing timetable of the criminal and logal history of
‘the whole story is printed below:
, 1944

Feb. 2—Wilhelma Haaga wanders Into farm house dared and
bleeding and dies in bospital three days Inter from blows on bead

May 23—Anna Kuzef{'s body found, belioved strangled and raped

the night before,
Aug. 6--Phyllis Conine’s ravished body discovered near tha

Ditch Road.
‘ 1945
March 6—-Mra. Dorothea Howard found badly beaten in down-
town alloy and dics 11 days later in hospital, of pneumonia. Chris
» ten later picked up as suspect and cleared In Chicago le-detector

test,
' “PT
June 19—Ralph Lobaugh confestes to Kokomo police and ia,
returned to Fort Wavne; admits Haaga, Kuzeff. and Howard °'
slayings. Dodson identifies Lobaugh from photograph as man with
| Mra. Howard the night she was alain
June 12--Lobaugh signe confesalon,
June 14—Lobaugh repudiates confession. . .
June 16—Lobaugh taken to Chicago for Ie detector test.
June 17—Lobaugh changes again and admits murdere--lie detec
tor tests resulla revealed to he positive.
June 19-Chicago criminologist confirms Lobaugh’s guilt on basin.
of He detector tests. ay wh 4
Oct. 27—Jpdge Schr n sentences Lobaugh to the electric chatr ;;
' after he pleads guilty to three killings. '
Oct. 20—Lobaugh switches again and say's court plea of guilty ©
wae during “crazy spell.” ;
Nov. 10--Lobaugh taken to prison, |

»*

’

| Dec, 16—4sovernor Gales denies clemency petition for Lobaugh, «+
4 1948
March 13--Fort Wayne o give Lohaugh ¢rufty serum teat fo

| Indians State Prison which Chey claim ehows him to be 2gt wulity,
} April O-Judge Schannen in Cireuit Court dentes Lobangh res
hearing in court here.
Nov, 6~Charles Dodson taken to Denver by police and identifies
Christen az civilian in alley with him ond Mre. Howard.
Noy, &--Robert Christen arrested In Denver on a grand fury
‘ tndietinent charging him and Charles Dodson with murder of
Mrs. Dorothea Hownrd.
Nov, 11—Indlana Supreme Court reverses lower court ruling and
okays new trial for Lobaugh,
Dee, 20-—-Charles Dodson enters not guilly plea to charges of
murder in the Dorothea Haward ea
34
March 18—Murder charges against Dodson dismiysed at request
of prosecution.
April 7—Lobaugh dirsmiarea plea for retrial and throws himself
on the mercy of Governor Sebricker.
i April 18--Chrieten trial opens.
| April 22~Christen found gullty and sentenced to life in prison
Aug. 17--Leona Sparks kidnaped and attacked; Frankiin Click
Q@rrested for the crime,
Aug, 18-Click confesses Bparks crime.

—

C iL MUST VOTE

saenepasarnitscaarenraaan 4. wibiiacorten

Mrs. Sparks, Mrs. Clic

By KENNETH KELLER } Sharing equally in the total re.
Four persons whoer lives in ward to he appropriated will be
same way touched that of Frank. Floyd L. Moreiand, Angola phatog-
in Click, who was executed for rapher and his wife, Porathy;
murder Jast Deeember 30, will Mrs, Leona Sparks of Kainsville,
share the rewards offered in ay Tex. and Mrs Frenklin Click,
he tha etty for salution of the: Mr and Mrs, Moreland will share
Hanga, Kuzetf and Conine slay their one-third of the total reward
nts, jointly, the commission decided,

Thig was the decisinn yestertay | Kurelt Makes Appeal
of the special reward commission,! Before it delved into eligibility
It waa quickly arrivert at after and percentages, the commission
hours had been spent thresting out heard & dratsatte pica from Sam
jegal rechnicalines, Kuzelf, Street, the

| FLOYD L. MORELAND MKS. DOROTHY MORELAND

WOES

father of the slain Anna Ca pilotied Mrs, Clir
that _ Sat claim for the! pperation in Indu
reward be disallowed, F iT '
| “She should have known whathe submit to Hex
‘her husband was doing,’ the pp iret for the reas:
.derly father declared shaking hig:hier husband's fi
ihead, "If so, she hid him for six ithe polire depar:
tyears before he finally was art! The commasaic
| restest a, tmerrentages of
nee commissicn’s decision 88s ithe appropriatio
bide to one, Sheriff Marold § which totais $15
‘Zola warn oof the op nion that Aipages, will be
ithird of the total revard offered sity Council.
{should go only to Mrs. Sparks, 4 Murder Cr
whose memory of a license mum-'t
| ber actually Jed to. the arrest}; In reaching |
of Click on August 26, 1949, The lever, the comm.
| sheriff explained his stand as fo]. garded the mur
lows! ‘ jhelma Haaga,
“DT have this offering: I feel that -Phyllis Conine
| Leona J, Sparks should be the sole ler Hayes ¢
j recipient of the reward, to receive viction and exe
one-third the entire amount, inas-|the Conine cas:
Imuch as she offered law enforce-tsions of the ©
iment officers the license number ,the same legal
‘which led to the apprehension of; tions. The “cet
“Franklin Click.” ifrom this legal |
| Eisenbut Qualifies Vote {at the eligibility
All the rest of the eemmissioners, {When Monday's
Mayor Henry E. Branning, Jr., mission Was re’
Ichairman, Prosecutor John Reiber, {that the delitx
) Chief of Police Lester H, Kisenhut, | confined to the
| President Arthur A, Herber of tho; Yesterday's /
City Council and C, Byron Hayes, ; mission Rave
‘a member of the city egal des) to the civilian |
ipartment, voted “aye” on the rey| tapher Morel
iward distribution ‘jreward body
The police chief qualified his had singled out
vote as follows: “J vote ‘aye’ jot Miss Hang:

} with the exception that the reward, vestigation. me

—

ee es

i CAS Re Pe pote ating their beeen
cence and one Enalph Lubaugh, inn sUuIpriso move Monday, again
aelosittanve ede grade ~

Pivnkin Ciek naw faces exseeuthon for the abivingg of Eby ttn
Conine, Thalph Lobaugh, after nine tlaya of execution. Is mehed-
Wed to dle in the electile chaty May "Um Wea The murders of
Withehna Hanga, Anna Kureff and Drothes Howard.

Robert V, Christen, former Port Wayno drug rtore operator, ts
now servinge a dife tern in the Indiana State Prison for the murder
of Mra. Howard, Wis plea for a retrind je scheduled for hearing
before the Indiana Supreme Court Dee 1

Charles Dodson, former Beer Field soldier, although Indicted for
the murder of Mra. Howard, had the true bil agnine, him dip
missed at the request of the prosecution.

To provide some eort of chronology to thia gtotesque serien of
events, thesfollowing timetable of the criminal and logal history of
the whole story is printed below:

1944

Feb, 2—Wilhelma Haaga wanders Into farm house dazed and
bleeding and dies in bospital three days Jater from blows on bead.

May 23—Anna Kuzeff{'s body found, belioved strangled and raped

. the night before,
} Aug. 6—-Phyllis Conine’s ravished body discovered near tha

' Ditch Road.
\ a 1945
March 6—-Mrs. Dorothea Howard found badly beaten in down
town alley and dies 11 days Jater in hospital, of pneumonia, Chris

test. ‘‘\
1947

June 109—Raiph Lobaugh confestes to Kokomo police and is
returned to Fort Wavne; admite Haaga. Kuzeff. and Howard
slayings. Dodson identifies Lobaugh from photograph as man with
Mrs, Howard the night she was slain,

June 12—Lobnaurh signs contesalon,

June 14—Lobaurh repudiates confession, . ‘

June 16-Lobaugh taken to Chicago for Ie detector test.

June 17—Lobaugh changes again and admits murcders-—lle detec
tor testa resulte revealed to he positive,

)

» ten later picked up as suspect and cleared Jn Chicago lie-detector ”

Jung 19--Chicago criminologist confirms Lobaugh’'s guilt on basis.

ef Me detector tests.
; Oct. 27—Jidge Sch
‘after he pleads guilty to three killings, |:
Oct. 29-Lobuugh switches again and gays court plea of guilty
\ Was during “crazy spell.”
Nov. 16--Lobaugh taken to prison,
) Dec, 15—<Soverner Gates denies clemency petition for Lobaugh,
3 MR
March 13--Fort Wayné ) give Lobaugh druth serum test fa
; Indiana State Privon which Chey claim shows him to be poh wulty,
‘ April 9~Judge Schannen in Cirenit Court denies Lobaugh rr.
‘hearing in court here.
Nov. 6--Charles Dodson taken to Denver by police and identifies
Christen aa civilian in alley with bim and. Mre. Howard.
Nov, &-Robert Christen arrested in Denver on a grand jury
i indictment charging him and Charles Dodson with murder of
' Mrs, Dorothea Howard,
Nov, 11—Indiana Supreme Court reverses lower court ruling and
i, Okays new trial for Lobaugh.
' Dec. 22—Charles Dodson enters not guilly plea to charges of
murder in the Dorothea oT a
March 18—Murder charges against Dodson dismiesed at request
of prosecution.
April 7—Lobaugh dismisses plea for retrial and throws himself
on the mercy of Governor Schricker.
April 18—-Christen trial opens.
April 02~—Christen found guilty and sentenced to life in prison
Aug. 17~Leona Sparks kidnaped and attacked; Franklin Cick
arrested for the crime,
‘ Aur. 19—Click confesses Sparkes crime.
“Aug. 21—-Click confesses after Ha detector test to Conine, Hangwa
and Kuzoff elayings.

Aug. 25-—-Christen case taken before Indiana Supreme Court in

atternpt to pet re-trint,
Aug. 29+ Click denies Howard murder.

Sept. 6 7-Click given troth eerum tests.

Oct. R--Cilck Indleted by grand jury. i
Oct. Il--Click plouds not guilty to murder and kidnaping chafres,

n sentences Lobaugh to thé electric chair y

;
~

Oct, 22—Chick peta Ife sentence for kidnaping After revere

former stand nnd pleading guilty to kidnaping charges.
_ Nov 25—Click's attorney claims truth aerim teats proved his
tHent innocert,
Nov, 28—-Trial of Ciuck for Contne murder beging with Chek
denying earler confession,
Dee, 1-Click sentenced to electric chalr. *
Dee, B-Labnugh after ning stays of execuilon roeffirme hie guilt
In three of Fort Wayno's (out Ree Wide in Iatter to prison
warden~nand confesses Conine slaying. Ae th

a aie oo
Bey:

ad
¢

ie
ae A apecatst

eward

Click be for her co at the requrst of Oto H. Adame, ably Was guilty of that crime,

= Click, Morelands Share

Miher of the slain Anna Cask platted Mrs
“:that Mrs. Click's cam for the‘ gperation in inducing. ber husband former etty contreiier and Kuperit: aIso, sod
Blots ny h Ri submit to lie-letector tests and: tendent of city ulilities, In his ree} Soon alter reporting bis fitings, ;
4 f ve known whatl. . ‘ eee : : i
‘hore husband was Going,” the el ‘bat for the reason that she gave port, Moreland added that since ee land pert was orderrd oo
ee nid tole he ee, : he 4 ‘the case by ormer city. of:
v iderly father declared, shaking hig fier husband's first confession ip (Click af tne time lived across the, y he gemes Se
echead, “If so, she hid bum for et the police department.” jstreet from the Kurells, he prob-| nued On Page 3.!
al : a ae + . . H Mee PATCH ETE ae . a ie
Iiyears before he finally Was At-:) The enmimassion framed only the
lage oo ae Pperrentages of tse clamants.|
ae @ COMM I yaa s decisitm Was "phe appropriation of the reward, |
five wm on. Sheriff Marold § phich witais $15 th #) fo: the three?
Zeis WAS of thre Of. Non tha! Ap akes waril tw the duty of the |

third of the fotal reward offered Pity Council.
ye; should go only to Mra. Spark | MM c Closed?
whose memary of a license mum- ee es
ber actually Jed tw the arenst | tn reacting ie Seen: how's |
ie lek ox Aucuat 2, 190 The eect, the commlss’n officially re- |

sheriff explained his stand 8s fo]. garded the murder cases of Wiley
lows: . jhelma Haaga, Anna Kuzelf and-
"Tl have this offermg: I feel that ‘Phyllis Conine as closed, As At-:

Leona J. Sparks should be the sole Atorney Hayes explained, the con-:

‘recipient of the reward, to receive jviction and execution of Click ini
case gave his conics.

one-third the entire amount, inas-[the Conine

much as she offered Jaw enforce tslons of the other two murders:

iment officers the license number {the same legal status as convic- i
commisison worked)

which led to the apprehension of; tions, The sisor rk
Franklin Click.” from this legal premise in arriving ;

- Elsenhut Qualifies Vote lat the eligibility of the claimants. |
All the rest of the commissioners, jWhen Monday's sessic of the com-;
tMayor Henry E. Branning, Jr., mission was recessed, ® appeared |
chairman, Prosecutor John Reiber, that the deliberations might be,
4 Chief of Police Lester H. Eisenhut,| confined to the Conine case. |
President Arthur A, Herber of the; Yesterday's action of the com |
Mity Counci) and C, Byron Hayes,;mission gaye official recogninon,
member of the city egal de+jto the civilian sleuthing af Photog: }
{partment, voled “aye’’ on the res{ rapher Moreland, who told the:
iward distribution lreward bod. November 19 that he!
{ The police chict qualified his had aingled out Click as the slayer:
sh \vote as follows: “J vote ‘ave’iof Miss Hlaaga in a private Ine] - :
ND jwith the exception that the reward, vestigation made in August, 19144 MRS. FRANKLIN CLICK

y|
ae
m

she gh atch ca a lt wat te AE

MRS, LEONA

SPARKS

teat 2 fie ee ma ee OM a ad

oe taki TOA Lo NS te Parts Signa Yin.

Se aninchaensie

When they asked him for an alibi,
he said he was out digging graves

_ RAPE SLAYER WITH —
- ASILENT PARTNER ~

by GEORGE LAVORATO

her. The blonde and the wind moved gracefully. The wind eventually died down——

ae he blonde was in a hurry. A raw wind, sprinkled with a light snow, pressed against

the blonde eventually died. Before the police were to close their file on this — one
of the strangest episodes in the annals of American crime——four women were to be
murdered, and, although the crimes were committed by one man, the authorities were to

end up with six confessions, six denials——two men sentenced to die,

one in prison for life—all for the same crimes!

Ragged clouds moved across a
darkening sky at dusk on Thursday,
February 3, 1944, when Arno Riddell
and his family sat down to dinner in
their farm home four miles east of Fort
Wayne, Indiana. They had no inkling
that they were about to see the curtain
rise on the first of a series of savage
lust murders.

The farmer heard a scratching sound
at the back door. He opened it, anda
half-naked young woman staggered in.
Riddell gulped. ‘‘Good lord!’’ Then
he called his wife. Mrs. Riddell hurried

into the room and recoiled at what she .

saw in front of her.

The girl lay crumpled on the floo1
Her dress was in shreds, the top rippea
open and the skirt slit to the waist.
Her bright blonde hair was matted
with mud and blood. Dried blood and
dirt streaked her face — a pretty face,
but swollen and bruised under the dirt.

She wore no shoes. Her bare feet
were flecked with blood. She tried to
talk, but her swollen lips would form
no words.

Sheriff Walter Adams and Deputies
Martin Regedanz and William Oswald
arrived in answer to the farmer’s

one indicted and

>. .

Former showgirl Billie Haaga

clung on to life for three days

after sex attack made her crawl
a mile across icy fields.

frantic summons. In the kitchen,
Adams leaned over the now delirious
young woman.

“Can you tell us your name?’ he
asked. ‘‘What happened? Who did
this?’’ The young woman moaned, but
was otherwise silent. The sheriff
pulled back the blanket Mrs. Riddell

Ugly bruise marks on Dorothea
Howard graphically showed
monster’s sadistic savagery.
Eleven days after this photo was
taken, the brave little girl died.

A CRIME ~

CLASSIC

had draped over the seminude young
woman and noted her torn clothing
and her wounds. Blue marks around
her throat — finger-sized bruises —
caught his eye. ‘‘She’s been choked,”’
he announced.

An ambulance screamed to a stop
at the front door and two attendants
burst in with a stretcher. ‘You'd better
get her to the hospital — fast,’’ Sheriff
Adams told them. Turning to the
deputies, he said, ‘‘Let’s go.”’

Outside, flashlight beams danced
over the young woman’s footprints in
the fresh snow as the three lawmen
traced her agonized, wandering trail
across the fields for more than a mile.
The stumbling footprints led to the
south River Road, a much traveled
summer drive along the Maumee
River, seldom used in winter, when
snow and ice often made it impassable.

At the trail’s end were blurred
automobile tire tracks and in the soft,
churned-up earth, two sets of foot-

. prints — a man’s and a woman’s. Near

the road lay a shoe and a black Persian
lamb coat. Fifty feet beyond was a
pool of blood and nearby, the other
shoe. The man’s prints led back to the
smeared tire tracks. The victim’s prints

crossed the road and fields to a log
stained with blood and covered with
strands of blonde hair, where the
victim had apparently rested before
she had begun what was to be her
death march.

“It’s pretty obvious,’’ Sheriff
Adams declared “‘that some guy drove
her out here with one thing in mind.
He ripped her clothes off, raped her
and dumped her, probably figuring she
was dead.”’

Adams and the deputies looked
vainly for the young woman’s purse.
All they could find was a crisp laundry
ticket near the blurred tire tracks. Its
connection with the case was later to
prove astounding.

In Fort Wayne, meanwhile, the
police department was bustling with
activity. ‘“Two sex attacks and now a
missing woman in a matters of hours,’’
said Detective Sergeant Horace Smith.
Grimly he glanced at the newest
report. Thirty-eight-year-old Billie

(continued on next page)

Stepping behind the shapely —
teenager, he covered her with
_ feverish kisses, then dragged ©
her screaming to the basement.
“Do something for me,’ he said
undressing, ‘be nice...’

TUUPERUENUEHOENUENOREUYERHONRGONGERUOOOOEGOUONOHEUOOUQOOROOOOOUUELEES

SurTy ueag *YOrIO

"0S61_*0¢saquieo"q uo (*09 UeTLY) dS *e'T *oeTo e4Tt

" es nm
ce ee Ye ee

oS aE RR

SOWA sr AY

ABE Gen jp

ath, el a temea loe =

Haaga had left work at 5 o’clock that
afternoon, planning to meet a girl
friend in a downtown store. At 7 that
evening she was scheduled to coach a

-girl’s drill team at the Knights of

Columbus Hall. She was due back
home at 9 p.m. But she had never
returned. Her worried mother called
the police.

Sergeant Smith was still digesting the
facts when an officer handed him a
report from the sheriff’s office
covering the rape assault of.the blonde
on south River Road.

Minutes later, at the hospital, Mrs.
Haaga sobbingly identified the badly
battered victim as her daughter, Billie.
The girl was in a coma.

Sergeant Smith conferred with the
sheriff. ‘‘Three attacks like this one
in seven hours!’’ he said. He then
briefed Adams on the other assaults.

At noon a shapely 19-year-old
stenographer had finished lunch and
had returned alone to her empty office
in a whole-sale warehouse near
downtown Fort Wayne. She was
applying lipstick when a man slipped
almost noiselessly into the room. He
grabbed the hapless girl and covered
her mouth and throat with fevered
kisses. Then he dragged her screaming
and struggling to the basement and
rasped, ‘You can do something for
me. Be nice.’’

With terror as her only weapon, the
stenographer screamed again, and this
time the piercing sound attracted the
assistant manager, who had just

returned from lunch. He bounded
downstairs in time to see the attacker
escape.

Seven and one quarter hours later
an attractive young housewife answer-
ed a tap on the door of her West Side

apartment and a husky young man, °

brandishing a knife, pushed his way
inside.

“Scream and I’ll kill you,’’ the
intruder warned huskily, pricking the
woman’s throat with the knife point
for emphasis. Then, with mounting
lust, he tore off the swooning victim’s
house dress and raped her.

“*“Any connection between the
attacks?’’ Sheriff Adams asked the
detective sergeant.

“The descriptions of the attacker
don’t sound anything alike and neither
do their techniques — but you can
never tell about these rapists,’’ Smith
replied.

Then as Sheriff Adams left to pursue
the investigation, Sergeant Smith,
hoping for the whispered words that
might trap a savage sex criminal, began
a 76-hour death watch beside uncons-
26

cious Wilhelmina ‘‘Billie’’ Haaga.

A policeman as her audience, and
death waiting in the wings: this was’
the strange finale for vivacious Billie
Haaga, who in her teens and 20s had’
sung in the vaudeville spot-light before
applauding thousands on theatrical

circuits all over the country.

When the vogue for live entertain-
ment had faded, Billie had quit the
stage to be a career girl in industry,
working her way up to an excellent job ,
and high pay. But like most entertain-\
ers who turn to new lines, she couldn’t

‘ get show business out of her blood.

‘glamour girl — always chic and

fashionably dressed, with an eye-
catching figure, dazzling smile and
pretty face topped by a swirl of blonde
hair. ;

Billie Haaga played her final role
as the victim in a real-life murder
mystery without giving an encore, for
she died 76 hours after her attack,
without naming her slayer.

Dr. E. N. Mendenhall, the coroner
of Allen County, ordered an autopsy.
The examination, conducted by Dr. D.
R. Benninghoff, showed the cause of
death was brain hemorrhage, and it
disclosed the shocking fury of the
attack.

Billie’s attacker apparently had first
ripped open most of her clothing,
baring her lush curves to his lustful
desire. The scrapings of skin under her
fingernails showed she had fought like
a tigress, flailing and scratching. The
maddened sex fiend had then wrapped
his fingers around her throat in an iron
grip; he had choked her until her
struggling weakened. Numerous
bruises on the girl’s face and head
showed he had battered her with his
fists, and a ghastly purple contusion
on her left shoulder indicated that he
had kicked her.

The assailant, after dragging Billie
from his car, had battered her skull
with a heavy weapon — probably a
hammer — and this was the death
blow.

Pathological examination showed
no evidence of sexual intercourse —
yet it was clear that sexual passion had
climaxed in the explosion of violence
which had brought death to Billie
Haaga.

A plausible reconstruction of the
crime indicated that the killer had
offered Billie a ride or forced her into
his car and driven to lonely South”
River Road.

The young woman’s movements
prior to the assault were vitally

important to investigators. cal

At the plant where Billie had
worked, Sergeant Smith and his men
questioned scores of her acquaintances
and fellow employes. A few remem-
bered seeing her as she left the large
factory, but their stories conflicted.
Several were sure they saw her walking
toward the bus stop. Three claimed
they saw her run across the road to
enter a car.

Sheriff Adams and Sergeant Smith
looked ug the former actress’ male
acquaintances one by one.

Meanwhile, Deputies Regedanz and
Oswald questioned residents near the
murder scene. They located a farmer
near the River Road who said he saw
a car, with a man and woman in the
front seat, drive east past his house
about 4:45 p.m. on the fatal day. This
was about 12 minutes after Billie
checked out of the plant, or a 10-mi-
nute drive away. The woman appeared
to be wearing a black fur coat similar
to the one Billie had worn.

Three days after Billie’s death a
news carrier boy found her empty
billfold along the River Road about
three fourths of a mile west of the
attack scene. Mrs. Haaga said Billie
usually carried money. Billie’s purse
and a Navy breast pin which she had
been wearing were never found.

The hard-working investigators soon
cleared all suspects whom they had

rounded up. They found themselves |

against the proverbial blank wall.

A tension like the atmosphere
before a thundershower hung.over the
Hoosier city. A savage molester was
on the prowl. As he stalked, his
luminous eyes gazed hungrily at the
unaware young girls who walked past
him.

He watched and waited — and on
the warm spring night of May 21,
1944, he saw his chance.

At 10:30 p.m., his eyes bored from
the shadows as a beautiful 19-year-old
girl, with wavy auburn hair that fell
around her shoulders, left her home at
the west edge of town to walk to her
night-shift job at the General Electric
supercharger plant three blocks away.

He had seen her before, and his
imagination ran riot as he stole secret
glances at her provocative young body,
while she walked around her home
wearing a sweat shirt that hugged the
contours of her breasts and blue jeans
that outlined the curves of her shapely
legs. Now she was a few yards away,
within striking distance.

Swinging her lunch bag in her hand,
the girl walked rapidly along the dark
sidewalk, then took a short-cut that

crossed a lonely stretch of fields and
scatered houses. In the distance, she
could see the lights of the big new
eaten casting a suffused glare in the
sky.

The beautiful teen-ager, still sensing
no danger, neared an old dead log. As
she passed it, the shadowy killer
pounced. Around her neck, with
vicious tautness, the assailant looped
a leather strap, stifling the scream that
was bursting for release in her throat.
Blood gushed from the lovely young
victim’s nose and mouth. A cloud
began rising over her sensations.

In a frenzy, the sex-crazed attacker

. dragged her 50 feet into a scrubby

field...

As the Maytime sun rose higher the
next morning, Mrs. Sam Kuzeff waited
at home for the arrival of her beautiful
stepdaughter, 19-year-old Anna Ku-
zeff. Anna worked on the 11 p.m. to
7 a.m. shift at the GE plant and usually
stopped home for breakfast before
leaving to begin a four-hour shift on
another job, at a candy factory, which
lasted until noon. This morning Anna
did not appear for breakfast, and her
stepmother called the GE plant and
the candy company, only to learn that
Anna had not reported for work.
Increasingly nervous, Mrs. Kuzeff
contacted the police. ‘

The investigation of the beautiful
teen-ager’s disappearance was just
getting under way when, shortly before
noon, Glen Timmes, a neighbor of the
Kuzeff family, was walking his young
son home from school along Fillmore
Avenue near the Kuzeff home. His eye
was drawn to something white shining
in the sunlight in the scrubby field
about 75 feet off the street.

Timmes walked closer, stared, and
was jarred by the impact of what he
saw — sprawled on her back, her
clothing stripped savagely away,
leaving her torso bare from her breasts
to her thighs. She lay in a pool of
blood and her face was bruised and
blood-smeared. Timmes dashed home
and called the police.

Motor Patrolman George Szink,
first officer on the scene, identified the
dead girl as Anna Kuzeff. Detective
Sergeant Rex Morton arrived next.

‘*Strangled,’’ said Morton, noting
the blue discoloration of the girl’s
pretty face. His eyes traveled to the
lower part of the body; to the torn silk
panties. ‘‘Strangled by a sadist,’’ he
added.

Along the rough street where the
teen-ager had been seized, Sergeant
Morton found her saddle-type mocca-
sins, kicked off in the fierce struggle

to defend herself, and nearby, a man’s
pocket comb of the Pro-Co-Pox
brand, and a man’s belt buckle. A
paper sack contained the girl’s lunch
— an orange, some carrots, lettuce and
rye bread. Her purse, lying beside the
sack, contained the usual feminine
assortment.

Nearby lay the girl’s billfold. It
contained no money.

An autopsy confirmed the evidence
that the beautiful teen-ager had been
raped.

Her killer had twisted his belt so
savagely around her neck that he had
dislocated a vertebra in the girl’s back.
Contusions on her nose and mouth
showed what tremendous force he had
applied in subduing her. Marks on her
chin — unmistakable teeth marks —
showed he had bitten her in his lustful
frenzy.

He also had battered her head with
a fist or club, breaking off an upper

Killer's handsome face revealed

nothing of his inner torment. He

frightened lawmen with what he
was able to do to women.

right front tooth halfway to the gum.

Scrapings from the girl’s fingernails
contained human skin of a pigment
different from her own, proving she
had scratched the killer. ‘‘That should
help you get the man,’’ said Dr.
Robert Jermstadt, pathologist at the
Fort Wayne Medical Laboratory,
reporting his find to the detectives.

Fear and rage were the reactions as
news of the latest attack spread
through the city. Police Chief Jules
Stumpf assigned Detective Sergeants
Smith, Chester Axt and Al Figel to the
case, and Detective Price Cox of the
Indiana State Police was detailed to
investigate for his unit.

“I know it was a dark night and
unlikely spot, but there might have
been witnesses — someone who saw

or heard something wrong along
Fillmore Avenue. Take all the time you
need, but find them,”’ ordered Chief
Stumpf.

“The killer got her on the way to
work and she left home at 10:30 ora
little after,’’ commented Smith. ‘‘This
means she was grabbed between 10:35
and 10:45 p.m. Let’s check every
house in the neighborhod and every-
one in the GE plant who might have
been using that short-cut to go to work
about the same time.’’

Although the sleuth put in long
hours of work, the end result was nil.

Headlines shrank as the Kuzeff
murder story faded to the inside pages
of the Fort Wayne newspapers, but an
eerie, feverish air still hung over the
city. The sex prowler was still roam-
ing the streets, and everyone was
conscious of it.

For a woman, a walk around the
block at night seemed like a new type
of Russian roulette.

But as the sensation palled, the girl-
hungry killer grew bold again, confi-
dent that no one suspected him. His
assumption was correct. ;

On the rainy afternoon of August
5, 1944, his greedy gaze was scanning
the wet city scenery beyond the
windshield of the car he was driving,
while the wipers kept up an insistent
throbbing beat.

This was ideal — a perfect set-up:
the pelting summer shower, a girl
standing on a street corner, wanting
to get out of the rain, a dry car. 4

Ahead, just as he imagined it, he
saw her — young, pretty, wearing a
flimsy summer dress dampened by the
shower and clinging to her slender
body, outlining the lush,. youthful
curves. She was standing alone with
her head down, probably waiting for
a bus.

He pulled to the curb and opened
the car door. He invited her to enter.
She hesitated, but the driving rain
helped her make up her mind, and she’
slid onto the seat beside him.

He asked where she was going and
when she answered, he said, ‘‘I’ll take
you there.’’ But he wheeled around a
corner, the wrong way, and she sensed
her danger. . ;

“‘We have plenty of time,’’ he told
her, and pressed on the accelerator
until the speedometer read 40, 50, 60
miles an hour, too fast for the pretty
teen-ager to escape. She was trembling
with fear.

‘He drove on past the edge of the

(continued on page 32)
27

3
i

| teen

CRS Sten

=
+.
He

Pt nt ibe

Who Shot The ‘King’ Of Chicago?

(continued from page 31)

him upstairs to his office.

Mrs. Lewis told police she tele-
phoned her husband shortly after 6
p.m. but got no answer. This could
have been when. he was downstairs
with the minister.

The clergyman and the alderman
talked for some ten minutes about the
church having trouble meeting notes, .
and the reverend made a pitch for
some financial support from Lewis.

‘*He was very cheerful, and told me .

to come back next week,”’ the minister
told police who questioned him. ‘‘He
let me out of the building at about 20
minutes to seven and locked the door
behind me.”’

The next known contact Lewis had
with anyone was with the police —

unofficially — almost an hour later.
Sergeant James Gilbert, 36, of the

. Fillmore District, a close friend of the

alderman, telephoned to discuss a
personal matter. It was 7:30 p.m.

“The alderman told me he was dog
tired. He said he had just finished
tallying the votes by precincts and hé
was headed home for a good night’s
sleep,’’ the police officer told detecti-
ves.

“Suddenly he stopped talking to me.
I felt that his voice ended on a muffled
note of surprise. His attention seemed
diverted as though someone had
entered his office. He said, ‘‘I’m sorry
I have to hang up now,’ and our
conversation was cut off.”

Police assumed this was when the

\
, 4
killer or killers walked in. A week
later, however, they discovered ano-
ther witness, a 22-year-old doctor’s
receptionist. She said the alderman
telephoned her ‘at her office at 8:45
p.m. ‘‘He seemed jubilant and he
asked me to call him back when I got
home,”’ she said.

She did, at 9:30 p.m., but got no
answer. Police were now able to
pinpoint the time of death as some-
where bet een 8:45 and 9:30 p.m.

Two neighborhood women, who
lived across the alley from the
alderman’s headquarters, told police
they were watching television between
9 and 9:30 when they heard what they
thought were shots coming from-
Lewis’ building.

The building manager said he left
at 10 p.m. after hearing sounds of

(continued on page 42)

Rape Slayer With A Silent Partner

(continued from page 27)

city, where houses and buildings were
few and scattered, and headed down
a lonely country road. The windshield
wiper kept up its insistent throb as he
sped along. Then he glimpsed a
clearing beside a small hill at the right.
He pressed the brake pedal, steered
the car into the clearing and flipped
off the ignition. The motor sputtered
to a stop and the windshield wiper quit
its rhythmic beating, but now his heart
was pounding and his breath was
heavy. ,

The pretty bobby-soxer twisted
toward the car door, but the man’s

muscular arms pinned her shoulders:

against the seat and he began exploring
her young loveliness. She screamed,
fought and scratched, which seemed
only to stimulate his frenzy.

He relaxed his grip for an instant
and the pretty teen-ager, twisting from
his hands, pushed open the car door
and tried to run.

But the killer was not to be denied.
He grabbed her flailing arms and
twisted one arm and twisted one leg
behind her back. He pulled her,
screaming and writhing, across a small
wire fence, and with his free arm, ina
series of spasmodic savage jerks, tore
away her blouse, skirt and brassiere.
Then the monster dragged the naked
girl a short way into the field and
pressed her squirming body to the
damp ground...

When pretty Phyllis Conine, a
17-year-old high school girl, walked

from her South Side home, she was
on her way to keep a movie date
downtown at the Paramount Theater
with a bobby-soxer girl friend, Jackie
Dale. They were to meet at 3:45 p.m.
Jackie, arriving a half hour late, waited
for awhile in the lobby and then went
in to see the movie. So far as she knew,
Phyllis never did show up.

That night, Phyllis Conine’s worried
parents telephoned a number of their
daughter’s friends and, unable to get
news of her, called the police.

Fort Wayne detectives, their minds
racing back to May and February,
were stern as they set out to trace the
girl.

The ticket seller at the theater was
shown a picture of the pretty teenager,
but she said, ‘No, I’m sure she didn’t
buy a ticket yesterday afternoon.”’
Several girls thought they had seen
Phyllis standing outside the lobby.

At 2:50 p.m. Friday, almost the
same hour as Phyllis had left home,
Officers Herbert Kammeyer and John.
Hathaway were cruising on the South
Side when their radio crackled out a
report on a black Chevrolet with
Illinois license plates which had been
stolen a short time before from its
parking place at the curb between two
taverns in the 2300 block of South
Calhoun Street, the city’s main stem.

Half an hour later they spotted the
stolen car at South Wayne Avenue and
Rudisill Boulevard, at the south edge
of town. Kammeyer pulled alongside

the stolen auto, which stopped and
then suddenly screeched into motion
and sped south, running past a stop
light.

The police car, with red light and
siren, raced behind. Patrolman
Hathaway aimed his gun at the rear
tire of the fugutive car, but decided

* not to risk a shot in the residential

neighborhood. After tailing the
automobile at 90 miles an hour on a
zig-zag course, the police car skidded
out of control on a turn, and the
fleeing auto sped out of sight.

The officers found the Chevy
wrecked on the sidewalk at an inter-
section, and nearby an excited
pedestrian shouted, ‘‘That crazy guy
almost killed me. He ran down Lincoln
Avenue.’’ The eyewitness gave only
the briefest description of the driver
— white shirt, dark trousers, brown
hair combed straight back.

The two patrolmen searched the
neighborhood in vain.

At 4 p.m. Sunday, slightly more
than 48 hours after Phyllis Conine
vanished, two brothers, Wybourn and
Glenn Foulks, were hunting along the
seldom traveled Ditch Road, eight
miles southwest of Fort Wayne. They
stopped to shoot at a crow in a tree
across the Little River Ditch, when
suddenly they spotted a shoe and
umbrella at the road’s edge. Glancing
up at the fence, three strands of barbed
wire on an eight-foot embankment,
they saw something odd.

‘*Why would anybody string a
bunch of rags along a fence like that?’’
asked Glenn.

(continued on next page)

‘*I’m having a look!’’ said Wy-
bourn, climbing the bank and glancing
down the grade. The sight was like a
hammer-blow.

Sprawled in the weeds just beyond
the fence, on her left side as though
asleep, was the naked body of a lovely
teen-age girl, her face streaked with
blood.

A minute later, Glenn was standing
guard at the scene while his brother
drove to call the sheriff.

He was back at the scene when
Sheriff Adams and Deputies Rege-
danz, Oswald and Herbert Harnish
arrived, soon to be joined by Police

* Captain John Taylor, Sergeant Smith,

Sergeant Robert Hire and State Police
Detectives Earl Bemenderfer and Ed
Rose. As they examined the dead girl’s
reeks a warm rain began to fall stead-
ily.

It was obvious that the pretty teen-
ager had been murdered by a sex
monster. Her face and the upper part
of her curvaceous young body were
smeared with blood and spotted with
ugly blue bruises, evidence of a terrific
beating.

‘*Looks like he used a.hammer on
her head,’ said Sheriff Adams. A
deadly blow had crushed her skull and
sent little curling fractures out from
the inch-and-a-half core of the wound.

‘‘He must have dragged her over the
fence and downhill,’’ said Smith,
pointing to the trail of crushed weeds
leading to the body.

Part of the girl’s white slip, pulled
to shreds, lay halfway down the hill,
next to her second shoe. Her brown
and white cotton dress, also in shreds,
lay beside her nude body. Nearby was
her blood-stained white head scarf.

A few feet from the umbrella, along
the road, was a dirty, weatherbeaten
trench coat. Phyllis’ uncle, E. A.
Behnke, who identified her body, said

“the dirty trench coat was not hers.

Coroner Mandenhall, after a close
inspection of the body, said, ‘‘Look
here!’’ The investigators saw a purple,
blood-flecked welt which completely
circled the girl’s neck. Something tight
— a rope or belt — had been wound
around her neck in an attempt to
strangle her, tightly enough to cut the
skin and cause bleeding.

“It was the same thing with Billie
Haaga and Anna Kuzeff,’’ said the
coroner. ‘‘Except that with the Kuzeff
girl, strangulation was the cause of
death.”’

“The killer isn’t satisfied just with
assaulting his victims,’’ the sheriff
pointed out. The evidence in the three

slayings indicated that the phantom
slayer was driven by a strange urge
which made him subject his victims to
unspeakable sexual abnormalities.”’

Big black headlines in Monday
morning’s newspapers flagged the
shocking story and drummed out the
facts that sent high-voltage shudders
swirling from one end of Fort Wayne
to the other: Three girls murdered in
seven months... two of them snatched
from the streets in broad daylight...
each victim stripped and violated by a
sadistic monster.

Police Chief Jules Stumpf said there
was no shadow of doubt that the killer
was a pervert.

Phyllis Conine had met death “‘late
Friday,’’ the day she vanished, the
coroner reported. :

Phyllis had been at home when her
mother, Mrs. B. E. Conine, had talked
to her twice by telephone on Friday.
At 9 a.m. she told her daughter that
she had left some lace on a table and
asked Phyllis to take it downtown to
a store to match it. Later, at 12:30
p.m., Phyllis told her mother of her
plans to meet Jackie Dale downtown
for a movie. ‘‘I never talked to her
after that... I never saw my daughter
alive after the morning of August 4,”
Mrs. Conine sobbed.

Jackie Dale, who had known Phyllis
since the fourth garde, said they had
played tennis on Wednesday and had
made the movie date then. On Friday,
Jackie phoned Phyllis at home at 1:30
p.m. to settle on the movie they would
see, and they chatted at length — just
girl talk. At 2:30 p.m. Phyllis was still
at home. Jackie phoned again and set
the time they should meet, a quarter
to four, and the place. Twenty-five
minutes later, Jackie went to the
theater and waited.

Phyllis’ parents insisted she never
would have accepted a ride with a
stranger. “‘If Phylis got into a car with
someone, she must have known him.’’
Detectives went to work on the boy
friend angle.

A next-door neighbor fixed the time
Phyllis left home at between 2:30 and
3 p.m., and recalled, ‘‘She had an
umbrella and wore a little scarf on her
head.”’

The manager of the theater where
Phyllis and Jackie were to have met
was certain he had seen her sitting in
the rear of the movie house, watching
the film, at about 4:30 p.m.

A 10-year-old girl, a friend of the
family’s, claimed she saw Phyllis in a
car headed west on a downtown street
Friday afternoon. ‘‘She knew me and
she waved to me,”’ the child said. But

she could not describe the car or the
driver.

The police officers gathered details
on the dead girl’s recent past. She was
a junior at South Side High Times,
the school newspaper. She was active
in sports, too, being a “‘letter girl’’ in
the Girls Athletic Association, and was
a ‘‘good mixer’’ who belonged to five
school clubs, including the Student
Players. She was popular among her
classmates and her reputation was
excellent. She went to the First
Methodist Church and Sunday School
class. Like Billie Haaga and Anna
Kuzeff, Phyllis Conine had been a
“*good girl.”’

Sheriff Adams and his men and the
state police detectives closely searched
the murder scene and surrounding
area. The spot was desolate, the
nearest houses a half mile away in each
direction.

A man living near the road leading
to the scene said he saw a car contain- -
ing a girl and a man drive past his
home Friday evening and return later
with the man alone.

Dr. Jermstadt, the pathologist,
mean-while- analyzed the dirty trench
coat found near the body. It was
smeared with blood and had traces of
the dead girl’s face powder on the
sleeve. The coat was a size 36, and
from its cut, Jermstadt deduced the
owner would be between 5 feet 7 and
5 feet 10 inches tall, and weigh between
140 and 175 pounds. Unfortunately,
this general description fitted millions
of men.

Scrapings of skin — not her own —
were found under Phyllis’ fingernails,
as in the cases of the previous victims.

Aware that the killer might be
caught because of the fresh scratches,
Sheriff Adams and Detective Captain
Taylor broadcast a newspaper and
radio plea: F

**We have no idea from what wal
of life this killer may hail, so no one
is above suspicion until he checks out:
clean with us. No one with unaccount-
able scratch marks — and shaving
isn’t a good excuse — is exempt. He
should be reported. We’ll clear him if
he’s innocent.’’

All day Tuesday the city seethed
with rumors. Newspapers were getting
50 calls an hour, mostly useless chaff.
Police were checking out 250 tips.
Panicky reports circulated that dead
girls were being found in various parts
of the city and county.

Homicide detectives were sure the
mad slayer was a ‘‘Jekyll-Hyde’’ killer:

(continued on next page)
33

sessile Os aie hep ale i pnt

agin «

<2 8 va!

Sc decade Ca eae

Sathana.

Rape Slayer With A Silent Partner

(continued from page 33)

respectable in appearance, perhaps
well-known in the community, and
possibly even a family man who lived
a normal, irreproachable life until his
sadist phase emerged and took
possession of him.

That night, in a radio broadcast,
Captain Taylor and Sheriff Adams
warned the frightened city: ‘‘Everyone
should be suspicious now. The next-

door neighbor, the man downstairs,

the acquaintance down the street
— any of them may be our man.”’ ,

And the same night, the city council
held a feverish emergency session and
introduced an ordinance offering
$15,000 in reward money for in-
formation leading to the capture of the
sex-mad monster.

A parade of suspects — most of them
men netted because of scratches on
their faces — filed through the line-up
in the detective bureau Leonard
Keeler, the famous Chicago crimino-
logist and inventor of the Keeler
Polygraph lie detector, brought his
instruments from Chicago to help
detectives quiz the suspects.

The reward money was a magnet
which attracted many amateur Sam
Spades into the investigation, and soon
they were all over town, often scaring
people and stumbling under the feet
of the hard-pressed police.

Keenest of the amateurs beyond any
doubt was Floyd L. Moreland, a Fort
Wayne industrial photographer, who
began working on the case in his off
hours. He began by spreading word
far and wide that he could solve the
mystery, using scientific means, in two

weeks. A top city official invited him »

to ‘‘go ahead on the q.t.”” and handed
him the complete, bulky police file on
the Billie Haaga case, first of the
slayings.

Moreland decided the key to the
Haaga slaying was the crisp laundry
ticket found near Billie’s body. He
deduced that the ticket had been
dropped or kicked from the car shortly
before the murder.

Moreland also constructed an
intricate ‘‘timetable of the crime’”’
which entailed trying to trace Billie
Haaga’s route from the plant where
she worked to the murder scene. He
studied traffic patterns and took
dozens of photographs of the streets
and locations.

But the laundry ticket was the pay-
off clue. It had been issued to a Fort
Wayne man who had died the previous
34

year. The man had had a Lincoln
sedan, not paid for, which had gone
back to the finance company on his

death. On January 31, 1944, the

Lincoln came into the possession of
another man, and records showed the
new owner was driving it at the time
of Billie Haaga’s death. ‘

This man, Moreland decided, wax
probably Billie’s slayer and very likely
also the slayer of the Kuzeff and
Conine girls. Now Moreland wanted
more evidence, and feeling that his

-work was getting hot and risky, he

wanted police powers. He reached his
decision on a week end when both his
confidential boss —’the official
— and the police chief were out of
town, so he called the late Mayor
Harry W. Baals, who told him to ‘‘sit
tight.”’ :

Meanwhile, Moreland kept busy
gumshoeing and hunting up witnesses,
then asking them key questions. He
frightened some of them, who proba-
bly wondered whether he, himself,
might not actually be the killer. The
witnesses called the police, who knew
nothing of Moreland’s investigation.

On Monday, the city official and a
top police officer summoned More-
land to a meeting in a downtown hotel
and told him to halt his investigation.
Moreland quit and soon afterward left
town, but three weeks later he gave
the police a typewritten report on his
investigation, which went into the
voluminous files on the unsolved
murders. In that report, Moreland
gave the police the name of the killer!

Meanwhile, one by one, alibis of the
Conine murder suspects were checked
out and the men were released. The
furious investigation began losing its
pace. Police officers and detectives
returned to routine duties and the three
savage murders remained as much an
enigma as ever. The effect on the city’s
feminine population was demoralizing,
and the unarguable fact that a wanton
killer was still on the prowl left a
shuddery question hanging over Fort
Wayne. When would he strike again?

A flashlight beam stabbing through
the darkness of a downtown alley
focused on the shocking answer.
Merchant Policeman Jimmy McCar-
ran was checking doors along the
narrows pavement between Main and
Columbia streets when he heard faint
moans in the shadows.

There, sprawled on a cinder path
beside a tavern back door, was the

shapely, completely naked body of ah
elfin-faced young woman. Her face
and torso were smeared with blood
and covered with hideous bruises. She
had been savagely beaten but was still
alive. A

Her torn clothing lay strewn about
the alley.

She had been raped, medical
examination later showed.

Unconscious for several hours, she
opened her eyelids weakly in St.
Joseph Hospital and murmured through
battered lips that she was Dorothea
Howard, 36, who had come to Fort
Wayne to be with her husband, an
airman stationed at Baer Field on the
city’s edge. }

In a hollow monotone she told her
story piecemeal, fighting to get out
each word, ‘as though describing a
blurry but horrifying nightmare from
which she had not completely awaken-
ed. .

Sad because her husband could not
get leave from the Army base,
Dorothea went into a tavern, started
drinking and had too many. It seemed
a soldier sat at her table and offered
to take her home, so she left with him.
As they walked along the street, he
suggested they stop in his room for
another drink, but she refused.

A man was beside her — the sol-
dier, she thought — but her memory
was hazy. The horror-filled episode
that followed was not.

The shadowy figure was dragging
her into the alley. She was struggling,
but steely fingers twisted her arms and
she felt herself shoved into a dark
alcove.

Savage with lust, the attacker ripped
off her cotton print dress, her brassiere
and panties.

She fought violently — scratching,
raining blows on her attacker’s face
and chest, trying to wrest herself away.

Her assailant countered with trip
hammer punches. She felt the heavy
fists thudding over her eyes, on her
jaws, on her naked torso.

Then she sank semiconscious to the
cinder-covered ground, too weak to
fend off the vile sexual demands of
the lust-crazed monster...

Newspapers printed pictures of the
woman’s terribly battered face. As
soon as he saw the photo, Private
Mark Gantlo, who was stationed at
Baer Field, rushed to inform his
commanding officer that he was the
soldier who had walked from the
tavern with Dot Howard; but the story
was not quite as she told it. He had

(continued on next page)

felt sorry for the woman when he’d
learned that her husband, stationed at
the same base, could not come to see
her, and he had offered to escort her
home. A stranger sitting at the same
table had risen and helped steer her
outside. At the alley, she had sat down
to rest and the men had sat beside her.

Suddenly a car swerved into the
alley, its headlights glaring on them,
and stopped. The driver, a woman,
leaned out and shouted: ‘‘What’s
going on here?’’ Gantlo smelled
trouble brewing and he left, catching
the 11 p.m. bus to Baer Field and
signing in.

City detectives and MPs found the
woman motorist and also the passen-
gers who had seen Gantlo on the camp
bus. The witnesses backed up Gantlo’s
alibi, and a court-martial cleared him
of any connection with the beating.

Tracing Dot Howard’s movements
to the point where she had met the
soldier, the police learned from the
woman tavern owner that one of her
regular customers, Warren Cooper,
had originally escorted Dot into her
tavern and had seated her at a table
already occupied by the private and
another civilian. The barmaid had
scolded Cooper for bringing in an
intoxicated woman.

Police located the customer, and he
explained that he had found Mrs.
Howard outside, had pitied her and
brought her into the place to buy her
some black coffee which might sober
her up. He had received a tongue
lashing from the tavern owner before
he could do so.

Both the misunderstood Good
Samaritan and the woman tavern-
keeper recalled that the soldier had
helped Dot Howard exit to the street;
and they were fairly sure that the
soldier’s table companion had left at
about the same time.

Eleven days after the cruel assault,
elfin-faced Dot Howard died and Fort
Wayne chalked up its fourth unsolved
sex slaying in 13 months.

Most indignant of the characters
caught in the dragnet was a blustering,
stocky storekeeper, Orin Dagmier,
who had been hauled in previously for
attacks on women. Several witnesses
said they had seen him near the fatal
scene on the night of Dot Howard’s
assault, which was not enough to
warrant arrest. Loud protestations by
Dagmier brought about his freedom.

Soon after his release, the indignant
storekeeper left town, leaving no
forwarding address.

As time pasesd, it seemed that Fort
Wayne’s four murders would enter

history alongside of the foul deeds of
Jack the Ripper and of other infamous
unsolved crimes.

Then late on the night of June 9,
1947 — 23 months after the last of the
sex murders — a curly-haired, husky,
six-foot former grave digger and dance
band musician ambled into the police
station at Kokomo, Indiana, explained
to Desk Sergeant Robert Ellis that he
was Ralph Lobaugh, and all but jarred
the sergeant out of his shoes by calmly
confessing the murders of Billie
Haaga, Anna Kuzeff and Dorothea
Howard. $

A quick telephone call to Fort
Wayne brought Detective Captain
Alfred Figel (who had been promoted
twice since the Kuzeff slaying),
Lieutenant Chester Axt and Sergeant
Horace Smith speeding to Kokomo.
When they arrived, the 31-year-old ex-
grave digger repeated his confessions.
There was no alcohol on his breath.
He seemed sane.

‘“‘Why are you telling all this?’’
demanded Figel.

“‘T’m afraid I’ll kill my wife,’’ said
Lobaugh. He explained that he was
speaking of his third wife, whom he
had married four weeks before. ‘‘I get
an urge,’’ he said. ‘‘I can’t stop
myself.’”

Back in Fort Wayne, Lobaugh
poured out full confessions of the three
slayings, studded with convincing little
details. He denied killing Phyllis
Conine, but the detectives suspected
he was holding out on that one for
some reason. Lobaugh, now a factory
worker, said he was living in Churu-
busco, 15 miles northwest of Fort
Wayne, at the time of the slayings and
he came to town ‘‘looking for wo-
men.”’

He said he was ‘‘pretty tight’’ when
he met Billie Haaga in a tavern and
invited her for an auto ride. Out in
the country, he said, ‘‘I went crazy
mad and beat up on her. After that I
don’t know what I done. While I was
beating her I made up my mind I
wasn’t going to take her back to town,
so I opened the door and I think she
took a somersault out. I think she was
still sitting up when I drove away.”
Farther down the road, Lobaugh said,
he opened the car window and tossed
out Billie’s scarf and pocketbook.

The husky grave digger said he went
to Trier Park, an amusement park,
‘looking for a woman’’ on the night
of the Kuzeff murder, but failing in
his quest, walked on over to the
Rolling Mill District and into a dark
field. ‘‘I seen this girl coming and I
lay down behind the log. I had a piece

of clothesline. I took it out and waited
until she got past me. I jumped out
and throwed it around her neck.’’
Lobaugh said he jerked the rope and
“she made a fuss and that was over
with.”’

He told the detectives he dragged
the beautiful teen-ager 200 feet into
the field and ravished her. ‘‘Then I
got up and I noticed my belt buckle
was torn off, but I fixed it anyway and
walked on out to the road. I went to
look for my comb and it was missing.”’

Later, asked to describe the comb,
he named the brand, Pro-Co-Pox
— the brand of the comb found near
Anna Kuzeff’s body.

Lobaugh identified himself as the
“mysterious civilian’? who walked out
of the tavern with Dot Howard, and
he admitted that he dragged her into
the alley, beat her and raped her. He
even remembered how car headlights
illumined the scene. But one part of
his story seemed fishy. He said, ‘‘We
sat there in the tavern and drank all
evening until closing time,’’? which
conflicted completely with the stories
of the soldier and other witnesses in
the tavern, ail of whom insisted that
the woman tavern-keeper had refused
to serve Mrs. Howard.

Taken to the scenes of the crimes,
he was able to recall details which
Allen County Prosecutor A. Everett
Bloom said only a guilty man would
know. At the spot where Anna Kuzeff
died, he pointed to some elevated
irrigation pipes and said, ‘Those pipes
were on the ground then,”’ and investi-
gation showed this was true. In the
alley where Dot Howard was attacked,
he pointed to the spot and said,
“There, where that gravel is, that was
cinders when it happened.’’

Lobaugh signed confessions to all
three murders on June 11. Three days
later he repudiated his confessions and
declared they were a hoax. He made
the whole thing up, he said, because
he had been fighting with his wife and
didn’t care whether he lived or died.

As time went on, Lobaugh was to
confess the murders and to deny them
with almost cocklike regularity in a
way that dizzied detectives, lawyers,
officials and the public, and helped
create one of the most confusing legal
snarls on record.

One factor that weakened the legal
value of the ex-grave digger’s confes-
sions came about when his relatives
supplied him with alibis for all three
murders. His second wife said he had
been visiting her in a hospital at Wolf

(continued on next page)

numerous factories turning out defense
supplies and equipment on a 24-hour
achedule during the war,

Miss HAAGA had been born in Fort
Wayne and had. made it her home
all her life. But she had not always
been a factory worker. A graduate of
St. Augustine Academy in the Indiana
city, she had displayed considerable
talent as a singer and dancer. She be-
came a professional entertainer shortly
after hey. graduation and, with an aunt
as a chaperone, had traveled the United
States appearing in vaudeville. When
the depression came on she returned to
the home of her parents in Fort Wayne.

Shortly afterward her father died.
Wilhelma thereupon took a job as a
ticket seller in a movie theater, went
from there to clerk in a downtown de-
partment store and then, lured by the
high wages, obtained employment in
the war plant.

She had been there about two years,
when, at 4:30 in the afternoon of Feb-
ruary 2, 1944, she walked out of the plant
with scores of others employed there on
the day shift. She said goodby to one
or two fellow-workers, waved gaily to a
few others and merged into the crowd.

At 6:30 that same evening, just two
hours later, Arno Riedel, a farmer liv-
ing near the intersection of Thimlar
and Hartzell Roads, put down his
paper and cocked his ear toward the
back: door of his home. He was sure
he had heard a whining sound not un-

like that of a dog in pain. At first he .

thought it was a dog. Then the sound
came again, accompanied by a scratch-
ing noise and a mutter that could be
nothing but human.

Riedel went to the door and pulled it
open. In stunned and stupefied aston-
ishment he peered at the figure lying
face downward on the damp, cold
ground.

Too paralyzed by surprise to act, Rie-
del stood motionless, staring at the ap-
parition, and not at all sure that his
brain had recorded properly what his
vision beheld. But the opening of the
door appeared to arouse the stricken

The place where Anna Kuzeff
died, her shoes in foreground :

woman. She pulled painfully to her
hands and knees and, with heartbreak-
er moans, squirmed across the thresl-

old,

“I’m hurt!” she whispered. “Hurt
bad—call a doctor , , ."

With a sigh she collapsed, a pitiful
huddle of bruised and broken flesh.
The wavy blond hair that had arched
her soft eyes like a halo was soaked with
still-wet blood. Her face was a welter
of bruises, cuts and grime. Portions of
her shapely arms and legs, visible
through numerous jagged tears in her
clothing, were covered with scratches
and dirt. Her shoes were gone. The
heels and toes of her stockings had
been worn completely through, as
though she had walked a long distance
over stones and stubble, while her feet
were swollen to almost twice their nor-
mal size, with their natural color com-
pletely obscured by bluish contusions
and crimson- and dirt-covered cuts.

TH young woman’s collapse struck off
the muscular restrictions which had
the staring farmer in their grip. He
sprang to the telephone and frantically
called for Walter C. Adams, Sheriff of
Whitley County, adjoining on the west
the county of Allen in which Fort Wayne
is situated.

Adams, with James F. Biddle, Whit-
ley County prosecutor, hurried to the
scene, and Adams’ assistant telephoned
Chief of Police Jule Stumpf at Fort
Wayne. Stumpf rushed out with De-
tective Captain Alfred Figel, Lieutenant
Chester Axt and Detective Sergeant
Horace Smith.

Riedel, under instructions from
Sheriff Adams, had telephoned for an
ambulance. The unconscious but still-
breathing woman was rushed to St.
Joseph’s Hospital in Fort Wayne,
where, after she had come out of the
operating-room, patrolmen took up a
constant vigil at her bedside in the hope
that she would revive at least suffi-
ciently to give some clue to her attacker.

Back at the Riedel farm, the officers
had been making some progress. Most
of the victim’s tortured journey to

At right, the log where Anna
Kuzeff's -killer waited for her

Riedel’s home had been over the soft
ground of the river’s lowlands and the
temperature had been above freezing,
Detectives back-tracked her foot-prints,
The further they went the more they

were aatounded at the distance she had

covered. With every step undoubtedly °

an agony, she had traversed nearly two
miles from the spot where, apparently,
the attack on her had occurred.

The first clue to the murder scene was
a scarf one of the officers picked up
about fifteen feet from the South
River Road, which parallels the Mau-
mee River. He held it aloft, with an ex-
cited “Look at this!”

The others crowded around him.
“Fan out,” Chief Stumpf ordered, “and
be careful not to blot out any foot-
prints. If this is where she was attacked
we may find her shoes.”

They followed directions, looking
carefully at the ground before taking
each step. Within a few minutes one
of them picked up a shoe, while another
found a woman’s coat in a slight de-
pression in the soil about 40 feet from
the highway.

“Neither of these objects was blood-
stained. : :

Prowling about a large log which
lay 100 feet or so from the highway,
Lieutenant Axt found several evidences
of blood, both on the ground and on
the log itself. Two sets of foot-prints
were here, one of a woman and the
other a man. Following these from the
log led the detectives to a trampled spot
on the river bank. One glance at this
was sufficient to tell them, as plainly
as though the ground had a mouth and
tongue, that here was the spot where
the young woman had been beaten.

It was covered with blood, some
standing out in purplish relief against
the light tan mud, some mixed with the
earth as though it had been pushed into
it by the welter of foot-prints evidently

oe during the victim's fight for her

“I think I’ve got it,” Stumpf said
slowly. “This is where she was at-
tacked. The fellow left her here; his
prints lead back to. the road. But the
girl was conscious, or at least semi-con-
scious. She crawled back to the road
and either sat or leaned against this log
to rest. Then she staggered away for
help, stopping in the first house she
came to. Her bag and maybe other

personal possessions should be aroun
Keep on searching,”

But the search yielded nothing fu
ther, neither a weapon, the woma!
other shoe, a bag nor other person
belonging, Fearing that in the dari
ness they might trample into the m
some valuable clue, the officers decid
to postpone further search until the fo
lowing day and to devote their imm:
diate efforts to trying to learn the dyir
woman’s identity.

During this interval, events had bec
taking place at Miss Haaga’s hon
which were to make this task compar:
tively easy. About an hour before s!
left her job Wilhelma had telephon
her widowed mother, Grace, and hi
sister, Adeline. She told them that st
had an appointment with a woma
friend whom she was to meet dowr
town.

“I’m going to do a little shoppin
with her,” Wilhelma concluded, “ap
then go to the K. of C. at half-past fi
for a rehearsal.”

By K. of C. she meant the Knighi
of Columbus, where she had bee
coaching a junior drill team.

When she did not meet her frien
this woman went to the Knights
Columbus hall expecting to find he
there. Failing, she telephoned Mr
Haaga and asked if the mother kne’
where Wilhelma was.

“I can’t understand it,” Mrs. Haag
replied. “I never knew Wilhelma t
break a date. Probably something un
expected came up. She'll probably ge
in touch with you soon.”

But several hours passed and n
word came from her daughter. Mr:
Haaga was worried. She telephone
some of the girl’s numerous friends an
acquaintances... She couldn’t phon
them all, as Wilhelma, because of he
ability as an entertainer, was extreme)
popular. But from those she did tal

to, she got the same answer: Wilhelm
hadn’t been seen all day.

FRANTIC, Mrs. Haaga telephone
Police Headquarters. From the des
sergeant she learned that a savagel
beaten woman had been taken to th
hospital. With her other daughter sh
sped to St. Joseph’s, to break int
anguished sobs as she recognized th

-»woman lying unconscious on the bec

It was a long time before either sh

or Adeline recovered sufficiently from
their emotional shock to enable Chief
Stumpf and the other officers to
question her.

The mother’s first statement was the
usual reaction of those on whom such a
blow has fallen:

“I can’t imagine who would want to
hurt Wilhelma. She was friendly with
everyone, and everyone liked her. I
think you'll find that she was one of
the most popular girls in the city.”

Subsequent checking by the officers
proved this to be true. But this did not
by any means preclude the possibility
that her assailant had been a friend or
former friend. Popular women arouse
jealousy, particularly one as beautiful
as Wilhelma, and it was not at all be-
yond the bounds of possibility that she
had been allacked by @ jealous of dis-
appointed suitor, That war the angle
Vou WHalerdy Ftvoenngel, Aw euoned the attire
became interested.

“Did she have a particular man
friend?" the Chief queried,

“WelJl,* there’s one she likes very
much. But he couldn't possibly be
concerned in this, If that’s what you're
getting at.”

“Why couldn't he?”

“Because he’s in the Navy. He's
away at sea and he has been for some
time.”

nce she engaged to him?”

“No.”

“Does she go out with any other
men?”

“Yes, plenty of them. She’s very
popular, as I told you. She gets invited

Here Anna Kuzeff dropped her purse. Coroner Mendenhall is at
right; an unidentified officer, left: Photographer Crick background
Zi re

to ever so many dances and parties.”

“Has she ever had any trouble with
any of them? I mean, have any of
them threatened her or been angry be-
cause she refused to marry them or go
out with them?”

“Not that I know of.”

“I’m sure nothing like that has hap-
pened,” the sister declared. “Wilhelma
and I have always told each other
everything. If anything like that had
Sra Sele she would have mentioned
{ ads

“LYAS she ever acted as though she
war afrald of anyone?”

"Naver. ‘

“Did she carry much money?”

“No, never more than a few dollars
at.atime. Of course, if she expected to
go shopping, as she did today, she
might have fifteen or twenty dollars,
but no more than that.” : ;

The Chief already had decided that
robbery had not been the motive for the
crime. Wilhelma had been wearing a
valuable diamond ring and « wrist-
watch when she crawled painfully into
the Riedel home. However, there was
always the chance that a smarter-
than-usual thief might have ignored
jewelry because of the danger of dis-
posing of it and contented himself with
such money as he found.

The mother and Adeline, at Stumpf’s
request, furnished him with a partial
list of friends and acquaintances of the
injured girl. It contained only names
they could recall off-hand, and they as-
sured the Chief that when they could
give it more thought they would be able
to give him four or five times as many.
But those they gave furnished at least a
starting point for the officers who were
dispatched to begin the- tedious. and
monotonous task of questioning each
person.

Detective Captain Figel, Tdewenant
Axt and other officers then began the
taak of queationtos the many emrloyon
bl thie wer pelaael, presedieulas fy those on
the day shift who had departed with
their follaw worker who wan dewkined
to meet such a dreadful fate.

The consensus at the plant confirmed
In ample measure the assertions made
by Mrs. Haaga and the daughter, Ade-
line. This was that Wilhelma was as
popular among the employes as she was
on the outside.

Everyone, both men and women, had
a kind word to say of her. So far as
the officers could learn, she had had no
difficulties of any kind with her fellow-
workers or her employers. By the
bosses she was considered faithful and
conscientious. -

Figel finally weeded out three per-

sons, who recalled having noticed
Wilhelma as they streamed through the
gate at the close of their day. And from
the three of them he received some
astonishing: information.

Claude Parker, who worked in the
same department with Wilhelma was
Positive that he had noticed the girl as
she wormed her way out of the crowd.

“She ran across the road,” he as-
serted, “and got into a car there.”

“You're sure it was Miss Haaga?”

“Absolutely positive.”

“Did you notice what kind of car it
was?”

“Not particularly. All I can tell you
is that it was. an old one, say. around_
thirty-two or three, a sedan, and it was
plenty dirty.”

“Was a manor woman al the wheel?!

“I'm pretty sure it was a man.”

“EDT vores caprerende hee Wiiibveberse Bre ferre
dhe rau aciues the road?"

“Just said goodnight to her.”

“Did she doom upael or worrled?”

“Not at all. She was smiling and
laughing.”

“Which way was the car turned?”

“Toward the South River Road.” -

The South River Road! That was
where the altack had occurred. Was it
Possible that the gracious, laughing
Wilhelma had gone gaily to what
proved to be her doom directly from
her place of employment? If Parker’s
statement was accurate, the girl must
have known whoever was in the’ car.
She apparently was not the kind of
person who could be picked up by a

(Continued on Page 58)
I

Detective Story Behind
[he Fort Wayne Women

casting the innuendoes of guilt at men naping and Trape—developments of a after the British surrender at Yorktown, junctions, staked out homes near the .
who since have been Proved innocent, Surprising, shocking and frequently gro- Sent three different armies westward to old wooden fort. From a population of
Here, in this and succeeding issues, tesque nature which have kept the res- drive the Indians from the place and 4,282 in 1850, the little town grew until
is the first complete, thorough and doc- idents of the Hoosier State at a high _ establish what he said would be “an im- today, exactly 100 years later, it esti-
umented presentation of the astound- Pitch of interest and excitement from portant Post for the Union.” mates its inhabitants at 140,000.
ing, almost unbelievable murders of the 1944 until the present year. Chief Pontiac, a strategist as well as
Fort Wayne women.—The Editor. Those six long years which have been a fighter, ambushed and defeated two THE great majority brought with them
a fever of confessions, convictions, re- of these expeditions. But he found his & rugged sense of honesty, honor,
N JANUARY 4, 1950, Governor versals, acquittals, death Sentences, match in the third, under the leader- fair Play and respect for the rights of
Henry F. Schricker of Indiana charges and counter-charges, much of ship of “Mad Anthony” Wayne, who one’s neighbor as long .as he behaves
gave out a statement to the it bearing the unmistakable aroma of overwhelmed the Savages and built a himself. Consequently, as the city
newspapers in which he said in part: politics, and all of it combining to weave stockade that resisted all efforts of the grew, law and order became-one of its
“I think these crimes are one of the a bizarre and fantastic crime Story. Indians to win back their hunting- and outstanding attributes, That attribute -
most sordid messes in the history of It is irony that Fort Wayne, ordinari- meeting-grounds, still stands, zealously guarded by the
Indiana, and one which Fort Wayne ly one of the most law-abiding cities In honor of Mad Anthony the wooden Pioneers’ descendants. True, the city
would be glad to forget.” in the country, was the site of this structure was named Fort Wayne, and has had its share of certain types of
A month earlier he had remarked: extraordinary chain of rape and mur- the settlement that srew up around the crime. But the more serious ones, have
“They present the most involved and der. Fort Wayne is a city rich in his- fort, incorporated as a town in 1829 and been comparatively few.
tangled legal problem in Indiana’s his- torical background and Indian lore. as a city in 1840, was given the same However, the events that have oc-
tory.” Long before the coming of the. white name. The city’s Chamber of Com- curred between the fateful day of
At approximately the same time the man, the junction of its three rivers merce is not indulging in mere Propa- February 2, 1944, and the present time
News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne's alert and was a favorite hunting-ground and ganda when it Says that “countless have caused many citizens to wonder
progressive afternoon paper, declared: meeting-place for friendly tribes. To- hours may be Spent in visiting those if Fort Wayne’s reputation as a peace-
“The Fort Wayne sex killings comprise ward the close of the seventeenth cen- spots -where some of our country’s most ful, law-abiding, “homey” city has not
one of the most carelessly tangled mur- tury the French took advantage of its crucial moments were marked by the been destroyed completely. The change
der cases in criminal history, and are location to establish an Indian trading- utmost in human sacrifice and blood.” came about So suddenly that the full im-
permeated with a maze of contradic- Post. They held it only a few years Notwithstanding the fact that the plications of the undesired events was
tory eviderice.” when the English took it as a prize fol- country still Swarmed with hostile In- not apparent immediately. But the
It is scarcely an exaggeration to say lowing the conclusion of the Frenchand_ dians following the defeat of Pontiac, time soon arrived when the most back-
that, with few exceptions, the citizens Indian War. But they in turn didn't and that more than One log cabin be- ward citizen realized that Fort Wayne
of Indiana agree with these characteri- keep it long, for, Chief Pontiac, bitter came the funeral Dyre of a scalped set- was beset by sinister forces of which he
zations. If they disagree at all it is be- at the encroachment of the Paleface, tler and his family, pioneers and their had not been aware previously.
cause these statements are entirely too Promptly wrested it from them. women and children trekked steadily The innocent instrument which set
conservative. The present city was born in blood westward in search of a likely spot these forces in motion was one of the
Their opinion is amply justified by and turmoil. For 30 years it was the where they could take root. Hundreds, most attractive women of Fort Wayne.
developments in the four savage rape- Scene of intermittent and Sanguinary .and then thousands, fascinated by the She was Wilhelma Haaga, a lovely
murders and the one combined kid- strife, President George Washington, lush land bordering the three river blonde of 38, employed ‘in one of the

Anna Kurzeff, Victim No. Two,
below, and right, Miss Haaga's
legs, bruised in her flight

Full Insidi
urders of

What Total Stranger Would Bludgeon These Three
Girls to Death—With More Attacks to Come—
» Inthe "Most Involved and Tangled" Case on Record?

By Joseph Fulling Fishman
Special Investigator for
ACTUAL DETECTIVE STORIES

PART I

Frour times in little more than a year, from the electric chair, of murder and
@ rapist-killer struck his terrible assault and other crimes, been written
blows in the quiet, respectable city of into court records,
Fort Wayne, Indiana. Not one but three innocent men were
The trail of blood this monster left imprisoned for these crimes. No effec-
behind him and the desperate, tangled tive solution was reached for more than
efforts of authorities to capture and sir years. The entire State of Indiana
punish him, combine to make one of was split into factions and an election.
the most bizarre, startling crime reports campaign was waged over the manner
of the century. in which the investigation was handled.
Seldom if ever before in the history Several previous attempts have been
of the United States has such akaleido- made to publicize the unusual facts of
scope of events, such a jumble of arrest this investigation. Those attempts,
and release, of last-minute reprieves however, were fragmentary at best,

"Billie Haaga, below, and at
the left, the spot where she
struggled for her very life

Onell

Official Detective Stories,
May, 1950,

Metadata

Containers:: Box 15 (2-Documentation of Executions), Folder 15
Resource Type:: Document
Description:: Jerome Brooks executed on 1871-10-27 in Indiana (IN)
Rights:: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Date Uploaded:: June 30, 2019

Using these materials

Access:: The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.

Collection restrictions:: Access to this record group is unrestricted.
Collection terms of access:: The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.