Pennsylvania, B-C, 1894-1978, Undated

678
grees of homicide. The trial judge refused
these points as being “immatarial under the
general charge.” At the outset of the charge
the jury were instructed they were not con-
cerned with the fact that defendant entered
the building and was there for an unlawful
purpose, nor did the commonwealth base its
prosecution upon the theory that the homi-
cide was committed while defendant was at-
tempting to commit burglary. In discuss-
ing. the degree of murder the court read to
the jury the portion of the statute defining
murder of the first and second degree, and
stated further, that— ;

“In this case you have only to deal with the
murder committed by ‘any other kind of will-
ful, deliberate, and premeditated killing’; as,
for example, it is not contended that this kill-
ing occurred by means of poison, or by means
of lying in wait so that the portion of the stat-
ute which you have to apply to the evidence
here is what we have indicated to you, namely,
murder committed by any kind of willful, de-
liberate, and premeditated killing.”

After this instruction the court further
charged as to the elements necessary to con-
stitute willful, deliberate, and premeditated
murder within the meaning of the law. This
instruction was followed by the affirmance
of defendant’s fifth point, to the effect that
there could be no finding of murder of the
first degree, unless the jury was convinced
the killing was willful, deliberate, and pre-
meditated, and, finally, at the close of the
charge, in answer to an oral request that the
jury be further instructed that the case did
not come within the provisions of the statute
relating to murder committed in the course
of rape, robbery, arson, or burglary, the
court stated:

“We do not think it necessary to repeat what

107 ATLANTIC REPORTER (Pa.

Pa. 15, 63 Atl. 195; Miller v. James Smith
Woolen Machinery Co., 220 Pa. 181, 69 Atl.
598; Hufnagle v. Delaware & Hudson Co.,
227 Pa. 476, 76 Atl. 205, 40 L. R. A. (N.'S.)
982, 19 Ann. Cas. 850. See, also, Common-
wealth v. McManus, 143 Pa. 64, 84, 85, 21.
Atl, 1018, 22 Atl. 761, 14 L. R. A. 89.

2,3] The fifth and sixth assignments of
error are to the refusal of the court to with-
draw a juror and continue the case, for the
reason the district attorney asked defendant,
on cross-examination, whether he was not a
deserter from the United States army. De-
fendant answered in the affirmative. No ob-
jection was raised at the time. Subsequent-
ly his desertion from the army was again
referred to by defendant under examination
by his counsel, and the fact brought out that
a third person who had knowledge of the
matter had been blackmailing defendant,
and on the evening of the crime demanded
$10 on threat of exposure if the demand was .
not complied with; the purpose of this be-
ing to disprove malice in committing the
crime charged. On being asked by his coun-
sel why he deserted the army, an objection
that his action in so, doing was immaterial
was sustained by the court, and a motion to
withdraw a juror based on the admission
of the answer to the question the day before
refused. The act ef March 15, 1911 (PB. L.
20) provides that:

“Flereafter any person charged with any
crime, and called as a witness in his own be-
half, shall not be asked, and, if asked, shall not
be required to answer, any question tending to
show that he has committed, or been charged
with, or been convicted of any offense other
than the one wherewith he shall then be charg-
ed, or tending to show that he has been of bad
character or reputation.”

The wording of this act is mandatory, and

oes : : j ly has to
we have said, namely, that rem pond Sete Ge expressly forbids the asking of a question

deal with one kind of murder of the first degree,
“and do not see any necessity for repeating what
we have already said.”

All questions of murder committed during
the perpetration of burglary were eliminat+
ed: consequently the court was not in error

in stating the points were immaterial under
The trial judge in using |} or whether it be based upon fact and de-

the general charge.

the illustration referred to clearly showed
it was not contended the killing occurred by
means of poison or lying in wait, and did
not intend to convey the impression that an

inference might be drawn that the killing oc
curred during an attempt to commit bur

relating to the commission of another offense,
the Legislature apparently having in mind
that the mere asking of such question has a
tendency to create in the minds of the jury
an unfavorable impression of defendant,
whether it be entirely without foundation
in fact and asked from improper motives,

fendant is obliged to take advantage of his
right to refuse to incriminate himself. To
hold the clause “if asked shall not be re-
quired to answer,” was intended to operate
-|as an implied recognition of the right to ask
-|the question, as argued by the district attor-

glary, nor could the jury have received sucl
impression, as there w

to the latter clause of the statute relating | effective, i
not only to burglary, but also to arson, rape, |

and robbery. While the trial judge migh

have affirmed the point, his failure to do so,
in view of the circumstances above referred ;
to, did no harm, and is not reversible error, | Commission

Creachen y. Bromley Bros. Carpet Gocgr

h | ney, is to ignore entirely the express man-

as no attempt to refer | date of the earlier clause and render it in-

nasmuch as, if such had been the
intention, it would have been suflicient to
t;insert only the provision that a defendant
in a criminal case shall not be required to
answer any question tending to show the
of another offense. Common-
4} wealth v. Garanchoskie, 251 Pa. 247; 251; -96

Pa.) COMMONWEALTH y. BROWN 679
(107 A.)
Atl. 518. The word “offense,” while some- {the shooting. Commonwealth vy. Leskoski, 225

times used in various senses, generally im-
plies a crime or misdemeanor, infringing
public as distinguished from mere private
rights, and punishable under the criminal
laws (Black’s Law Dictionary, 847; 29 Cye.
351, 1853, and cases cited; Fetter v. Wilt
et al., 46 Pa. 457, 460) though it may also
include the violation of a penal statute for
which the remedy is merely a civil suit to
recover the penalty (Ott v. Jordan, 116 Pa.
218, 224, 9 Atl. 321). In construing the word
in any specific instance regard must be had
to the sense in which it was used. In the
act of 1911, the purpose was to prevent the
practice, previously approved by this court
in Commonwealth v. Racco, 225 Pa. 113, 73
Atl. 1067, 183 Am. St. Rep. 872, of permit-
ting a defendant on trial for crime to be
asked whether he had not committed other
offenses. The purpose of the act was to
avoid the reflection on defendant’s character
which must necessarily result from the mere
asking of such questions; accordingly the ap-
parent intention of the Legislature was to
use the word “offense” in the sense of a crim-
inal act for which he would be liable to pros-
ecution under the criminal law. Defendant
was subject only to military rules and regu-
lations, and, while the punishment for such
act would, no doubt, depend to some extent
upon whether a state of war existed at the
time the desertion occurred, as well as the
circumstances under which it took place,
with this we are not concerned. In view of
the fact that no objection was raised to the
relevancy of defendant’s desertion from the
army at the time the question was asked, and
for the further reason that defendant was
afterwards interrogated by his counsel in re-
gard to the matter, and not until the court re-
fused to permit defendant to give his reason
for deserting was there objection to the testi-
mony, we are of opinion the objection came
too late, and the court was right in its refus-
al to withdraw a juror as requested. Under
these circumstances we deem it unnecessary
to determine whether or not desertion from
the army is an offense within the meaning of
the act of 1911.

[4-7] The seventh assignment of error com-
plains of the admission of testimony to the
effect that the witness asked young Elford,
at the time he was lying on the ground with-
in a few feet of defendant, who shot him, to
which Elford replied that defendant had
shot him, the latter making no reply. The
testimony thus offered was not competent as
part of the res geste of the shooting, but a
mere narrative of how it occurred, given
in response to the question by the witness.
The fact, however, that defendant was pres-
ent and heard the conversation, and had an
opportunity to reply, but made no denial of
the charge, was evidence from which the ju-
ry might infer an admission that he did

Pa. 382, 74 Atl. 217; Commonwealth y. Bal-
lon, 229 Pa. 823, 78 Atl. 831. While it must
be conceded that before defendant's silence
can amount to an admission it must appear
the conversation took place in his presence
and hearing, the testimony shows defendant
was within hearing, and, in fact he admitted
this. It was for the jury, therefore, to deter-
mine from the circumstances whether de-
fendant actually heard this particular part
of the conversation. Commonwealth vy. Det-
weiler, 229 Pa. 304, 78 Atl. 271.

[8,9] The eighth assignment is the refusal
of the court to permit the jury, at the request
of one of them, to have read a portion of the
testimony of certain witnesses, and also to
view an exhibit (a photograph of the prem-
ises) used on the trial’ The juror stated he
had not heard certain testimony and had
not had an opportunity to examine the ex-
hibit when passed around at the trial, but
had been informed at the time by one of the
attorneys that the privilege of examining it
later would be given him. The court declined
to do as requested, but complied with an ad-
ditional request to give further instructions
on the question of reasonable doubt. The
refusal to read the notes of testimony was
proper under the rule stated in Common-
wealth v. Ware, 137 Pa. 465, 20 Atl. 806, as
to do so would give the testimony read undue
prominence over other testimony, and thus
work an injustice to one side or the other.
In regard to the refusal to permit the jury
to examine the exhibit, it does not appear
why the exhibit had not been sent out
with the jury or whether there had been a
request made to that effect, or even that the
exhibit had been formally offered in evidence.
The matter was one within the discretion of

the trial judge (Kittanning Insurance Co. v. '

O’Neill, 110 Pa. 548, 552, 1 Atl. 592; Cava-
naugh vy. Buehler, 120 Pa. 441, 458, 14 Atl.
891); and it does not appear that defendant
was in any manner prejudiced by the’ absence
of the exhibit from the jury room (Riddles-
burg Iron & Coal Co. v. Rogers, 65 Pa. 416).

{10] Defendant also contends the verdicts
in the two cases are inconsistent. The theory
of the commonwealth was that the defendant
fired two shots at the time he was inside
the vestibule and just as the door was pushed
open from the outside by the officers, and
that immediately thereafter several shots
were fired by the officers through the door.
The contention of defendant is that only one
shot was fired by him, and that without in-
tention of injuring those on the outside of the
door, and that the resulting injury was en-
tirely accidental. However this may be,
there were two fatal shots from a 38-caliber
revolver, the size used by defendant. While
it is difficult to discover a reasonable basis
for distinction between the verdicts in the
two cases, the degree of the crime in cach


A Wife-Murdsrer Hung,

The execution of

Charles Briggs for cut- .

ting his wife's throa’
took place in Philadel-
phia on St. Patrick’s
Day. Briggs, accom-
panied by two Episco-
pal clergymen, the
Rev. Messrs. Currie
and Aigner, took his
place in the line, and
the dead march began.
When he had stamped
his left foot on the
trap, to make sure that
it would hold together
for a while, the con-
demned man turned
slowly around and
looked down onthe at-
tending spectators in
an apathetic manner
The prayers for the

BRIGGS, Charles, hanged P hiladelphia, Pennsylvania, Mar. 17, 1885

visitation of prisoners
and for the dying were
read. The condemned
man submitted in the
most unconcerned way
to bee pinioning of his
nds, and, having no
choice or preference in
€ Matter, threw his
b ea disinterestedly to
one side, so that Dep-
uty Richardson could
ft the black cap more
r ey. Deputy Rob.
rts adjusted the noose
ana gaveita friendly
iwiteh under the left.
car ofthe prisoner. The
_ ev. Dr. Currie said
“Amen” once more.
A “ Stepped quickly to
e edge of the scaffold
Pe Briggs. The trap
cropped and the body
fell about four feet,


Dee. eee Lancaster, Pa., Dec. 18, 1773.

"The week before last a very shocking tragedy happened in Lancaster
County which is related as follows: One Brandt, an ancient man, had
lately made his will and left the farm on which he lived to his
eldest son. This appeared a partial act to his youngest son and
enraged him to such a degree that he quarrkled with his brother, And
one evening at supper the dispute about the old man's estate

ot to such a height that the youngest brother ran upstains, got a
Youdad gun and shot his brother through the heart of which wound he
instantly died. After this he beat his ancient mother in a

676 ‘107 ATLANTIC REPORTER (Pa.

ticle IV, under the general head of ‘Legislative
Power.’ ‘Every bill or resolution having the
force of law to which the concurrence of both
houses may be necessary, * * * which shall
have passed both houses, shall be presented to
the Governor, and if. he approve, he shall sign
it,’ etc. The referendum applies,'and was in-
tended to apply, only to acts or resolves of this
class, to ‘every bill or resolution having the
force of law,’ that is, to what are commonly
known as legislative acts and resolves, which
are passed by both branches, are usually signed
by the Governor, and are embodied in the Legis-
lative Acts and Resolves, as printed and pub-
lished. And the words ‘No act or joint reso-
lution of the Legislature,’ ete., before quoted,
in the referendum amendment must be construed
in the light of the context, considering all the
sections and parts and articles together, as
meaning ‘no act or joint resolution of the Leg-
islature having the foree of law.’ This is the
simple and plain interpretation of simple and
plain language.”

In the application of that rule of con-
struction this court held in that case that a
joint address to the Governor on the part
of both branches of the Legislature calling
for the removal of a public officer was be-
yond the scope of and unaffected by the
referendum. The same rule applies here
with equal force. This resolution, ratify-
ing the proposed constitutional amendment,
was neither a public act, a private act, nor
a resolve having the force of law. It was
in no sense legislation. It-was not signed
by the Governor, nor could it have been
vetoed by him. It was simply the ratifying
act of the particular body designated by
article 5 of the federal Constitution to per-
form that particular act. The principles
laid down in Moulton y. Scully are decisive
of this point.

The Supreme Court of Oregon, in a case
decided on April 29, 1919, passed.upon this
branch of the question, where this same fed-
eral amendment was involved, and held that
the term “any act of the legislative assem-
bly,” made the subject of referendum by
the amended Constitution of Oregon, did not
include a joint resolution, but only propos-
ed laws. Herbring v. Brown, 180 Pac. 328.

In conclusion, it may be said that not
only have all previous amendments to the
federal Constitution been ratified by two-
thirds of the Legislatures of the several
states, but this particular TEighteenth
Amendment, commonly spoken of as the pro-
hibitory amendment, has already been. pro-
mulgated by federal authorities as having
become a part of the Constitution through
this same avenue.

The State Department of the United
States, under date of January 29, 1919, is-
sued its proclamation announcing that this
Eighteenth Amendment had been duly rat-
ified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of

the states, including by name the state of
Maine, and therefore certifying, in pursu-
ance of. Rey. St. U. S. § 205 (U. S. Comp. St.
§ 303), that the amendment aforesaid has
become valid to all intents and purposes as
a part of the Constitution of the United
States. See appendix to part 2 of U. S.
Stat. 8d Session, Sixty-Fifth Congress, 1918-
1919.

The construction which we adopt is evi-
dently the same which the federal author-
ities have placed upon the federal Consti-
tution. With them the chapter is regarded
as closed.

Yor the reasons hereinbefore set forth
we answer the propounded question in the
negative. :

We have the honor to remain,

Very respectfully, \

[Signed] LESLIE C. CORNISH.

ALBERT M. SPEAR.
GEORGE M. HANSON.
WARREN C. PHILBROOK,
CHARLES J. DUNN.

JOHN A. MORRILL,
SCOTT WILSON.

LUERE B. DEASY.

COMMONWEALTH v. BROWN.
March 10,

(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
1919.)

1. CrriminaL LAw ¢€==829(21)— Murper Not
CoMMITTED IN COURSE OF BURGLARY —
CHARGE.

Where trial judge in instructions eliminated
all question of murder committed during perpe-
tration of a burglary, his refusal to affirm points
to the effect that, as there was no evidence to
show that the store entered by defendant was
part of a dwelling house, he could not be convict-
ed of murder in course of a burglary within the
meaning of the statute defining degrees of mur-
der was not reversible error.

2. CRIMINAL LAw €=693—Tim= FoR OBJEC-
TION TO EVIDENCE.

Where defendant, in a trial for murder, was
asked by the district attorney whether he was
not a deserter from the army, and defendant,
without objection to the question, answered in
the affirmative, and was thereafter interrogated
by his own counsel as to that matter, his objec
tion to the testimony, not made until court re-
fused to permit him to state his reasons for de-
serting was too late.

3. CrimiInaL LAw €=1—“OFFENSE.” :
The word “offense,” while sometimes used in
various senses, generally implies a crime or &
misdemeanor infringing publie as distinguished
from mere private rights and punishable under
the criminal laws though it may also incfude
the violation of a criminal statute for which the

€=—For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes

en Se

Pa.) COMMONWEALTH y. BROWN 677
(107 A.)
remedy is merely a civil suit to recover the pen-
alty.
[Ed. Note—For other definitions, see Words
and Phrases, First and Second Series, Offense.]

4, CriminaL Law €==366(4)—Evipence—REs
GEsTz,

Testimony that witness asked one, who at
the time was lying on the ground within a few
feet of defendant as to who had shot him and
received the reply that defendant had shot him,
to which defendant made no reply, was not com-
petent as a part of the res gestzw of the shoot-
ing, being a mere narrative of how it occurred.

5. Crmunat Law ¢€=407(2) — ApMISsIoN —

PRESENCE WITHOUT DENIAL,

’ The fact that defendant was present and
heard witness ask the victim, who was then ly-
ing on the ground within a few fect of defend-
ant, as to who had shot him, and received a
reply that defendant had shot him, and, having
opportunity, made no reply or denial, was evi-
dence from which jury might infer an admis-

sion that defendant did the shooting.

6. CRIMINAL LAW €=>407(1)—ADMISSION BY
SILENCE.

Before defendant’s silence could amount to
an admission, it must appear that a question by
a witness to the victim, then lying on the
ground, as to who had shot him, and the answer
that defendant had shot him, took place in de-
fendant’s presence and hearing.

7. CRIMINAL LAW ¢€==736(2)— HEARING oF
CONVERSATION WITH VICTIM—QUESTION FOR
JuRY. : :

Whether, from the circumstances, defendant
standing near the victim, then lying on the
ground, actually heard a question by a witness
to the victim as to who had shot him, and the
answer that defendant had shot him, was for the
jury.

8. CRIMINAL LAW €=859—READING Part oF
TESTIMONY TO JURY—DISCRETION or TRIAL
Court, .

The refusal to have-read to a juror a part
of the testimony, which he claimed he had not
heard, was proper, as to have had such testi-
mony read would have given it undue prominence
over other testimony to the prejudice of one
side or the other.

9. CRIMINAL LAW €==858(3)— REQUEST TO
View Exurpir—Rvuina.

In a trial for murder, the refusal of a ju-
ror’s request to allow jury to view an exhibit, a
photograph of the premises, used in the trial
and which he claimed he had not seen, was not
error, where it did not appear that the exhibit
had been offered in evidence, or that any re-
quest had been made to send it out with the
jury; such matter being within the trial judge’s
discretion.

10. CRIMINAL LAw €=87615—MurDER IN
DivrerReENT Dearees—Verpict,

Where defendant entered the vestibule of a
liquor store and was discovered by the owner's
son, who with a police officer attempted to force
their way into the entry and were both alleged

jury returned a yerdict of murder in the first
degree as to the son, and of murder in the sec-
ond degree as, to the police officer, was no
ground for reversal.

Appeal from Court of Oyer and Terminer,
Allegheny County.

Robert Henry Brown was convicted of
murder in the first degree as to William. J.
Elford and of murder in the second degree
as to Charles L. Edinger, and he appeals.
Affirmed, and record remitted for purpose of
execution.

Argued before BROWN, C. J., and STEW-
ART, MOSCHZISKER, FRAZER, WAL-
LING, SIMPSON, and KEPHART, JJ.

W. St. Clair Childs and Drayton Heard,
both of Pittsburgh, for appellant.

Harry A. Estep, Asst. Dist. Atty., and Har-
ry H. Rowand, Dist. Atty., both of Pitts-
burgh, for the Commonwealth.

FRAZER, J. On the night of June 5, 1917,
defendant entered the vestibule of the liquor
store of William L. Elford, in the city of
Pittsburgh. He was discovered by William
J. Elford, son-of the owner, who notified the
police, and while he and two policemen, in-
cluding one Edinger, were attempting to force
their way into the entry two shots were fired
from the inside, one of which, according to
the theory of the Commonwealth, struck
Officer Edinger and the other young Elford,
both of whom died later from their injuries.
Defendant escaped from the doorway, and
in passing out by the rear was discovered
and wounded by a bullet from the revolver
of an officer who had been directed to guard
that part of the premises. Defendant was
indicted and convicted in the court below on
two separate indictments which were tried
together, one for the murder of William J.
Elford, and the other for the murder of Offi-
cer Edinger; the verdict in the Elford ease
being first-degree murder and in the other
second-degree murder. The facts connected
with the crime were fully submitted to the
jury in a careful charge; reference to the
evidence in detail is unnecessary except in

questions raised in the assignments of error.

The first and second assignments are to
the refusal ofa new trial and to the entry
of judgment on the verdict. These questions
will be considered under the other assign-
ments.

{1] The third and fourth assignments com-
plain of the refusal of the court to affirm
points to the effect that there being no evi-
dence tending to show the store entered by
defendant was part of a dwelling house, de-
fendant could not be convicted of murder
committed in the course of burglary within

to have been shot by defendant, the fact that

¢€=>For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes

the meaning of the statute defining the de-

so far as it may have a bearing on certain ~

oH MNRMMEX “NOUT

*0Z6T=S-T (AueuZeT Ty) eTueaTésuueg peqnoeayzoeTe SyoeTq *faue

eT

f the number of
he gun go off,”
witnessed murder,
s. (Right) Police
e basement floor
rred, for evidence

was a grim

et March thaw,
pal golf course
e.

ped out depres-
a moist blanket
orawled a man’s
of State Police.
°r, a squad of
arted a careful
vere taking pre-
1 clues as might
d under closer
ter,

en J. Firman
iminary exami-
r carefully re-
leaves.
perhaps thirty
es swollen be-
iarked by nu-

merous cuts and bruises. Firman pointed
out five small pocklike wounds in the
head. he

“Bullet holes,” he commented. “Looks
as though he had a pretty bad beating
up first, though. Offhand, I’d say he’s
been dead two, maybe three days.”

The investigators grouped around the

.. body. One foot was bare, the other
covered by a muddy sports shoe. The
‘victim wore no trousers—only shorts
and a shirt from which the neckband
had been ripped away.

District Attorney Damian McLaughb-
lin arrived on the scene and was quickly
briefed by Lieutenant Bricker.

“He was given a terrific beating before
he was shot,” said Bricker. “Whoever
did it certainly wanted to make sure
he wouldn’t be identified. It appears

jest that was followed by a macabre scene

that the hair and eyebrows were clipped.
The neckband of the shirt was ripped
off. I think the beating and shooting
and what was done to him to conceal
his identity took place somewhere else
and the body was brought’ out here..
The killer has two or three days’ start
on us and so far, there’s nothing much"
to go on, We're giving’ the ground
around here a good working over and
we’ve got some footprints and tiremarks
over on the road; but they may not
mean a thing. “What we need now is an
autopsy and, most of all, to get this man
identified.”

The district attornéy agreed. The body
was removed and special investigation
teams were set to work searching the
entire area for any clue that might even
remotely shed light on the murder.

‘

outfit: She always managed to
all the dough out of everything” —


returned a

usly, the
Nelson
14th.
om, on a
d Louise
slms Hotel
ready to
the State
Dottie had
andit, fol-
had been
over the

the chair,”
following

tober llth
pheld the
mber 8th,
* the Ohio

oeing told
that the
of the hot
at folows

ent toa
he name,

in this
of Frank

ed a small
miles from
found tHe
iat had so
vith other
a bank-
than five
stolen all
into the
»ods, farm
i even the
eves’ lar-
ity head-
hich now
had been
is he had
wrench.

{ old rec-
ropensities
1 arrested
, 1909 and
In 1927,
2—4 years
His other
s degrees.
included
alteasance
49, he was
Prison
nitely and
send out

Luger.

its war
Now he
g story—
t the Put-
ring of a
SHERWOOD

j the
story,
2TSONS

Case of the Grotesque Haireut

(Continued from page 25) husband, hence
the order previously referred to had been
issued to have the latter brought in for
questioning. However, although police
had readily found Bubna, there had been
no trace of the other man—a man named
Robert Fischer!

It was beginning to hang together now,
thought Mong, as he got busy on the hos-
pital telephone, informing other investi-
gators of developments and making plans
for meeting the mysterious caller.

The appointed time of the meeting was
not for several hours yet and there was
other work to be done in the meantime.
Now that police knew the victim’s identity
they would start following other lines of
investigation.

Officers were dispatched at once to the
apartment of Fischer’s widow to bring her
to the hospital to corroborate the identi-
fication made by the brother and to supply
whatever additional information she could.

Captain Mong, Lieutenant Bricker and
other investigators who had come to the
hospital in response to Mong’s calls, first
wanted to know what light she could shed
on her husband’s apparent connection with
a car-theft racket in Erie.

“I can’t tell you anything about it,” de-
clared Mrs. Fischer, who had not lived
with her husband for several weeks. She
recited the facts of their life together and
of Fischer’s heavy drinking and strange
actions. They hadn’t been getting along
for some time, she said, and she had
planned to get a divorce. Nevertheless, she
was shocked and saddened by his death.
She related that he had come to Erie from
Virginia and that she had met him shortly
after her first husband was killed in an
automobile accident. Following their
marriage, he had worked as a bartender
at a cafe she owned in a suburban com-
munity near Erie.

“There’s only one thing I can tell you
that might have some bearing on this
case,” Mrs. Fischer told the officers. “Bob
came to my apartment the other night. He
was pretty drunk and he wanted to use
the telephone. He talked to someone over
the wire and seemed to be arguing about
money. Then he went away in a taxi. I
didn’t see him after that.”

Mrs. Fischer had no idea who the per-
son was to whom her husband had been
speaking on the phone—she knew only that
he was angry. If the police could find
out why he was angry, Mong reasoned, and
to whom he had been talking, they might
have a valuable lead.

Mrs. Fischer was dismissed and the
officers clustered around a table for an-
other conference. They had had a slight
setback, for, only a little while before, a
report had come from the police laboratory
saying that no fingerprints could be dis-
covered on the murder gun found near
Fischer’s corpse.

OWEVER, the law had one ace in the

hole—a date with “McGuire.”

Plainclothesmen were stationed at sev-
eral points in the vicinity of the rendez-
vous corner at 13th and Peach Streets, near
Erie’s Union Station. The detectives were
instructed to watch for the approach of
any suspicious person who loitered around
the corner. Other detectives were stationed
in police cars near by with orders to fol-
low any automobile which slowed down
or lingered near the spot.

The plan worked. Exactly at the sched-
uled time, a young man appeared at the
corner, looked around, leaned against a
building and lit a cigarette as if to wait.
Mong ordered his men to close in.

a

Taken to police headquarters, he identi-
fied himself as Arthur Rostoff. Under
questioning, he admitted that he was the
man who had called Warren Fischer and
made the appointment with him to in-
form him of his belief that the picture of
the murder victim published in the news-
papers was of his brother, Bob.

“What do you know about Bob Fischer?”
he was asked. “What was your connec-
tion with him?”

Rostoff replied that he had been engaged
in “business” with the dead Fischer, but
he refused to answer questions put by
Lieutenant Bricker, Sergeant Willard
Schauer and other probers about the na-
ture of the business.

“It was private,” he said. “It was just
between the two of us. It had nothing
to do with this.”

OSTOFF was ordered detained on an

open charge pending additional investi-
gation of his background.

A quick conference was held by Mong,
Bricker, Mehallick, Sergeant C. E. Mathias
and other investigators.

“TI feel certain,” said Mehallick, “that this
fellow Rostoff is going to turn out to have
a connection with the car theft racket.
We're almost positive that Fischer was in
it. The whole thing is beginning to look
like it’s tied up with stolen cars. If we
can trace Fischer to a gang, I think we
may find out why he was killed and who
did it. I think this is a gang killing—and
that the gang is working on cars.”

The words had hardly left the trooper’s
lips when a new break came—a real break
which was to be the turning point in the
investigation.

A ballistics report came to the detectives
showing that the bullets found in Fischer’s
brain had been fired from the Belgian auto-
matic—and more important, the serial
number of the weapon had been registered
to a man named Arthur Rostoff.

Rostoff was immediately brought from
his cell to Lieutenant Bricker’s office,
where he was coldly faced by half a dozen
determined detectives.

“We have learned something,” said Ser-
geant Mehallick quietly, “which involves
you in this murder case, Rostoff. The gun
which killed Fischer is registered in your
name. You'll have to admit you’ve been
acting in a pretty suspicious manner. Now
it looks very much as if you killed Fischer.
We want to know when, where and why.
We want to know everything about it. You
can talk or you can keep quiet, whichever
you want. But under the circumstances,
I think it would be better for you if you
talked.”

The young man’s face turned a pasty
white. His breathing quickened and his
lips quivered.

“Look,” he said abruptly, “I didn’t kill
him. I don’t know who did. I did know
Fischer and I know a lot of things that
might have something to do with this
case, and I’m willing to tell you all of it.
Only I want it understood now that I didn’t
do it. If he was killed on the 4th, like
it says in the paper, I can prove I didn’t
do it. I’ve got an alibi for that whole
weekend.”

Rostoff’s manner was convincing. His
previous uncooperative attitude had en-
tirely changed.

“All right,” said Mehallick quietly. “Give
it to us.”

“J was in Portland, Maine,” the youth
said eagerly. “You can check on that at
the hotel I stayed at. I was there from
Sunday morning until Monday night and
I can account for my time there. Plenty

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" Newspapers and radio stations were
furnished with descriptions of the mur-
dered man to be announced, in the hope
that some relative or friend might iden-

tify him. Police photographers were
asked to photograph the victim’s face at
the morgue and other officers were as-
signed to take the pictures to cafes,
clubs and any other place where they
thought someone might be able to fur-
nish a hint to the dead man’s name,

The searchers on the spot weren’t
long in turning up-a clue—a vicious-
looking, small automatic. Sergeant John
Mehallick, one of the crack criminal in-
vestigators of the state police, discovered
the weapon hidden in the wet leaves
about twenty yards from where the
body lay.

Mehallick, Bricker and other officers
who examined the gun identified it as a
.25-caliber, Belgian-made weapon,

“Probably brought home by some ser-
vice man,” one of the officers said, “in
which case it’s going to be tough to
trace.”

In addition to the gun, troopers comb-
ing the densely wooded area found a
fragment of cloth, apparently torn from
the victim’s shirt, on a bush near a
fairly clear set of footprints in the
muddy earth. These tracks led to a road
about 100 feet away, where there was a
confusion of tiremarks, including one
set which showed clearly that a car
had been deeply stuck in the mire and
that its wheels had been spun in an
effort to get it out.

Lieutenant Bricker ordered plaster
casts made of all the tracks and had
the Belgian automatic taken to head-
quarters for closer examination.

In the failing light of the early March
afternoon, the probers were finally satis-
fied that they had done all they could
for the present and adjourned to the
morgue at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Erie
in an effort to learn who the victim was.

Dr. K. J. Burt, the hospital pathologist,
by this time was able to tell them that
death could have been caused by any
one-of the five bullets entering the brain,
The slugs, on cursory examination, were
shown to be of a caliber, which could
have been fired from the Belgian gun.
These were sent to the state police lab-
oratories for ballistics tests.

The doctor confirmed the original be-
lief that the victim had- received a
brutal beating about the head and face
before he was shot, and also that the
slain man’s eyebrows and hair had been
cut off—rudely shaved and clipped—
obviously in a crude effort to prevent
identification.

Dr. Burt’s report showed the victim
to be approximately thirty years of age,
five feet, eight inches in height, weighing
about 150 pounds. He had dark hair
and a gold front tooth in the upper jaw.

Lieutenant Bricker ordered all this in-
formation checked against Missing Per-
sons Reports and added to information
already sent to other police agencies in
the area over the police Teletypes.
Fingerprints of the victim, meanwhile,
were sped to the FBI in Washington.

The first day of the investigation closed
on a dismal note. It was apparent that
little could be done toward nabbing the
killer when the victim’s identity re-
mained unknown, so every effort was
made to obtain some hint as to who he
was.

Newspapers were given photographs
of the face with the request that this
be published, regardless of its gruesome
appearance, on the offchance that some-
one might perceive some recognizable
quality in it.

This action produced results on the
following day.

Attracted by the photograph was an
Erie factory worker named Warren
Fischer, who suspected that it might be
a picture of his brother, Robert, good-
natured and amiable, but a heavy
drinker . and gambler, who had been
missing for the past few daxs from the
roominghouse apartment he shared with
Warren and his wife. It seems that
Fischer was just about certain, after
studying the picture later, that this was
indeed his brother, but something within
him caused him to avoid acknowledging
it either to himself or to others for sev-
eral hours.

Then something occurred which
brought home to him the realization with
full force. He received a telephone call.
The caller asked for his missing brother,
Bob, and when Warren informed him
that Bob was not at home, the man on
the telephone asked him if he could
meet him—Warren Fischer—for a talk

- “about Bob.”

“Meet me at 13th and Peach,” the
caller, who identified himself as a Mr.
McGuire, said. “And listen,” he added,
“don’t read any newspapers before you
see me.”

That clinched it for Warren. It told
him that there could be no doubt now
that the picture was actually that of his

brother and that he should so inform
the authorities,

Thus, before keeping his appointment
with the mysterious McGuire, he tele-
phoned police headquarters and reported
that he believed he could identify the
body found near the golf course,

Connected with Captain Roy B. Mong
of the City Detective Bureau, he was told
to report at once to the morgue at St.
Vincent’s Hospital.

At the hospital, Warren made positive
identification at once.

“That’s Bob, all right,” he said, quietly.
“T was afraid of something like this.
And I don’t mind Saying that now I’m
afraid for myself, I haven’t liked the
kind of people Bob was running around
with for some time, and if they’d do
this to him, there’s no telling what else
they’d do.”

Captain Mong’s curiosity, of course.
was aroused by these remarks. Warren
was unable to give him much informa-
tion in response to his queries about
“the kind .of people Bob was running
around with.” Warren didn’t know much
about them. He had been instinctively
suspicious of Bob’s activities of late—
mysterious telephone calls, mysterious
overnight trips—everything seemed
mysterious. It was more a “feeling” of
danger than any real evidence of it,
he explained.

Warren told the police officer of his
Own recent telephone call from a strang-
er named McGuire.

“I don’t think I’d better meet him,
after all this,” he said glumly.

“You won’t have to meet him,” Cap-
tain Mong replied. “We'll meet him for
you. I think we will want to have a
talk with Mr. McGuire. Meanwhile, I’m
going to send you to headquarters in a
police car to make a formal statement.”

When Warren had left, Captain Mong
sat thinking. The name of Robert

Fischer was no!
police. True, h«
He himself, in |
to police. But h
tioned in a con!
only a few da
Mong recalled
It was on Ma:
when an alert 5
Everett Ruska,
“tip” on a car
from a parking
Club. The det
Mong’s mind.
had received int
car was hidden
bridge Springs
thirty miles sou
For months, !
ing to trap a :
working in the
tion that the :
Mike Bubna, s:
Fadden or “Big
Mong recalle
turned over on
state police
charge aiter cit)
gated him and
nothing more
was a minor of!
enough to get
. the investigati:
he was dealin;
At the time
gone out for Bu
been issued fo:
of Patrolman
mation about
Cambridge Spr
over to the sta!
had discovered
by an Erie wi
gated her tho
was no indicat
her, the same
her estranged

Said gang member about pair (center and right) shown with their lawyer (left):

“She: always laid out the plans while he acted like a big gangster, giving
orders and making us do all the dirty work. He had us scared. He was so big”

“What was do:
took place son
after coroner (

a

ae

e should so inform

ing his appointment 4
McGuire, he tele-

uarters and reported
could identify the §

e golf course.

iptain Roy B. Mong
Bureau, he was told

» the morgue at St.
arren made positive

ht,” he said, quietly.
omething like this.
aying that now I’m

haven’t liked the
vas running around
, and if they’d do
10 telling what else

uriosity, of course,
e remarks. Warren
him much informa-
his queries about
Bob was running
n didn’t know much
‘ been instinctively
activities of late—

calls, mysterious
verything seemed
nore a “feeling” of
‘al evidence of it,

olice officer of his
call from a strang-

better fneet him,
id glumly.

o meet him,” Cap-
Ve’ll meet him for
ill want to have a
re. Meanwhile, I’m
headquarters in a
formal statement.”
left, Captain Mong
name of Robert

their lawyer (left):
& gangster, giving
‘d. He was so big”

Fischer was not unknown to the city

) police. True, he had never been arrested.

He himself, in fact, was not even known
to police. But his name had been men-
tioned in a conference: at headquarters
only a few days previously, Captain
Mong recalled.

It was on March 2nd, Mong reflected,
when an alert young officer, Patrolman
Everett Ruska, reported that he had a
“tip” on a car which had been stolen
from a parking place at the Erie Eagles

F Club. The details now came back to

Mong’s mind. Ruska reported that he
had received information that the stolen

> car was hidden in a barn near Cam-

bridge Springs, Pennsylvania, some
thirty miles south of Erie.

For months, Erie police had been try-
ing to trap a gang of slick car thieves
working in the city. They had informa-
tion that the ring was headed by one
Mike Bubna, sometimes known as Mc-
Fadden or “Big Mike.”

Mong recalled that Bubna had been
turned over only the day before to the
state police on a false registration
charge after city authorities had investi-
gated him and had been able to prove
nothing more serious against him. It
was a minor offense, but at least it was
enough to get him on the record, for

© the investigating officers still believed

he was dealing in stolen cars.

At the time the pick-up order had
gone out for Bubna, a similar order had
been issued for another man as a result
of Patrolman Ruska’s tip. The infor-
mation about the car hidden in the
Cambridge Springs barn had been turned
over to the state police and this agency
had discovered that the barn was owned
by an Erie woman. Police had investi-
gated her thoroughly, and while there
was no indication of anything against
her, the same could not be said for
her estranged (Continued on page 87)

“What was done to conceal his identity
took place somewhere else,” said officer
after coroner (I.) completed examination

“J didn’t know where to go. I should have gone to the police then
and there,” murder accessory (tieless) confessed to Capt. Roy Mong
(1.), Asst. D. A. Wayne Cleaton (c.) and Sergeant Willard Schauer (r.)


sheared off.
ind had some
tive remarked.
vent identifica-

oroner. “How

examination
nost,”” he said,
Outs.”
ove interrupted
scrambled down
the assembled
a city plain-
M. Mathias, a
riminal probes.
ker’s outline of

got down here,”

un—that’s for
ype stooping,
of the ravine
ight interesting

had recently
e of them had
showed where

eee

We
BP. BEF,

4
ee

—"-=
aff

\

The house in the western section of Erie, Pa., where

the gang co-leaders, twin powers of evil, took a human life.

it had bogged down in the mire. The other set of tracks
started with light prints leading toward the first car. These
were succeeded by deeper treads extending back toward the
road.

“Apparently whoever was stuck here got himself a tow,”
Mathias observed. His red-haired colleague agreed.

Making their way down the slope, they: relayed their
findings to the group of officers clustered near the
body.

The report duly noted, Lieutenant Bricker gave imme-
diate instructions to have plaster casts made of the tracks.
Then, the body already having been removed to St. Vin-
cent’s Hospital morgue, where Dr. L. K. Burt, noted
pathologist, was to perform an autopsy, the bulk of the
investigators started for town.

Back at state police headquarters, Lieutenant Bricker
lost no time getting the investigation under way. His first
chore was to scan hurriedly through the ‘latest missing-
persons alarms received throughout the neighboring tri-
state area. The latter netting nothing in the way of promis-
ing leads, he forwarded a copy of the fingerprints lifted
from the corpse to the FBI at Washington.

Next, summoning Corporal Mehallick, he dispatched
him to Pittsburgh to explore the possibility that the victim
might have been involved in the gang war currently raging
in the Smoky City and which had already cost the life of
a high-echelon hood named Aaron Meyerowitz, alias Danny
Meyers, and three other racketeers of lesser rank. Then,
as soon as the Pennsylvania Identification Bureau had for-
warded the necessary prints, he sent a pair of troopers to
the offices of the local dailies with photos and a description
of the victim in the hope that some reader might come
forward with pertinent information.

Meanwhile, working independently, Mathias and Martin
were embarked on a tangent of their own. “For my dough,
the job reeks of gang vengeance,” the former remarked
as they headed for town. ‘In short, it’s a 5-to-1 bet that
the victim was taken for a ride.”

Martin nodded. “Yeah—and smart mobsters don’t like
to use their own cars for this kind of business.”

Not another word was needed. The two officers, accus-
tomed to smooth co-ordination, automatically made the
next move without further consultation. Returning to head-
quarters, they checked the stolen car lists. And a half hour
later they had run across one that had been reported miss-
ing as of Monday night—just about the right time. Then
and there, they decided to call on the owner for further
information.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up in front of an im-
pressive-looking house at a West 26th Street address. James

McFadden, the man who had reported the theft, admitted
them. P ,

In response to questioning, the big, bulky man described
his car. “It’s a 1940 Pontiac, a gray, two-door sedan,” he
said. “I parked it in the alleyway Monday evening about

_ 6, In the morning it was gone.”

Martin inquired about the brands on the four tires and
their general condition. Then, having learned all they had
hoped to learn, the two officers left, bound for Lawrence
Park barracks, where State Police Sergeant Willard Schauer
had just completed the tire-track casts lifted from the
brink of the ravine.

Duly filled in, quickly Schauer lined them up, then com-
pared the plaster impressions with Martin’s descriptions
of the tires on the’ stolen car. The results set him to whis-
tling softly. According to the testimony of the tires, the
car which had been mired in the mudhole and the stolen
one were one and the same!

The three detectives were pondering this startling de-
velopment when Schauer’s eye was suddenly riveted on
one of the casts. ‘This second set of tracks is considerably
broader than those of the bogged-down car,” he said, in-
dicating the plaster molds. ‘‘Could be a truck. Do you sup-
pose the driver might have been rash enough to call a
tow-car to pull him out?”

“Personally, I wouldn’t rule out any fool act in a case
like this,” Mathias said. “There's no telling what a hopped-
up mug might do when he finds himself in hot water.”

Leaving the casts in Schauer’s hands, Martin and Mathias
retired to the latter's office. There, having picked up a
telephone directory on the way, they immediately began
checking all the auto-tow companies listed in the classified
section of the book.

In the meantime, several miles distant, Dr. Burt had
completed his autopsy and was ready to announce the
results to Chief Christoph and Lieutenant Bricker, who
were standing by. “This man has been brutally beaten,”
he asserted. “In addition to the head bruises and broken
nose, I found scars on his thighs that appear to be deliber-
ately-inflicted cigaret burns... an unusual example of bar-
baric cruelty!”

“Find anything that might give us a clue to the victim's
identity,” Christoph asked, ‘‘—or the killer's?”

“Not very much, I’m afraid,” [Continued on page 62|

The head of the city’s hot-car ring, he de-
cided personally to eliminate his competition.

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62

run by William Cottone, alias Willie Greco,
a 36-year-old resident of ‘New York City’s
Lower East Side.

Cautious inquiry disclosed that the painter
had left the region several days earlier. The
FBI men made no effort to question Cottone,
hoping that if the “painter's” hideout were
left undisturbed he might return to it.

With the passing weeks, however, there
was no further sign of the man they sought.
The lodging house was closed at the end of
the season, and Cottone returned to New
‘York.

He was shadowed constantly, but was
seen to make no contact with Baccolla, Fi-
nally, late in November, the FBI men arrested
him and charged him with having harbored
Baccolla, a fugitive from justice, in his place
in Ulsterville in June and July.

Under questioning by the G-men, Cottone
admitted that he knew Jack Baccolla. And
finally he said that Baccolla was in town,
living in rooming houses on the Upper West
Side of Manhattan. He was, Cottone said,
changing his address frequently.

There was, the G-men also learned, one
possible point of contact at which the fugi-
tive might be spotted. This was an attorney's
office on lower Broadway.

Several days later agents believed they had
sighted their man. He was now sporting a
thick mustache in addition to the horn-rim
glasses. They followed him to a rooming
house in West Seventy-third Street.

By now one of the ten “most wanted” men
in America, and regarded by the FBI as a
man who would kill on the slightest provo-
cation, Baccolla was allowed to remain un-
touched in his lodging house, where any
attempt to arrest him seemed likely to result
in a gun battle.

Instead, he was followed, on Monday, De-
cember 10, to the office building far down-
town where he journeyed to see his lawyer
again.

He left the subway with G-men close
behind. As he walked into the entrance of
the big building, half a dozen men closed
in swiftly, surrounding him.

Hoodlum—tough guy, gunman, accused as
a hired killer—Jack Baccolla made no at-
tempt to resist as he recognized the G-men.
Former professional boxer, with an enviable
ring record as a lightweight pug before he
embarked on his criminal career in 1937, he
looked in naked fear from one determined
face to another, i

Then he cried meekly, ‘I surrender!”

He wouldn’t talk about the Swartz case,
but did say he would fight extradition to
Michigan. Instead, he offered to go to Texas,
where he was wanted for skipping bail on
the narcotics case, without argument. How-
ever, the FBI was not interested.

Extradition proceedings were begun in
Michigan to return him to Detroit to face
charges for Swartz’s slaying. At the same
time, authorities in the auto city, certain
that Baccolla had been employed by Gordon
and McLeod to rub out a witness against
them in the film theft case, studied the pos-
sibility of proceeding against this pair in
the Swartz case.

They admitted, however, that Baccolla
probably would not talk and give them the
necessary evidence to warrant bringing Gor-
don and McLeod from a federal penitentiary
for trial. For in Michigan, which has no
capital punishment, there was no threaten-
ing shadow of the noose, the electric chair
or the gas chamber to persuade Baccolla
to sing. ;

‘The former professional boxer, a man who
earned a parole clearance in 1948 after serv-
ing honorably for two years in the Army,
Baccolla was taken to Detroit on a fugitive
warrant, there to face trial for the ambush
murder of Albert Swartz.

(The name Donald Singer is fictitious to protect
the identity of a person innocently involved in the
murder investigation.—The Editor.)

The Payoff

[Continued from page 11]

. Dr. Burt replied, shaking his head. ‘“How-

ever, these slugs I removed from his skull
are of a rather-unusual caliber. And for what
it may be worth, the dead man’s eyebrows
were shaved off and his hair ha$ been
cropped very close, but unevenly. Manifestly,
an amateur effort.”

“Could be an attempt to make identifi-
cation more difficult,” Christoph suggested.

Bricker nodded reflectively. Then after
‘summoning a trooper’and handing him the
five battered slugs and the Belgian automatic
found in the ravine for delivery to the state
police ballistics laboratory at Harrisburg,
the two officials were ready to shove off.

Back at Lawrence Park barracks, mean-
while, Martin and Mathias were still follow-
ing up their lead. Working methodically,

+ and using two phones, they went straight

down the list of-tow-truck operators, taking
the names as they came. Their first eighteen
calls netted them nothing, but as soon as
he had completed the nineteenth, Mathias
turned to his side-kick with a pleased grin.

“Bingo!” he announced, starting to his
feet. A moment later, they were on their way
to the Popular Auto ‘Parts Company at 212
West 12th Street.

Luck was with the investigators. At the
garage in question they turned up not one
but three mechanics who had been on duty -
Monday night, the night of the murder, And
all three clearly remembered a dishevelled
man who had come in, panting, to announce
that his car was stuck in the mud.

“Along about 11 o'clock, I'd say it was,”
the spokesman for the trio offered. “He came
hustling in here, looking mighty upset. We
drove him back in the truck, and he directed
us to a car on the edge of a ravine just above
the golf course outside town.”

The two officers exchanged faint nods.

“What kind of a car was it?” Mathias
asked, his eyes shining.

“A Pontiac, twa-door sedan,” the man re-
plied. 1940 model, painted gray.”

Martin’s eyes narrowed. The description
tallied perfectly with that of James McFad-
den’s stolen car. “Could you describe the
driver?” he asked.

“I don’t know ... sort of medium build,”
the garageman answered dubiously. “But I’m
sure I'd be able to pick him out of a crowd
if I ever saw him again.” ”

Taking the man at his word, fifteen min-
utes later the investigators were ushering the
three garage employees into the Bureau of
Identification’s Rogue Gallery. Here all three
were shown the collection of photographs
separately. The latter fact notwithstanding,
all unhesitatingly pointed to the same photo-
graph in the album. In short, the three ga-
rage employees were ready to swear that a
character named Willard Foster was the man
who had been out at the lonely ravine under
strange circumstances on the previous Mon-
day night.

Corporal Mathias could scarcely restrain
his curiosity until the mechanics had left.
“Who is this guy Foster anyhow?” he de-
manded eagerly, as soon as the door closed
behind them, F

“Nobody much,” the city detective replied.
“A small-timer. He’s been mixed up in a
couple of rackets, including, interestingly
enough, a stolen car set-up.”

“Let's go |

gested.

A visit to |
18th Street disclos:
bird had flown! Th
that Foster hadn't
morning.

The two detect
headquarters. In |
lated the results
Christoph, Bricke:

“Smooth work
served when they
in the dark as \
sure have a live lc
bulletin out on hi:
time, you'd bette:
usual hang-outs,’
tective Captain M

The latter }
Christoph’s phon:
expert, Jaines W'!
Harrisburg.

“Those five slus
gian gun, Chief,’

rints on the gu!
orty war-souven
have been registe

There was an :
all hands at the '
murder gun rc}
only clue of imp:
trace its owners!
end.

Far from bein;
officers intensific:
tigation ground
the crime had be
Columnists by !
der, linking it \
taking place in
the battered co:
the case were g!

On the morn
licity paid off.

uarters, the w«
duoping. Usher
burst intc
his throa!

“I thin
found shot to
brother,” he st:

Mong’s eyes
recognized hin
paper?” he den

“No, not exat
ever, the gener:
Bob. Furtherm<
day.”

At Mong’s st
to view the bo
En route, the «
unobtrusive q\
answers. He lea
Mrs. Warren
Street. Fische1
with them, wa
and had drift:
since coming
married, but |
rated from his

“Do you ki
your brother
inquired.

“Not a sot
good-natured
one likes ha\

Arrived at |
steps to the nx

from Mong :
lifted the she:

At sight «
tesquely-crop}
strangled gas}
fists clenching

, away.

“It’s Bob,
throaty voice
in spite of w!

ith G-men close
) the entrance of
lozen men closed
im,
inman, accused as
ila made no at-
nized the G-men.
with an enviable
ht pug before he
areer in 1937, he
one determined

I surrender!”
the Swartz case,
it extradition to
d to go to Texas,
skipping bail on
argument. How-
ested.

were begun in
)» Detroit to face
ig. At the same
uto city, certain
‘loyed by Gordon
i‘ witness against
studied the pos-
nst this pair in

that Baccolla
id give them the
nt bringing Gor-
eral penitentiary
. which has no
vas no threaten-
he electric chair
‘rsuade Baccolla

oxer, aman who
1948 after serv-

1 the Army,
na fugitive
the ambush

fictitious to protect
tly involved in the
tor.)

I'd say it was,”
‘fered. “He came
ighty upset. We
and he directed
avine just above

d faint nods.
is it?’ Mathias

n,”’ the man re-
gray.”

Che description
f James McFad-
»u describe the

medium build,”
iously, “But I’m
out of a crowd

rd, fifteen min-
‘re ushering the
the Bureau of

Here all three
of photographs
otwithstanding,
the same photo-
t, the three ga-
) swear that a
cr was the man
y ravine under
previous Mon-

arcely restrain
anics had left.
yhow?” he de-
he door closed

‘tective replied.
‘d up in a
nterestingly

“Let's go listen to his alibi,” Mathias sug-
gested.

A visit to Foster’s rooming house on West
18th Street disclosed an empty coop. Their
bird had flown! The landlady informed them
that Foster hadn’t been home since Monday
morning.

The two detectives made tracks back to
headquarters. In the chief's office, they re-
lated the results of their investigations to
Christoph, Bricker and Mong.

“Smooth work, boys,” Chief Christoph ob-
served when they finished. ‘We may still be
in the dark as to who was killed, but we
sure have a live lead on the killer! I'll put a
bulletin out on him over the teletype. Mean-
time, you’d better have your boys comb his
usual hang-outs,” he added, turning to De-
tective Captain Mong.

The latter had barely departed when
Christoph’s phone rang. The state ballistics
expert, James Whitecotton, was calling from
Harrisburg.

“Those five slugs were fired from that Bel-
gian gun, Chief,” he led off. “There were no
donb on the gun, and it wasn’t one of the
orty war-souvenir Vy of that model that
have been registered with us.”

There was an audible sigh of dismay from
all hands at the news. As of the moment, the
murder gun represented the investigator's
only clue of importance and their attempts to
trace its ownership had now reached a dead-
end,

Far from being discouraged, however, the
officers intensified their efforts and the inves-
tigation ground slowly ahead. By morning
the crime had become a front-page sensation.
Columnists by the dozen referred to the mur-
der, linking it up with the lethal gang war
taking place in Pittsburgh. And pictures of
the battered corpse and detailed accounts of
the case were given extensive coverage.

On the morning of March 8th, the pub-
licity paid off. A couple appeared at head-
quarters, the woman clutching a newspaper
clipping. Ushered into Mong’s office, she
burst into tears, The man nervously cleared
his throat.

“I think that ... that the man who was
found shot to death the other day is my
brother,” he stammered presently.

Mong’s eyes narrowed. “You mean you
recognized him from the picture in the
paper?” he demanded.

“No, not exactly,” the man replied. “How-
ever, the general description fits my brother
Bob. Furthermore, he’s been gone since Mon:
day.”

At Mong’s suggestion, the visitors agreed
to view the body at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
En route, the detective captain asked a few
unobtrusive questions, got some revealing
answers. He learned that the couplé, Mr. and
Mrs. Warren Fischer, lived on East 10th
Street. Fischer's brother, Robert, who lived
with them, was 384 years old, Virginia born,
and had drifted through a variety of jobs
since coming to Erie eight years back. He was
married, but the year before, he had sepa-
rated from his wife.

“Do you know anyone who might want
your brother out of the way?” Mong finally
inquired. ‘

“Not a soul,” Fischer replied. “Bob’s a
good-natured fellow and full of fun. Every-
one likes having him around.”

Arrived at the hospital, they filed down the
steps to the morgue in the basement. A signal
from Mong and a white-coated attendant
lifted the sheet on a long, narrow table.

At sight of the bruised face and gro-
tesquely-cropped head, the woman let out a
strangled gasp and reeled back. Her husband,
fists clenching tightly, shuddered and turned
away.

throaty voice. “I can still recognize him...
in spite of what they did to his face. Besides

y
“It’s Bob, all right,” he said in a dry, ,

there’s that old scar of his on the left
arm....”

A half hour later; having driven the
stricken couple home, Mong was back at
headquarters and breaking the news of the
identification to the chief. The latter im-
mediately passed the word along to Lieuten-
ant Bricker at the state police barracks, while
Mong gathered his men together for’a hud-
dle. ;

With the opening of the meeting, came
another surprise. Apprised .of the corpse’s
identity, Detective Sergeant Everett Ruska
jumped to his feet. “Robert Fischer!” he
repeated in astonishment. “If he’s your vic-
tim, I think I can name the killer right now!”

“Let’s hear it,” the chief said quietly. ~

“As you know, Chief, I’ve been in charge
of the detail assigned to the job of tracking
down the hot-car ring that’s been giving us
hell lately—eighteen expensive-make cars in
six weeks. Well, only last Saturday I got a
tip that a bird named Pat Corbin was master-
minding the gang.”

“Where does Fischer fit into the picture?”
Mong wanted to know.

“At the same time I was tipped off about
Corbin, I, was also informed that this guy
Fischer had recently hooked up with the
ring. Actually, I haven’t a shred of real evi-
dence against Corbin, but knowing that a
new member of a mob figured to be its
weakest link, I gave orders to have him
rounded up for questioning.

“Now here’s the interesting part of it: my
boys reported that Corbin was also hunting
for Fischer over the week-end, going from
one tavern to another, and doing a good deal
of drinking. And according to the bartender
of one of the last places he visited, he was
muttering about having ‘been ‘double-
crossed,’ ”’

-“Where’s this Corbin now?” Christoph
asked.

Ruska’s face fell. “He's gone. My men lost:
him Sunday night. It looks like he’s skipped
town.” ‘

“Let’s get moving then,” the chief said
briskly. “You, Jack, get a bulletin out on the
teletype. You, Ed, start checking Corbin’s

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friends for some clue ‘to where he might be
heading. Perhaps he has a girl in town, and
maybe she can help.”

The latter suggestion turned out to be a
valuable one. Following an all-day search,
Ruska returned to headquarters at 7 in the
evening, a triumphant glitter in his eye.

“I think’‘we’ve got him, Chief,” he an-
nounced. “Corbin’s girl has skipped, too.
However, I located an aunt of hers who re-
ceived a wire from the girl this morning.
She wanted some clothes sent to her without
delay.” ‘

“Where to?” Christoph demanded.

“Pittsburgh. Here’s the address.”

Grabbing up the telephone, the chief put
in a call to the Detective Bureau in the
Smoky City, Forty minutes later, the captain
in charge was phoning back to report that
they had collared the fleeing suspect.

Losing no time, Christoph dispatched
Detectives George Barber and John Anthony
with State Police Corporal Mehallick to bring
the pair back. A three-hour drive and the
latter were checking in at Pittsburgh Police
Headquarters. The handcuffed prisoner duly
turned over, the officers were ready to start
back,

Whisked to Erie, the sullen suspect was
immediately turned over to Lieutenant
Bricker and Captain Mong for questioning.
He blanched when Bricker broke the charge.

“Murder!” Corbin whispered, licking his
lips. “You must be joking.” Immediately his
previous attitude of stubborn refusal to an-
swer the questions fell away. “I thought you
men were on my tail for car-heisting. For
your information, murder daesn’t happen to
be in my line.”

“Being murdered wasn’t in Bob Fischer's
line, either,” Bricker said quietly, “but
nevertheless it happened. When’d you see
him last?” : .

“Monday night—about supper time,” the
suspect replied. “Just as I was leaving town.”

No amount of questioning could shake
Corbin in this story, and six hours later he
was still standing firm. “I left town Monday
evening,” he insisted. ‘Fischer was alive then
—I saw him entering his wife’s house.”

Shaking his head skeptically, Mong waved
the suspect to a cell. “It’s just possible that
Corbin and Foster were in cahoots on this
thing,” he observed, as soon as the prisoner
had been led away. “After all, they've worked
together before, transferring stolen cars, .. .”

“Maybe,” Bricker retorted. “But what
about Corbin’s story that he saw Fischer
paying a call on»his wife? They’re supposed
to be separated, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, supposed to be,” Mong replied.
“However, just to make sure we've got the
right score, Martin and Mathias are out look-
ing for the woman right now.”

As it happened, across town at that very
moment the two investigators were being
admitted to Mrs. Fischer’s apartment, The
woman's red-rimmed eyes and wan face re-
vealed that she already knew about her

estranged husband ’s death,

In reply to Mathias’s opening question, she
readily admitted that her husband had visited
her the previous Monday night. “He stopped
by for a few minutes about 7 o'clock,” she
said, beginning to sniffle. “He’d only been
there a few minutes,” she added in a low
voice.

“Why would ‘anyone want to murder
him?” the-corporal inquired gently,

Mrs. Fischer shook her head slowly from
side to side. “That's what makes it so hard
to believe. Bob was such a friendly guy—
everybody liked him! The whole thing seems
like a nightmare to me, It’s unbelievable
... just like that other thing.”

“What other thing?” Martin asked, perk-
ing up.

“That horrible practical joke Mike played
on me about a month ago,” the woman re-

’

plied. “He phoned me to come over to his
house one night—right away. When I got
there, he nonchalantly informed me that
Bob had just been murdered and was lying
in the cellar under a bloody sheet.

“Half-hysterical from shock, I rushed down
to the cellar and pulled back the sheet, only
to discover a pair of crumpled pillows on the
floor. And a moment later Mike was roaring
with laughter at the top, of the stairs and
holding the bottle of ketchup with which
he had manufactured the simulated blood-
stains.”

The two officers eyed one another quizzi-
cally for a moment. “A strange sense of
humor, if you ask me,” Mathias observed,
frowning.

“Weird,” Martin retorted. “But also a
little too obvious to make the prankster a
legitimate suspect.” He turned abruptly to
Mrs, Fischer. “By the way, who is this guy
Mike, anyway?”

The grieving woman fluttered her hands
helplessly. “It all goes back to the H-Bar-B,”
she said, sighing. Noting the puzzled expres-
sion on the officers’ faces, the woman hur-
ried to explain. “The H-Bar-B was the name
of a cafe Bob ran in Edinboro. Originally it
belonged to my first husband, who died two
years ago in an automobile accident. Shortly
after I married Bob, he hired Millie Thomas
to work at the cafe. She introduced us to her
brother, Mike Bubna, and Mike brought
Willard Foster around. We all became pretty
good friends. Big Mike’s a terrible practical
joker, but he’s harmless and goodhearted.
As a matter of fact, he lives in a house I own
on West 26th Street.”

Martin’s jaw tightened. “A big, beefy fel-
low, black mustache and hair, and a rather
sharp dresser?” he asked,

“Yes, that’s Mike,” Mrs. Fischer said.

“McFadden!” Mathias murmured under
his breath. Then, grabbing up his hat, he
turned to his partner. “Let’s get going,” he
said.

“So it turns out that our big friend whose
car was stolen is also known as Mike Bubna!”
the corporal remarked, as they started down
the stairs.

“Do you think that car of his was really
lifted?” Martin asked.

“I don’t know,” Martin replied. “But if the
guy's car is the one that made those tracks
near the ravine, could be he reported it miss-
ing in order to divert suspicion from him-
self,” :

“Then where's the car now?” the sergeant
demanded.

Mathias shrugged. “Let’s see what ‘Mc-
Fadden’ has to say about it,” he suggested,

Cimbing into their car, the two officers
sped out to West 26th Street. At the first
ring, the big man opened the door.

“Hello, McFadden,” Martin. said airily.

The big man blinked. Then abruptly, a
tiny, mischievous smile trimmed his lips.
“Oh, yes,” he said, recollecting, “the men
from headquarters. Come in. Any news about
my stolen car?”

Ushered by this time into the parlor of
the house, the officers hardly heard their
host's question. They were staring at a beau-
tiful sloe-eyed sultry brunette seated on the
couch,

“My sister, Mrs. Millie Thomas,” Bubna
offered, waving the visitors to chairs.

The detectives nodded acknowledgment,
the brunette countering with a polite smile.

“Now what about my car?” the big- man
asked again.

“Well, that’s a question,” Martin said
solemnly. “We'll have to know if the car be-
longed to James McFadden or Mike Bubna
before we can go any further,”

Both officers eyed their host closely for any

. reaction to this unexpected revelation. But

to their surprise, he only broke into a broad
grin,

Senet

~

“So you've foun:
nervously. “
see, I was plz
of mine, an
Last Monday mor
for a trip he was |!
I reported the car
used a phony na
wouldn't get wise |
one got out of har
stolen-car report
how in a murder |
“Who's your frie:
Bubna looked su:
Then I guess you !
thought that was
Abruptly the impis
eyes. “His name
said gravely.
Eyes narrowing
chin with his knuc)
moodily out the \
eh!” Martin murm:
a lot. I guess we'll
Outside, Martin
get to Bubna late:
a complaint, and
ment for a gag. Rig
more important to
“T's a cinch |
pleased with Bubn:
him. The case aga:
up. He borrows }5
Half a day later—a
—he turns up in th
fifty yards from
found later. To
motive yet, but \
Fischer. An argu:
all around and
with a flip of his
Mathias nodded
we started—looki:
haven't had a nit
sent out.”
Returning to
Martin flashed ne
every state of the |
tive and the miss:
Mathias, h
known con
possible wl
Two days or |
Corporal Mathias
Martin's desk, his
“Here it is!” he ex
that Foster has ar
camp near Miami
bet for a guy tryn
“It could be wh:
Martin exclaimed
up his telephone, !
ming to the Sout!
the wanted man +
State Police and \
all along his prolh
The next day
Martin had just «
rang. “Savannah
trilled. A momen
drawling the goo
had been picked u
Within an hor
Sergeant Schauer
vannah to bring |!
days later, the }o:
dan was pulling u
Park barracks an
and his escort.
Ushered = imm«
Bricker’s office. w
were on deck an
show of injured 1
ter with you co}
“Can't a guy go «
IT told your men
about Bob Fisch:
you the same thin
my friend Mike |
down to Florida |

sy

in that?

mim worn te

Ps

i aa att

rs

Ag pigg

the house on Twenty-sixth Street.”

“You killed him there,” Schaaf said.

“No. Not me... I didn’t do it!”

“Who did, then?”

“Big Mike Bubna and his sister?”

“Let’s have it from the beginning,’
Bricker said.

Stenographers were called in and
Reuben Charles began one of the most
gruesome confessions that the officers
present had ever listened to.

“Well,” Rube began, “it started when
Fischer came to Bubna’s house, drunk,
on Monday night. Fischer was really
stewed and he demanded to see Mike.
Bubna was there, and his sister, my
girlfriend, and I were also in the house.

“Fischer had come to collect three
hundred dollars Bubna owed him for
the Pontiac. We let Bob in and Mike
came down to talk to him. Mike Bubna
was always fooling around. Usually
Fischer was the brunt of all the jokes.
That night Bubna started to play around
with Fischer. Bcb got sore. He started
to shout and curse Mike, demanding
his money. Finally, Bob got really sore
and he really told Mike off.

“Mike flew into a rage. He started
to slap Fischer around. Then Bubna told
me to take my girl out of the room be-
cause what was going to happen next
wasn’t very pretty.

“Then Mike called for a pair of
scissors and dragged the half-uncon-
scious Fischer down the cellar steps.
The floor down there is concrete and
I could hear Mike beating Fischer’s
head against that floor.”

“What was Bubna’s sister, Millie,
doing all this time?” asked Lieutenant
Schaaf.

“She took the scissors and cut off
Fischer’s hair. She was the one who
burned him with her cigarette,” Rube
stated. “Then Big Mike took out this
gun and pumped five shots into Bob’s
head as he lay there, unconscious on
the floor. Millie took Fischer’s wallet
and his clothes and began throwing
them into the furnace.”

After the murder, Rube stated, Mike
had called Charles and had given him
the gun. Bubna instructed Rube to get
rid of the gun and the body and gave
him the Pontiac to do it with. It was
then that Reuben Charles had _ taken
the already-dead body of Robert Fischer
to the golf course where he buried it.
Charles stated that he was alone all that
time and that the garage men must
have been mistaken when they thought
that someone else was in the Pontiac.
After burying the body Charles’ car
became stuck in the mud. Rube went
out to the road where he flagged a pass-
ing car down and was driven, by two
people, to the garage. The couple that
picked Charles up had no knowledge
that they were helping a criminal and
were completely innocent. Rube got
the towtruck to accompany him back
to the golf course where they pulled
him out of the mire.

The investigators again questioned
Rube’s girlfriend and on that second
occasion she completely corroborated
everything that Charles said. The girl
added that she had seen the bloodstains
AMAZING DETECTIVE

>’

on the cellar floor and had also seen
Millie Thomas trying to scrub them out.
She averred that she had also heard
the five shots from the basement.

Soon after the statements were made
the police visited the house on 26th
Street. In the cellar they found unmis-
takable traces of human blood. In ad-
dition human hairs were found which
were identified as Robert Fischer’s. In
a trash can near the furnace remnants
of clothing and a wallet, later identified
as having belonged to Fischer, were
found.

Reuben Charles took the investiga-
tors Over every inch of the ground he
covered in disposing of the body on the
night of the murder. It was established
that Pete Guzik had, indeed, been in
Portland, Maine, as he claimed, on the
night of the murder. Unknown to Guzik,
Fischer had double crossed him and
had removed the Pontiac from the Cam-
bridge Springs barn. Fischer had then
sold the car to Bubna for which he de-
manded $300. But Big Mike Bubna
was aware that he had been double
crossed by Guzik and Fischer on a
number of auto theft deals and he re-
fused to pay up. Robert Fischer’s greed
and duplicity led to his murder.

The police confronted Mike Bubna
and Millie Thomas with the signed con-
fessions of Rube Charles and his girl-
friend. The pair refused to comment

and sought the services of an attorney.

The grand jury returned first degree
murder indictments against Mike Bubna
and Millie Thomas and indicted Reuben
Charles as an accessory after the fact.
Pete Guzik was charged with two counts
of automobile theft. Guzik promptly
pled guilty and was sentenced to 18
months in the state penitentiary. Rube’s
girlfriend was held as a material witness
and the charge of transporting a stolen
vehicle was dropped.

On May 2\st, 1946, Mike Bubna and
Millie Thomas were brought to trial in
Erie Superior Court before Judge Bur-
tin S. Laub and a jury. In a speedy trial
they were both found guilty as charged.
Four days later Millie Thomas was sen-
tenced to life imprisonment and Mike
Bubna was condemned to die in the
electric chair.

One week later Reuben Charles was
found guilty as an accessory after the
fact. Due to the fact that Charles had
aided in constructing the murder case
against Bubna and his sister, he received
a five-year sentence in the state peni-
tentiary.

On October 20th, 1946, Big Mike
Bubna paid the supreme penalty for the
brutal murder of Robert Fischer. @

Editor’s Note: The names Pete Guzik,
Reuben Charles and Ace Bradley, are
fictitious.

P22 28 ee 2 ee Oe Oe ee ee ee ew = a2 am ae ap om =o a om ae oD a oe oe

NAME

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55


which the man

condition
the investi
ed to be
undershirt,

attered. His

around his

and only o

of his
gators.
Navy-

mud-

dark
ankles
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pockets were sixty-

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f
VO Of MO

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nd evt-

ar away were

re: cars
of the

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mu
nua

5 followed

nakeshift

a line
grave

licated
Closer

oa

iNet hapiiaemiee Ws 24

The bloodstains Millie did
not wash off. Officers ex-
amine spot in the basement
where victim’s head rested
after he was slaughtered.


Suspect, seated, was at

least as tough as hi

sister, took no nonsense.

immediately questioned all known ac-
quaintances of Rube’s girlfriends. From
these people they learned some signifi-
cant information. Rube’s girl had men-
tioned to several of her friends that she
“was going away to Florida for a while.”
This had been just after the golf course
murder. The circumstances seemed to
mesh too neatly to be mere coincidence.

Lieutenant Bricker forwarded Rube
Charles’ description to F.B.I. head-
quarters in Washington with the request
that that federal agency alert all its op-
eratives in the South to be on the alert
for the fugitive. Circulars were printed
and distributed throughout the area. A
full-scale manhunt was launched.

From the beginning, efforts had been
made to trace the .25 caliber Belgian
automatic pistol which had fired the
five fatal shots. The trail of the gun’s
ownership wound a twisted and con-
fused path. It was first traced to one of
the murder victim’s own relatives. How-
ever this man had long since gotten
rid of it. The gun was traced through a
succession of owners, the last of which
was Pete Guzik.

Guzik readily admitted that he had
owned the gun. However, he claimed
that he had given it away some time
before the murder. He refused to say
to whom he had given the murder wea-
pon. All the evidence at that date
pointed to Rube Charles as the mur-
derer and Pete Guzik as an accomplice,
with Mike Bubna somehow involved.

On Friday morning the F.B.I. agent
stationed at Savannah, Georgia, con-
ducted a routine check of hotels and
54

restaurants looking for Rube Charles.
All the agent had to go on was the
Pennsylvania State Police description of
the fugitive. For several hours the G-
man combed the city’s hangouts. At
about noon the federal agent passed a
tall, curly-haired man who tallied rough-
ly with the description of Charles. The
agent caught up with the man, sud-

-denly tapped him on the shoulder and

said, “You’re Reuben Charles of Erie,
Pennsylvania, aren’t you?”

The pedestrian was caught off guard
and mumbled, “Uh... yeah.” He was
immediately taken into custody. At
local headquarters Rube was questioned
thoroughly. He told the agent where the
stolen gray Pontiac sedan was. Charles
said that the car had broken down
enroute -to Florida, near Savannah.
Charles said that the Pontiac belonged
to Mike Bubna, who had lent it to
him to make the trip south. Rube also
told the investigator where his girl-
friend could be found.

“Do you know a man by the name of
Robert Fischer?” the F.B.I. man asked.

“Never heard of anyone by that
name,” Charles answered.

The agent decided not to question
the suspect further along this line. In-
stead he asked Rube more general
questions. When Rube’s girlfriend was
brought in the agent questioned her in
a separate room. She told wild tales,
completely contradicting almost every-
thing that Rube Charles had revealed
in the general interrogation.

“I don’t believe a word of what
you’ve been telling me,” the G-man said

to the girl after about an hour of ques-
tioning. The Pontiac sedan was found
and searched. Hidden in the door panels
and under the seats, officers found sev-
eral packets of marijuana. This injected
a new note into the case which would
bear further investigation and which
might change the complexion of the
mystery considerably. In addition to the
drugs, the searchers found stains which
looked like dried blood. The car was
towed to Washington, D.C..

Reuben Charles and his girlfriend
were arrested on a charge of transport-
ing a stolen vehicle across state lines.
The pair waived extradition proceed-
ings and were returned to Erie.

S soon as he was booked in the
Erie jail, Reuben Charles was in-
formed that in addition to facing the
stolen vehicle charge he might also be
accused of the murder of Robert Fisch-

er. The prisoner panicked and began —

to sing like a lark. It was obvious that
Charles “wanted out” and he readily
confessed.

“In the first place the murder didn’t
take place on that golf course,” Rube
said.

This immediately contradicted the
police theory that Fischer had died
when “taken for a ride.”

“All right, then where did he die?”
Bricker demanded. nab

Charles hesitated for some time. He
realized that he had been identified as
the driver of the Pontiac and as such it

looked -bad for him unless he told the
truth. Finally he said, “It happened 10.

AMAZING DETECTIVE

/
{

jth Bene sti


BUBNA, Michael, white, elec PAS (Erie County) on October 20, 1947

| PENNSYLVANIA'S

MONSTROUS BROTHER-
AND-SISTER KILLERS

URDER HOUSE

ON 26TH STREET

Big Mike did the
killing—but what his
sister Millie did to
the corpse was what

made witnesses shudder

By WALTER BYRNE

LTHOUGH a heavy rainfall had

left the ground soggy, two men
were out hunting .for stray golf balls
that might have been lost during the
previous season. They plodded around
in the mud, poking under masses of
sodden leaves with their sticks.

They were searching in a lonely spot
on the rim of the Erie, Pennsylvania,
Golf Club course, about two miles off
Route 99. After a vicious hook or a
slice here, a player might have aband-
oned his shot. With the wartime short-
age of golf balls still not over, the men
had decided to anticipate the season
and hunt down the strays. It was four
o'clock on this afternoon of Wednesday,
March 6, 1946, when they approached
a clump of trees.

Suddenly their attention was drawn
34

by a curious mound of mud and debris.
“That’s a peeuliar shape,” one of the
men said.

He took .a mashie by the shank and
began prying at the mound, scraping
away the soggy covering with the head
of his club. Then he recoiled. “It’s a
body!” he cried. “This guy was covered
with mud and leaves, and the rain has
washed most of it away.”

“We'd better tell the police right
away!” his friend said. “Come on. Let's
get away from here.”

T the Edinboro Road, they came
across Troopers James Bartlett and
Joseph Lauteria, who were on traffic
duty, and told them the news. The State
Police officers radioed their barracks at
Lawrence Park and hurried back to the
scene with the two witnesses.

The first officials to arrive were Erie
County Sheriff Paul Babbitt, Acting
County Detective John Coates, Assistant
District Attorney Damian McLaughlin
and Sergeant John Mebhallick of the
State Police. Closely following came
Deputy Coroner W. A. Firman.

They proceeded at once to dig out
the rest of the body. Then, examining
it, they said that it was a man between
twenty-five and thirty years old, with
closely-cropped, light-brown hair and
greenish eyes, about five-feet-eight in-
ches tall and weighing between 140 and
160 pounds.

pa pur bi—
/ 764

The odd manner in which the man
was dressed and the condition of his
clothing bewildered the investigators.
He wore what appeared to be Navy-
issue shorts and an undershirt, mud-
caked and blood-spattered. His dark
trousers, were down around his ankles

He wore no socks and only one tan,
summer, web-type shoe. The only con-
tents of his trouser pockets were sixty-
five cents in silver, a white handkerchief
with a colored border and two keys.

HILE Dr. Firman scraped the mud

and leaves from the body and be-

gan his examination, Mehallick, noted

for his success in criminal investigation,

and Coates began exploring the scene.

On the summit of a small hill about

a hundred yards away, they found evi

dence of a struggle. Not far away were

deep tire tracks of two or more cars

and a considerable churning up of the

turf, as though at least one of the cars
had been stuck in the mud.

Mehallick and Coates followed a line
from this spot to the makeshift grave
and discovered marks which indicated
that the body had been dragged. Closer
to where the body lay was a blood-
stained shirt. The neckband had been
cut away to remove the laundry marks.

Walking closer to the body, Mehallick
suddenly stooped and picked up a .25
caliber automatic pistol of Belgian man-

(Continued on page 45)


“

54

And, mulish as they were, young
Copceanu was still more stubborn. For
all his frailness, in that small body was
an indomitable will.

‘*Gentlemen,’’ said Captain
Dimitrescu at last, “‘there’s no point in
trying to hide anything from us, There
is nothing left for you to hide.”’

‘“*Really?’’ mocked Professor
Pitulescu. ‘“‘Then suppose you tell us
exactly how we committed this
murder,”

“With no trouble at all. Copeeanu
killed Anna and her father. We know
that from the footprint he left at the
scene, the gun with which you supplied
him, and the motive of all three of
you,”’

Copceanu
white-faced,

“‘Motive?’’ he blurted out, before the
others could stop him. ‘‘Why should we
have wanted to kill her?”’

“You, Copceanu,’’ Dimitrescu shot
out, ‘“‘were madly in love with her. But
when you learned that she’ was
unfaithful to you, you became furious
enough to slay her. At the same time,
Dantel and Pitulescu also discovered her
infidelity, The three of you got together
and planned her death.

“Then Pitulescu and Dantel left town
to provide themselves with perfect
alibis, You lay in wait along the Silabea
road, I don’t know whether you had
intended to kill Anna’s father. It must
have been unavoidable, to silence him.”

Seeing Dantel’s eyes widen in terror,
the captain turned toward him and
snapped:

, “But your young accomplice, chosen

because he was an excellent marksman,
spoiled your clever murder, He left the
love poem and the formula for two
reasons. One was to cast suspicion on
Pitulescu, whom he hated. The other
was pure boyish romanticism. He
thought the formula would make the
case more mysterious. Actually it made
out task much easier.”

Rapidly the captain proceeded to
summarize the steps in the case.

Pitulescu’s hand had been forced
because of the discovery of the formula.
Realizing the difficult position he was
in, and still trying to shield the
murderer — who, he feared, would talk

jumped to his feet,

if he were detected — _ Pitulescu
altempted to throw the blame on
Timaru. That made his actions

suspicious. From there the case led to
Dantel, and finally to Copceanu.

Dantel was unable to continue the
hopeless fight against Dimitrescu’s
remorseless logic. He screamed:

“It’s true! It’s true! Anna couldn’t be
faithful to any one man, so we killed
her!”

He chattered out a frantic
confession, which substantially
corroborated the captain’s accusation.

Copceanu and Pitulescu, faced with

thin wdiniagion, amo broke cow ane
confessed their guilt.

The three plotters were sent to the
salt mines for twenty years, since at that
time there was no death peanlty in
Rumania.

And outside the courthouse a plain
little blonde girl wept her heart out in
the rain,

(The names Stara Mavia, Tania Lariu
and Stepan Timaru are fictitious.)

NO PLACE BETTY

(continued from page 43)

Most of Fischer's clothes, includ-
ing the collar of his shirt and the
clipped hair were then collected by
Millie and thrown into the furnace,
Grabek explained.

“Big Mike then ordered me to
take the body out and to bury it
some _ place,"’ Grabek continued.
“We dragged it out of the basement
and put it into the Pontiac.

When he was shown the Belgian
.25 caliber gun found near the body,
Grabek identified it as the weapon
Bubna had handed to him. Ballis-
tics tests had already proved that
the five bullets pumped into Fisch-
er’s head had been fired from it.

The investigators then took Gra-
bek to the burial spot near the golf
course. Calmly, Grabek showed
where he had parked the car.

After explaining how the Pontiac
had become mired down, Grabek
said he had called the tow car and
had it hauled out.

When he had returned to the
Bubna house, Grabek claimed, Big
Mike told him to take the car and
to get out of sight. Accompanied
by Betty Krupp, he had left for
Florida.

“So when Bubna reported the car
aS stolen,” Grabek concluded, “he
was just trying to pin the murder
on me.”

GRABEK, BuBNA and Millie Thomas
were formally charged with murder
in the first degree at preliminary
hearings before Alderman William
Heisler on March 25th, 1946. All
three pleaded not guilty and were
held without bail. °

Bubna and his sister Millie Tho-
mas went to trial on May 13th be-
fore Judge Elmer Evans and a jury
in Erie. Steve Grabek, whose trial
was severed from that of the other
defendants, was used by District
Attorney McLaughlin as the prin-
cipal state witness, along with Dag-
gett, who had previously pleaded
guilty to an automobile theft
charge.

Both Mike Bubna and Millie
Thomas were adjudged guilty of
murder in the first degree. In the
case of Mrs. Thomas, clemency was
recommended; for Bubna there was
none.

The court immediately sentenced
the convicted auto ring head to die
in the state's electric chair. Millie
Thomas was sent to the women’s
oth for the rest of her natural
life.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To protect persons
who have paid their debt to society
or who are innocently involved in

this case, the names Robert Fischer,

Fred Daggett, Stephen Grabek and

ey Krupp are fictitious as used
ere.

THE END

BEST FOOT FORWARD

(continued from page 10)

testify that he wears the same size
shoes as the intruder. But you know
a good many other facts about him
as well. For instance, you can look
at his other shoes for signs of the
typical rundown heel formation,
which will be the same on all of
them ... a possibility that would
never have occurred to him, even
if he was wily enough to destroy
the original shoes.

With the actual shoes used at the
scene of the crime, of course, a great
many more possibilities are opened
up. For example, you can make an
analysis of the dirt clinging to the
leather. Even though the suspect
may have brushed his shoes clean,
a good going-over with a vacuum
cleaner will probably recover
enough soil from the shoes to show
that the suspect was in the vicinity
of the crime.

A number of years ago in South
America, a rather unusual camera
was invented. It takes a series of
pictures of an object, from which
can be built a three-dimensional
duplicate, in exact size or in pro-
portion. It seems to Dr. Cheifetz
that such a process could be highly
useful in the reproduction of the
shoes which made a particular fdot-
print, although to the best of his
knowledge the new camera has not
yet been applied to this use.

While the present method of
studying shoeprints is highly de-
veloped, says Ur. Uneitetz, we have

‘for a long time had experts who

could give dependable testimony
after examining a shoeprint and
comparing it with the various shoes
invglyed in a criminal case.

or instance, the doctor quotes
the famous trial of Abraham Thorn-

ton, 1
for the
The
great
mony
Joseph
prints
Afte
the m
open fi.
gether
strugg!
alone
of the
went o
Positiv:
people
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to the
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(of an
actly «
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footpat:!
those o
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woman
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shoes. |
dirt ou
were
Across
of rotte
side of |
impress
so dee;
two na:
around
nailed :
first ne
the spa
mark a:
corresp:
“T co:
they ex
ferent ;
instance
ning w:
was rat
ing we
shoes \
impress
applied
and wo
impress
shoes .
All t
ered be
ing ar
veloped
in bein
of the «
an out
had a «
dence.

TODAY
pression
by the
method,
pears in
the gen!
change
impress:
“This
point,” |

HE TWO GOLFERS, searching
through a desolate ravine a few
hundred yards south of the Erie,
Pennsylvania olf course star-
ed at the extended arm, half cov-
ered by a crude mound, in horrified
surprise. “Why, it’s—it’s a gravel”
one of them exclaimed.
The hunt for missing golf balls
was promptly forgotten. The men
turned and raced through the fields
to their car parked just off the high-
way on ute 99.

‘By four P.M. a group of police
officials ha gathered at the scene.

State Troopers, under the direc-
tion of Sergeant John Mehallick
and Deputy Coroner Ww. A. Firman,
began to scoop away the sod and
dirt and in a matter of minutes, the
whole body of a man was exposed.
Sheriff Paul Babbit and Damian
McLaughlin, acting district attor-
ney, watched in silence as the work
went on. >

The victim was a young man of
medium height and weighed about
150 pounds. His head was battered
almost beyond recognition. Deep
scratches and bruises were visible
on the chest and back. The right
side of the forehead had been crush-
ed by several gun shots.

The body was clothed in.a pair
of gray trousers, underwear and a
single tan shoe.

CONCEALED IN A CLUMP OF BUSHES
nearby was & bloodstained white
shirt. Lying near it was a small pis-
tol. The collar of the shirt had been
ripped off, obviously to conceal the
laundry mark.

“It looks like a foreign pistol,”
a trooper remarked.

Mehallick nodded. “Yes, I think

it’s a Belgian .25 caliber.”
- Asa group of investigators moved
toward the dirt road which connect-
ed with Highway 99, Mehallick
made. an_ important discovery.
“Here’s where the car which trans-
ported the body was parked,” he
decided. He indicated the still dis-
cernible path from the road to the
grave. “The body must have been
dragged along there.”

“The car probably mired down,”
Mehallick remarked. He studied a
set of tire impressions close to the
road. “And, unless I miss my guess,
a tow car hauled it out.”

After assigning troopers to visit
every garage in the vicinity on the
hunch that one of them might have
sent a tow car to the spot, Mehal-
lick returned to the barracks.

A crew of identification experts
was also dispatched to the un-
marked grave with instructions to
make casts of the ‘footprints and
tire marks. The sergeant then
called the Erie morgue and asked
that the victim’s clothing be brought
to the laboratory for analysis.

While the search was being con-
ducted with tho cooperation of
Erie's Police Chief George J. Chris-

toph, Mehallick received a call from
Dr. K. L.. Burt, St. Vincent’s Hos-
pital pathologist, who had conduct-
ed a rapid autopsy.

“Both the yictim’s eyes were
blackened by blows,” the physician
reported. “It also appears that an
attempt to strangle him was made.
His nose was broken and there’s a
fracture of the skull.

“But the cause of death appears
to have been five bullets fired into
the brain at close range. Appar-
ently, the man was beaten senseless
and then the shots were pumped
into his head.”

“How long has he been dead?”
Mehallick wanted to know.

“About 48 hours. I'd say he was
killed some time Monday night.”

Troopers assigned to check all
garages in the vicinity finally got
an affirmative reply to their queries
at the Acme Auto Parts concern on
West Twelfth Street.

“Sure,” the manager there said. .

“TJ got a call Monday night and I
went out on Route 99 to pull a car
out of the mud.”

The garage man poked through a
pile of papers on a desk in the small
office. “Here's the work sheet on it.”

The record showed that the call
for assistance had come at 11:20
am. The car that was stuck near
the golf course was & two-toned
Pontiac coach. It was occupied by
a man who said his name was Jones.

“Did the man in the Pontiac
know you wrote down the license?”

“J don’t think he did. Why?”

THE TROOPER DROVE THE GARAGE
man to the place where the body
had been found and pointed to the
tire marks near the road. “Is this
where the Pontiac was bogged
down?” he asked.

“Yeah. This is the place,” the
garage man answered. He described
the position the Pontiac had been
in when he arrived.

The next stop was the Lawrence
Park Barracks where Sergeant Wil-
liam Schauer and Mehallick ques-
tioned the garage employee.

The occupant of the Pontiac, they
learned, was a youthful individual
of medium build. His most notable
characteristic was short-cropped,
black, curly hair which receded
from his temples.

The man’s clothing was covered
with mud which, the tow car driver
assumed, had resulted from his un-
successful attempts to push the car
clear. After the Pontiac had been
extricated, the man had paid the
charges in cash and sped away.

A check of registration records
showed that the Pontiac was owned
by Michael Bubna, of No. 1212 West
26th Street.

Sergeant Schauer asked. ‘‘Isn’t he
the guy who’s suspected of being
in on the stolen car racket?”

Mehallick went to the current
files and brought out & report of_a

When murder
joins the party,
it’s time for
good girls

to go home?

/

By LOU ROGERS

recent police interview with Big
Mike Bubna. For months, it was in-
dicated, attempts had been made to
trap a powerful gang of automobile
thieves operating in the Erie area.
The racket consisted of theft of cars
in the Pennsylvania city and dis-
posal of them to a “fence” in Port-
land, Maine. Police were still seek- :
ing enough evidence for an arrest.

Schauer dispatched a squad of
troopers to bring the man in for
questioning.

When the 245-pound, dark-haired
man arrived at the barracks the ga-
rage man studied him carefully.
Then he shook his head. ‘Nope.
This isn’t the fellow,” he said fi-
nally.

“A body was taken in your auto-
mobile to a golf‘course where it was
buried. What have you got to say
about that, Mike?”

“That’s easy,” Bubna said. ‘My
car was stolen Monday evening.
The man you want is the same one
I’ve been looking for—the smart guy
who stole my car.”

After further questioning failed
to link Bubna with the disposal of
the body, the big man was released.

THE TROOPERS then brought out the
photographs of all men who had
been picked up on minor charges
during the past six months. The
garage man studied them all care-
fully, “Here he is! That’s the guy
who was driving the Pontiac!’ he
exclaimed suddenly.

The picture was that of Stephen
Grabek, 28, of West Eighteenth
Street, who had been in police cus-~
tody two months previously on &
disorderly conduct charge.

The troopers immediately set out
for the suspect’s house. There, they
discovered that he had not been
home since Monday afternoon.
“That checks,” Mehallick comment-
ed. “Apparently, he stole the Pon-

41

——  «


tiac that evening, and later that
night he murdered the guy and. hid
the body near the golf course.”

Further inquiry revealed that
Grabek had been seen recently in
the company of attractive, 22-year-
old Betty Krupp who lived on
Twentieth Street. It was learned
that Miss Krupp had also been miss-
ing from her home since Monday
afternoon. Her neighbors, when
questioned, said that she had hinted
vaguely that she was going to take
a trip to Florida with a boy friend.

A country-wide alarm for the ap-
prehension of the pair who were
believed to be driving south in the
Pontiac was immediately broad-
cast.

Another startling development
in the case occurred later that af-
ternoon when a Mr. Grady Fischer
of East Tenth Street walked into
Headquarters with the story of a
mysterious telephone call he had
just received.

“Some man named McGuire
phoned me and he said that he had
some important information for
me,” Fischer reported. “He told me
not to read the morning paper but
to meet him immediately at the cor-
ner of Thirteenth and Peach Streets.

“I did look at the paper, though,
because I was suspicious of the call,
and I read about the finding of the
body.”

Two city detectives kept the ap-
pointment at Thirteenth and Peach
Streets and immediately recognized
the man nervously loitering in the
vicinity. He was Fred Daggett, 28,
of Parade Street, one of the men
who, with Bubna, had been inves-

tigated ,on suspicion of being a.

member of the auto theft ring.

Daggett denied having come to
the corner to meet Grady’ Fischer,
and he protested vigorously, when
the detectives brought him to Head-
quarters.

The man was questioned by Chief
Christoph and Sergeant Mehallick,
who had been summoned from the
barracks. But he persistently de-
nied knowing anything about the
murder.

Continued grilling brought a con-
fession that Daggett, together: with
Big Mike Bubna and Robert Fisch-
er, brother of the man who had
notified the police of the mysterious
call, had been involved in the auto
theft ring. “But that has nothing to
do with the murder!” Daggett cried.
“I just got into town from Port-
land. I went there to unload a hot
car.”

“And who do you figure com-
mitted the murder?” Mehallick
urged.

“I tell you I don’t know! I was
out of town when the thing hap-
pened.”

_ “Do you know Steve Grabek?”

“Pye seen him at Bubna’s house
once in a while,’ Daggett replied.

42

Christoph suspected that Daggett
might have been involved with the
missing Grabek in the murder and
had contacted Grady Fischer in an
effort to establish an alibi, and so
he ordered the suspect held on auto
theft charges. Daggett was prompt-
ly tucked away in a cell.

WHILE POLICE WENT to the house
on West Twenty-Sixth Street to
bring in Big Mike Bubna for fur-
ther questioning, Mehallick and
Schauer began a search for Robert
Fischer.

They discovered that the man was
estranged from his wife and had
been living. with his brother, Grady.

The brother reported that Robert
had .not been at home since Mon-
day. He denied any knowledge of
Robert’s reported connection with
the car theft ring.

The troopers went to the home of
the wife and asked her to accom-
pany them to the city morgue. The
woman glanced at the body of the
unidentified murder victim. Her
face blanched and she gasped: “It's
Robert!” She covered her face with
her hands. .

When the woman had recovered
sufficiently to be questioned, she
revealed that her murdered hus-
band, against whom she_ had
brought action to annul the mar-
riage, had moved from their West
Eighth Street house before.

Prior to the separation, Fischer
had worked as a bartender at the
Flamingo in nearby Edenboro, an
establishment owned by Mrs. Fisch-
er. While there, he had become ac-
quainted with Mrs. Millie Thomas,
a sister of Big Mike Bubna, who
was employed as a waitress.

“My husband and I visited the
Bubna home occasionally before
our separation,’ Mrs. Fischer con-
tinued. ‘Later, Robert often went
there alone.” )

“When was the last time you saw
him?” Mehallick asked.

“Last Monday evening. .

“That was the night of the mur-
der,” the sergeant cut in. “What
time did you see him?”

“It was about seven o’clock,” Mrs.
Fischer said. “Robert called on me,
and he seemed to be worried about
something. I heard him make a tele-
phone call and a few minutes later
he left. He said that he was going
to visit Big Mike.”

Big Mike and his sister, Millie
Thomas, were taken into custody at
their house on Twenty-sixth Street.
The police believed that Mrs.
Thomas might have seen something
on Monday evening which would
help them to unravel the strange
mystery.

Big Mike, however, denied any
knowledge of Fischer’s murder. “He
didn’t come to the house Monday
night,” he said positively. “I don’t
know a thing about this except that
my brand-new car was stolen!”

”

Millie Thomas readily admitted
that she had been at the Twenty-
sixth Street house Monday night.
The two were questioned separate-
ly, and she corroborated her broth-
er’s story. The woman was released
after intensive questioning indi-
cated that she knew nothing about
the Fischer murder.

Big Mike, however, was retained
in custody on technical charges in
connection with Daggett’s accusa-
tion that he was the leader of the
stolen car ring.

Statements of neighbors revealed
that Big Mike had been seen at the
house early in the evening. His sis-
ter, Millie Thomas, was also there.
Neither had been observed leaving.

Grady Fischer, brother of the
murdered man, was questioned

again. His information bolstered

Bubna’s alibi. He told police that
when Robert did not return home
at 11:30:0on Monday night he had
gone searching for him.

“I. stopped in at Bubna’s place
just before midnight,” he said. ‘“Ap-
parently, Mike and his sister had
gone to bed for the night but I kept
ringing the bell. Finally, Big Mike
opened the door. He told me that
Robert hadn't been there that night
and he didn’t. know where on earth
he was.”

_ “Was Bubna’s car in front of the
house at that time?” Schauer asked.

“No, it wasn’t.”

CERTAIN NOW THAT their chiei sus-
pect was Steve Grabek, the Erie
police concentrated their attention
on the nationwide search for him.
Tips poured into Headquarters from
half a dozen states, and‘each one
was carefully and completely in-
vestigated.

The Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion joined in the search, since the
interstate transport of a stolen car
was involved. At all points between
Pennsylvania and _ Florida, - FBI
agents were alerted on the supposi-
tion that the fugitive was heading
for Florida.

On Friday evening, five days after
the discovery of the victim’s bat-
tered body, Federal men_ finally
trapped the elusive Grabek. They
had. estimated the route and prob-
able speed with which the fugitive
would proceed south. Figuring that
if Grabek and Betty Krupp were
heading for Florida they would have
reached some point in Georgia, they
made an intensive search of all
cities in that state.

Close scrutiny of all parking
places was rewarded when the Pon-
tiac was discovered in a Savannah
garage.

When Grabek came into the ga-
rage a few hours after the car, had
been found, he was accosted by an
FBI agent who asked bluntly:
“You're Steve Grabek, of Erie,
Pennsylvania, aren't you, Mister?”
The startled hoodlum admitted it.

The agen
Grabek as a
that Betty w

Grabek an
questioned s
eral agents 1:
denied any
Fischer’s mu:
me his car,”
knew me an
take a tript
to take the
with that?”

“Bubna r-¢

_ tiac was sto):

Meanwhile
stery of the
were analy:
proved to be
clung to th
~spokes of th

When he
this evidenc:
tempt to ex;
know anyth
he declared

Sheriff Ba
capture of |
he made i
for the ret:
Erie. Both (
still prote:
waived ext
ney north
had the FP:
Washington
amination \
famed dete:

When G:
the custod)
Corporal M
tective Joh
tively iden
had been i:
the spot w
was buriex
changed hi

Grabek :
not he, bu!
dered Fisc!
assault ha:
home and
Big Mike !
pose of the

Miss Kr:
spent rhost
West Twen
na home.
Millie Th«
there whe:
some time
quarreled
which Mik:

“We we
Betty Kru
drinking. |
stupor.

“Millie c
me to go vu
scissors. \
them, Mill:
going to |
Fischer.

“Millie
Fischer's
behind the
sented

admitted
Twenty-
lay night.
separate-
1er broth-
is released
ing indi-
ing about

s retained
‘harges in
‘'s accusa-
der of the

s revealed
seen at the
ig. His sis-
also there.
ed leaving.
er of the
questioned

bolstered
police that
‘turn home
mt he had

yna’s place
- said. “Ap-
sister had
but I kept
, Big Mike
id me that
» that night
re on earth

front of the
,auer asked.

r chief sus-
k, the Erie
ir attention
ch for him.
.arters from
d-each one
ipletely in-

f Investiga-
h, since the
a stolen car
nts between
iorida, FBI
the supposi-
was heading

ve days after
victim’s bat-
men finally
‘rabek. They
te and- prob-
. the fugitive
Figuring that
Krupp were
-y would have
Georgia, they
earch of

all parking
vhen the Pon-
) a Savannah

- into the ga-
+r the car had
iccosted by an
sked bluntly:
vek, of Erie,
you, Mister?”
n admitted it.

The agent promptly arrested
Grabek as a fugitive and learned
that Betty was in a hotel room.

Grabek and Miss Krupp were

questioned separately by the Fed- .

eral agents in Savannah. They both
denied any knowledge of Robert
Fischer’s murder. “Mike Bubna lent
me his car,” Grabek insisted. ‘‘He
knew me and my girl planned to
take a trip to Florida so he told us
to take the Pontiac. What’s wrong
with that?”

“Bubna reported that the Pon-
tiac was stolen,” an agent told him.

Meanwhile, stains on the uphol-
stery of the back seat of the coach
were analyzed by chemists. They
proved to be human blood. Mud still

clung to the fenders and to the

-spokes of the rear wheels.

When he was confronted with
this evidence, Grabek made no at-
tempt to explain the stains. ‘I don’t
know anything about any murder,”
he declared.

Sheriff Babbit was notified of the
capture of the wanted couple, and
he made immediate preparations
for the return of the fugitives to
Erie. Both Grabek and Miss Krupp,
still protesting their innocence,
waived extradition, and their jour-
ney north began. Federal agents
had the Pontiac coach driven to
Washington where a thorough ex-
amination was to be made at their
famed detection laboratories.

When Grabek arrived in Erie in
the custody of Sergeant Schauer,
Corporal Mathias and County De-
tective John Coates, he was posi-
tively identified as the man who
had been in the Pontiac coach near
the spot where the murder victim
was buried. The suspect quickly
changed his original story.

Grabek now declared that it was
not he, but Bubna, who had mur-
dered Fischer. He claimed that the
assault had occurred at Bubna’s
home and that, after the murder,
Big Mike had ordered him to dis-
pose of the body. :

Miss Krupp said that she had
spent rhost of Monday at No. 1212
West Twenty-sixth Street, the Bub-
na home. She, Big Mike Bubna,
Millie Thomas and Grabek were
there when Robert Fischer arrived
some time after seven p.M. Fischer
quarreled with Bubna over money
which Mike claimed was due to him.

“We were all in the kitchen,”
Betty Krupp said. “Everyone was
drinking. Fischer was almost in a
stupor.

“Millie came over to me and told
me to go upstairs and get a pair of
scissors. When 1 returned with
them, Millie told me that they were
going to play a joke on Robert
Fischer.

“Millie then began snipping
Fischer’s hair while Big Mike stood
behind the chair on which he was
sented

Lo -caethany about
‘ana rischer’ goublecrossing

Police examine body of victim tound in ravine neor Erie, Pennsylvania golf course.

him, and that he’d teach people not
to doublecross him,” Miss Krupp
continued. “Then he hit Fischer in
the face with his open hand.

“Mike told Millie to get me out
of the kitchen. He said, ‘She isn’t
used to anything like this. Get her
out of here. This is going to be
messy.’ ”

Millie took Miss Krupp to a bed-
room and left her there. Half an
hour later, Big Mike came in and
told her, “I wish you hadn't been in
the house tonight. There are things
going on that I wouldn’t want you
implicated in.”

Miss Krupp said that soon after-
ward she heard noises which sound-
ed like shots.

“Millie came back,” the woman
said slowly, “and she told me that
Bob Fischer was dead.”

PoLICE NOW HAD an answer to their
principal questions. It was clear
that Fischer had gone to Bubna’s

doublecross suggested that Daggett
and Fischer had attempted to cut
Big Mike out of the proceeds of the
car Daggett had driven to Portland.

That explained Daggett’s call to
Fischer’s brother. He had read of
the unidentified murder victim in
the paper as soon as he stepped off
the train. He realized that the dead
man was Fischer and be sesuiaes
that the doublecros= unt Leeuw als-
covered by Big iMike who had re-
taliated by beating and then mur-
dering the helpless drunk, Fischer.

This theory also explained Dag-
gett’s ready confession of his part
in the stolen car ring. The man
wanted to be arrested for theft so
that, in custody, he could escape a
fate similar to that which had over-
taken Fischer.

HE DESCRIBED THE ACTION IN THE
kitchen substantially as it had been
outlined by Betty Krupp. “Then I
went into the front room,” he con-
tinued. “I could hear Bubna and
Fischer arguing, about a double-
cross. Later, there were sounds of a
fight in the kitchen.”

“What happened then?” Schauer
prompted.

“Bubna yelled to me from the cel-
lar. So I went down there.” He led
the group of officials through the
kitchen and into the basement of
the place.

“When I saw what was going on
in the cellar, I sort of froze on the
steps. Bubna had a gun in his hand.
Fischer lay on the floor and Big
Mike was kicking him on the head.
Then he pounced over him and he
started banging his head against
the concrete floor.

“It was an awful thing to see,”
Grabek added, dabbing his fore-
head nervously and quickly with
a handkerchief. ‘

“After Big Mike finished beating
Fischer unconscious, he bent close
ta him and shot him in the temvie
AS ae g CU Gee One Quad a iong pall OF
scissors and she started clipping the
hair off Fischer’s head. She went at
it like you’d cut a brush.”

(Continued on page 54)


n

548 COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant.
: Opinion of the Court. [153 Pa.

was of sound mind, and it would require evidence to change that
opinion. This was adopting a rule for the trial of the prisoner,
the reverse of that adopted by the law. The law presumed
the prisoner sane ; Mr. Hill presumed him insane, and expect-
ed the commonwealth to prove his sanity. He was clearly dis-
qualified, and the court was right in sustaining the challenge
for cause. °

The 6th assignment alleges the court erred in refusing to
permit a witness, Gustano Bruno, called by prisoner, to give
an opinion as to his sanity. ‘The witness was twenty-seven
years of age; was a native of same town in Italy as prisoner,
and had known him there; knew he there had epileptic attacks
frequently, and had heard he was discharged from the army on
account of them; the prisoner came to this country about ten
years ago, the witness six years afterwards; the one lived at
Reading, the other at Robesonia, twelve miles distant; the wit-
ness saw prisoner, sometimes once in three months, and some-
times once a month; when they visited each other it was for a
day; at times when witness saw prisoner he was attacked with
epilepsy ; the last attack was in November previous; the last
time he saw prisoner was four months before the 23d of June,
in February. It will be seen that the intercourse between
them was not close ; the opportunities for observation were not
frequent. The witness was permitted to testify as to the con-
dition of prisoner’s mind immediately after the epileptic fits,
and at other times when he saw him. But prisoner’s counsel
put this question:

“«Q. From what you know of this man’s manner and habit,
conduct and appearance, from his sickness for eighteen years
as you have testified, from his entire behavior, you may state
whether or not at the time he killed Sister Hildaberta he was
sane or insane ?” .

To this the commonwealth objected, and the objection was
sustained. |

To sustain the charge of error in this particular, Taylor v.
Commonwealth, 109 Pa. 270, is cited, which rules that wit-
nesses, not experts, after testifying to acts and conversations ot
the prisoner may give an opinion as to his sanity. This is
doubtless a correct statement of the law in its application to
the facts of that case. But the acts and conversation, as well

m Be ed
artes

See mee Oi,

ee ee

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. a49
1893.) | Opinion of the Court.

as the phase of insanity sought to be proven, must have some
bearing on the mental condition of the prisoner at the time he
committed the crime. If the alleged unsoundness of mind be
a settled, fixed condition, non-expert witnesses could testify, to
the extent of their observation, to his daily acts and speech, and,
having done so, express an opinion, or give their conclusions
from the facts stated by them. If, however, the mental aber-
vations were fitful or rare, and in the intervals his mind was
lucid, it certainly would not be competent for them to express
an opinion as to the prisoner’s mental condition at a time when
for months they had not seen him, merely because on some oc-
casions when they had seen him he gave evidence of mental
unsoundness. Such an opinion would be valueless, because
the facts testified to would warrant no inference of sanity or
insanity on a particular day. Here, the defence was, that the
prisoner, on the 23d of June when he committed the act, was
insane, because at intervals he was subject to epilepsy ; that
during these attacks, and from their effect for a day or two
afterwards, he was mentally irresponsible. And it was sought

to prove by the witness, who had not seen him thus afflicted

for seven months and had not seen him at all for four months,
that when he stabbed Sister Hildaberta he was insane ; such
an inference would have been wholly unwarranted by the facts
testified to by him, and the objection was properly sustained.

The 7th and 8th specifications may be considered together ;
they charge that the court improperly permitted the common-
wealth to adduce evidence of prisoner’s drinkiug habits and
drunkenness. As an independent fact, of course this would
have been error, but in answer to the defence set up it was
clearly admissible. The prisoner had offered evidence that he
was subject to epileptic fits from which at times he fell to the
floor or ground, and lay in a stupor; that on recovery his mind
was disordered and his memory gone; that these attacks were
so frequent it was fairly inferable for a great part of the time
he was insane. In answer, the commonwealth called witnesses
who lived near and saw him often, to prove that they never
saw him have un epileptic attack, but often saw him druuk and
in a drunken stupor. It was alleged from this, that the falls
and stupor which prisoner attributed to epilepsy were really
due to drink.

odt COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant.
, Opinion of the Court. [153 Pa.

as well as the alleged origin or cause of it, epilepsy. On the
question of motive, it was practically assumed in the charge
that the evidence did not show a motive, and the jury was told
that, in considering the other evidence of insanity, they might,
along with it, consider the enormity of the crime and the ab-
sence of motive in determining whether the prisoner was sane.
Certainly, this was all prisoner’s counsel had a right to ask.
When the accused denies that he committed the act, then the
absence of all motive on his part for committing it is a very
material fact in his favor; but where it is admitted or estab-
lished that he did commit it, the motive is unimportant in de-
termining guilt, unless, as in this case, insanity be set up as a
defence, when the absence of any motive which would prompt
a sane man to the deed adds to the strength of positive evi-
dence of unsoundness of mind.

Here, the commonwealth having proven willfulness, and the
fully formed purpose to kill, every averment of the indictment
was sustained ; the law did not call for proof of a sufficient mo-
tive, or of any motive. Who can, with reasonable certainty,
in the larger number of homicides, determine the exact motives
for them? We have no personal experience to guide us; to
courts and juries, so far as concerns their own consciousness,
no motive is sufficient to account for willful, deliberate, and
premeditated murder; they never committed murder; never
wanted to. Observation teaches them, that avarice, jealousy, re-
venge, and other passions do impel men to murder; that the most
trivial slight sometimes starts into action a murderous propen-
sity; at other times, the motive is completely hidden. Here,
there was significant evidence of hatred on part of prisoner
towards deceased; this, we know, has at times moved wick-
ed hearts to murder. Three or four days before the killing,
the prisoner said to Scott, “Me no like this sister; sister no
like Italian man.” After arrest, he said to policeman Mayer,
“She don’t like Italian; she wanted to get Italian to jail.”
When in prison Jacob Kershner asked him, “ Why did you do
this?” And he said, “I was sick; sister didn’t treat me right,
didn’t like Italian; I didn’t like sister.” To the peaceably in-
clined, it is utterly incomprehensible how such a feeling as this
should find gratification in the murder of the gentle and inof-
fensive woman who was the object of it, yet from observation

ds ar

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. 545
1893.] Opinion of the Court.

we do know that there exists in some men just such depth of.
depravity. This was not even adverted to by the learned judge,
and in so far as silence favored the prisoner he had the benefit
of it. | |

As to the 25th assignment, that “the ingredients necessary
to constitute murder of the first degree do not exist in the evi-
dence,” we do not see that a single one is lacking, if the pris-
oner at the time of the killing was sane. If he was not sane, ~
the burden was on him to show it. He adduced evidence that
he was an epileptic; proved, what is undoubtedly true, that
the tendency of that disease in an aggravated form is to weaken
the intellectual powers, and in some cases to produce total in-
sanity; but he went no further. The evidence wholly failed
to show that his affliction, to any serious extent, impaired his
intellect, or that on the 23d of June he was in any degree af-
fected by it. The physicians and others at the hospital, whose
duty it was to see him and minister to him, testify that, during
his stay there, he had only one attack of epilepsy, and that one
about five weeks before the killing. George Morrison, a wit-
ness, called by him, testified that he had known him intimately
for five years, and that only on two occasions had he seen him
act irrationally, and never, in the whole time, had seen him have
an epileptic fit. The evidence did not show such a phase of
the disease as warranted an inference of general insanity, and
there was entire absence of proof that on the day of the crime
he was other than of sound mind.

We recur now to the first specification of error, the refusal
of the court to grant a continuance to next term.

The ground of the application for continuance was want of
time for preparation by counsel, and for obtaining witnesses by
the prisoner. 7

This was an appeal to the sound discretion of the court. A
very gross abuse of this discretion would have to appear before
we would sustain the assignment; nothing of the kind is here
shown. The senior counsel was assigned more than a month
before trial, the junior five days; their client. was near them ;
communication was easy; they had daily access to the court,
and could invoke all the power of the commonwealth to compel
the attendance of witnesses. The prisoner was not a stranger
in Reading; he had lived there for some years. The presump-

VoL. CLUI—35


546 COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant.
Opinion of the Court. (153 Pa.

tion is, the court in refusing a continuance acted with a due
regard to the rights of the prisoner, and there is no evidence
which rebuts this presumption. .
The second assignment is to the refusal of the court to order
a change of venue. |
The act of assembly of March 18, 1875, provides, that in
criminal prosecutions the venue may be changed, when it is
made to appear to the satisfaction of the court that from undue
excitement against the prisoner in the county where the offence
was committed a fair trial cannot be had, or that there exists so
great a prejudice against him that he cannot obtain a fair trial.
In support of this application the affidavit of the prisoner
and Henry Wickel and George W. Mannerback, two citizens
of Reading, were presented. All three state a belief that a
wrong prejudice existed against the prisoner in Reading, and
that by reason of this prejudice a fair trial could not be had in
Berks county. It will be observed that, to secure the change
of venue, it must be made to appear to the satisfaction of the
court that because of “undue excitement,” or from “ great
prejudice ” a fair trial cannot be had. The intensity of the ex-
citement and the extent of the prejudice, if either or both exist,
are peculiarly within the sound judgment of the court where
the crime has been committed. The credibility of the ex parte
affiants is best known to them; popular vindictiveness, which
tends to embarrass the administration of justice, obtrudes itself
with as much offensiveness on the notice of a judge as on others.
With the better opportunity for knowing, the court was not
satisfied the prisoner could not have a fair trial in Berks county.
To move us to decide there was error in this, we would have
to be satisfied by the same affidavits that such excitement or
prejudice did exist; would have to credit what the court below
did not believe. It is sufficient for us to say that the évidence
which failed to satisfy the court below comes far short of satis-
fying us, especially when the persuasive evidence of the judg-
ment of an impartial court has determined its unsatisfactory
character. Indignation, because of the cruelty of the deed,
there doubtless was; it would be strange if such were not the °
case in a law-abiding community; but there is nothing which
convinces us of the existence of such passion or prejudice as
would prevent the twelve “sober, intelligent, and judicious ”

“

4

©r
“1

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant.
1893.] Opinion of the Court.

; ‘ing a true
jurors who were sworn to try the issue from rendering
idence.
verdict on the eviden
The 3d and 4th assignments are to the refusal of ine oe
, -
to quash indictment, and to direct the commonwealth to tu
nish prisoner's counsel with a bill of particulars vesiel
The indictment itself is drawn 1n the general terms i
by the criminal code of 1860. There are doubtless cases whe ;
| y ran i men
it js proper that the prisoner should have, under an indice "
2 i i accusation he
so drawn, a more particular specification of the sees : ° Bie
| | i Wi aker
is called upon to defend against, otherwise he might : -
« ; ‘ : ;
by surprise. It is enough to say that this does not be ri
: . . . . . a , 1e
i that class of cases. ‘The indictment charged that, ” i
: igs vks
1892, the prisoner within the county of Be
a eeaoacealy. is malice aforethought, kill
feloni i , and of his malice aforethougnt,
did “feloniously, willfully, and o i
i , essary
and murder Sister Mary Hildaberta.” It was not . on
indi , - statute, that th
sti indictment under our
to constitute a good | | ve
ypon used should be averred, nor the manner of the k
ing if i : the cour
ing; before arraignment, if it be made to appear an co
is li prisoner beca
that any injustice 1s likely to be done the prisone! Pe mse
-agueness of the indictment, a bill of particulars may ;
der jgoner has a right to deman
dered: this, not because the prisoner g enn
; 7 - 7 = | > y e Ma “
it. but because the court, after trial, on proof of surpris a
i rermen
justice in consequence of the absence of specie as ane
cilhi r ; aside the ver
to weapon and manner of killing, would set
rant a new trial. .
ae indi all the law demanded; a bill
Here, the indictment set out a Ea
of particulars could give the prisoner no information as -
‘ E . . . . — . e ore
weapon or manner of killing which he did not possess pea
rae bee ’ 1G Vv
arraignment. It is not pretended that he was “ surprise y
c c ° ; | ;
unexpected proof, or that the commonwealth proved the use
> that ner
a weapon not theretofore known to him, nor that the man
of Halk knew he was charged with. ice
of killing was other than he knew as charg ee
by a bill of particulars, was meant a specification of the _ “ :
1 is t ‘is ‘had n
to be adduced by the commonwealth, this the prisoner he
right to ask nor the court any right to direct. ae
" i is he decision of the court sustaming
The 5th assignment is to the decis enone
allenging for cause by the commonwealth o nomas J.
the challenging
Hill, called as a juror. - a
yuror being sworn to make true answers, 1 substa
ane did not ‘ it such an offence
said he did not think a man who would commit such %

300 COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appillant.
Opinion of the Court. [153 Pa.

If such were the fact, it was the duty of the commonwealth
to offer evidence tending to prove it, and it was for the jury
to determine whether what was an alleged symptom of epilep-
tic insanity was only drunken prostration. That the fact, if
proven, tended to degrade the prisoner in the eyes of the jury
was the consequence, not of the court’s error in admitting evi-
dence of it, but of his, in affording evidence of it.

The 9th specification of error is in permitting Dr. A. B.
Dundore to give an opinion, on

hour after he had killed the deceased, as to whether there were
any indications then in his appea

pulse and made such observation of his appearance as an intel-
ligent physician would make of a patient, when called to alle-
viate suffering from an injuredarm. With his long experience,
and from this examination, he said there were no indications
of a recent epileptic convulsion, and if there had been such an
attack within two or three hours he did not think it possible
that he then would not have seen some evidence of it. The
examination of the prisoner was not a very rigid one, and was
not made for the purpose of ascertaining whether there had
been a recent epileptic convulsion ; but the character of the
examination detracted only from the value of the opinion,
expert testimony; it was admissible, and there was no err
in placing it before the jury for their consideration.
Concerning the 10th assignment of elror, in permitting Dr.
Martin Luther to give an opinion

as
or

as to the prisoner’s power of
memory-from the nature and accuracy of his narrative on the
Witness stand, that could not possibly have prejudiced the pris-
oner before the jury. But, taking the whole of Dr. Luther’s
testimony, we think his opinion as to the strength of memory,
in the connection in which it was given, was not objectionable.
He was called as an expert to give his opinion, not as to the
power of prisoner’s memory, but as to the effect of epilepsy on
this faculty of the mind, and that there had not been such im-
pairment of it, as indicated epileptic insanity. As an illustra-

Ge
—

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. 5)
1893.] Opinion of the Court.

i ) isoner’s as shown
tion of a sound memory, he pointed to the awe s “ss "
swered the questions s
is testi stand; “he answere 5
by his testimony on the s : ve erties
‘S so thoroughly tha x
i d understood them so g 4
a i i i neral way,” says the
i ‘y h impaired in a ge ;
mind was not very muc meee Saye the
| risoner ¢ Insteé
OW ¢ his have prejudiced the priso:
doctor. How could t \ oa re
of the expert examining him privately, out es t aed
f th ifyi iclusion,
i jury hen testifying to the cor
ing of the jury, and t nis
‘ i i s based, on what the jury
he conclusion is based,
the facts upon which t ion i | nie
vw and heard as wellas he. This afforded ample ope: “ Yy
fe j S acts as-
for scrutiny on part of jury and counsel. . Were ‘ia mene
sumed by the expert, facts? Did the prisoner unc “ and < 3
’ is i substance 1
uiswer questions quickly? “There is nothing of substa
ans w
i i ror.
this specification of err — - sther.
The 11th and 12th assiguments may be considered tog ‘
tr rant an adjourn-
ins that the court refused to g
The one complains tha tc Sareea
ment from Saturday evening until Monday morning th omer
‘or discussion of the evié
red counsel for discussio
that the time allowe Racine
was too short, being only two hours. ae ee wee
1 i ‘t below that w
ithi liscretion of the court
clearly within the ¢ nee hein
’ expecte
sel for appellant seriously
if the learned counse ive
than the formal overruling of the assignments, whic Ww
ordered. a, ae
The 18th assignment alleges that the court in bite ge
misstated the argument of counsel to the jury, an “ P _
a i rawn. fr it. us 1s
emptorily negatived the conclusion drawn from it ean
h i ’ ation :
that part of the charge complained of under ee Spee ea me
i ity wi ich the prisor
ill r ‘that the insanity with whi
“You will remember that , aed ae
| : fflic is deduced principally
i i een afflicted is dedu
is claimed to have b : oe ae
} ime i absence of any motive,
rmi she crime in the absen tive,
the enormity of t eae sahere
I charge you, gentlemen, that the enormity ne ae
i ity.” sel deny that they, at ¢
sanity.” Counsel ¢
is no evidence of ins ; arpa hate!
time, contended that the enormity of the crime aca ee
; Asre o 66" ay e@ pris-
insanity; this, say they, is what they argued : : a ae
oner should turn on his benefactress and strike dow - pane
; m
that had blessed him, was contrary to the conduct , ve
ind reason.” We do not see any distinction in t ong
SOU é . * ue 52 cue
idea between the two forms of expression; that by cas
TO¢ A S
is perhaps more concise, but the one by counsel seas rea
: 4 , ‘ rT O
impression on the mind. Says the court, “ enormity

i i * we di say it was,
is in itself no evidence of insanity;” we did not say

%

“5,
tae

William Byron: “You cops sure did a lousy job.
We could see you every time. It drove us nuts"

succession, breaking a long quiet
spell. The switchboard illuminat-
ed as if somebody had pressed a but-
ton, turning on all the incoming. bulbs
at once. .
Trooper Rocco Urella threw down a
Police report he had been reading and
sprang into action. With the deft speed

T= calls eame suddenly, in rapid

of a professional telephone operator he’

Plugged in the cords one after another

and answered “State Police Head- .

quarters .. . State Police Headquar-
tera...”

The voices he heard were excited and
hysterical, as the voices of civilians al-
ways are when reporting a crime close
to midnight. But there was an added
urgency in these voices, as if what they
reported was unlike any crime that had:
happened before, as though they were
alarming the police about an incom-
parable disaster. ,

“Harvey Zerbe has been shot!”:

“Harvey Zerbe has been murdered!”

When Urella heard that he under-
stood immediately why the voices came

to him with such hysterical sadness.
Harvey Zerbe was the World War II
hero of Folsom, a small, quiet suburb
ten miles southwest of Philadelphia.
Harvey Zerbe had come home from the
European Theater of Operations with
a fine record, four campaign stars, from
Omaha Beach into Germany, and dec-
orations for outstanding heroism, No
wonder these people fairly. screamed in-
to the telephone. Everyone in Folsom
and in the other suburban towns ‘along
McDade Boulevard had known Harvey
Zerbe, or at least had read about him.

The more calls Urella answered, the
angrier he became. For two reasons.
One, because a guy like Harvey Zerbe
apparently had been killed, murdered,
and two, because these people just
yelled into the telephone like People
gone a little mad, and then cut off.
He'd get just a few phrases, incoherent
and not telling him enough. . If this
was a murder, there was something
else he wanted to know, a couple of
important facts to set the Police
machinery in motion.

The night he was killed, Harvey Zerbe was caught

30

outside this filling-station in Folsom, unprepared

(Delaware

When: Harvey Zerbe Was Slain in Fol-
som, Penna., Detectives Had to Learn
_lf This Was the Culmination of a Series
Of Holdups—Or a Carefully Laid Plot,
Born of a Jealous Hatred for Any
Man Who Had Been a Hero in Service

By David K. Gordon

Special Investigator for

SPURS, TPE

, roo swore. Then he answered another
ig.

“Yes, it is,” said Urella quickly,
Prt Earl Shank? Okay, Earl. Shoot
t fast.”

Urella made swift notes on the pad
beside him. ’

Then he arose, called to another
trooper to take over the board and
dashed into Sergeant Kelly’s office.

“What's up, Urella?” Kelly asked.
“You look pretty excited.”

“I am! Harvey Zerbe’s been shot .

peck maybe killed! Just a few minutes
ago!”

“Zerbe!” shouted Kelly, leaping to
his feet. “How?”

“Earl Shank’s gas station was held
up just a little while ago. Harvey Zerbe
worked for Shank, you know, They shot
him and got away in a car.”

“Get any more details? The kind
of car?” ;

“Shank thinks it was a Chewvie, five-

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456 112 ATLANTIC REPORTER (Pa.

1918, was, and now is, the owner of certain
real estate in the city of Philadelphia ;. that
day, she and her husband, J. Baron, entered
into a written lease with plaintiff, Benjamin
Bloom, under which they demised, to the lat
ter parts of the premises in question, for the
tern! of three years from January 26, 1919,
and gave him an option to purchase, express-
ed in this language:

“For the period of one year from the date
hereof, the lessee shall have the option to pur-
chase said premises for the sum of $15,000, sub-
ject only to a certain ground rent of $40 per
annum and to a mortgage of $10,000; this op-
tion shall absolutely cease unless exercised in
writing within one year from the date hereof
and followed by settlement within 80 days
from the date of such written notice of the
exercise of said option, and the lessee be still
in occupancy of the demiscd premises.”

On April 9, 1919, plaintiff entered into a
written agreement with defendants to pur-
chase the premises. This contract recites
that “Benjamin Bloom has determined to ex-
ercise the option contained in the lease to
him.” It,acknowledges the payment of $500,
and stipulates that settlement shall be made
by plaintiff “before October 1, 1919.” It
further provides as follows: ef

“Time is to be considered as of the essence
of this agreement, and in the event of the de-
fault of Mr. Bloom to make settlement * * *
by October 1, 1919, at the latest, then the sum
of $500 hereby paid is to be considered as liqui-
dated damages, and shall be retained on ac-
count thereof, and the option shall be consid-

ered as ended and canceled.”
r

After April 9, 1919, plaintiff altered and im-
proved the premises, for the purposes of his
business: Plaintiff “was not prepared at any
time on or prior to October 1, 1919, to make
settlement for the purchase of said premises,”
nor did he before then “tender performance
of the terms of said option oer of said con
tract.”

On or about October 29, 1919, however,

plaintiff served a written notice on defend-
ants that he would exercise the option with-
in 80 days from date, and would notify them
as to the exact date of settlement, which
would be within 30 days from the date of
his letter, and in his bill plaintiff avers readi-
ness—
“to make settlement for the purchase of said
premises, in accordance with the: terms of the
option recited in said lease, within the period
of 30 days from and after October 29, 1919, the
date of said notice.”

“Defendants refused to acknowledge said no-
tice of October 29, 1919, as of any validity, and
informed plaintiff that his option to purchase
said premises ended and terminated October 1,
1919. when he failed to comply with the terms
of said written contract of April 9, 1919;

ceeding, * * * praying that defendants be
required to convey said premises * * * to
plaintiff, upon the latter making payment. of
the purchase money as mentioned in the option
in said lease.” :

Finally the chancellor found that—

“upon the hearing of the cause, plaintiff pro-
duced in court, and tendered defendants, a cer-
tified check for $4,000, and stated that he had
arranged for the raising of $12,000 additional
from the Leland Building Association, upon a
second mortgage; the latter sum was not pro-
dueed or actually tendered, and, other than
this, no formal tender of performance was made
by plaintiff.”

[1] In dismissing the bill, the learned chan-
cellor correctly said:

“The option for purchase contained in the
lease of December 26, 1918, was transformed
into and became a completed and binding con-
tract of purchase by virtue of the written agree-
ment of April 9, 1919, * * * and the said
option became wholly merged in said contract.

tract of purchase, by failing to make settlement
on or before October 1, 1919, having expressly
stipulated that time should be of the essence
of the. contract, his right to ask for a decree
for conveyance from the defendants was gone;
his option to purchase was at an end, and he
could not revive it by means of the written no-
tice of October 29, 1919.” ‘

{2] On the subject of consideration for the
contract of April 9, 1919, the court below
properly states:

“As it is set forth in the lease, the option
provides for settlement for the purchase within
80 days from the date of written notice of the
exercise of the option; this, if enforced, would
require settlement to be made on or before May
9, 1919, if the date of notice of exercise was
April 9, 1919. The contract of April 9, 1919,
however, gives plaintiff, the purchaser, more
liberal terms as to time, making the period for
settlement almost 6 months, instead of 30 days
—stipulating for settlement ‘by October 1, 1919.
at the latest,’ but expressly making time as of
the essence of the agreement, and providing
that, if settlement be not made ‘by October 1,
1919, at the latest,’ the sum of $500, the hand
money paid, shall be considered as liquidated
damages, to be retained on account thereof, and
that ‘the option shall be considered as ended
and cancelled.’ This extension of time, from
30 days to almost 6 months, for settlement, was
a new, and a good and sufficient, consideration
from defendants for these covenants on the
part of plaintiff as to the cancellation of his
option, the making time for performance, not
later than October 1, 1919, as of the essence
of the contract, and the stipulating for the
| payment of liquidated damages for breach.”

The assignments of error are not in proper
form; they are all dismissed.
The decree is aflirmed, at cost of appellant.

whereupon the plaintiff filed the bill in this pro-

* * * When plaintiff defaulted in that con- ~

Pa.) eo

COMMONWEALTH y. BYRD 457

(112 A.)

COMMONWEALTH v. BYRD. &.

(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. - Feb. 14,
1921.)

|. Homicide ¢=>152—Unlawful killing presum-
ed to be murder in the second degree.
Where the claim of self-defense failed, so
that the killing was unlawful, it will be presum-
ed to be murder in the second degree.

2. Homicide €=>253(1)—Evidence held to show
murder in the first degree. ;
In a prosecution for homicide, defendant’s
own evidence, as well as that of the state,
held to show murder in the first degree.

Appeal from Court of Oyer and Terminer,
Dauphin County; C. V. Henry, President
Judge.

Charles Byrd, alias Willie Palmer, was
sentenced to death on conviction of murder
in the first degree, and he appeals. Aflirmed.

Argued before. MOSCHZISKER, C. J.,
and FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON, KUP-
HART, SCHAFFER, and SADLER, JJ.

~ Maurice R. Metzger and Mark T. Milnor,
both of Harrisburg, for appellant.

Philip S. Moyer, Dist. Atty., of Harrisburg,
for the Commonwealth.

PER CURIAM. Defendant has appealed
from a sentence to death, on a conviction of
murder in the first degree. He assigns for
error only the final judgment and the refusal
of the court below to grant him a new trial.

We have read the testimony. It plainly
shows that the issues involved were for the
jury, and the manner in which they were
submitted is not formally complained of.
Since the opinion of the learned court below
fully covers the case we aflirm on the follow-
ing excerpts therefrom:

“Defendant and Duff Haygood lived in a
workmen’s camp at Locust Grove, near Steel-
ton. Haygood was a janitor at this camp. On
the night of November 138, 1918, there was

some trouble * * * between a man named |

Jolly and defendant, in which Haygood took
part. Defendant claimed that he was struck by
Jolly and Haygood on this occasion, and that
Haygood then said that, if defendant were
large enough to fight, he (Haygood) would cut
his throat. Defendant also testified that Jolly
and Haygood followed him to another shanty
and made an assault upon him; that he passed
IIaygood the following night, when neither
spoke and nothing occurred. On the night of
November 15th, both were in the pool room,
and defendant left, according to his story, go-
ing to his own room, and, returning shortly
thereafter, met Haygood and a man named
Slim Evans. The witnesses for the common-
Wealth testified that Haygood said nothing and
offered no violence toward defendant, but that
defendant, without warning and without provo-
cation, drew his revolver and shot Haygood.

Penni

Defendant testified that he came from his room
with the revolver in his pocket and his hand
upon the revolver; that, when he met Haygood
and Evans, they separated, and he attempted
to pass around Haygood, when Haygood grab-
bed his arms, and in the struggle defendant’s
hand closed on the revolver, and it was dis-
charged; that he feared Haygood, and intended
to shoot either Haygood or Evans.¢ Four bul-
let wounds were found on Haygood, [any one
of] three of which were necessarily fatal, and
there were no powder stains near these wounds.
Defendant fled after the shooting. finally land-
ing at Hog Island, where he worked under an
assumed name. He strongly denied his identity
after arrest. Defendant was a man of slight
size, and weighed possibly a little more than
one-half as much as Haygood. No weapons
were found upon the body of Haygood after his
death.

[!,2] “The defense was either accidental
shootisg or a shooting in self-defense. De-
fendant himself admitted that he intended to
shoot either Haygood or Evans, when he fired
the shots; so it could not have been accidental.
His description of what took place at the time
of the shooting—not overlooking the disparity
in the sizes and ages of the men and the grab-
bing of his arms by Iwaygood—would not war-
rant the conclusion that defendant's life was
in danger, or that he was in danger of griev-
ous bodily harm at the hands of Haygood, or
that he could have believed he was in such
danger. ‘This defense falling, it was an unlaw-
ful killing, presumed to be murder of the sec-
ond degree. Here again, from defendant’s own
testimony, the manner in which he says Hay-
good grabbed his arms would not be sufficient
provocation to cause such passion or terror as
to place a man beyond the control of his rea-
son and thus reduce the killing to voluntary
manslaughter. Further considering defendant’s
testimony, he stated it was his intention to
kill either Haygood or Evans, so the killing
was willful. His description of what occurred
| on the night of the 18th would indicate that
| he had some reason for spite or grudge against
| Haygood, and his seeing Haygood at the pool
| room on the night of the 15th, his going to his
own room and immediately returning with the
revolver, and his hand upon the reyoiver,
strongly indicates that he had planned and pre-
| meditated shooting Haygood, and was fully con-
scious of this purpose.

“From the evidence of defendant alone, the
jury would have been warranted in convicting
him of murder of the first degree; but the
evidence for the commonwealth strongly in-
dicates that there could be no possible doubt as
to his guilt. This evidence tended to show that
defendant attempted to steal Jolly’s money on
the night of the 13th; that he was not follow-
ed by Jolly and Haygood; that he complained
to officers that he had been assaulted by Jolly
and Haygood, and, when they denied this, he
made a statement that might be in the nature
of a threat; that, at the time of the shooting,
Ilaygood was going toward his own room to
show Evans a new suit, which he (the deceas-
ed) had recently purchased, and that, when
they met defendant, they did not separate,
Haygood did not grab defendant's arms, or at-
tempt violence, and said nothing to him: that

€=>For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and.Indexes

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458 112 ATLANTIC REPORTER ' © (Pa.

defendant, without warning and without provo-
cation, drew his revolver and fired the four
shots at Haygood; that at least some of these
shots were fired from a point to the left of
Haygood, and not directly from his front; and
that defendant must have been at some distance
from Haygood, as indicated by the absence of
powder stains.

“Under this evidence a jury, in the honest
performance of its duty could hardly have done
otherwise than convict defendant of murder of
the first degree.”

The assignments of error are overruled,

“ the judgment is affirmed, and the record is

remitted for the purpose of execution.

LUPFER v. BALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE
WORKS.

(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Feb. 14,
1921.)

Master and servant €=>380—Suicide while de-
lirious from injuries did not deprive widow
of right to compensatien.

Where the employé killed himself while
possessed of an uncontrollable insane impulse,
or while in delirium and frenzy, without ration-

-al knowledge of the physical consequences of
his act, such insanity or delirium having been
caused by pain resulting from diseased condi-
tion caused by the electric shock which he re-
ceived in the course of his employment, his
widow was properly awardvd compensation, on
the theory that, while his death was self-in-
flicted, his act was unintentional, on account
of the delirium, and a. result of the electric
shock.

Appeal from Court of Common Pleas, Phil-
adelphia County; Charles Y. Audenried,
Judge.

Proceeding for compensation under the
Workmen’s Compensation Act by Edythe N.
Lupfer, widow of Donald LeRoy Lupfer, the
employé, against the Baldwin Locomotive
Works, the employer. From aflirmance ot
an award by the Compensation Board and by
the court of common pleas, the employer ap-
peals. Judgment affirmed.

Argued before MOSCHZISKER, C. J., and
FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON, KEP-
HART, SADLER, and SCIIAFFER, JJ.

3enjamin O. Frick, of Philadelphia, for
appellant. a

J. Morris Yeakle, of Philadelphia, for ap-
pellee. ’

_PER_-CURIAM. This is an appeal from
the affirmance of an award by the Workmen’s
Compensation Board, and subsequently by
the court below. The learned president
judge of the latter tribunal correctly dis-
posed of the case in the following excerpts

from his opinion:

; and the judgment is affirmed.
ma,

“Donald Le Roy Lupfer died by his own hand.
The referee awarded compensation to his wid-
ow, on the theory that, although Lupfer’s death
was self-inflicted, his act was not intentional,
inasmuch as he was delirious at the time, and
had become so as the result of a physical injury
accidentally sustained while on duty in the
service of the defendant. * * * On July
23, 1919, while * * * employed as an elec-
trician, Lupfer accidentally received a shock,
* * * which ‘doubled up his arms and twist-
ed him over.’ He complained of pain in his
side, but returned to his task. He worked on
the next two days, and reported for work on
Saturday, July 26, but quit very soon, as he
was too ill to do anything. * * * Lupfer
shot himself at his home * * * on Thurs-
day, July 81, 1919, at 11 o’clock a. m., while
his wife was temporarily absent from his room,
* * * On July 30, Lupfer had been delirious.
* * * The attending physician saw him last
on the morning of the suicide; he was then
worse than he had been, and was ‘becoming ir-
rational.’ His temperature was 103, and he
was suffering from pleurisy and pneumonia [the
latter resulting from the former]. His physi-
cian thought that his mental condition was such
that he feared he might jump out of the win-
dow. * * * The pain in Lupfer’s right side
was intense; he could not sleep or lie down.
IIe said, on the morning on which he killed
himself, ‘My God! I cannot stand fhis much
longer! * * * His infection with pleurisy
was probably the result of the lowering of Lup-
fer’s vitality as the result of an electric shock,
or the result of an irritation or injury to his
chest. * * * Lupfer’s tenth rib, on his right
side, was broken; that rib was immediately
over:the lung attacked by pleurisy. * * *
There is evidence on which a jury might have
reached the conclusion that Lupfer killed him-
self while delirious from the poison in his sys-
tem and frantic with the terrific pain with
which he was suffering. It cannot be said that
the findings of the referee were wholly with-
out support. * * * [Furthermore] Lupfer’s
death can fairly be said to have ensued from the
‘resultant effects of the violence’ sustained by
the ‘physical structure of his body’ through the
electrical shock that he received, whether that
caused the fracture of his rib and the conse-
quent injury to his chest or merely so reduced
his vitality as to render him liable to infection.”

Although not couched in these precise
words, the various statements of the referee,
when read together, are tantamount to a
finding that deceased killed himself while pos-
sessed by an uncontrollable insane impulse,
or while in a delirium or frenzy, without
rational knowledge of the physical ‘conse-
“auences of his act. This, with the other find-
ings, already indicated, is sufficient to sus-
tain the award; for we agree with the court
below that—

“It is possible to point out evidence (not
perhaps the strongest or most persuasive, but
still tangible evidence) to support every finding
of the referee, approved by the board.”

The assignments of error are overruled,

“‘e=For other. cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbereé Digests and Indexes

~

‘\

Pa.) “ROBB y. NILES-BEMENT-POND CO. 459
‘ (112 A.)

ROBB v. NILES-BEMENT-POND CO., Inc.

(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Feb. 14,
1921.)

{. Negligence G==32(1)—Customer required to
keep premises reasonably safe for deliverer
A customer of one selling and delivering
ice was required to use reasonable care to keep
its premises in such condition as not to expose
him to unnecessary danger in going upon such
premises to deliver the ice.

2. Negligence @==136(15) —Customer’s negli-
gence as to one delivering ice held question
for jury.

Where there was evidence that plaintiff,
who went on defendant’s premises to deliver
ice, slipped on a pool of oil which for five hours
had been near the doorway through which he
was directed to take the ice, whether the oil
caused the accident and whether defendant was
at fault in not previously observing it and re-
moving it were questions for the jury.

3. Negligence G=>67—Reasonable care requir-
ed of deliverer of ice on defendant’s premises.
A person delivering ice on another’s prem-
ises and slipping on a pool of oil could not re-
cover if by the use of ordinary care he could
have seen and avoided the oil.

4. Negligence €=>136(27)—Contributory negli-
gence of deliverer of ice held for jury.

Where plaintiff was carrying 100 pounds of

ice when he slipped on a pool of oil and had

just come into the building from the bright

sunlight, and it did not appear just how ob-

servable the oil was, it was a question for the
jury whether he exercised ordinary care.

5. Negligence €==122(1)—Due care presumed.
The presumption is that one suing for in-
juries used due care.

6. Damages ¢==!/86—Evidence of employment
of additional help in business held to support
recovery for loss of future earnings.

Evidence that prior to an injury plaintiff
required a helper in his business only one-half
of the year, and since the injury required one
the entire year at a salary of $60 a month, jus-
tified a recovery for the loss of future earnings
in connection with evidence of the permanent
character of the injury and of the business and
evidence of his age, health, expectancy, and
business.

7. Damages €==38 — Amount paid others for
work which plaintiff cannot do because of in-
jury is recoverable.

The amount an injured person is bona fide
compelled to pay another to do what he could
have done but for the injury, is always recov-
erable as a loss of earning power.

8. New trial @==162(!)—Grant of new trial
unless excessive portion of damages remii-
ted held proper. g

Where the trial court thought the verdict
excessive, an order granting a new trial un-
less plaintiff remitted all in excess of an
amount fixed by the court was proper.

9. Appeal and error €=>843(2) — Provision of
order requiring remittitur as to judgment for
full amount unless damages were paid held
immaterial. =

Where the trial court made an order grant-
ing a new trial unless plaintiff remitted a part
of the verdict, and pending an appeal by de-
fendant plaintiff filed such remittitur, so much
of the order as directed judgment for the
amount of the verdict unless the smailer
amount was paid became immaterial.

Appeal from Court of Common Pleas, Phil-
adelphia County; Norris S. Barratt, Judge.

Action by John A. Robb against the Niles-
Bement-Pond Company, Incorporated. Judg-
ment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals.
Affirmed.

Argued before MOSCHZISKER, ©. J., and
FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON, KEP-
HART, SADLER, and SCHAFFER, JJ.

Benjamin O, Frick, of Philadelphia, for ap-
pellant.

Joseph P. Gaffney, of Philadelphia, for ap-
pellee.

WALLING, J. This action is for personal
injuries, Defendant's factory is located at
Twenty-First and Callowhill streets, Phila-
delphia, and plaintiff, on August 10, 1917,
while carrying ice into the factory, slipped
and fell, causing a serious and permanent
injury to his left hand. The accident hap-
pened at noon, and the evidence for plaintiff
indicates that his fall was caused by step-
ping into a pool of oil, about two feet in di-
ameter, which had been. suffered to remain
on the cement floor for five hours, at a place

near the doorway through which defendant's

servant directed plaintiff to take the ice. It
does not clearly apnear what caused the pool
of oil; the most likely theory seems to be
that it dropped from the crane above during
the night. It is not shown that such a pool had ©
ever collected there before. Plaintiff de-
livered the ice daily and was familiar with
the place, but testified that the light was not
sufficient to enable him to see the oil before
stepping into it, while the evidence for de-
fendant was strong to the contrary. The
trial judge submitted the questions of negli-
gence and contributory negligence to the jury,
who found for plaintiff. Judgment having
been entered upon the verdict, defendant
brought this appeal.

[1] Defendant was plaintiff’s customer for
the ice, and it was the latter’s duty to go
upon the former’s premises to deliver the
same; hence defendant was required to use
reasonable care to keep its premises in such
condition as not to expose plaintiff to un-
necessary danger. Bloomer v. Snellenburg,
221 Pa. 25, 69 Atl. 1124, 21 L. R. A. (N. 8.)
464; Connelly v. Faith, 190 Pa. 553, 42 Atl.
1024; Clopp v. Mear, 134 Pa. 203, 19 Atl.

¢==For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes

—_ AMOHDS

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stuck on the frozen ground, when he
Saw the shoe. ‘

Instantly he was out of the car,
examining it. A saddle oxford, green, a
girl's shoe—and it was cold but not
frozen; it hadn’t been here too long.
Mettozzi walked a bit farther along the
rutted trail, his head down. He found
the other shoe.

Marks on the ground were faint but
they could have been made by dragging
@ heavy object over it. The dark
splotches might be blood. Mettozzi
plunged on, his fists clenched, mutter-
ing under his breath, almost afraid to
look around.

But he had to—and that’s how he
discovered a girl’s torn undergarments.
They hung from the branches of a tree,
where they had caught, limp.

Then a green sweater. And then—
Marty Gibbons herself.

*Way back on the edge of the rail-
road embankment, where none of the

’ skaters would have seen her. Lying face

down, her battered head Pillowed on
one arm, clad only in a slip and a green
Plaid skirt. Stiff from the cold and stiff,
too, from the ‘death that had been hers
perhaps over 50 hours before.

The mystery of Marty Gibbons’ dis- Z

appearance had been solved. Now came
the mystery of her slaying.

FALLS TOWNSHIP is a strange mix-
ture of the old and new. Across the

‘street from the still uncompleted police

Station is a brand-new grammar school.
A quarter of a mile away is the William
Penn Center, a Quaker meeting-house
which William Penn himself once at-
tended, long before the Revolution.
When Chief Kirby was a little boy,
before Patrolman Mettozzi was born,
& woman named Jenkins had had- her
throat slashed in a home in Fallsington,
No man can remember and no records
can be found to establish any other
homicide in the entire township, from
the days of William Penn and _ his
colony to the days of William Levitt and
his housing development. :
But this was a slaying—a foul and
brutal one. And this was the Twentieth
Century when modern science is avail-

able to solve such a slaying. Although -

Falls Township has little of this scien-
tific paraphernalia, it is available and
Chief Kirby determined that it would
be used.

He notified the State Police, and
Sergeant Adrian McCarr came out with
Corporal Carl Jones and Trooper Wil-
liam Thomas, who himself lives in
Levittown; and Troopers Duane Allen,
Keith Dane, Andrew Kutney. Fred
Kohler, Chief of County Detectives,
came out from Doylestown, the county
seat of Bucks County, and County De-
tective Clarence Irwin. Coroner Rus-
sell Ferriss was there with Deputy
Coroner Doctor William Goldfarb, and
Doctor Fred Phillips was summoned to
do the autopsy.

They went carefully over the ground

’ Surrounding Curtis Lake. Tire marks

were visible and Sergeant Meszaros got
a hatchet from his car and chopped
through the ice of the lake to get water
for the moulage mixture they used to
make casts of the tire-prints.

Near the body they found a dis-
charged shell from a pistol. Probably
it was from a 32 and an automatic, but
it was sent to the State Police labora-
tory in Harrisburg for positive identi-
fication. The gun wasn’t anywhere to
be found, nor was any other evidence
which might point to the killer. :

The body was taken to a mortuary in
Morrisville, the next town up the Pike
and just across the river from Trenton.
Someone brought Gourley there to
identify it.

“Good Heavens!” he cried. “What
have they done to her! Oh, Marty—”

Someone called Mrs. Coffelt in Phila-
delphia and told her.

“She never hurt anyone!” Mrs.
Coffelt said between sobs. “Why would
anybody do that to my little sister? She
never hurt anyone!”

’ But who would notify the slain girl’s
mother, lying then on her sickbed in the
hospital? For long hours Mrs. Coffelt
paced the floor of her apartment, for
long hours she walked up and down the
street in front of Doctors’ Hospital.

48

Who would tell her? What could they

Say!
Finally, with the advice of her
physician, Mrs. Gourley was told that

her daughter was dead, that she had
died in an automobile accident. That
was all she could bear then, the doctor
decided. :

But back in Bucks County they had
the problem of the slaying, and a killer
to find, and the puzzling aspect of the
girl’s clothes,

For as far as anyone knew, she had
been wearing dungarees when she last
was seen—but she was found in a green
plaid skirt.

Had she undressed for bed, and then
arisen and dressed again when someone
knocked on the door of her home?

“It must have been someone she
knew,” said Gourley, the stepfather.
“It had to be—someone who knew I

‘wasn’t there and Mrs. Gourley was in

the hospital. Marty wouldn’t have gone
with any stranger, or even opened the
door to let him in.” :

Police were inclined to agree with
him, for no stranger could have forced
Marty out of her home without leaving
scuffmarks on the floor or at least
awakening little Sue. ;

But who? Did this rule out the
sinister, mysterious George? :

Doctor Phillips finished his autopsy.

‘The hideous motive Suggested by the

undergarments that had been torn from
the girl was confirmed. No woman had
committed this crime. Furthermore,
Marty had been beaten and she had
suffered a severe blow on the top of her
head. She also had been shot and the
bullet actually had caused her death.
It had entered behind her left ear,
severed the spinal cord and came out
at her right temple. She had been
lying on the ground at the time she was
shot and Doctor Phillips suggested that
the police dig at the spot where the girl
was slain to recover the slug.

THs was all background. It didn’t
point toward the slayer. Who was
he and how find him?

Now that this was a killing, they’d
have to go over every move they’d made
already, but from a fresh point of view,
taking down statements, probing every
Possibility. And one story stood out as
a bit vague—the story of William Gour-
ley, Marty’s stepfather.

Sergeant Adrian McCarr questioned
him in the State Police Barracks.

“You say you didn’t get home Friday
night; is that right?” the Sergeant
asked. :

“Yes,” Gourley replied in a low, dis-
consolate voice. :

“You missed the last bus?” -

‘Actually, Gourley explained, he
hadn’t missed the bus.. Hed been on it
but it had stopped at a Service station
and he went into the washroom and
when he came out the bus had gone on
without him. :

“What did you do then?” asked
McCarr.

Well, he was stuck in the city. So
he’d taken a bus and a subway-elevated
train all the way out to the 69th Street
district, where he had a lot of friends.
And he’d visited a few bars and a few
private clubs, licensed to stay open
after the bars are closed. : And finally,
he’d taken a room to get Some sleep.

It was a vague story that couldn’t be
proved or disproved right then.

They talked to Sue, abed with the
chicken-pox, and the frightened little
girl told them what Mrs. Goetz had told
them about that last night Marty had
spent on earth.

Except for one thing.

“Marty got up once,” Sue said. “A
man Came over and Marty got up to
talk to him.”

“What man, Sue?” McCarr asked.
“What was his name?”

“It was George,” she said sleepily.

George! The prowler? The man of
the mysterious telephone calls?

“What’s his last name, Honey?”
asked the Sergeant.

But she didn’t know. It was just
George.

They talked to Dale Moody, next-
door neighbor. He and the man across
the street, Capps, had been working on
Gourley’s car, Moody said. Capps knew

‘
»

a lot about automobiles and had
Promised to fix Gourley’s. They had
pushed it out of Gourley’s carport and
into Capps’ and rolled it up on blocks.
While they were working on it Marty
Gibbons had come out from next door,
and Moody had told her to go back in
because it was so cold.

That was all he knew. Neither he
nor Mrs. Moody had heard a sound from
the Gourley home during the night, nor
Seen anything amiss.

The police weren’t getting anywhere;
they were stumped.

“There’s one thing,” Sergeant McCarr
said when Moody had left. “The little
girl. She says this fellow George came
in. Let’s talk to her again.”

O, ALTHOUGH it was getting late

and the child was ill, they went back
to her. - e <

“Sue,” Sergeant McCarr said, “you
say George came over after you were
in bed, around ten o’clock maybe. Is
that right?”

“Yeah, I told you.”

“How did you know it was George?”
the Sergeant asked.

“Why, I saw him,” the little girl said.
“I looked out the bedroom - door -and
saw him.”

“What’s his other name, Sue?” Mc-

Carr asked softly.

She still didn’t know.

“But if you don’t know his last name,
how do you know his first name is
George?” McCarr asked.

“Oh, silly!” she said. “It’s the man
across the street,”

George! The man across the street!
The “George” across the street was
George Capps!

Capps was a young fellow, 22, a
veteran of the Korean War, with broad
shoulders and a jutting chin, and a
vague, far-away look in his eyes. They
questioned him, too.

“Sue Gourley tells us you saw her and
Marty Friday night, Capps,” Sergeant
McCarr stated. His voice was sterner
now than when he’d talked to the little
girl, sterner and sharper.

“Well, she’s wrong! I didn’t!” Capps
replied shortly. |

“Didn’t you see them at all? Either
of them?” :

“No!” For.some reason the young
man was vehement.

And that, McCarr knew, was a lie.
For he had seen her when he and Moody
had been working on the car—if not
after that, too.

“Sue says you went over to their
house about ten o’clock, Capps.”

“I didn’t!” he shouted. “It’s not
true!”

Abruptly McCarr changed the sub-
ject, and other officers slipped out to
examine George Capps’ car, a battered
old one.

In the back seat they found definite
evidence that someone had waged a

bitter struggle there. : ze

It was difficult to believe. George
Capps, the friendly neighbor, who’d
been in the Searching-party, who’d

volunteered to repair Gourley’s car.
George Capps who; as Sergeant Mes-
zaros remembered so vividly, had stood
in the center of the street and called

out to the girl’s Stepfather, “She’ll be

all right; we’ll find her.”

In Capps’ home they found a box of
-32-caliber bullets, indication that he
owned or at least had access to a pistol.
They asked him and he said yes, he did
have a gun he’d brought back from
Korea as a souvenir, a gun captured
from a North Korean Officer.

But the automatics carried by the -

North Korean and Chinese Red officers
are hand made and in between 32 and
.38 caliber; they will not fire bullets of
those sizes, ;

THEY told him this and they told him
what Sue had said. Even a six-year-
old girl would not make a statement

like that through confusion, they
Pointed out.
And finally, at 10:30 Pp. m. January

26, 1954, Sergeant McCarr called in the
crowd of newspapermen gathered out-
side the State Police Barracks. Capps,
he claimed to them, had confessed the
crime. He’d gone over to the Gourley
home on a pretext of talking about the

=

car, McCarr declared he’d said, and he’d

lured the little girl into his own auto-

mobile—he would not say how—and |
driven her to Curtis Lake. ; :
There he’d parked, McCarr an-
nounced, and when the girl threatened
to tell his wife what he’d done, he'd hit
her with a rock. And when she broke
away from
caught her and knocked her -down,
McCarr said, and then shot her. =
The following day, January 27,
Capps was brought before Justice of the
Peace John Melvin in Fallsington and
ordered held on a charge of murder. He
had a prior criminal record for minor
crimes in Norfolk, Virginia, where he’
been brought up, and in Trenton, New
Jersey, where he'd
moving to Levittown.
That was the end of the case, except
for further legal hearings. And except
for the people living on Timber Lane.
To them it has been a double horror.
Lively, lovely Marty Gibbons dead—
slain in such a horrible manner. And
George Capps, their neighbor, the man
who’d been so friendly and helpful, the
veteran of Korea—charged with this
vicious killing. It is a nightmare to the
people on Timber Lane, oge they will
have a long, long time forgetting, if
they ever can. :
As this story is being written, a car
sits in the carport of the house at No.
79 Timber Lane, up on blocks. Gourley’s
car, waiting for someone ‘to reclaim it
from Capps’ carport. The Capps house
is empty. His young, attractive wife is
with
when her husband was arrested, she
Was expecting a baby any day. From
that city she told newspaper reporters
that she would stand by her husband.
“Now is when he needs me,” the young
Wife said. “He’s sick. I won’t forsake
him now.” :
Mrs. Benman has received no more
telephone calls from the mysterious
George. Capps, she knew, spoke with
a Southern accent. because of his
Virginia childhood. The man who
called her, she says, had no detectable
accent. But she can’t be sure. Capps
has failed to admit making the calls:
still the fact remains that she has re- .
ceived none since his arrest.

too many
and watchful, waiting Patrolman Met-
tozzi will make one more arrest, on the
charge of disorderly conduct—or worse.
in Doyles-
town. He had thrown the gun into

gun, they say, and the tire-prints and
the indication of a struggle in the back
of Capps’ car, are their evidence.

Mrs. Gourley recovered sufficiently
to be released from the hospital. Slow-
ly, gradually, the full truth of what
happened was revealed to her. She was
present in the tiny basement office of
Justice Melvin on February 10, 1954,
when Capps was arraigned. Also pres-
ent, of course, was William Gourley,
her husband.

Right past the chairs where Mr. and
Mrs. Gourley were Seated officers led
their erstwhile neighbor, Capps. Slow-
ly, apparently with great calm, Gour-
ley got to his feet as George Capps
approached.

Then, with all his Strength, he swung.
His fist caught Capps on the right
cheek, sending him reeling back against
the wall.

Police intervened immediately,
Capps was charged with murder and
held for the grand jury without bond.
As this issue of OFFICIAL DETEC-
TIVE STORIES Magazine goes to press
he is being held in the county jail at
Doylestown Pending further lega] ac-
tion, at which time two court-appointed
attorneys will represent him.

In this story the name of ‘Mrs. Ben-
man is fictitious to protect her from
embarrassment. : cio :

him finally and ran, he’a

lived just before jf

her parents in Trenton where, am

behind
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Betty


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a

_-~same,” Dyer declared.

iene Hay Ape

“The child told them it was not Bun-

-\ Ny but the man looked like Bunny.
Mrs. Daniels described Bunny as ‘

being about 30 years old with sandy-
colored hair. She said she was Positive
‘ the man could not have been Bunny be-

cause he was on duty in the Orient and.

she had received a letter from him a
short time ago.

-Sullans posed the question: “Do you
suppose she thinks the man looks like
this Bunny because he wore a Navy
uniform or because the features were
similar?”

I berets tried to get the information
from Mickey but were not success-
ful as the child was unable to under-
stand what they wanted.

She was shown a picture of Albert
Bottles but did not recognize him as the
man who had taken her to the beach
to look for sea shells.

Mrs. Daniels told them that she had
a photo of Bunny they could use for a
general description of the man they
sought. «~

Leaving the hospital, Sullans said:
“It makes me want to question that
sailor, Elmo Peterson, even more. I
hope the Navy can locate him for us.”

In the meantime, Novotny, following

through on the bloodstained car seat,
located Arvid Kane. He admitted buy-
ing the seat covers but insisted that
re Lice on his cushions were not

ood. ©

“I spilled a bottle of soda on the front
seat,” Kane declared. “I saw the ad
this place had in the paper for seat
covers and went in to get a set. You

‘—can look at my car and see that it isn’t

blood.” «~* aK

The car was taken in to Simonds. The
Stains were not blood and Kane was
freed of any suspicion in the case.

By late evening, Simonds had a re-
port on the skin that had been sent out
for analysis. |

“The man you are looking for has
red hair,” Simonds told the detectives.
“He has the skin missing from the
knuckle of his thumb—possibly his left

thumb, but they can’t be positive of
| that.”

“It couldn’t be blond hair?” Dyer
questioned, thinking of Bottles.

“No. It’s definitely red hair. I can’t
explain how they can tell from the
texture of the skin and the hair folli-
cles, but you can be assured they know
what they’re doing. Your man has red

- hair.”

Sullans said: “You told us before
aa they could guess at his occupa-

on.” are ;

Simonds nodded. “It’s just a guess,
but your man could work in a service
station, a garage, or around some kind
of machinery. They found oil residue
in the skin.”

If this analysis were correct, the red

hair eliminated all the suspects they

‘now had.
“We'll investigate them all just the
“And we can
~Start looking for a red-haired man who

works at some kind of a job where he
would get oil on his hands.”

Late in the evening, the Navy located
Elmo Peterson. He was able to explain
the blood on his uniform by a brawl] he’d
been in while at a dance at Garden City.
He gave the names of several of his
buddies in the service who were able
to establish his alibi... -

- The texture of the bit of skin held

. in evidence was entirely different from

Peterson’s.: Tests of the blood on his

- clothes showed all of it was his type and

none was Mickey’s. He was taken back
to the Naval Station.

[N THE meantime, with the added in-
formation on the descrintion of the

TH electronic machine, similar to
#4 those used in many business Offices,
took the cards and ejected the ones
wanted. Fifteen men were in the file
‘who answered in part to the description
of the man wanted for the crime
‘against Mickey Daniels. :

Detectives were immediately as-
signed to locate the men .and bring
them in for questioning. Anyone with
a skinned thumb knuckle would be
-given a full investigation.

Two days later, Albert Bottles was.
' picked up in his car by the Oregon State

Police near Roseburg.
mitted his identity.
“I heard about the little girl,” Bot-

He readily ad-

But how?

How to find one red-haired man with
the skin missing from the knuckle of
his thumb, from among all the mil-
lions of persons in Southern California.

“Our one chance is that he lives or
lived around here someplace,” Dyer
reasoned. “We just have to stick: to it
until we can come up with something
important.”

It took eight days of constant inves-
tigation before the officers uncovered
their first solid lead. A red-headed oil-
refinery worker living in a rooming-
house in Wilmington, the neighboring
city to Long Beach, had suddenly quit
his job and left his room the day after
the attack on Mickey. .

The owner of the rooming-house who
telephoned in the lead told the offi-

cers that James Killimayer had lived

at the place for only two weeks. He

Up to the Minute

WO juries, across the country from each other, reached the same
decision on the same day, May 6, 1954. ‘

_ One, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, after listening to long and.
startling testimony, decided that George Capps, 23, who had become
a father while he was in prison, was guilty of killing a fifteen-year-
old, neighbor of his in Levittown, Pennsylvania, Marta Gibbons.

The other, in San Francisco, California, also returned a verdict
, Of guilty, against two former private detectives, Harold Jackson and
Joseph Lear, for the kidnaping of Leonard Moskovitz.

Both juries assessed the death penalties. ‘Capps was sentenced
‘to the electric chair for murder, Jackson and Lear to the gas cham-
ber for violation of California’s “Little Lindbergh” law which calls
for capital punishment for kidnaping.

The story of the investigation into the slaying of Marta Gib-

bons appeared in the April, 1954, issue of OFFICIAL DETECTIVE
STORIES Magazine, entitled, “She'll Be All Right—We'll Find Her”.
The March OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES carried the Mosko-
vitz case, “San Francisco’s Hidden Kidnaping—$500,000 or Mutila-

tion”’.

Magazine.

Watch these pages for latest developments in cases that have
been published previously in OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES

E58

tles told the officers. “I knew the cops
would grab me for questioning. I just
packed up and beat it out of town until
it blew over.”

BOTTLES was able to supply an alibi ,

for the time the crime had taken
place and the police were able to find
witnesses who verified it.

Bottles: was released from all suspi-
cion in the crime.

And in Los Angeles, police were able
to locate all but two of the ex-convicts
listed in their file. Both of the missing
men had been gone from the area for
almost a year and were believed to be
in the East.

WDellatina

por Pe ey See ae ee Sea cet ae

had left withou giving a forwarding
address.

“Seems strange he just picked up and
left after getting a good job at the re-
eral the rooming-house owner de-
clared.

The red hair and the fact he worked -

in a refinery fitted the description of
the man Simonds had said they should
look for. .

The detectives went to the refinery
where Killimayer had worked. The per-
sonnel manager could tell them little
about the man. He had been hired for
a job that required no special skill and
had not given any references.

“He came in a week ago last Friday

=
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7

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—
°
—

signu. 3 Mr.
Los Angeles.
four-door se-
nse.

the car isn’t

tel manager:
ler than the
ou think this
‘ing for?”

igged. ‘““Noth- -

n. But when
| get a feeling
hen a young
ras man and
they’re lying.

y.
these people

returned to
ip the license
icle registra-

1 the motel

a 1950 Ford

Oakland. ~

1 the motel

1 1950 Ford
Oakland.

1 car,” Ton-

ugh a long

- to request
mobile and

-points bul-_

ind — nan
requ hat
nves....-lon.
atrolman at
artin Rubin

aining con- ~

or Anthony
ice called in
| Letin.

‘ong license
1 “We ran
He drove his
parking lot.
2 took it out:
Juldn’t have
field.”

2?” Milligan
know these
they’d have

d, has four
per. It must
he numbers
way.”

» the tele-

‘If this fel- .

mber at the
e up with
year and

lave picked
t just hap- >
y Ford.” |
notel man-
k up some-

‘lock n
| the 1-
ENSL wa ual-
gister?’”’

‘I guess I
e they take
sheet. But
n.” / .
ll us,about
d you find
ou cleaned

OFFI

the drive-in just two blocks down and

on the left-hand side. They must have |

gone there because I heard a car pull
out as I was going to bed.”

__ “So they got a hamburger,” Milligan
declared.

“But that’s not the point,” the motel
manager said excitedly. “At the drive-
in I asked one of the girls once how they
could keep track of which car orders
what. She said they write the license
numbers on the slips. Maybe one of the
waitresses will remember them -and

_She’d have the license number—the

right one.”

“You may have something,” Tongate
replied. ‘““We’ll see.”

Four “car hops” were on duty at the
drive-in. Milligan and Tongate ques-

CiAt Dezerec

WE Dokies, Dicem Bere (ISS) FY as

Dodge, Walls and Towle had been
working through the night, too. In the
town of Tulare a man who was picked
up for speeding answered the descrip-
tion of Rubin’s killer. The three officers
drove the 60 miles to Tulare and ques-
tioned him. He had been able to estab-

‘lish an alibi for the time of the killing.

Tongate called the Los Angeles
Homicide Squad under the direction of
Captain Robert Lohrman and asked
him to look into James Peru’s back-
ground.

Eight o’clock in the morning had
come before the detectives completed
their. written reports.

At ten o’clock a Los Angeles Homi-
cide officer called in a report to Chief
Grayson.

TIVE STORIES Magazine.

night.

Up to the Minute
A TENNESSEE moonshiner who had served a prison sentence

for killing a man is back in the same prison today for the
murder of that man’s sister. Th

been sentenced to twel ears
Mrs. Katherine Byrd, hiNGypusekeeper” in 1950 Roddy was sen-
tenced to five years and sa@*ved only two for killing Mrs. Byrd’s
brother, Ed Ferguson. Roddy bad been known as a bootlegger for
years and his three-day trial for killing Mrs. Byrd was characterized
by the prosecutor as “a reunion of bootleggers”’.

The story of the search for
was found hanging in a tree, “ ‘She Didn’t Hold the Killin’ Agin’
Me’”’, appeared in the February,

e moonshiner, Edward Roddy, has

High in the Pennsylvania mountains, two killers went to their
n John Wesley Wable, the “Phan-
tom of the Turnpike”, and George Capps were executed the same

deaths within three minutes whe

Wable had killed two truckers and wounded another along the
e search for him and his eventual
arrest was entitled, “Hunting Pennsylvania’s Turnpike Killer” and
published in the December, 1953, OFFICIAL.

‘The capture of Capps, who assaulted and killed a fifteen-year-
old high-school girl and then helped Levittown neighbors hunt for
her, was in the April, 1954, issue of OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STO-
RIES Magazine, entitled, “‘She’ll Be All Right—We’ll Find Her’ ”.

Fast-moving, ingenious detective work brought about the
arrest of four men who raided a bank in Victor, Montana, this past
Summer. All four men now have been convicted of the crime. Three
of them, James Crippen, Richard Stevens and William Staggs, were ©
given five-year sentences: the fourth, Norman Jones, a juvenile,
was sent to a correctional institution to be held until he reaches the
e Grand’ ”’, the story of this detec-
ber, 1955, OFFICIAL.

state’s Turnpike; the story of th

age of 21. “ ‘Find a Wreck for Nin
tive work, appeared in the Octo

Another juvenile, George Teen, sixteen, who pleaded guilty to
participation in the gigantic hoax SOS that alerted the entire East
Coast and cost the Federal government thousands of dollars, has
been put on probation. His companion in the hoax, Thomas Ma]-
dona, was sent to a correctional institution for a term with a maxi-
mum imprisonment of six years.
DETECTIVE STORIES Magazine published this story under the
title, “SOS—For the Heck of It”.

In each of these cases and in many others, the detective work
was completed and the story published in OFFICIAL DETECTIVE
STORIES Magazine before final legal steps were taken. To keep
you fully informed of these fina] Steps, this department, “Up to

~ the Minute”, appears regularly on these pages.—The Editor.

for the second-degree murder of

the slayer after Mrs. Byrd’s body
1955, issue of OFFICIAL DETEC-

The September OFFICIAL

tioned them. At their urging, one of the
girls vaguely recalled waiting on a man
and a woman who had come in just be-

_fore closing time, ‘two o’clock in the

morning. ‘

“I remember the girl wanted her
hamburger without any relish or cat-
sup, just mustard on it.”

“Here’s what we’ve got on James
' Peru,” the Los Angeles man said. “He’s
married but no children. He and his
wife live in an apartment house on Ala-
meda Avenue near Huntington Park.
They’ve been gone for two weeks but

their rent is paid in advance. Peru
worked In nno nf tha atenwnste etn erde

“Woman?” Dodge asked.

“Yeah. They’re being dropped by a
young woman. Five feet seven, dark
hair, dark eyes, wearing. a skirt and
sweater.”

“T’ll send one of my men down right
away,” Dodge said. ‘‘Maybe he can help
with the investigation and keep‘us in
touch.” ~ ;

“Glad to have him,” Didion replied.
“I'm hoping we can grab the woman
who’s dropping the stuff.”

Dodge assigned Tongate to the job.
He left immediately for Los Angeles
with Jim Barbour, investigator for the
district attorney’s office.

A little over two hours later, the offi-
cers had made the 100-mile drive from
Bakersfield to Los Angeles

“They must have hit all the places
within an hour,” Didion informed the
Bakersfield men. “We put out a tele-
phone warning as soon as we discovered
the first one but it was too late. They’d
hit about ten Ppawnshops and dropped
ten of the watches.” ,

“They?” Tongate asked. .
“Yeah. A man took one side of th
street and the girl took the other.”
Didion spread a number of Pawnshop

- tickets on his desk. “He used the names

of Bill Williams and Bill Rose. The girl
used the names of Esther Smith and
Ellen Brown—she wasn’t as original as
he was. They both gave the same ad-
dress, but it’s a phony.”

Along the edges of the pawn tickets
was a code by which the pawnbroker
gave the description of the person put-
ting the article up for security. Gen-
erally, the descriptions fitted the’ man
and woman who had registered at the
motel in Bakersfield as Mr. and Mrs.
James Peru.

Didion said: “Captain Lohrman is

handling the angle of watching the Peru‘

apartment. If they show up there, he’ll
nab them for sure.” “

“I'd like to talk to the Pawnshop op-
erators who took in the watches,” Ton-
gate said. “The girl or the man may
have dropped something in a conversa-
tion that would give us a lead.”

“Sure,” Didion replied. “They’re all
on East Fifth Street. I’ll have one of
our men take you down. there right
away.”

THE police car with Tongate and

Barbour just had pulled up in front
of the M and M Loan Company when
the radio announcer blared out a re-
quest for Tongate to telephone Captain
Didion.

“I' think we may have a pretty good
lead,” Didion told him when he called.
“Another one of those pawned watches
just showed yp.-It was dropped by the
girl at the American Loan Company.
Only this time it has a different ad-
dress on it. Maybe she slipped up and
gave her right address on this one, since
it doesn’t match with the other
phonies.”

The address was for a hotel on Spring
Street. Tongate and Barbour went to
the hotel. They gave the clerk the de-
scriptions of the man and woman they
sought and the names of Williams,
Rose, Smith, Brown and Peru.

The clerk shook his head at the
names. “But it sounds like Mr. and
Mrs.’ Ross,” he said. “They been here
for about two weeks.”

“Are they in now?”

sar. ret. ... .¢

pen gs

CAPPS, Geerge, wh, elec. PA (Bucks) September 26, 1955.

First there was a sweater, then shoes and a blouse and
finally the body at the base of a snow-covered slope.

U WOULDN'T DARE

The girl thought he wouldn’t f
dare... but he dared.

Then she threatened to

tell. Again he dared,
dared to murder | be

her in the hope his
shameful secret

would die at the same time

by ROBERT BURLIN

Marta had a s1

LEVITTOWN, PA
@ Marta was
far more than
fully alive. Sh
heart. It can
some inner he
perhaps becat
made you lov
have wanted °

“She was n

Suspect (jacket): “J didn’t want to kill her . -
I just wanted her. But she threatened to tell.”

FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE,
May, 1954

‘Yr stepdad’s
¢ a young
or the first
pt his wife

k ~ the
10 He
O7 e of
oretty high

- protested.
out Mabel
a girl, no

cartridges
for several
1e gun for
J. He said
ty between
cks in the
e. -

rtis Lake,”
indreds of
ne.’

no visible
xpected to
efend her-
iS a small,
aead.
awling un-
as wrong.”
terrogation
3d him re-
ery move-

‘ssion, and
at he was
seen Marta
he officers
calling at
1. Friday—
rley about

e call from
a the

, v vaulted

my wife’s
‘Ever hear
vt get sick

before she
ir lab men
ler it was
2k in your

his.

the crime
e Tuesday
d for bike
10, and for
fe escaped
other bike
tory.

Lawrence
ed out a
* the tele-
ion aerial.
ind threat-
ral neigh-
‘lared him.
drunken-
| malicious

the. young
rrested in
r drunken
1 hés driv-
been sus-
this latter
the river
qr new

om-
pps’ sedan.
sxpert re-
d left the
iade in the
is Lake.
‘st,” Capps
confronted

pointblank with this damning new report.

He was closeted alone with the clergy-
man for some time.

“Now I'll tell you about it,” he said to
McCarr and the sergeant’s aides.

When he first saw lovely Marta Gibbons,
soon after moving to Levittown, Capps re-
lated, he wanted her. He watched her
covertly for a long time, often strolling
outside the Gourley home after dark to
peer at the girl through the picture win-
dow which was the pride of every Levit-
town ranch dwelling.

The girl became an obsession with him,
Capps went on. He approached her step-
father, whom he knew only casually, with
the offer to fix Gourley’s broken-down
automobile, primarily to establish a
friendly relationship with the family across
the street—because of Marta.

On the night of the murder, when he
learned that Marta was at home alone
with little Sue, Capps said his desire for
her overpowered his reason and drove
him to her door.

He called once, to make sure her step-
dad had not returned from Philadelphia.

She came to the door in the sweater and
skirt, he said, apparently having shed the
dungarees, and probably having donned
the skirt hurriedly to answer the bell.

A short time later, Capps’ story contin-
ued, he returned to the house across the
street. It was an easy matter to lure the
girl out on the pretext of an emergency
concerning his wife. It was not until Capps
swung his car up the narrow, rutted
lovers’ lane that Marta guessed anything
was wrong.

Then it was too late. He overpowered
the girl in the back of the car, tearing off
her clothing which, when he threw the
garments out the car window later on,
caught on the tree limb and eventually
guided Patrolman Mattozzi to the body.

“She screamed at me,” Capps said. “She
yelled, ‘I’ll tell your wife what you did!’
She pushed her way out of the car, and
started to run. Before that, she was sick,
in the back of the car.

“T hit her with my fist. Then I lost my
head completely. I pulled my gun and
fired one shot. She went down, dead.”

Capps first thought of hiding the body
in Curtis Lake, but it was frozen. He then
dragged the dead girl by the feet through
the thick undergrowth to the shallow pit
where, some 60 hours later, it was found.

“T didn’t mean to do it,” Capps sobbed
when his confession was made.

Capps’ admission of the hideous crime
shocked his neighbors, and no one more
deeply than William Gourley who, with
tears in his eyes, thanked Sergeant Mc-
Carr for pinning his stepdaughter’s mur-
der on the guilty man.

“I thought he was a good neighbor,”
Gourley said. “He was nothing but a
louse.” .

“He should be hurt the way he hurt
my sister,” Patricia Coffelt wept, when
she heard of Capps’ confession.

They finally had to tell Marta’s mother
the truth. She took it bravely, although
the shock worsened her condition.

“If only I’'d been home,” she mourned.
“It never would have happened. There’s
a lesson for parents here. This man came
to us to offer help. We should have known
he was after Marty, right from the first.
Parents should always be suspicious of
the motives of strangers. Our children are
at stake.”

George Capps reenacted his crime for
the state police, but Drs. Phillips and Gold-
farb said he was lying in one part of his
story. That was in his claim that he shot
Marta as she tried to flee from him after
the rape.

The bruise on the girl’s head, the doctors
reported, was from a heavy weapon, prob-

ably a gun butt, and the blow had been
of stunning force.

“It probably knocked her out,” Dr. Phil-
lips said. “At any rate, she was shot while
lying on the ground, not while running
away. The course of the bullet through
her head shows that clearly. The slug went
out her right temple with some force. Dig
where she fell, and you'll find the slug.”

Detectives dug and sifted the dirt. The
bullet was recovered, embedded about four
inches down. The physicians had been
right. Marta’s murder had been a delib-
erate act; she had been shot while lying
on her right side on the ground.

Capps said he had flung the .32-caliber
Walther automatic pistol, a war souvenir
weapon, out on a sandbar protruding into
the lake, but it was not found until Friday,
when one of a number of volunteer search-
ers, aiding the police, ventured some 200
feet out upon the ice and spotted the
weapon, partly embedded in the lake.

In the meantime, New Jersey police had
been intensely interested in George Capps
as a possible suspect in two unsolved mur-
ders in their state. Mrs. Patricia Bowen,
27-year-old wife of a psychologist at the
Fairless steel works, had been slain on
the grounds of the New Jersey School for
the Deaf in Trenton in June of 1952. In
some respects, her slaying was similar to
the killing of Marta Gibbons. And George
Capps had had a Trenton address then.

About a month later, pretty Mary Louise
Dreisbach of Philadelphia was found
beaten to death near a race track at
Atlantic City, and Capps did visit the
seaside resort occasionally. His police
record proved that.

However, after three days of inquiry,
the New Jersey cops knew Capps was not
the man they wanted for either of these
crimes, for he had been working in Vir-
ginia when both young women were slain.

George Capps was arraigned before Jus-
tice of the Peace John Melvin and ordered
held without bail for a future preliminary
hearing and undoubtedly for eventual trial
on a charge of first-degree murder.

District Attorney Donald W. Vanarts-
dalen said he would demand the death
penalty, and ordered a constant watch on
Capps in his maximum-security cell in the
Bucks County Prison at Doylesville.

In her family’s home in Trenton, still
awaiting the birth of her baby, Capps’
pretty young wife said, “I'll stick by him.
It’s not the time to leave him now. This is
when he needs me most.”

It was the time, too, when she needed
her husband as much as she would ever
need him—she and the baby who may
never see his dad. THE END

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In the crowd gathered at state police barracks to hear the news of killer’s capture is | Marta’s stepfather (arrow)

went out in Friday night’s freezing cold without her
coat.” -
“She may have been kidnaped,” Detective Allen offered.

“No sign of any struggle in the house,” Kohler pointed
out. “I suppose it’s possible some rat on the prowl for a
girl saw her through that big picture window in the front
of her house, watched her till he was sure her folks were
not at home, ‘then walked up to the door with a gun in, his
hand and forced her to go with him in his car.’

“There may be some connection,” Chief Kirby said,
“between this case and some trouble in Levittown a few
weeks ago.”

Late in December, the township police chief explained,
a number of housewives in the community had received
telephone calls from a man who never gave a name and
whose voice none could identitfy. To each of the women,
the a caller had made shocking, obscene pro-
posals.

“There haven’t been any of those calls in nearly a
month, now,” Kirby said. “But the guy was plainly a
sex nut, maybe the kind who'd pulii a thing like this
when he got really worked up.”

William Gourley said flatly that Marta had had no boy
friends, had never gone out alone with any youths. She
had gone her first year in high school to a girls’ parochial
school in Philadelphia. In Levittown, the stepfather said,
Marty had gone twice with-crowds of girl chums to the
Teen Age Center, and occasionally to the movies.

“She went hiking, and sledding after the snow fell. Her
one real love was riding horseback,” Gourley said. “I
know she had planned on going to Philadelphia Saturday,
to ride with a friend down there. A girl, though, not a
boy.”

The neighbors who had known Marta substantiated this
appraisal of the girl. Her classmates and teachers told
the detectives that the slender, well-built blonde was a
good student, very popular, fun-loving and full of life.

“But she definitely wasn’t interested in boys,” said
Louise Ritchey, Marta’s 15-year-old chum.

Mothers whose babies Marty Gibbons had tended in-
sisted that she was extremely careful about locking doors
—and keeping them locked—when she was alone with
children. It seemed from this somewhat unlikely that she

would have unbarred her own door to a stranger late - .

at night.

“Unless some fellow rang the bell,” her stepfather said,
“and she figured it was me, without my key, coming back
from the hospital.”

Sergeant McCarr and Chief Kirby talked carefully and
gently with little Sue Gourley.

Shortly after the girls returned from the Goetz resi-
dence, the child revealed, there had been a caller at the

house. He was George Capps, the neighbor from across ~

the street.

“He said something to Marty about my daddy’s car,”
the little girl recalled. “Then he went away again. Marty
put me to bed, and then laid down on the other bed.
I think she got up and went out of the room, but I’m not
real sure. I was so very sleepy.”

Capps admitted the visit to the Gourley home a few
minutes after he had seen the girls return home.

“T told Marta to have her dad get in touch with me on
Saturday,” he said. “His sedan had bearing trouble, and

he'd have to get anew spart before I -eould repair it fer

him.”

Although he admitted he did not know the young vet
well, William Gourley described George Capps as a good
neighbor. “He came over of his own accord,” said Gour-
ley, an employee of a Philadelphia jewelry firm, “and
offered to try to get my old jalopy running again. Said
it oo right that neighbors should give each other
a hand.”

Dale Moody, likewise, had not known Capps well, but
said the young prospective father had been in a jovial
humor when he called at the Moody home early Friday
night to ask help in getting Gourley’s old car across the
streets and up on blocks in his own carport.

Capps said he had worked on the car until a little after
10 o’clock Friday night, then had gone into his kitchen
ao coffee, taking care to make no noise and awaken his
wife.

Mrs. Capps had heard her handsome, muscular young
husband at work beside their little ranch house when she
retired. Neither she nor Capps had heard any suspicious
sound or seen a strange automobile in Timber Lane on
Friday night, January 22nd. (Continued on page 70)

15 =

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70

(Continued from page 15)

State Detectives Dane and Cutney ex-
amined Capps’ 1940 Ford sedan. Its right
front tire, they found, had a tread similar
to the tracks in the Curtis Lake lovers’
lane, but a close inspection of the interior
of the machine convinced the officers that
it bore no trace of blood anywhere.

Remembering that Gourley and_ his
family had moved out to Levittown from
Oxford Village, a housing project in the
city, only six months earlier, Sergeant
McCarr asked Philadelphia detectives to
search in Marta’s former neighborhood for
a possible lead to a suspect.

In the meantime, in the Philadelphia
hospital, Mrs. Mary Gourley’s physician
and her eldest daughter hesitated about
telling the mother of Marta’s tragic death.
The news might be fatal, because of Mrs.
Gourley’s heart condition, her doctor
feared.

At last he administered a strong seda-
tive, and young Mrs. Patricia Coffelt told
Mrs. Gourley that Marta was dead—killed
by an automobile, the oldest daughter said.

It was the second shocking, violent death
in the family. Her first husband, the father
of Patricia and Marta, had been a railroad
employee, but had been killed by a train
some 13 years earlier.

The two girls had then attended a con-
vent school while their widowed mother
worked to support them, until her second
marriage—to William Gourley—reunited
the family once again. The girls had one
brother, Joseph, in the Merchant Marine.
Informed of Marta’s murder, he rushed to
Mrs. Coffelt’s home.

In Levittown, following the discovery of

‘the high school girl’s body, wives locked

their doors securely, afraid the murderous
sex maniac might strike again. Detectives
who canvassed the Thornridge section,
house by house, had trouble in gaining
admission.

Neighbor after neighbor was interviewed
in the tireless search for perhaps one
seemingly unimportant scrap of informa-
tion that would unlock the puzzle of why
and with whom pretty Marta Gibbons had
gone out of the safety of her home to
death.

After closely checking police records on
the anonymous, obscene calls to Levittown
women, Chief Kirby believed they had no
connection with the rape-murder. There
had been no calls in the Timber Lane
neighborhood, and none of the shocking
phone calls had been made within the past
month.

From Mrs. Goetz, officers learned that
when Marta had been in the Goetz home
she had been wearing the green sweater
and blue dungarees.

Her body, however, had been clad ina
skirt.

“Why?” questioned Sergeant McCarr.
“What was her reason for changing into
the skirt upon her return home? The only
thing I can think of is that she planned
to go out with someone, somebody whom
she knew very well.”

There were two arguments against the
sergeant’s theory.

One was that it was firmly established
that Marta had no boy friends, did not go
out with boys. The other was that she had
left the house in freezing weather without
her coat.

“Which shows she thought she’d be out
only a moment or two,” Detective Chief
Kohler insisted. “Now what would per-
suade her to go for a very short trip in
a car? Some sart of emergency, most
likely.”

When they completed their canvass of

THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE WINDOW

the Thornridge district, Detectives Dane
and Cutney and Township Patrolmen Gil-
bert Custer and Lyle Gass had one report
which each team had picked up during
the interviews.

One man in the neighborhood had been
seen, on several occasions, peering intently
into the Gourley living room through the
big front picture window.

That man was George Capps!

Capps, the sleuths already knew, was a
native of Virginia who had been drafted
into the army in 1949 and had been re-
turned from Korea when wounded late
in 1951.

While at Fort Dix, awaiting a medical
discharge from the service, he had met
Mabel Kuhl in Trenton, had married her
in April of 1952, and had moved with her
into her parents’ home in Trenton. The
couple had come out to Levittown, like
the Gourleys, in July.

“Go over his car again,” McCarr told
Detective Allen. “Check his tire treads
thoroughly with our casts. And run an
identification check on him, over in J ersey
and down in Virginia.”

A second, even closer examination of the
interior of Capps’ old sedan still turned up
no bloodstains, but deep in the seams of
the upholstery in the back of the two-door
sedan detectives found traces of human
vomit.

“Not too incriminating, with his wife

pregnant,” Sergeant McCarr said. “But
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How about the tires?”

“The right front tread matches very
closely -with the casts made out by Curtis
Lake,” Allen reported. “We’ll have to call
in an expert from Harrisburg to make
sure.”

Then Dane and Cutney came in, after
a_search of the young veteran’s home.
“Look at these,” Dane said. He spread a
handful of cartridges on a desk in front
of McCarr.

The sergeant picked one up. “Thirty-
twos,” he said. “Same make as the casing
we found out where the girl was killed.”

“George Capps,” McCarr said. “Inter-
ested in something—or someone—in the
Gourley home, we know, from his being
seen peering through the picture window.
The only person we know of with the
opportunity to have committed the crime,
since his alibi can be substantiated only
up till around ten o’clock Friday night.”

“And a guy,” Detective Allen said, “with
a fine excuse to lure the girl out of her
house. His wife, expecting a baby any
hour. He was a neighbor. If he went to
the Gourley house, all excited, jabbering
that the baby was about to be born—well,
I'd say the girl would have rushed out,
never stopping to get a coat. She’d par-
ticularly want to help a man who’d been

So nice about offering to fix her stepdad’s
car. And who’d suspect that a young
man about to become a father for the first
time would have anything except his wife
and the baby on his mind?”

Capps was picked up and taken to the
state police barracks for questioning. He
earnestly denied all guilty knowledge of
the rape and murder of the pretty high
school sophomore.

“I hardly knew the kid,” he protested.
“I been thinking too much about Mabel
and the baby even to look at a girl, no
matter how cute she was.”

He admitted the .32-caliber cartridges
were his, said he’d had them for several
years, but no longer owned the gun for
which they had been purchased. He said
he couldn’t explain the similarity between
a tire on his car and the tracks in the
lovers’ lane at the murder scene.

“T never been out around Curtis Lake,”
he said. “I suppose there’s hundreds of
guys with tires the same as mine.”

Capps’ hands and face bore no visible
scratches, such as might be expected to
result from a girl’s attempt to defend her-
self from assault, but there was a small,
comparatively fresh cut on his head.

“I got that,” he explained, “crawling un-
der Gourley’s car to see what was wrong.”

For hour after hour the interrogation
continued, as the state officers led him re-
peatedly to account for his every move-
ment on Friday night.

He made no damaging admission, and
he countered the statement that he was
the last person known to have seen Marta
Gibbons alive by reminding the officers
that he had a valid reason for calling at
the Gourley home at about 10 P.M. Friday—
to leave the message for Gourley about
his car,

Sergeant McCarr took a phone call from
Dr. Phillips and then returned to the
questioning.

“Someone,” the sergeant said, “vomited
in the back of your auto.”

“You fellows ought to know my wife’s
condition,” Capps answered. “Ever hear
of a pregnant woman who didn’t get sick
from time to time?”

“Marta Gibbons vomited, just before she
was killed. I guess you know our lab men
can make tests and tell whether it was
Marta or your wife who got sick in your
back seat.”

Capps had nothing to say to this.

He had no reply, either, to the crime
record dug up on him by late Tuesday.
afternoon. He had been arrested for bike
theft in Virginia at the age of 10, and for
a burglary two years later. He escaped
from a boys’ school, stole another bike
and served a term in a reformatory.

Early in 1953, a resident of Lawrence
Township, near Trenton, looked out a
window and saw Capps cutting the tele-
phone lead-in and the television aerial.
Capps pretended to have a gun, and threat-
ened the householder and several neigh-
bors until police arrived and collared him.
He was fined $150 for prowling, drunken-
ness and disorderly conduct and malicious
mischief,

There was one final blot on the young
vet’s record. He had been arrested in
Atlantic City in June 1953 for drunken
driving, had been fined $200 and his driv-
er’s license in New Jersey had been sus-
pended for two years. He solved this latter
punishment by moving across the river
to Pennsylvania, where he took out a new
operator’s permit.

By Tuesday evening the check was com~-
pleted on the tires on George Capps’ sedan.

His right front wheel, an expert re-
ported to Sergeant McCarr, had left the
tracks of which casts had been made in the
lonely lovers’ lane around Curtis Lake.

“I—I’d like to talk to a priest,” Capps
told the state detectives, when confront


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of solid character—not an impulsive
person seeking vengeance. Lie detector
tests were given to the accused man,
and to his accuser. The calm, honest-
appearing farmer was telling the truth
when he insisted he was innocent, the
machine indicated; no results could: be
determined from the hired hand’s test
due to his highly tense, nervous con-
dition, and the fact he had had little to
eat since being taken in by the police
after breaking into his employer’s home.

Captain Bursuglia delved into the
Puerto Rican’s background as best he
could, by poking through the suspect’s
room above the chicken yard. He found
letters from Aponte’s wife, who had
four children, back in Puerto Rico. He
found, too, several books written in
Spanish. He took all of these back to
the interpreter and requested transla-
tions.

The letters, read back to him, were
the usual exchange of sentiments be-
tween wife and husband. The books
were described as texts on voodoo and
black magic, the art of placing hexes on
enemies and concocting charms and
potions to attract friends and lovers.

The captain listened attentively
through the ridiculous wordings of the
text, and sat bolt upright when the girl
interpreter reached one strange pas-
sage: “To win the affection of the de-
sired one;” the words ran, “A magic
potion could be made from bones from
the top of a human skull.”

Bursuglia jumpéd up. “Stop right
there! Only the top of the Carletto
boy’s skull is missing! Is it possible he
was killed so this Aponte could manu-
facture a love potion?”

With the interpreter, Bursuglia re-
turned to the county jail and ordered
an interrogation of the Puerto Rican.
After five hours of hammering away on
the love potion theory, the detective
captain finally drew forth an admission
from the suspect.

For years Aponte had read black
magic books published in his homeland
and in the United States. He had fallen
in love with a local beauty, but had
been unable to win her, hence had
turned to the voodoo advice for the
lovelorn pages of his books.

“The main ingredient of the love
potion I had to prepare,” Juan Aponte
said, “was the powdered skull bone of
an innocent boy. I had to have that
powder for my potion of love. The boy
came to ask me for a dollar I had bor-
rowed from him. I would have killed
whoever had come in at that moment.
It just happened to be Roger.”

He had struck the boy with his fist,
choked him with a cord then buried
the body. During the months that
passed he had watered the grave to
prevent it from sinking and arousing
suspicion. In May, after seven months,
he had opened the grave to obtain the
upper portion of the skull. As he cut
this off with a kitchen paring knife, he
knocked the foot and hand from the
corpse. He had refilled the grave, then

‘fastened wires to the skull and fixed it

inside the oil stove
hasten drying. ;

Aponte led the captain to the stove
in his room, later, and the upper por-

tion of the skull was found exactly
where he had stated. He completely
exonerated his employer in the shock-
ing murder, saying he had broken into
the home because his conscience had
compelled him to get the police.

in his. room to

The farmer was released at once, and ~~

Aponte was held on the murder charge. ©

In his cell at county jail, thé slim

killer brooded about the love potion he - :

would never be able to finish, and the
trim young beauty who will never be-
come his love slave.

Judged sane and tried for the mur-
der of Roger Carletto, the voodoo man
pleaded no defense. Juan Rivera Apon-
te was senterced to life in prison.

VERY, VERY DEAD
Continued from page 19)

A call was put in to the state police
barracks at Langhorne and Sergeant
Adrian McCarr, Detectives D. C. Allen,
Keith Dane, and Andrew Cutney soon
arrived on the scene. These state police-
men took casts of the tire tracks left by
what was presumed to have been the
killer’s car. In addition they took scrap-
ings of flesh from under the corpse’s
fingernails and dispatched the bloody
clothing to the police laboratory at
Harrisburg, Pa.

Several aspects of the crime were
puzzling from the outset.

“With whom would this girl have
gone out riding, late at night, leaving
her young sister alone in the house?”
the sergeant wondered. «?

“Yes,” agreed Detective Fred Kohl-
er, chief of Bucks County detectives,
“and why wasn’t she wearing any coat
on such a freezing night?”

“Perhaps she was wearing one, but
we just didn’t find it,” put.in Detective
Allen.

“No, I don’t think that’s likely,” re-
plied Kohler. “Her stepfather reports
that all Marta’s coats are in the house.”

“Perhaps she was kidnapped and
didn’t have a chance to take a coat,”
Detective Dane offered. ;

“There were no signs of a struggle -

in the girl’s home,” Detective Kohler
explained. “Besides, the young sister
didn’t hear anything.”

“I wonder if there is any connection
between this and that sex-telephone
scare we had here a few months ago,”
Chief Kirby wanted to know.

The Falls Township chief explained

that several months before this vicious
crime, a number of housewives in the
Thornridge section had been receiving
anonymous phone calls from someone
who was obviously a sex pervert. This
man, whoever he was, would call up
some woman. When she answered the
phone he would make all sorts of ob-
scene proposals and use filthy language.

“We haven’t been bothered by this
man for over a month,” the chief con-

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same kind who might try this sort of
thing we’re in now.” fy

As a first step the investigating offi-
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the background of the slain girl, look-
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The grieving stepfather, when ques-
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parochial institution in Philadelphia. In
Levittown she attended Pennsbury Con-
solidated High School. There the lithe,
blonde teenager had been popular and
fun loving, according to her classmates
and teachers. The stepfather said that

_She had gone to the movies and to the

teenage center with her girlfriends once

‘or twice. She loved sledding and espe-

cially horseback riding. In fact, accord-
ing to the bereaved parent, Marty had

had a date to go horseback riding with

a girl chum of hers in Philadelphia that
very Sunday.

Marty’s best friend backed up the
stepfather’s assessment of the dead girl.
According to the friend Marty had not
been interested in boys.

Mothers in the area who hired Marta
to babysit for their children attested
to the fact that the teenager was ex-
tremely careful about locking doors and
had always displayed a caution and
trustworthiness far beyond her years.
_ To the police it seemed very unlike-
ly, on the basis of these reports, that
the dead girl would have opened the
door to a stranger and then. gone out.
with him. The only explanation was
offered by the stepfather. /

He said the only way she would have
opened the door was if the stranger re-
sembled him somewhat and Marty
thought that it was him returning from
the city without his key.

UCH as they hated to do it, Ser-

geant McCarr and Chief Kirby _

decided to talk with the younger child.
As gently as possible they asked the
little girl to describe what had occurred
in the house after she and her half-sister
returned from the neighbor’s house
across the way.

The little girl said that when she and
Marty got home. her sister put her to
bed. After tucking her in, Marta had
laid on the other bed. The child thought

her big sister had gone out of the room —

after a while, but wasn’t sure about it

nee eA

because she was so sleepy. Ay:

She did say she had awakened later
when the door bell rang. The smaller

girl had thought at that time that it .

might be her father. But she said it was
some man who talked to Marty about
their father’s car. pen

That man was George Capps. He had ;

readily admitted that he called at the
Frankin home at about 10 on Friday.

He had been described as a good neigh-

bor. The distraught stepfather pointed a

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out, in support of this opinion, that
Capps had volunteered to fix his car
without being asked. In addition, hadn’t
the young vet insisted on accompanying
the searchers in spite of the fact that
he could easily have begged off due to
his wife’s condition?

“How long have you known George
Capps?” Chief Kirby asked. .

The stepfather said he had not known
George Capps very long, but that
wasn’t unusual because none of the peo-
ple in the development had known any-
one there long. He reminded the officers
that it was a new community. He said
he thought George Capps was a good
man. The neighbor had come over of
his own free will just because he felt it
was the thing to do for neighbors to
help each other.

George Capps, when questioned, told
the police he had gotten Bill Nelson to
help him in pushing the Frankin car to
his garage. Then he had worked on the
car until about 10, at which time he
went over and spoke with Marty. When
he returned about five minutes later his
wife was asleep. He had made some
coffee and then read the paper. In a
short time he too went to bed.

The neighbor’s wife verified that her
husband had worked on the car until
about 10 P.M. She heard him monkey-
ing around with the vehicle until she fell
asleep at about 10 o’clock. Capps and
his wife both stated that they had heard
no unusual noises or seen any suspicious
strangers on the street that Friday night,
January 22nd.

Nevertheless, the officers decided to
have a look at the tires on George
Capps’ 1940 Ford sedan. The treads

were strikingly similar to those found
at the scene of the crime. This in itself
was by no means incriminating, how-
ever. Many people drive with the same
type of tires and it takes an expert to
identify a pair of tires from their tracks.
An examination of the Capps car dis-
closed no trace of blood anywhere in
the interior. This seemed to clear the
Korean War vet of any suspicion.

Remembering that the Frankins had
only recently arrived from a section of
Philadelphia known as Oxford Village,
the police requested authorities of that
larger city to run a check on all those
known to Marta Gibbons.

In the meantime the police went from
door to door questioning residents
throughout Levittown. They hoped to
come up with someone who remembered
something, no matter how inconsequen-
tial, that might put the sleuths on the
trail.

A deep and penetrating fear settled
on the Thornridge section. Housewives
barred their doors and guarded their
daughters. Detectives themselves had a
hard time gaining entry against the se-
curity of the women. Husbands would
not stay away from home for a night
any longer until this fiend was caught.

The murder victim’s mother, in the
hospital recovering from an acute heart
attack, was not told the news immed-
iately. It was feared that the shock of
learning of the brutal death of her
daughter would worsen her condition.

Finally, after much evasion, the doctors
realized that the sick woman would have
to be told something; ‘though not the
bare truth that her daughter had been
attacked and slain, of course. Marty’s
mother constantly asked about her
daughter and was growing suspicious
when her questions were answered evas-
ively, and the relatives echengee queer
looks. .

Finally her doctors advised that it was ©

best the patient be told something. Un-
der strong sedative the oldest daughter
informed her mother that Marta was
dead. The sick woman was told that
Marty had been run over and killed in
a hit-and-run accident. It was the second
violent death the woman had exper-
ienced and the news shocked her deeply.

Two aspects ot the case continued to
puzzle the investigators. 1: With whom
could the murdered girl have gone out
on that chill night? 2: Why had Marta
Gibbons worn no coat in spite of the
freezing weather? A third . mysterious
fact, which added to the bafflement of
the police, came to light when detectives
talked to the next door neighbor where
the girls had visited. This woman stated
that while Marty had been in her home
on the night of the murder she had
been wearing a pair of blue jeans. Yet
the girl’s body had been found clad in
a plaid skirt. Why had she changed her
clothing?

Sergeant McCarr put forth a theory.
“The only reason I can think of,” the
state police sergeant stated, “is that
she planned to go out late in the evening
with someone she knew very well.”

This supposition was contradicted on
two counts: first, that Marta Gibbons
had no boyfriends and would have been
reluctant to leave her young charge
alone for any reason. Second: she had

gone out without a coat which she sure- ~
ly would have taken had she planned

to be out long.

The detectives reasoned that the vic- ”

tim must have thought she would only

be out a very short time and therefore |
did not take her coat. They believed _
that the killer could have lured the |

pretty teenager away from the house

only on the pretense of a great emer- ~
gency. It narrowed the possible suspects _

down to one of the neighbors. The most

likely of these was singled out when the .
officers who had been canvassing the ;
neighborhood reported back.

ACH and every one of the detec- ‘
tives had come up with one start-

ling bit of information gleaned from
the Thornridge residents. People in the
area had noticed a man, familiar to
them all, lurking about the Frankin

home. Housewives reported that the bs
man would stand outside Marty’ s house 6
for long periods and gaze in through °

the picture window. That man was
George Capps!

“Let’s have another look at that car.
said Detective Kohler, “and run an
identification check on him.” p

The second examination of Capps
car failed to produce any trace in pee
seams of the upholstery but tra
human: vomit. Jn the light of ede.

hi

ces of aN

Pi

[ee —

Handcuffed accused is led back to cell by officers following formal arraignment on charges of rape and murder.

Falls Township police force organized a search party to look
for the missing girl. The police were joined by dozens of
neighbors and the father himself took part. Even Mr. George
Capps, whose wife was expecting a baby at any moment,
insisted on joining the volunteers.

“I feel sort of guilty,’ Capps had said. “After all, if I
had been able to fix the car sooner this thing might never
have happened.”

The 22-year-old Korean War veteran seemed sincerely
remorseful over his pretty, young neighbor’s disappearance.
George Capps was an employee of a Trenton, New Jersey,
wire and steel plant. In his spare time he repaired his neigh-
bors’ cars. Due to the heavy snows that fell on Levittown
at that time, Capps had had to postpone working on Frankin’s

car. He held himself responsible, in some measure, for the.

fate of Marta Gibbons.
All day Sunday the searchers combed the area. They

probed the many nearby wood thickets, abandoned gravel .

pits, culverts and the banks of the old canal. The ground
was frozen hard in that chill January and at the end of the
day their efforts proved futile. No trace of the missing girl
was found. Throughout Sunday the waning hope had lin-
gered that Marty was all right and would turn up unhurt.
Her stepfather could hardly wait to ask the younger child
if her half sister had phoned while they were out looking for
her, But unfortunately Sunday passed with no hint of Marta
Gibbons’ whereabouts. ;

On Monday. morning the search was resumed. Those
neighbors who could, as well as the stepfather, stayed away
from their jobs and participated in the search. At about nine
A.M. Patrolman Mattozzi spotted some rags caught in a tree.
He had been trekking up a rutted cart track, no longer used,
but known locally as a lovers’ lane. This road skirted an
abandoned gravel pit which was flooded and known ‘as
Curtis Lake. Mattozzi examined the tattered remnants of
clothing hanging in the branches. Closer scrutiny revealed

them to be a girl’s green wool sweater and a bloodied pair
of panties.

The Falls Township patrolman looked around carefully.
He noticed a set of tire tracks which had obviously. been
left recently. The weight of the car had broken the frozen
crust of mud and left a clear set of tracks. The officer fol-
lowed them. Further on, Mattozzi noticed other marks. The
hard ground was scratched in several places as though some-
thing had been dragged through the crusted mud. Some 200
feet further on the track gave way to another abandoned
gravel pit. This excavation was fringed by a border of lonely
gray-white birch trees. The whole area was heavily wooded.

Crudely thrown, in the bottom of the excavation, lay
the pathetic body of Marta Gibbons. She was clad in a plaid
skirt and torn slip. The body was badly bruised. Frozen blood
was caked on her upper body and head. The corpse was en-
tirely frozen and scratch marks ran the length of her arms
and legs. It appeared as though the girl had been dragged,
probably by the feet, to that lonely spot. She had been dead
for some time. A gaping hole in the skull was the point of
entry for a bullet. On the lower right temple was the larger
hole through which the deadly missile had exited.
fs body was removed to a funeral home in nearby

Morrisville where Dr. William Goldfarb, deputy Bucks
County coroner and Dr. Fred Phillips, a coroner’s physician,
performed an autopsy.

The medical examination revealed that the girl had been
-bludgeoned over the head severely and subjected to brutal
criminal assault. She had been ravished by nothing less than
a fiend, according to the doctors.

Near the tree where the tattered clothing of the dead
girl had been discovered a large pool of blood discolored
the frozen mud. It was there that the crime had taken place,
some sixty hours before. At this scene a spent .32-caliber
cartridge was found. (Continued on page 50)

19


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Roswell, on Friday, October 9, 1964.

Then, nearly two weeks later, the trap
set by Chief Hall snapped shut!

An unshaven, dark-haired, thin-faced
young man made some purchases at the
Sears-Roebuck store in Hackensack, New
Jersey. It was the afternoon of Monday,
October 19, 1964, that the odd-appearing
customer bought some clothing, an elec-
tric razor and a suitcase. It was apparent
to the clerk that the shabby patron sorely
needed the clothing and the razor. But the
clerk was somewhat surprised when the
stranger offered a credit card issued at
the Sears store in El Paso, Texas.

Despite the clerk’s uneasiness, the busi-
ness office approved the transaction and
the ill-dressed man left with his pur-
chases. Within a few minutes the customer

— returned, this time buying a quantity of

assorted candies.

Once again the clerk’s suspicions were
aroused. He summoned the store’s secur-
ity officer, Edward Cannon, who followed
the unkempt patron into the street and
asked him to return to the store while his
credit card was being verified.

It was while Security Officer Cannon
telephoned to the El Paso store that the
stranger excused himself to go to the
men’s restroom.

And now the trap set by Chief Hall
hundreds of miles away bore fruit! Yes,
the El Paso store knew Robert Poll Steele,
the customer being checked by Security
Officer Cannon. He was wanted, the Texas
store official advised, for the wanton
slaying of a mother and her child at
Roswell, New Mexico!

Now Security Officer Cannon, seeing
that the customer had vanished, placed a
call to the police at Hackensack. Upon

Face in the Bedroom Window

[Continued from page 7]

‘Oh, I thought you were my father.’ I said
I hadn’t seen him, guessed he wasn’t
home: and then I asked when her mother
would be getting out of the hospital. She
said, ‘Not until next week.’ She was wear-
ing a green sweater, no topcoat, and I said
she'd better get inside or she’d freeze to
death. And she went into her own house.

“George Capps and I worked on the car
until about 9:30 and then I had to drive to
Trenton to pick up a neighbor, so I left
hum. I got back about 10:15, but I don’t
recall whether the disabled car was still
at George Capps’ carport.

“He's a nice young fellow,” the helpful
witness added. “Kind of quiet, moved here
‘o Levittown in July—about the time most
of us did.”

Sergeant McCarr, habitually  soft-
spoken, thanked the salesman for his in-
formation, then turned to little Sue Gib-
“ons. Gently he questioned her about
Marta's actions after returning home that
fatal night.

The alert child told the lawman that she

ad heard a man’s voice in conversation
with her sister when they came home
‘rom the baby-sitting job.

“And I saw a man come up to Martie |

®atside our door and he said he needed
some parts for a car.”

“Do you k 2”
shad now Mr. Capps?” the sergeant

hed I think so,” the child replied.
he ame clear that George Capps was
plier person to question. On Tuesday
ing, Sergeant McCarr telephoned the
ptr ery at his home on Timber Lane,
asked him to come to the state police

being given the details concerning the
double murder, the New Jersey authori-

“ties recalled the case. City, county, state

police and FBI Special Agents had been
hunting for the New Mexico fugitive as
the result of Chief Hall’s widely spread
alarm.

Acting swiftly, Lieutenant Norman
Thomson, in setting up a roadblock,
alerted his colleagues at nearby Paramus,
New Jersey. And as the Paramus radio
dispatcher spread the call to all patrol
cars in the area, Radio Patrolman Arthur
Edwards recognized the description as
fitting a young man he had passed only
minutes earlier on Route 4!

Patrolman Edwards promptly relayed
his information to a fellow officer, Patrol-
man Benedict Compagnone. “The fugitive
should be heading your way,” the former
said tersely. “He was walking west on
Route 4 just a few minutes ago.”

Hardly had he hung up his own radio
mike than Patrolman Compagone spotted
the suspect as he alighted from a car at
the junction of Routes 4 and 17.

The officer braked his cruiser, drew his
gun and covered the surprised hitchhiker.
The captive offered no resistance and
readily admitted that he was Robert Poll
Steele from Roswell, New Mexico.

Following a period of questioning at
headquarters, the 29-year-old electrical
engineer, the New Jersey officers alleged,
signed a statement purportedly admitting
that he had shot John Daniels and had
slain Erika McGowan and her son Peter
John Fortin! However, he gave no reason
for the shooting. Robert Poll Steele as-
sertedly told the officers that he recalled
having fired a .22-caliber pistol at his
sweetheart and the child and then having

shot his friend, John Daniels, while the
latter lay sleeping. The self-confessed
slayer said that when he had seen blood,
he had panicked and fled. He claimed
he didn’t know what had happened to
the murder gun.

Brought before Magistrate Edward G.
Evertz on a fugitive complaint, Robert
Poll Steele agreed to waive extradition to
New Mexico. “I don’t want to cause the
authorities any more expense,” he was
quoted as saying.

According to the accused, he had fled
New Mexico in his sports car, going to
Walsenberg and Denver, Colorado, then
to North Platt, Nebraska, Aurora, Illinois,
and finally Chicago, where he thought he
was caught when he found two police-
men standing at the side of his broken-
down car. He left the auto behind and
hitched rides to Hackensack, New Jersey,
where—just as Chief Hall had thought
he might—he wanted to get his former job
back.

On Wednesday, October 21, Chavez
County Sheriff W. W. “Bill” Smith, of
Roswell, departed by plane to return the
suspect to face charges. The lawman ar-
rived back in town with Robert Steele in
handcuffs—over which the accused elec-
trical engineer had draped his jacket—
at 7:30 p.m. the following evening, and
was met by a host of officers and news-

men.

Robert Poll Steele, who the sheriff said
had been “cool and calm as could be”
throughout the air trip back, was whisked
to headquarters at the courthouse for fur-
ther questioning.

There, according to Sheriff Smith, the
suspect allegedly again freely admitted

barracks.

“You very kindly joined in the search
for Marta Gibbons,” the officer said, “and
I thought you might be able to help us in
an angle of this case.”

The tall chap who walked into the bar-
racks a short time later was calm and self-
assured. In answer to the usual questions,
he said he was George Capps and had
been working at the L. A. Young Com-
pany, wire manufacturers in Trenton, as
handyman and mechanic during his spare
hours4The 22-year-old youth added that

-r he had‘served in the army in Korea and

had been wounded in the shoulder and
given a medical discharge.

While George Capps was being inter-
rogated, a detail of the police went to his
home to talk with his wife.

Meanwhile, the young mechanic ex-
pressed sorrow over Marta’s death, said
he knew the girl slightly and explained
that he had been helping repair the auto-
mobile owned by her stepfather.

“I saw the kid and her sister on Friday
night while I was working on the car. It
was about 10 o’clock,” he went on. “I know
that’s the right time, because I recalled a
television program which was on at the
time—but I’d promised Marta’s stepfather
to finished the job, so I went on with it.
The girls went in their house and that’s
the last I saw of them.”

George Capps seemed at ease, later,
with newspapermen, and did not object
to posing for them.

But when little Sue Gibbons saw the
youth, his manner underwent a complete
change. For the child pointed to him and
said to Sergeant McCarr, “He came to
our door after Martie and I got home. I
saw him.”

George Capps recovered in a moment.
“Sure,” he said, “I asked for small spare
parts which her stepfather was supposed

to get me. But he wasn’t home, so I left.”

In answer to a question, he denied own-
ing a revolver. “I had enough shooting
overseas,” he declared.

“Then what about this?” Sergeant Mc-
Carr thrust out his hand.

George Capps shrank back. “What do
you mean? That’s not mine. I never
owned a gun.”

Sergeant McCarr stared at the suspect
for a moment. Then quietly he announced,
“We found this .32 cartridge in your own
house. It is an identical match of the shell
that was found beside Marta’s body!”

George Capps looked at the faces
around him and sudden panic seized him.
“All right,” he cried, “I killed her!”

The story the murderer told in the
hours following was a pattern of sexual
desire that had been upon him for weeks;
ever since he had first noticed pretty
Marta Gibbons.

“I knew her folks were away,” George
Capps began, “and I went to the house
after Marta got back with her kid sister.
I asked her to come out in the car with
me for a little ride. I said that my wife was
not feeling well and I was worried about
her and wanted company.

“I took her in my own automobile and
we drove out to Curtis Lake. And then I
just lost all control of myself.” He gave a
twisted grimace. “She fought, all right.
When I tried to tear her things off, she put
up a real battle. I don’t remember what
all I said. But I threw her clothes out the
window of the car and they must have
caught on the tree. I got her in the back
seat of my car and raped her. She got
awfully sick to her stomach, but I
wouldn’t let her go. And when she finally
did break loose, she started screaming
hysterically and saying she’d go right
home and tell her folks and tell everybody
what I had done. I got out my revolver. It

Gites wae RIE TS

shooting his sweetheart, Erika, her son,
Peter John, and his friend, Airman John
Daniels.

“T thought I had killed all three,” Robert
Steele was quoted by officers as saying.

Now the accused purportedly said he
was glad that John Daniels had survived.
A reporter approached the murder sus-
pect. “John ‘Daniels said that he had just
one question: Why did you _ shoot
him?”

A frown crossed the suspect’s gaunt
features. “I wish he could tell me why
any of it happened,” was his perplexing
reply. He continued to offer no reason
for the triple shootings, but emphatically
denied that jealousy was involved as a
motive.

However, Sheriff Smith and the other
officers don’t think that Robert Poll Steele
is telling the whole story. Since it was
not jealousy over Airman John Daniels,
the lawmen theorize that it might have
been jealousy toward some other ac-
quaintance of Erika’s, and that John
Daniels “just happened to be present at
the wrong time.” The alleged killer might
have tried to kill the airman to eliminate
any witnesses to the slaying of Erika Mc-
Gowan and her innocent son.

Airman John Daniels, still puzzled over
the shooting, recovered from his wounds.
.On February 17, 1965, the killer who
had bullets for everybody pleaded guilty
to two counts of murder in the second
degree. District Judge Kermit Nash sen-
tenced the slayer to 10 to 50 years on
both counts. “I am convinced it would
serve no purpose to make you serve both
sentences consecutively,” the jurist told
the murderer. Thus, the slayer is eligible
for parole in about 40 months.

was a souvenir I brought from Korea, and
when she started to run I fired at her and
she fell.

“I was going to throw her in the lake
and started to pull her feet first toward
it. But it was still frozen, so I just left her
there and went home.

“I threw the gun away.

“Now I’m glad it’s over. I haven’t been
able to sleep. Now I am greatly relieved.”

Police Chief Franklin Kirby of Falls
Township issued an appeal for help in
locating the death gun. George Capps said
he had thrown it onto a sand bar jutting
into the lake, and later, in re-enacting the
crime, showed the spot where he had
tossed the pistol. However, it was not
found. Arraigned before Justice of the
Peace John Melvin and held without bail,
George Capps was transferred to the
Bucks County Prison in Doylestown,
Pennsylvania, to await trial.

It was the family physician, Dr. Martin
H. Wendkos, who broke the news to the
victim’s ailing mother concerning her
daughter’s tragic death. He did not reveal
that the girl: had been ravished, but only
that she had been killed in resisting an
attempted attack. The medico showed the
heartbroken woman a newspaper picture
of George Capps and said, “This is the
man who confessed to killing your
daughter.”

Five months after Marta Gibbons had
first seen his face in her bedroom window,
George Capps was brought to trial for the
lust murder. A jury lost no time in find-
ing him guilty of murder in the first de-
gree;-and on December 2, 1954, he was
sentenced to die for his crime. However,
it was almost a year later, due to a series
of appeals, that the Peeping Tom killer
paid the extreme penalty. On September
26, 1955, George Capps was electrocuted
at the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary.

|


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and

hen Mrs. Kay Goetz answered the door of her home
tion . of | vittown, Pa. To her surprise, she saw 6-year
own. the street at No. 76. Mrs. Goetz became even

dependable girl, who was
delphia hospital. It wasn’t

like Marta, an honor student at Pennsbury High School, to go away without telling anyone.
Only the previous evening, Marta had been babysitting for Mrs, Goetz, who had left her
8-month old daughter, Barbara, at home while she had gone to Trenton, N. J., to see her hus-

° » Y
x :

1

Marta Gibbons, whom everyone loved butone
man—the man who took her from her house, >
assaulted her, clubbed her’ brutally and —
then fired a: single’ bullet into her. head.

4

Gay and cheerful Marta was ‘also one to depend upon.
So. neighbors wondered at

oe

an out of the way gravel pit

45

clared, “This crime was cbmrtitted by someone Martie knew!

“I believe someone knew the circumstances,” he went
on, “knew that I was to visit my wife at the hospital after
work and that I wouldn’t be home until late. It must be
someone who knew Marta, who watched the movements at
our house. I don’t believe any stranger would have come
up and induced her to leave with him. She was a fine girl
and would never have left home with anybody she didn’t
know. And there was that night not long ago when she
thought she heard somebody outside our house in the middle
of the night. I got to thinking she’d dreamed it. But now I
know it’s true. Somebody was after her.”

For hours, the lawmen interrogated youths with whom
Marta had gone to school. Some volunteered, others were
sought at their homes and brought in for questioning. But
none was under definite suspicion, and one by one they were
dismissed.

Meanwhile, Coroner Russell J. T. Ferris reported that
Marta had been criminally assaulted and had been dead about
48 hours at the time she’d been found. The teen-ager was
lured to death, therefore, shortly after she’d left the dwelling
where she had been baby-sitting on Friday night.

It was one of the victim’s neighbors who gave Sergeant
McCarr his first lead. “My wife and I had just put our two

End of lawmen’s search for missing baby sitter came with discovery of her half-naked corpse in lonely woods.

children to bed at about 9 o’clock on Friday evening,” the
informant said, “when there was a knock at our door. I went
to open it and George Capps was standing there. I asked
him to come in, thinking he might need some help about his
wife—she’s going to have a baby and he was sort of upset
because it’s their first child.

“Is anything wrong?’ I asked him, and he answered, ‘Oh,
no, my wife’s all right, but I was just over to Marta Gibbons’
house to help her stepfather fix his car. But he’s not home.
I wonder if you’d lend me a hand so I can move the auto
over into my carport where I can work on it?’

“I said sure I would. He looked in at my wife, who was
resting on the sofa, and made some pleasant remark about
‘taking it easy.’ And then we both went out. I helped him
push the car, which had some bearing trouble, out into Tim-
ber Lane and then I got into George Capps’ car and pushed
Capps in the disabled sedan until the engine turned over. I
followed him into his carport, and George Capps got some
wooden blocks from the tool shed in the back of his carport
and drove the car up on the blocks while I put blocks be-
hind the rear wheels to keep it from rolling back.

“We had just finished doing that when Marta walked over
from a house across the street where she had been baby-
siting. She looked at me and said, [Continued on page 61]


on the opposite side of the street; where she had been hired
for the evening as a baby sitter.

“I won't be out late,” the housewife told the pretty teen-
ager.

Marta gathered her little charges on a sofa in front of the
television set, which she turned on to entertain them. .. .
The happy little group was not-alone. Out in the darkness
a man also watched. But he had eyes only for the luscious
blonde teen-ager who sat*in the midst of the children. . . .

When the housewife returned after an hour and a half’s
absence, the youngest child was asleep in Marta’s arms. “You
look so pretty, sitting there!” the matron told her baby sitter.
She was unaware that for more than an hour that same at-
tractive picture had held a monster spellbound in the
shadows outside! .

At the housewife’s invitation, Marta Gibbons and her sister
remained for a glass of milk. It was about a quarter to 10
when the teen-ager turned to little Sue and said, “We’ve got
to get home. Daddy will be getting back from the hospital
and he’ll be worried about us.”

The matron stood at the door and saw the two youngsters
go hand in hand down the walk and across the street to their
own dwelling... .

At 9 o’clock the next morning, the housewife’s telephone
rang. Sue Gibbons’ childish voice was on the wire. “Is Marta
there?” she asked.

“Why no, dear,” the neighbor replied.

“Well, I don’t know where she is!” The little girl sounded
close to tears. “I can’t find her.”

The matron tried to soothe the youngster. “Marta has prob-
ably gone to the store. Have you had any breakfast, Sue?”
she offered.

The only answer was muffled sobbing.

“Sue, come right over, dear, and have something to eat
with me. Will you do that?”

“Yes,” came the tearful reply, and a moment later the child
entered her neighbor’s dwelling.

From the youngster, the matron learned that, upon re-
turning home the previous evening, Marta had sent Sue to
bed.

“Martie said she’d wait for Daddy. I heard her talking a
little while after that, and some man said something. But it
didn’t sound like Daddy.” ‘

“Don’t you worry. Eat your egg and then I’ll go over home
with you and we'll wait for Marta. I’m sure she just got up
early and went to market so she’d have time for other things
during the day.”

But her own household chores demanded attention, and
Sue, after a hearty meal, settled down to play with the
neighbor’s children.. It was nearlysnoon before they went

home. a! .

Sue had a key to the front door. As they entered, she called, .

“Martie! Martie!” but got no answer.

Everything was in order. On the mantel above the fire-
place was a slip of paper on which Sue had written a tele-
phone number. The child explained that Marta was to call
that exchange for an appointment to baby-sit.

The matron and Sue hurried through the house together.
The neighbor noted that Marta’s bed was in order. “Wasn’t
she here all night, Sue?” she inquired.

“I guess not,” the child answered. “I didn’t wake up.”

A glance in the parents’ bedroom also showed that evi-
dently it had not been occupied during the night.

Thinking that Marta might have made an early engage-
ment, the puzzled neighbor called the number penciled on
the slip of paper above the fireplace, but was told that Marta
had been hired for that evening.

Now the woman was really worried. Keeping Sue with her,
she made a tour of houses in the neighborhood, but no one
had seen Marta. Finally the matron telephoned to Phila-
delphia, where an inquiry at Doctors Hospital disclosed that
the girl’s stepfather had been in that morning to see his wife
‘and was expected back. Did he have a 15-year-old girl with
him? The authorities said they did not know.

After repeated calls, the jeweler was located at the hospital.

He said that he had stayed overnight in Philadelphia in order
to be with his wife on Saturday, and that he had not heard
from Marta.

“Tll be right home,” the alarmed parent said.
of Sue, please; I’ll get there as fast as I can,”

Before leaving Philadelphia, he telephoned Marta’s married
sister, but she had heard nothing from the young girl.

By the time the jeweler reached Levittown, the entire com-
munity had been alerted over the teen-ager’s absence and
the police had been notified.

Soon rumors began to spread concerning a Peeping Tom
who had plagued the town. Residents, fearful for their own
youngsters, joined the authorities of Falls Township and
spread out across the countryside to aid in the search for
some sign of the young blonde’s fate. A description of Marta
Gibbons was broadcast over the local radio and the police
of nearby communities were asked to join in the hunt. Boys
in Marta’s high-school class volunteered to help; far into
Saturday night they drove through roads and lonely streets
looking for the vanished teen-ager.

Appeals were made over the radio for information con-
cerning the pretty blonde’s whereabouts, and it was an-
nounced that, because of the illness of her mother, the family
was particularly anxious to get in touch with the girl.

Early Monday morning, January 25, Patrolman Gino
Mettozzi of Falls Township drove off Newbold Road near
Lower Morrisville Road into a narrow lane that comes to a
dead end at Curtis Lake. The area is thickly wooded except
for a clearing at the end.

Officer Mettozzi’s search for clues began in a routine fash-
ion—but not for long! First he came upon a girl’s shoe of
the “loafer” type popular with youngsters, lying on the thaw-
ing ground not far from the still-frozen lake. A few feet
away was its mate.

Next, Patrolman Mettozzi found bloodstains and drag
marks on the ground. He followed them and came upon a
brassiere, panties and a green sweater hanging from the limbs
of a small tree.

A little distance away was a body, lying face downward,
the arms spread out in front. The figure was naked except
for a slip and a plaid skirt twisted and pulled above the head.

Sensing that the search for Marta Gibbons had come to
a shocking end, Officer Mettozzi noted the marks on the

“Take care

ground which seemed to indicate the girl had been dragged

by her feet; he saw the grooves which her slim fingers ap-
parently had dug through the soft earth.

Later, when additional police arrived and the Pennsyl-
vania State Police from the Langhorne barracks had taken
charge of the investigation, the area was carefully roped off.
Then systematic examination revealed tire marks at the edge
of the clearing, suggesting that Marta, dead or alive, had
been brought to where she’d been found in an automobile.

‘A .32-caliber cartridge was also located near the body.

On one slim finger was a silver signet ring with the initials
“M. G.,” and a gold bracelet dangled from her wrist. :

As the police lifted the pitiful corpse, they saw terrible
marks on the once-lovely teen-ager’s face, indicating that
she had been beaten. On her half-naked body there were
other cuts and bruises, and there were two wounds in her
head, showing that she had been shot in the right temple
and that the bullet had emerged below the left ear.

Marta’s murderer had selected a truly secluded spot to
leave his victim’s body. The lake is a popular bathing resort
in summer, but nothing could have presented a lonelier pic-
ture on that winter day. The sheer brutality of the attack
fitted the stark landscape; the bitter wind which Swept over
it seemed as pitiless as the fate that had overtaken the beau-
tiful blonde.

At the J. Allen Hooper undertaking establishment in Mor-
risville, where the body was taken, the slain girl’s step-
father viewed Marta’s battered face.

“My God!” he whispered. “What did the monster do to
her!”

Then, turning to Sergeant Adrian McCarr, commander
of the state police barracks, the grief-stricken parent de-


abolical murder took
Pp in the cellar of the
quarters (at far left)
gang of car thieves.

ble pleas
Pvidence
laken an
murder.

.

HE body lay in a shallow grave at the head of a small

ravine, where leafless trees whistled in a chill wind and

damp leaves tumbled over the ground like tired children
at play. ‘

Two boys, crossing the municipal golf course five miles
out of Erie, Pennsylvania, stopped to stare unbelievingly at
the ‘horror in the ravine. The capricious March breeze had
uncovered the head and feet of the victim. It was a man, and
he lay flat on his back with feet protruding ; the one bare, the
other encased in a muddy brown shoe.

Badly frightened, but seemingly unwilling to believe what
they saw, the boys cautiously stepped closer. As they neared
the body the toe of one’s shoe scuffed against a metallic object
and a small caliber automatic pistol was pushed out from
beneath its covering of leaves, ;

Sight of the gun broke the spell. “We'd better call the cops,”
one yelled. Simultaneously, the boys broke through the under-

‘brush and ran across the field,
Lieutenant John Bricker of the Pennsylvania State Police, .

received their report on the morning of March 7, 1946. “We'll
go out there right away,” he promised. “You fellows better
come along to show us where the body is.”

" Three carloads of officers repaired to the scene, their wailing
sirens clearing a path along the busy highway. The ravine was
only a short distance from the road. And as they stopped their
cars, Bricker noticed the tread marks of an automobile in the

’ soft mud of the road shoulder.

“I want a moulage made of those prints,” he instructed Cor-
poral C. M. Mathias. “Footprints, too, if you find any.”

In the little ravine some distance away, the body still lay
in its shallow grave. While Deputy Coroner Alan Firman be-
gan his preliminary examination, Bricker busied himself with
the automatic which had been found near the body.

This was a .25 caliber pistol of foreign make, Sergeant Wil-
lard Schauer examined it carefully. “Looks like a Belgian gun
to me,” he announced. “We can try to trace it through the
serial number.” .

Bricker nodded, and wrapped the gun carefully in soft paper
before putting it into his pocket. “We'll check for fingerprints
at the same time,” he announced, and then turned his attention
to the body.

The victim had been shot a number of times about the head
and face which made his features almost indistinguishable.
At a rough estimate he appeared to be possibly twenty-

By John Keith :

eight or twenty-nine years old and about one hundred and
fifty pounds in weight. None of the officers had ever-seen him
before.

“This has all the earmarks of a gang slaying,” County De-
tective John Coates said thoughtfully,

“He was taken for a ride, all right,” Bricker agreed. “Killed
elsewhere and dumped out here. No one would risk firing a
number of shots this close to the highway. But maybe Wash-
ington can identify him from his fingerprints.”

“These bullet wounds are the direct cause of death,” Firman
told them. “Offhand, I’d say he’s been dead three or four days.
Probably since Sunday night. I’ll have him taken to the St.
Vincent's Hospital morgue for an autopsy. We might be able
to find some of the slugs to match up against that gun.”

The victim was clad only in a pair of shorts and a shirt from
which the collar had been cut away, presumably to remove
laundry marks and hinder identification. The lone brown oxford
shoe was size 814, though why this had been permitted to remain
while the other was removed, was a minor mystery.

A thorough search of the area failed to uncover any further
clues. Corporal Mathias, however, located several footprints,
and moulage casts of these were made, *along with the tire
markings. Mathias also found a soft spot near the road shoulder,
where if appeared that a car had been stuck for some time.
Lieutenant Bricker noted this item thoughtfully.

“Someone may have seen that car,” he decided. “If we can
only persuade them to come forward and describe it.”

At St. Vincent’s Hospital, an autopsy revealed that the victim
had been shot five times in the head. All of the bullets were
recovered, They were .25 caliber, and a ballistic test was or-
dered at once in an effort to learn if they had been fired from
the gun found on the scene. This had been processed for finger-
prints but none were found, There seemed to be no worthwhile
leads, although an attempt was being made to check ownership
of the weapon through its serial number.

Afternoon papers carried a description of the victim. Shortly
after they were circulated through the city a man who identified
himself as Warren Fischer, telephoned Captain Roy Wong of
the Erie police. “I think that may be my brother, Robert
Fischer,” ‘he told the officer. “He’s been missing since Sunday
night.’”

Wong suggested that he go to the hospital morgue, after
which he phoned Lieutenant Bricker.

“Remember the Robert Fischer we’ve been trying to pick up

21


A quarrel over the spoils of their nefarious trade
resulted in the violent death of Robert Fischer.

series of car thefts?” he asked. “Well,
t he might be our murder victim, His
the morgue now to see if he can identify /

for questioning in that
there’s a possibility tha
brother. is on his way to

the body.” ;
“Someone must have got wind that we ‘were on his heels,”

Bricker said. “I’ll go over to the hospital at once.”
Warren Fischer positively identified the mutilated body as
that of his brother, Robert. “I’d know him anywhere by that

front gold tooth,” he said simply.

“We'd like to have your assistance,” Bricker told him. “Can

you tell me anything that might help ?”
Fischer shook his head. “I don’t know much,” he declared.

“Bob came to Erie from Virginia about eight years ago. He was

an inspector of canneries then. Some time

wife and later married a neigborhood girl. But they haven't

been getting along too well and Bob has been rooming with me

since last February.” Bricker hesitated for a brief moment.

Before. leaving for the hospital, a quick checkup had assured

ago he divorced his .

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was stuck in the mud. I drove him out to
the golf course—right near that ravine
where the body was found—and sure
enough, his machine was bogged down
just off the road shoulder: I hooked up
and pulled ‘it out and he drove away.”

“Did you know the man?”

“No, sir. I never saw him before.”

“How about the car?”

Swain considered a moment. “It was
a late model Pontiac sedan,” he said then.
“A grey, two-tone job. When I read
about the murder I got, to thinking he
might be the fellow who took the body
out there.”

pis: lieutenant pointed to Stoynoff,
sitting to one side. “Was this the man
you saw ?”

Swain looked him over carefully. “I
don’t think so. Of course, it was dark,
and I wasn’t paying too much attention
to his appearance.”

“Tt couldn’t have been me,” Stoynoff
announced cockily. “I told you I was in
Portland.” :

“Perhaps Swain could find something

in the rogues’ gallery,” Corporal Ma-

thias suggested.

“Tt won’t hurt to have,him look over
the pictures,” Bricker agreed. “Let me
know how you make out.’

When Mathias and Swain had de-
parted, Lieutenant Bricker put a. call
through to Captain Roy Wong of the city
police. The grey Pontiac sedan mentioned
by the garage man had struck a familiar

. chord in his memory. Such a car, he

recalled,, had been reported stolen. on
Tuesday, March 5.

“T’d like to have the license number
and the name of the car owner,” he told
Wong. “I have a hunch this machine
was used to dispose of Fischer’s body.”

Jotting down the requested informa-
tion, Bricker hung up the phone. Stoynoff
said, “Did I understand you to say that
a James G. McFadden had reported his’
car stolen ?” .

Bricker nodded., “You know anything
about it?”

“Damn right I do,” Stoynoff said un-
easily. “And this thing is getting too
involved for me, Serving a hitch for car
stealing is better than taking a murder
tap,” Stoynoff. added. “I don’t know any-
thing about the shooting, but I’m not tak- >
ing any chances. If you want to listen, I
will tell you what I know.”

“Talk ahead,” Bricker told him. — «

“Okay. Three of us—me, Mike Domi-
nick and Bob Fischer—were all working
for Big Mike Bubna. Fischer and Domi-
nick were to round up stolen cars, They’d
hire fellows to steal them, and pay them
fifty dollars for the job. Bubna took,
them over then, changed the plates and
motor numbers and I drove them to Port-

‘land for resale. There is always a good

market up there and not too many ques-

‘Double Cross

[Continued from page 23]

tions asked. I don’t know anything about
the killing, but if one of the outfit pulled
the job, you may try to hold the whole
gang. So I’m getting out while I can.”

“That’s a smart move,” Bricker ad-
mitted. “But what brought on this con-
fession ?”

“Just this,’ Stoynoff confessed. “The
James G. McFadden who reported his
car stolen is Big Mike Bubna. And Bubna
is the guy who stole the automatic from
me. I don’t know what his idea is, but it
looks like a double cross from here.”

The importance of this bit of informa-
tion could not be overestimated. Swain,
meanwhile, contributed to the investiga-
tion when he picked out a picture of Mike
Dominick from the rogues’ gallery files.

“That’s the man who hired me to tow
his cam out of the mud,” he declared.
“I’m positive, now that I’ve seen his pic-
ture.”

Arthur Stoynoff signed a confession
involving himself in the stolen car racket,
but denying any participation in the
murder of Robert Fischer. He was re-
manded to a cell while Bricker, Corporal
Mathias and Captain Roy Wong, went
to the ‘Bubna home.

Big Mike—a former prize fighter and
merchant seaman during World War II
—welcomed, them genially. ‘(Come in,”
he boomed. “Any report on my Pontiac ?”

“We have no word for Mr. McFad-
den,” Lieutenant Bricker said deliber-
ately. “But I am placing Big Mike Bubna
under arrest.”

Bubna’s smile faded, his eyes grew
wary, “On what charge ?”

“Falsifying your name when pugchas-
ing an automobile,” Bricker told him.
“There is also a little matter of murder
which we want to look into.”

Bubha’s sister, Mrs. Carmen “Millie”
Thomas, who resided with her brother,
was also taken into custody. Both pro-
tested volubly, but to no avail. Taken to
headquarters and confronted with the
statement made by Arthur Stoynoff,
Bubna broke into a rage.

“The guy’s crazy,” he declared. “I
don’t know anything about any stolen
cars, and I don’t want to. Bob Fischer

was my friend and I thought Arthur was,-

too. But now he turns out to be a louse.”

“WV HEN did you see Fischer last ?”
Bricker asked, unperturbed.

“Sunday “ night,” Bubna answered
promptly. “He and Dominick were at the
house for a few drinks, But I haven't
seen either of them since.”

‘“Would Dominick have had any rea-
son to want Fischer out of the way ?”

Bubna shrugged. “Not that I know of.
But they never did get along too well.
If you want my opinion, Dominick took
the gun that Stoynoff left at my place—
and which I didn’t steal from him—arid
then made off with, my car. He killed
Fischer, and left town. But I wasn’t in-

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much did he know of the illegal activities in which his brother
was stispected of being engaged?

“Nothing at all,” Fischer said promptly, in answer ta_the
officer’s question, “I really didn’t think that Bob had any par-
ticular job. His wife runs a cafe in Edinboro. Bob usually
worked for her as a bartender.” ,

“But surely he must have mentioned something that might
give us a lead,” Bricker persisted, “Did he ever have any busi-
ness dealings that you know of? Or mention the names of any
men he was acquainted with ina... well, in-a business way ?”

“I can only tell you this,” Fischer said hesitantly. “Shortly
before noon today, some man telephoned and asked to speak
to Bob. He said his name was McGuire. I told him Bob wasn’t
around, that I didn’t know where he could be reached. Then he
suggested that I meet him tonight at seven o'clock. He

said he would be at the corner of Peach and Thirteenth

Streets.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Bricker demanded.

Fischer shrugged. “I didn’t think of it. I didn’t intend to meet
this McGuire or whatever his name is, and ‘then the shock of
learning that Bob had been killed caused it to slip my mind.”

The lieutenant looked at his watch. “We'll just have time to
make it,” he mused. “I’m going to keep that date with McGuire.”

By seven o'clock, the corner of Thirteenth and Peach Streets
was under complete surveillance. Finally one of the passersby
hesitated and then accosted Warren Fischer. “You're Bob’s
brother, aren’t you?” :

Fischer nodded, and gestured toward a dark figure that
stepped from the shadows. “And this,” he stated, “is Lieutenant
John Bricker of the Pennsylvania State Police!”

Arrested and taken to headquarters, “McGuire” admitted
that his real name was Arthur Stoynoff. Twenty-eight years old,
he said he and Robert Fischer had known each other for nearly

four years. ;
“Then why phone him under an alias ?” Bricker demanded.
i

him that Warren Fischer’s character was abbveyreproach. How

“There’s no law against it,” Stoynoff said defiantly.
“But there is a Jaw against murder,” Bricker said
mildly. “You knew that Bob Fischer was shot to death, didn’t
you?”

. “T read about some man being found,” Stoynoff mumbled.
“But that was after I phoned.”

“Ever see this gun before?” The lieutenant tossed the little
automatic on the desk.:“This is the gun that killed Fischer. If
you and he were such good friends, you should be willing to
help us find his murderer,”

Stoynoff's face paled. “Let me see that gun,” he said hoarsely.

Bricker handed over the weapon without comment. Stoynoff
took it gingerly, weighed it carefully in his hand, “We're
checking the serial number to determine ownership,” the lieu-.
tenant told him. :

“You needn’t bother,” Stoynoff said quietly. “This gun be-
longs to me.” :

‘Bricker could not conceal his start of surprise.

“But I didn’t kill Bob, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Stoy-
noff continued. “This gun was stolen from me a couple of
months ago.”

“Do you know who took it?”
“Tm not talking,” Stoynoff said bitterly. “The newspapers

_ gay that Bob was shot sometime on Sunday night or Monday

morning. Well, I was in Portland, Maine, at that time, so I’ve
got an alibi. And that’s all I’m worried about.”

Corporal Mathias came in the room and called Bricker to
one side. “There’s a fellow named Swain to see you,” he said.
“He runs the Poplar garage on West $2th Street.”

’ Bricker nodded. “Send him in.”

The garage man was obviously excited. “I’ve been reading
about that man being found murdered on the golf course,” he
blurted. “And I think I know something about the case.”

“What about it?’ Bricker queried. .

“Well, on Monday night, some fellow came to the garage
and asked me for a tow. Said his car [Continued on page 86]

in the county jail the accused confer

with their attorney John Blackmore. left. e

23

or rena a ea

EGER CNA Sevea ner VO ane D Slowest one



es.

eighth hole when a ball, abetted by
the wind, sailed clear past the
northern boundary of the course,
the two caddies, Fred Lichtenwalter
and Elmer Zimmer, in hot pursuit
Plunging through a patch of briars,
they started down the side of a
steep ravine. Suddenly, young Zim-
mer, leading the way, stopped
short.

“What's that?” he whispered
hoareely.

His friend followed his pointing
finger. Lichtenwalter’s mouth drop-
ped open at the sight. Two human
feet were sticking out of a long, low
mound of mud!

The youths exchanged terrified:

giances. They had gone a short dis-
tance when they made another dis-
covery, even more grisly than the
first! A man’s head—puffy and
parpled with bloody bruises — was
protruding from the mount on the
other end. Their curiosity more
than satisfied, the two caddies
whirled and raced back. A few
minutes later, they were telephon-
img the police,

Within the half-hour, an impres-
sive array of investigators began
gathering in the lonely, ravine.
Lieutenant J. Bricker and Corporal
Jolin Mehallick from the Pennsyl-
vania State Police Lawrence Park
barracks weré first on hand. Soon
after, the Erie County officials ar-
rived. Sheriff Paul Babbit, Acting
District Attorney Damian J. Mc-
Laughlin, Acting County Detective
John Coates and Deputy Coroner
W. A. Firman, made up the group.

After scraping away the remains
of the orude surface grave, the of-
ficers examined the corpse. It was
that of a fairly young man. He had
euffered a fearful beating. Both
eyes were blackened, his nose
emashed and his sandy hair cropped
close to his scalp. The body was
clad only in an undershirt and
shorts and showed numerous purple
bruises. Five shots through the head

. bad splattered the dead man’s

Preliminary examination over,
the investigators deployed through
the ravine to search for clues. Al-
most immediately, Corporal Mehal-
lick made a find. Bending down, he
picked up an unusual-looking pistol
which the Sheriff identified as a
-25-¢aliber Belgian-make automatic.

A few minutes later, Detective
Coates raised a shout. He had dis-
covered a bundle of clothing under
@ bush. Quickly he unwound a pair

of gray flannel pin-striped trousers.

Inside, he found a torn white shirt
with the collar and neckband
roughly sheared off.

“Probably that missing neckband
had some interesting laundry

mearks,” the County Detective re- |

mearked. “Looks like someone was
determined to prevent identification
of the body.”

“That may also account for the
heating he took around the face,”
Laoutenant Bricker said. “His own

34

brother’d have a job recognizing
him now.”

“A local character, do you
think?” Mehallick asked. “Could
be, though, that he was knocked
off miles away and then crated
here.”

Frowning reflectively, Bricker
turned to the Deputy Coroner.
“How long do you figure he’s been
dead?”

Firman leaned over the corpse
for a closer examination of the skin
bruises. “A couple of days at most,”
he said. “Monday night or so.”

The roar of a motor on the dirt
road above interrupted the discus-

s sion. A moment later, two men

scrambled down the side of the
ravine, They were: Sergeant Jack
Martin, a city plainclothesman, and
State Police Corporal C. M.
Mathias. These two often teamed up
in city-country criminal probes.

Gravely, the newscomers listened
to Bricker’s outline of the set-up.

“Now how would a corpse get
down here?’”’ Martin mused, half to
himself.

“He didn’t walk,” Mathias vouch-
safed,

prints leading toward the first car.
These were succeeded by deeper
treads going back toward the road.

“Looks like whoever was stuck
here got himself a tow,” Mathias
observed. His red-head colleague
agreed,

Making their way down the slope,
they reported their findings to the
group of officers clustered near the
body.

Report completed, Lieutenant
Bricker gave immediate instruc-
tions to have plaster casts made of
the tracks. Then most of the group
started back to town, the body al-
ready having been removed to St.
Vincent’s Hospital morgue, where
Dr. L. K. Burt, noted pathologist,
prepared to perform an autopsy.
Chief of Police George Christoph
and his captain of detectives, R. B.
Mong, hustled down to the hospital
to get the full story from Acting
Coroner Firman.

_ Even as the medical experts set
to work, the law enforcement

, agencies moved into high’ gear.

While Chief of Police George
Christoph and Captain of Detec-
tives R. B. Mong interrogated Act-

‘

newspapers with pictures and de
tails in the hope that some reader
might come forwurd with pertinent
information.

MEANWHILE, playing a hunch,
Mathias and Martin were about to
start off on a tangent of their
own. “This case carries: every mark
of gang vengeance,” the City De-
tective remarked, as they headed’
for town, “The stiff was probably
taken for a ride.”

“And wise mobsters don’t like to
use their own cars on that kind of
business,” Mathias pointed out.

Not another word was needed. The
two officers, accustomed to smooth
coordination, automatically made
the next move without further con-
sultation. Returning to headquar-
ters, they checked the stolen car
lists. A half hour later they had
found one reported missing as of
Monday night—just about the right
time. Then and there, they decided
to call on the owner for further in-
formation.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up
in front of an impressive-looking
house at the West 26th Street ad-

Big Mike Bubna (center) with Corporal John Mehallick ond Sergeant
Jack Martin of the State Police.

The two of them climbed back
up the slope. Stooping, they ex-

amined the ground between the’

brink of the ravine and the dirt
road nearby.

Close inspection of the muddy
earth brought interesting results.
Tire tracks indicated that two cars
had recently been driven close to
the lip of the gully. One of them
had apparently run into trouble. A
deep furrow showed where it had
bogged down in the mire. The other
set of tracks started with light

ing Coroner Firman at the hospital,
city, county and state police began
an all-out effort to identify the
body. At state police headquarters,
after scanning missing persons
alarms from a tri-state area, Lieu-
tenant Bricker forwarded the
corpse’s fingerprints to the FBI in
Washington. Then he also dispatch-
ed Corporal Mehallick to Pittsburgh
on the off-chance the victim might
have some connection with a gang
war known to be raging in the
Smoky City, This done, he supplied

dress. James McFadden, the man
who had reported the theft, ad-
mitted them.

In response to their questioning,
the big bulky man described his
car. “It’s a 1940 Pontiac; gray, two-
door sedan. I parked it in the alley-
way Monday evening about six. In
the morning it was gone.”

Martin noted the brands of the
four tires and their general condi-
tion. Then, having learned all they
had hoped to learn, the two officers
left, bound for Lawrence Park bar-


“Now show me just what you did

‘hon you eame dn Taat nthe,"

irected the Sheriff.

“You mean how I tip-tood in?”
“Yes.”

Williams opened the kitchen door,

nd walked noiselessly through the

itchen on the balls of his feet,

ito the bedroom, and sat down on

ne of the beds, and bent to pull

ff his boots.

“Those the boots you were wear-

ig?” asked Wolf,

“Certainly.”

“Sure of that?”

“Of course, I am. Why?”

Wolf ignored the query. “Now

iow me again how you came into

lis bedroom,” he ordered.

Williams went to the: bedroom

sor, turned, and tip-toed in a

aight line to the edge of the bed

ad sat down,

“You sure that’s exactly the way

ou walked from the door to where

ou are sitting?”

A look of annoyance crossed the

incher’s face. “I ought to know.”
truculent note crept into his

vice. “What’s this all about, any-

ay.”

Sheriff Wolf looked at him cold-

. Then slowly, in a quiet accusing

vice, he said, “It’s the final proof

at you murdered your wife your-

if.”

“Mel” Williams rose from the
d like one stunned. The Sheriff’s
‘avy hand pushed him back.
“Yes, you.” From his pocket,
olf produced a photograph of the
om showing Beulah Williams’
‘dy on the floor.

“Take a good look,” he went on,
nding her husband the picture.
f you had come into this bedroom
you say, you would have tripped
er her body. Furthermore, your
otprints would have been in that
de smear of blood on the floor
ading to her body. The only foot-
ints in that blood lead every way,

cept the way you. say you walked

to this room.”
Abruptly, Sheriff reached down
d pulled off the rancher’s boots.
ok at that,” he added, pointing
blood splotches on the insteps
d the uppers. “They weren’t made
om blood dripping on your boots
yen you bent to cradle your wife
your arms as you tried to make
believe. They were made when
u kicked her while she was on the
or. The shape of the splotches
ows how the blood. splattered
ien your boot struck her. t
“I’ve suspected you ever since we
sre in that gully yesterday,” con-
wed Sheriff Wolf, icily. “You
anted the coins and those cigar-
tes there. You didn’t have a fight
ith anybody in the gully. Some
the mesquite branches would
we been broken if anything had
wppened there as you tried to
ake us believe. And a man on
ot, dashing blindly down that
ily at night, would have had
reads torn from his clothes by

60

the bushes. There wasn’t a single

fibre on any bush,"

His mouth agape, Williams was
staring up at Sheriff Wolf as if
hypnotized. “I—I was drunk,” he
muttered. “I don’t remember clearly
how things happened last night.
Maybe it wasn’t exactly like I said.”

“Drunk!” taunted Wolf. “What a
wild explanation to offer at the
last minute in the face of the evi-
dence against you. Get up.” He
reached down and hoisted Williams
unceremoniously to his feet, and
out the kitchen door and shoved
him into his car.

“I’m taking you to the morgue,”
snapped the Sheriff. “I want you to
see your wife for the last time. I
want you to know how horribly you
mutilated her.”

“No. No. Don’t.” Williams cov-
ered his face with his hands and
started to sob. “I—I can’t stand to
see her like that again. I—I’ll tell
you how it happened. I was drunk.
I’d been drinking all day. I finished
one bottle and last night I looked
around for another one I knew I had
in the house. Beulah said I had
enough and she wouldn’t tell me
where it was.

“All of a sudden,.I just went out
of my mind. She had been nagging
me for years. I wanted to kill her.
I couldn’t help myself, it seemed.
I. hit her with- something and
knocked her down and jumped up
and down on her. But she kept
squirming and moaning. I grabbed
her. by the hair and dragged her
into the bedroom. There I jammed
her head through the bedstead rails

‘and stomped on her throat. Then I

picked her up and slammed her on
the floor.

“Then I saw her head was twist-
ed at a funny angle. I knew her
neck was broken and she was dead.

“That sort of calmed me down. I

got frightened. Then I suddenly
thought of how I might fool you. I
rode across the range and cut the
wire fence and drove several of
my palominos through the gap and
about a mile beyond, and then back
through the gap again. I fixed the
fence, and on the way back I ‘plant-
ed those cigarettes in the gully.
That fellow left them when my
wife drove him off the place the
other day. I had met him in a
roadhouse when I was drinking and
I brought him home.”

Questioned about the cryptic one-
sentence letter, he said it was from
a man to whom he owned money.

Indicted for first degree murder,
Williams went on trial in the
Glasscock County courthouse Sep-
tember 4, 1946. The jury failed to
agree. The second trial started De-
cember 5. The: failure of certain
witnesses to appear, caused a mis-
trial. On the third trial Williams
was found guilty and sentenced to
20 years in State Prison,

(THE END)

A MURDERER LAUGHS AT DEATH!

(Continued from page 35)

“I think this ... this victim, is
my brother,” he stammered.

Mong’s eyes narrowed. “Can you
recognize him from the picture?”

“It’s hard to say,” the man re-
plied. “His face is so badly bat-
tered. But the general description
fits Bob. Anyway, my brother’s
been gone since Monday!”

At Mong’s suggestion, the visit-
ors agreed to view the body at St.
Vincent’s Hospital.’ Enroute, the
detective captain asked a few un-
‘obtrusive questions and ‘got some
revealing answers. He learned that
the couple, Mr. and Mrs. Warren
Fisher, lived in a rooming house on
East 10th Street. Fisher’s brother,
Robert, who lived with them, was
34 years old, Virginia born, and
had drifted through a variety of
jobs since coming to Erie eight
years back. The year before, he had
been separated from his wife,
Blanche Horst Fisher, but they re-
mained good friends.

“Do you know anyone who might
want your brother out of the way?”
Mong asked.

“Not a soul,” Fisher replied.
“Bob’s a good-natured fellow and
full of fun. Most people really like
having him around.”

Arrived at the hospital, they filed
down the steps to the morgue in the
basement. A white-coated attendant
lifted the sheet on a long, narrow
table.

After a moment’s dead silence,

Mrs, Fisher gasped and heeled back
Her husband, clenching his fists
tensely, shuddered at the sight of
the bruised face and grotesquely
cropped hair.

“It’s Bob, all right,” he said in
a dry, throaty voice. “I can rec-
ognize him ... in spite of what
they did to his face. And there’s
that old scar on his arm...”

A half hour later, having driven

the stricken couple home, Mong.

sped back to headquarters. Exult-

antly, he broke the news of the

identification to the Chief, the lat-
ter telephoning news of the break
to Lieutenant Bricker at the state
police barracks, while Mong gather-
ed his men for a huddle.

With the opening of the meeting,
came another surprise. Appraised
of the corpse’s identity, Detective
Sergeant Everett Ruska jumped to
his feet. “Robert Fisher!” he re-
peated in astonishment. “If he’s
your victim, I think I. can name the
killer right now!’

“Let’s hear it,” the Chief said
quietly.

“Well, as you know I’ve been
after this hot car ring that’s op-
erating in this territory,” the Ser-
geant led off. “And, as you know,
they hoisted another one last week.
Since then, we’ve been tailing a
fellow named Pat Corbin, who, I’m
pretty certain, is the head of the
gang.”

“Where does Fisher fit into the

“My wife! The very next little thing you do, Bridget, out you go!”

‘


racks, where State Police Sergeant
Willard Schauer had just completed
the tire-track casts taken from the
brink of the ravine.

Quickly Schauer lined them up,
compared the plaster impressions
with Martin’s descriptions of the
tires on the stolen car. The re-
ults set him to whistling softly.
According to the testimony of the
tires, the car which had been mired
in the mud-hole and the stolen one
were one and the same!

The three detectives were ponder-
ing this startling development when
Schauer’s eye was caught by a
peculiarity of the casts. “This sec-
ond set of tracks seems broader
than those of the bogged-down car,”
he said, indicating the plaster
molds. “Do you suppose the driver
might have called an ordinary tow-
ear to pull him out?”

"Could be,” Martin said. “After
all, we’re not sure that car is even
remotely connected with the kill-
ing.”

“Personally, I wouldn’t rule out
any fool act in a case like this,”
Mathias said, scowling. “There’s no
telling what a hopped-up mug will

Michoel Dominick (left) points out to County Detective Jo

do when he finds himself in hot
water.” .

Leaving the casts in Schauer’s
hands Martin and Mathias retired
to the latter’s office. There, having
picked up a telephone book on the
way, they immediately began check-
ing auto tow companies in the
vicinity.

IN the meantime, several miles,

distant, Dr. Burt had completed his
autopsy. “This man _ has been
brutally beaten,” he told Chief

Christoph and Lieutenant Bricker,
who-had been waiting patiently for
his pronouncements. “In addition
to the head bruises and broken
nose, I found scars on his thighs
that seem to be the result of cigar-
ette burns... An unusual example
of barbaric cruelty!”

“Did you find anything that
might give us some clue to the vic-
tim’s identity,” Christoph asked,
“_or the killer’s?”

“Not very much, I’m afraid,” Dr.
Burt replied, shaking his head.
“Here are the slugs removed from
his skull—rather unusual caliber.
There’s just one more thing: the
strange haircut. The dead’ man’s
hair has been cropped very close,
but unevenly. Manifestly, an am-
ateur effort.”

“Maybe an attempt to make him
look like a Serviceman,” Bricker
said.

The Police Chief nodded | reflec-
tively. Then summoning a special
courier, he sent the five battered
slugs and the Belgian automatic
found in the ravine, to the State
police ballistics laboratory at Har-
risburg.

Back at Lawrence Park barracks,
meanwhile, Martin and Mathias
were still following up their lead.
Working methodically, they went
straight down the list of tow-truck
operators in the classified directory.
After the eighth call, Mathias
turned to ‘his side-kick with: a
pleased grin.

“Bingo!” he announced softly,
starting to his feet. A moment
later, they were on their way to the
Popular Auto Parts Company on
West 12th Street.

*

Luck was with the investigators.
They found not one, but three
mechanics in the garage who had
been on duty Monday night, the
night of the murder. All three
clearly remembered a dishevelled
man who had come in panting that
his car was stuck in the mud.

“Along about 11 p. m., I should
say,” the spokesman for the trio
offered. “He came hustling in here,
looking mighty upset. We drove
him back in the truck and he direct-
ed us to the edge of a ravine just
above the golf course outside town.”

The two officers exchanged faint
nods,

“What kind of car was it?”
Mathias asked, his eyes shining.

“A Pontiac, two-door sedan,” the
man replied. “1940 model, painted
gray.”

Martin’s eyes narrowed. The des-
cription tallied perfectly with that
of James McFadden’s stolen car.
“Could you describe the driver?”
he asked.

“J don’t know... sort of medium

build,” the garageman answered
dubiously, “But I’d be able to pick

ha Coates (right) and Acting Dis-
trict Attorney Damion McLoughlin (center) the spot where Fisher’s head lay after the killing.

him out of a crowd if I ever saw
him again.”

The detectives took him at his
word. Fifteen minutes later, the two
officers and the three mechanics
drove up before Headquarters. They
made straight for the Rogue’s Gal-
lery.

Each of the garagemen went
through the photos separately. But
at the end, each man unhesitatingly
put his finger on the same face.
All stood ready to swear that a
petty racketeer named Michael

isi: Menchckinante tatinahnases stone cho teliee AAA O? aoa Act

Dominick was the man who had
been out at the lonely ravine un-
der strange circumstances Monday
night.

Corporal Mathias could scarcely
restrain his curiosity until the
mechanics had left. “Who’s this guy
Dominick?” he asked eagerly as
soon as the door closed behind
them.

“Nobody much,” the City Detec-
tive replied. “A small-timer. Been
mixed up in a couple ef rackets
including, interestingly enough, &
stolen car set-up.”

“Let’s go listen to his alibi,”
Mathias suggested.

A visit to Dominick’s rooming
house on West 18th Street disclosed
an empty coop. Their bird had
flown! The landlady informed them
that Dominick hadn’t been home
since Monday morning.

The two detectives made tracks
back to headquarters. In the Chief’s
office, they related the results of
their investigations to Christoph,
Bricker and Mong.

“Smooth work, boys,” Chief
Christoph said when they finished.
“We may still be in the dark as to
who was killed, but we suré have
a live lead on the killer!”

“Could be the whole thing’s too
smooth,” Captain Mong cautioned.
“All we really know is that Dom-
inick was out near the ravine Mon~
day night. But so far, there’s no
other connection between him and
the stiff. After all, that dirt road
nearby is a pretty popular lover’s
lane. Even a punk like Dominick.
probably has a girl...”

“That’s a possibility to consider,”
the Chief agreed. “There’s the
stolen car angle, too, Still, we'll
question Dominick just in case. Tk
get a wanted bulletin out on the.
teletype. You’d better have your
boys comb his usual hang-outs,” he:
added, turning to the detective cap~
tain.

No sooner had Mong started out, .

when Christoph’s phone rang. Tho
state ballistics expert, James White~
cotton, was calling from Harris-
burg.

“Those five slugs were fired from
that Belgian gun, Chief,” he led
off, without preamble.

Christoph scowled. His attempts
to trace the ownership of the auto~
matic had already hit a dead end.

WHILE the investigation ground
slowly ahead, the gruesome crime
had become a front page sensation.
Columnists hinted at a connection
with the murderous gang war in
Pittsburgh. Pictures of the battered
corpse and detailed description of
the case were given big play.

On March 8th, the publicity paid
off. A couple appeared at head-~
quarters carrying a newspaper
clipping. Ushered into Mong’s of-
fice, the woman broke into tears.
The man nervously cleared his
throat.

{Continued on page 60)

35

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were paid $25 to $50 per car, depending on
its value. After a car had been snatched,
Marche drove it to Portland, Maine, where
Bubna had connections for reselling the
hot heaps. The system had worked well
until Fischer got sore when Big Mike and
Millie cut the commissions paid to him and
Dominick when their punks stole a car.
This was what decided Fischer and Marche
to cut out of the Bubna operation and go
into business for themselves, and keep all
the money for themselves,

Fischer had phoned that Sunday night
when Mike, Mildred, Dominick and his
girl friend were at the hideout. He de-
manded that Mike and Millie pay him his
cut from the last car his boys had stolen.
Fischer had no idea at the time that Big
Mike already knew about the car he and
Marche were holding out at the barn in
Cambridge Springs.

A little while later Fischer showed up
and continued his argument with Mike and
Millie in person. Everyone was hitting the
bottle pretty hard.

Dominick said he and his girl went into
another room, leaving the others to their
dispute in the kitchen; he returned occa-
sionally to replenish his drink. Fischer got
thoroughly and helplessly drunk.

On one trip to the kitchen, Dominick
said, he found Fischer slumped in a chair.
Millie and Mike were laughing at him.
Mildred said to Dominick, “We're going to
pull a gag on Fischer. Gonna give him a
haircut.”

She then picked up a pair of scissors and
began to hack tufts of hair from his head.
After a few minutes of this, Big Mike
Bubna’s mood changed and he began to
belt Fischer about the head and face. Do-
minick said he wanted no part of this so
he went back to his girl in the other room.

He remained there, he related, until he
heard Mike call him from the basement.
Halfway down the stairs, Dominick said,
he could see Fischer, out like a light,
sprawled on the cellar floor. Most of his
hair had been chopped away and he looked
as if he’d been scalped. Bubna_ was
crouched over him, one hand clutching
Fischer's collar, the other holding a small
automatic. In the next instant, as Domi-
nick watched helplessly, Big Mike Bubna
began pulling the trigger and kept firing
at Fischer’s head.

Mildred Thomas then began clipping off
more of Fischer’s hair, after which they
stripped off his trousers and other articles
of clothing and threw them into the fur-
nace.

“Big Mike shoved the gun at me then,”
Dominick told the officers, “and told me I
was in it too. He said he'd help me get the
body in the car and that I was going to
drive it some place and dump it. I didn’t
like the idea, but he had that gun on me
and I figured he’d kill me sure.”

His girl was upstairs all this time, Domi-
nick said, and didn't know what was going
on until much later. “We got Fischer into
Bubna’s car and Millie started to scrub the
blood from the floor. I didn’t know where
to go. I should have gone to the police then
and there, but I was too scared and mixed
up. I finally drove up the old road by the
golf course, dragged the body out of the
car and tried to bury it in the dark. Big
Mike had given me the gun to get rid of,
and I threw it into the leaves. Then, when
I got back to the car, I found it stuck in
the mud.”

He told of the help he received from the
parked couple and how he had to get a
wrecker to move the car. “Bubna was
pretty sore about that and he decidéd we'd
better get rid of the car. We took it along-
side the apartment and washed it in the
dark, then we burned most of my clothes
‘and’ they, gave me some more and told me
to take the car to Florida and sell it, and

ers—money back guarantee. “Rex. U.8. Pat. Of

to stay there till the heat was off. I know

I made a mistake, trying to get away, but
that’s the way it happened. I want you to
know | didn't kill Fischer.” Ele was nery-
ous and swentiog,

The Erie officers telephoned the details

of Dominick’s confession to Lieutenant
Bricker before starting back to Pennsyl-
vania with their prisoners. Bricker ordered
Mildred Thomas’ arrest, and confronted
her and Bubna with the details of Domi-
nick’s statement.

They denied everything, except that
Fischer had been at their place Sunday
night and had gotten very drunk. They in-
sisted that he was alive when he left. They
pleaded total ignorance of any stolen cars
or stolen car ring. The accusations of Do-
minick, whom they had __ befriended,
wounded them deeply. Was it possible,
they wondered, that he was trying to divert
suspicion from himself{—from some actions
of his own that he was anxious to conceal
or blame on somebody else?

But the weight of the evidence which
had been accumulated against them was
overwhelming. The motive, the murder
weapon, the death car, the murder location
—all could be linked directly to Big Mike
Bubna and Mildred Thomas.

District Attorney McLaughlin presented
the evidence to the grand jury, which re-

on sale at all
newsstands September 27th

turned murder indictments against Mildred
Thomas, Big Mike Bubna, and Mike Domi-
nick. Dominick was the state's star witness
when the trial was held in’ May, and on
May 24th, at 4:10 p.m., the jury returned its
verdict: “Mike Bubna, guilty as charged.
Mildred Thomas, guilty as charged, with a
recommendation for mercy. Mike Domi-
nick, not guilty.”

Dominick then pleaded guilty to a charge
of accessory after the fact of murder, and
was sentenced to a two-year prison term

Mildred Thomas was sentenced to life
imprisonment. Her brother, and partner in
murder and other crimes, did not fare so
well. Big Mike Bubna was sentenced to die.
and after several appeals had failed, he
went to his death on October 21, 1947, in
the electric chair at the Western State
Penitentiary Farm at Bellegonte.

The car-heisting gang was completely
broken up. Without Mildred Thomas it was
sure to fade anyway. She had done all the
brain work for the punks.

Millie was sent to the State Industrial
School for Women at Muncy. There, as the
years of her life term spin out, she would
have ample time to reflect on her reign as
the hot car queen of Erie. oeo¢

Epiror’s NOTE:

The name George Marche as used in
the foregoing story is not the real name
of the person concerned. This person
has been given a fictitious name to pro-
tect his identity. —

Inn of t*
Five Mu

But unofficially |
did.

Suppose Aldo
alibi with young
or one of them,
before 11 a.M. a
tura. And suppc
demanding blac
silence. If this we
would have pro
to the Da Tos fa

But it was all
be proved at the
turned to his lon
ful waiting. son
mousehole.

World War I
years the captain
urgent duties, bu
his routine of p
bergo Centrale. }
Giallanella | still
would happen to
lo a solution.

Something did
suddenness, on
6 o'clock that mo
Helo, De ‘Totfol, le
the village on or
the market at
veyetables,

A few paces f1
Albergo Central
discovery. Lying
downward, were
Gina Del Moneg
The other was h
were dead.

The truit vend
phone and. blurt
what he had seen
police, and Capt
coroner were on *

The couple, w
narrow side
in early mj
half-burned
Del Monego s any?
the back of the n
medium-caliber
been shot twice i
once from a_ sho
point-blank range

As Giallanella
the slayer had b:
way of a buildin
stepped out) behi
Del Monego with:
stricken wife star
man brought her
head. .She fell 1
wounded he pu
blank into her he:
shots were hear
thought to be a
The police capt
De Toffol, the fru

Gina Del Monego
vers of Alleghe'’s
and tobacco shop

“They took the
a money pouch ¢
said, “and last ni
bandits must have

A checkup at t!
that the cash d:
couple’s records i'
receipts had been

Giallanella was
crime. There ha
murder in Allegh
had the gunman :


ill attached to

‘adame Duples-
‘nch. “Do you
clinging to it
hat not a co-
he hat for a
p and held it
*, try it on for

iling from the
ingerous thing.
ified glance at
the lieutenant,
d Ill tell you

ut of the room,
oman, “So you
vith him when
.” She denied
‘ith Trudel on
had picked up
it night, where
‘eil changed.
sette from the
neard her dis-
ilmed she “was
large sums of
claimed she
ne until ‘Trudel
ht and showed
ld her he had
she suspected

1e blood on his
ed, then angry.
‘d his clothes.
io and listened
Vhen he heard
bridge was
, he said,
e was the

| he confessed,
o to the police.
sorts of things,
hen he beyged
y clothes, so I
id threw them
Dame and St.

Trudel heard
woman’s death
i, “Good!” This
Now she won't

me Duplessis’
oke down and
who had _ at-
‘l didn't mean
I just wanted
1e like a fiend.”
‘er, give Lieu-
iction on one
‘ar up, how he
3essette out on

to that was,
with women.”
women” didn't
ft justice. Even
e statement of
ough to assure

Judge Edward

convicted of
death for his
» stood on the
ort prayer be-
sending him to

was a button,

at. oo¢

Gontier and
d in the fore-
eal names of
“have been

ect their

- —_tt)

Murder and the
Hot-Car Queen

(Continued from page 53)

touched it since or shot anyone with it.”

The name of Big Mike Bubna echoed in
the office like a ringing bell, Very soon
thereafter detectives were ringing another
bell, at the sumptuously furnished apart-
ment shared by Big Mike Bubna and his
sister, Mrs Mildred Thomas, who kept
house for him. Big Mike ureeted the offi-
cers affably, but his sister, a willowy,
striking brunette beauty, was volubly in-
dignant.

Taken to headquarters, they readily ad-
mitted they knew Bob Fischer well. Mrs.
Thomas said Bob was a swell guy, always
laughing and joking. She said he had
visited them Sunday night, that he was
quite drunk, but able to navigate when he
left.

Bubna said he couldn't imagine anyone
killing Bob, he was such a swell guy. When
the officers asked about the pistol which
Marche claimed Bubna had taken away
from him, Big Mike replied easily, “He
must be crazy. I never took any gun away
from him.”

Bubna insisted he knew nothing of any
hot car ring. So did his sister. “You did
your damndest,” Bubna said, “to tie me up
with hot cars before, and when you
couldn't make it stick, you pinned a bum
rap on me for using the name McFadden,
a name I always used. What have you guys
Kot against me, anyway?”

In a hasty conference, the officers de-
cided they would have to release Mildred
Thomas. On the strength of Marche’s state-
ment about the Belgian automatic, how-
ever, they could hold Big Mike Bubna for
a while. Something, they were sure, was
bound to break soon.

It did. On Friday, Lieutenant Bricker
had a visit from a young man who told an
interesting story.

“I was parked on that road near the golf
course with my girl Sunday night,” he
said. “I've been reading in’ the papers
ubout this case, and I think I have some-
thing that might be important. While we
were parked there on the road, we saw a
xray sedan ahead of us. We figured it was
just some other couple, but in a little while
a fellow came up the road and got into the
car. He couldn't drive it away, though, be-
cause the rear wheels were stuck in the
mud.

“I tried to help push him out, but we
couldn't budge it. so finally I gave him a
ride to a garage in town so he could get a
wrecking truck. It was so dark, I doubt if
I could identify him, but I thought I ought
to tell you about it.”

The night man at the garage, questioned,
said he was pretty sure he’d recognize the
man whose car he had hauled out of the
mudhole if he saw him again. A session
with the mug books at headquarters
proved he was right.

The man whose mug shot he picked out
was one Mike Dominick whose record, in-
terestingly enough, showed a history of
auto larcenies. But when detectives went to
his home. Dominick was not there; he
hadn't been seen for several days. They got
the same story at all of Dominick's usual
haunts.

George Marche, questioned in his cell,
said Dominick was one of the gang and
suggested that the detectives talk to Domi-
nick’s girl friend. He gave Sergeant Me-
hallick the girl’s name, but the girl’s
mother told him that her daughter had not
Deen home since Sunday, “But we “wot a

telegram from her,” she added. “She’s
in Georgia—Savannah—and she wants
money.”

The chain of evidence was lengthening,
Sergeant Mehallick reflected. Dominick
and the girl missing since Sunday; Domi-
nick positively placed near the scene of the
crime; Dominick identified as a member of
the hot car gang by Marche; and Marche

had linked Bubna to the case very
strongly.
At the sergeant’'s request, the girl’s

mother showed him the telegram and said
she had not sent the $50 her daughter had
asked for because she didn’t have the
money. Mehallick told her not to send the
money, even if she was able to raise it, and
assured her the girl would be back soon.

When Lieutenant Bricker heard what
Mehallick had learned he immediately
contacted the FBI bureau in Savannah and
requested their aid. In less than three
hours the G-men called him back and said
they had apprehended Dominick and the
girl. The car they were driving was a gray
sedan, registered to a James G. McFadden
of Erie, Pennsylvania. Savannah police had
it on their reports as a stolen car.

“McFadden!” Bricker echoed when he
heard the name. “McFadden is Bubna.
Here we go again.”

One more link had been added to the
chain of evidence.

Bricker immediately sent Sergeants
Mathias and Schauer to Savannah, but be-
fore they could reach the Georgia city, the
FBI questioned Dominick about having
transported a stolen car across state boun-
daries, a federal offense.

Dominick exploded with what appeared
to be righteous indignation. “That’s crazy!”
he shouted. “He knew I had the car. He
told me to get it out of town. Why the hell
should he report it stolen?”

When the Erie detectives reached Sa-
vannah they pursued this point. “We know
you had to get the car out of town,” Ser-
geant Schauer said to Dominick, “because
you killed Robert Fischer and used the
gray sedan to haul his body to the woods.
We have witnesses who saw you there with
the car.”

For a moment Dominick seemed about
to panic, but getting a grip on himself, he
spoke with quiet urgency. “Look,” he said,
“I didn't do it. Bubna is trying to hang this
all on me. I didn’t have any reason to kill
Fischer. They did—and they killed him at
the house that night. Then they told me to
Ket rid of him. I was afraid they’d kill me
too if I didn’t do what they told me, so ]
just dumped him as quick as I could and
took off for Florida. That’s the way it hap-
pened, I swear it. I saw Big Mike shoot
him right in the head—down there in the
cellar!”

Now that Dominick was ready to tell the
whole story, a stenographer was brought in
to take his statement. According to Domi-
nick, this is how the murder came about:

The whole thing began at the West 26th
Street hideout of the hot car ring, where
Big Mike Bubna, his sister, Mildred
Thomas, and Dominick and his girl friend
had gathered and were drinking heavily.
Big Mike was seething with rage because
he had discovered that two of his best
men, Fischer and Marche, were holding out
a car on him and were planning to go into
the racket on their own. Mildred Thomas
was the brains of the outfit, Dominick said,
but Big Mike played the big shot.

“He was always making like Edward G.
Robinson,” Dominick said bitterly, “order-
ing us around and making us do the dirty
work. Millie was the real brains. She was
the one who always laid out the plans and
took care of the money. And you can bet
she always cut the biggest share for her
and Bubna.”

The young punks recruited by himself
and Fischer to steal cars, Dominick said,

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52

Ug re ere

Witness shows detectives spot where murder was committed

Robert had been missing for several days from the apart-
ment he shared with Warren and his wife.

Despite his premonition, Warren was understandably re-
luctant to check on it—possibly for fear that his premoni-
tion would prove true. His indecision was dispelled,
however, by a mysterious phone call inquiring about Rob-
ert. When told Robert was not there, the man on the
phone asked Warren Fischer to meet him “for a talk
about Bob.”

Identifying himself as a Mr. McGuire, the man said,
“Meet me at 13th and Peach. And listen—don’t read any
newspapers before you see me.”

The call had the effect of removing all doubt and un-
certainty from Warren Fischer’s mind; he was now sure

that the dead man in the published picture was his brother. .

He knew he now had to contact the police. That is what
he did, before keeping his appointment with the mysterious
Mr. McGuire.

Warren Fischer’s call to headquarters was routed to
Captain Roy B. Mong of the city detective bureau, who
told Fischer to meet him at the morgue at St. Vincent’s.
There Warren took only a quick look at the body of the
murdered man and said, “That’s my brother Bob: I was
afraid something like this might happen. And I don’t mind
saying that now I’m.afraid for myself. I haven’t liked the
kind of crowd Bob has been running around with—and if
they’d do this to him, there’s no telling what else they’d do.”

Warren Fischer was unable to offer much of value on
the kind of people his brother was “running around with,”
but said he had been suspicious of his brother’s strange

activities in recent weeks. An aura of mystery had sur-
rounded everything about Bob—mysterious phone calls,
mysterious overnight trips. One thing was sure, it wasn’t
normal behavior. Warren told Captain Mong about his
phone call from Mr. McGuire. He said he didn’t think he
should meet the man. :

“You won’t have to,” Captain Mong assured him. “We'll
keep that date for you. I'd like to have a talk with this
McGuire.”

After he had’sent Warren Fischer to headquarters with
an officer to make a formal statement, Captain Mong pon-
dered on the available’ facts. He had never met Robert
Fischer, but he happened to know that the man had no
police record. He knew this because Robert Fischer’s name
had been mentioned at a-conference in headquarters only
two or three days before.

-On March 2nd a young patrolman, Everett Ruska, re-
ported that he had a tip on a car which was stolen from
a parking lot at the Eagles Club. According to Ruska’s
information, the hot car was hidden in a barn near Cam-
bridge Springs, 30 miles south of Erie.

Erie police had been on the track of a gang ‘of clever
car thieves operating in the city for months. They had
reason to believe that one Big Mike Bubna, who occasion-
ally used the name McFadden, was the leader of the stolen-
car ring.

Captain Mong recalled that Bubna had been turned over
to the state police only the day before, on a false registra-
tion charge, after the city police had been unable to prove
anything more serious against him at that time.

State police checking out Patrolman Ruska’s tip about
the hideaway in Cambridge Springs had learned that the
barn was owned by an Erie woman, and the investigation
cleared her of any personal involvement. But at the time
that Big Mike Bubna was ordered picked up, a similar
order had been issued for a second man, who, it turned
out, was the estranged husband of the woman who owned
the barn. Bubna had been found with no difficulty. The
second man was still being sought. His name was—Robert
Fischer.

Captain Mong promptly busied himself with the hos-
pital telephone, informing other investigators of these new
developments and setting in motion the plans to meet the
mysterious Mr. McGuire at the appointment set for sev-
eral hours hence.

In the meantime,:he sent a patrol car to the apartment
of Robert Fischer’s widow, with orders to bring her back
to the hospital. When she arrived, she corroborated the
earlier identification of the victim, then submitted to ques-
tioning. Captain Mong, Lieutenant Bricker and the other
detectives hoped she might be able to offer some informa-
tion about her dead husband’s apparent connection with
Erie’s stolen-car ring. They were doomed to disappoint-
ment. ;

“T can’t tell you anything about it,’ Mrs. Fischer said.
She explained that she had not lived with her husband
since’ their separation several weeks before. His heavy
drinking and strange behavior had broken up their mar-
riage, and she had finally decided to get a divorce. She
was, nonetheless, shocked and saddened by the death of
the man she had married.

“There’s only one thing I can tell you that might have:
some bearing on what happened,” she said. “Bob came to
my apartment the other night. He was pretty drunk and
wanted to use the telephone. He seemed to be having an
argument with someone over money. He left in a taxi,
and I didn’t see him after that.”

The stakeout at 13th and Peach Streets, near the Union
Station in Erie, had been planned with meticulous care,
and the welcoming committee for ‘‘Mr. McGuire” was a
large one. Detectives, both in cars and on foot, had been
planted unobtrusively. Their orders were to watch for the
approach of any person who loitered suspiciously near the
corner. The men in cars were to follow any auto which
slowed down or lingered in the vicinity.

The plan was
time set for the
the corner. He
leaned against a
to wait. Captain
moved in, Minu
at headquarters.

He identified
was he who ha
appointment. T!
was because he °
brother was the
published in the

“What do yor
Bricker asked.

Marche said f
slain man, but
just between the
thing to do with

Marche was I
an opportunity

Sergeant Meh
ning to loom im
tives. “I feel ce
Marche is going
car-theft racket
was in it, and '
tied up with sto
I think we ma)
it. I think this
is moving hot «

Minutes afte
proved to be th
a report from
nothing surprisi
fired from the -

But the nex
The serial nun
the records shc
George Marche

Fetched fron
faced detective
gun had been
explanation, he
anything he sa

Marche’s fac
“Look,” he sai:
didn’t kill hin
and I know a
do with this «
Only I want i

I can prove it.
papers say, I «
an alibi for th
“All right,”
hear it.”
Marche said
the -murder r
hotel he had
Sunday morni
account for al
Several people
that it would
back to Erie .
time. “I was
“Fischer and |
money for ou:
He said he a
gang and stri)
he believed, t
this was the r
to frame him -
“That was }
seen it in mor
a long time a¢


y had sur-
aone calls,
5, it wasn’t
about his
’t think he

iim. “We'll
< with this

irters with
Mong pon-
net Robert
an had no
her’s name
arters only

Ruska, re-
ittolen from
to Ruska’s
near Cam-

s of clever
They had
9 occasion-
the stolen-

urned over
ie registra-
le to prove
ne.

; tip about
od that the
iestigation
at the time
, a similar
, it turned
who owned
culty. The
as—Robert

1 the hos-
these new
o meet the
et for sev-

apartment
g her back
orated the’
ed to ques-
i the other
ie informa-
action with
disappoint-

ischer said.
ear husband
His heavy
their mar-
vorce. She
ie death of

might have:
ob came to
drunk and
: having an
in a taxi,

> the Union
‘ulous care,
ure” was a
t, had been
atch for the
ily near the
auto which

The plan was successful. Prompt to the minute of the
time set for the appointment, a young man appeared at
the corner. He stopped, looked around carefully, then
leaned against a building, lit a cigarette, and settled down
to wait. Captain Mong gave the signal and the detectives
moved in. Minutes later, the man was being questioned
at headquarters.

He identified himself as George Marche and admitted it
was he who had called Warren Fischer and made the
appointment. The reason for the appointment, he said,
was because he wanted to tell Warren that he thought his
brother was the murdered man whose picture had been
published in the papers.

“What do you know about Bob Fischer?” Lieutenant
Bricker asked.

Marche said he had been engaged in business with the
slain man, but he refused to elaborate. “Tt was private,
just between the two of us,” he said. “It didn’t have any-
thing to do with his murder.”

Marche was held on an open charge to give the police
an opportunity to investigate his background.

Sergeant Mehallick voiced the thought that was begin-
ning to loom importantly in the minds of the other detec-
tives. “I feel certain,” the sergeant said, “that this fellow
Marche is going to turn out to have a connection with the
car-theft racket. It seems pretty certain now that Fischer
was in it, and the whole thing begins to look like it was
tied up with stolen cars. If we can trace Fischer to a gang,
I think we may find out why he was killed and who did
it. I think this is a gang killing—and I think the gang
is moving hot cars.”

Minutes after this came a development which later
proved to be the turning point in the entire case. It was
a report from ballistics. The first paragraph contained
nothing surprising: The bullets in Fischer’s head had been
fired from the Belgian automatic.

But the next paragraph contained electrifying news:
The serial number of the weapon had been traced, and
the records showed it was registered in the name of one
George Marche.

Fetched from his cell, Marche faced a circle of grim-
faced detectives. The facts were spelled out for him: his
gun had been used to murder a man, and if he had an
explanation, he’d better start talking. He was warned that
anything he said might be used against him as evidence.

Marche’s face went dead white. His hands trembled.
“Look,” he said, his voice pleading for understanding, “I
didn't kill him. I don’t know who did. I knew Fischer
and I know a lot of things that might have something to
do with this case, and I’m willing to tell you all of it.
Only I want it understood now that I didn’t do it. And
I can prove it. If he was killed on March fourth, like the
papers say, I can prove I couldn’t have done it. I’ve got
an alibi for that whole week end.”

“All right,’ Sergeant Mehallick said quietly. ‘“Let’s
hear it.”

Marche said he was in Portland, Maine, at the time when
the murder must have been committed. He named the
hotel he had stayed at and said he’d been there from
Sunday morning until Monday night, and that he could
account for all his movements while he was in Portland.
Several people had seen him, he claimed, and could testify
that it would have been impossible for him to have come
back to Erie and then returned to Portland during that
time. “I was there to get rid of a hot car,” he admitted.
“Fischer and I got the car and we were going to keep the
money for ourselves.”

He said he and Bob Fischer had decided to cut out of the
gang and strike out on their own. This was the reason,
he believed, that Fischer was killed. He also suggested
this was the reason his gun had been used in the slaying—
to frame him when the weapon was traced to him.

“That was my gun, all right,” he said, “only I haven’t
seen it in months. Big Mike Bubna took it away from me
a long time ago and I never have (Continued on page 73)

Said gang member, “Mildred laid plans for the big jobs.”

Big Mike Bubna was pinched when witnesses started to -talk

53


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50

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Mong’s officers learned Foster had been
friendly with a girl named Leona Mae
Shayrock.

When the police sought this girl, they
discovered she also had left town on
Monday night. This coincided with the
time of the murder and Foster's de-
parture from the city, and the police
immediately doubled their efforts to get
a line on the pair.

From friends of the Shayrock girl,
they obtained significant information.
She had told them about a trip to Flor-
ida with a boy friend, though she had
not mentioned his name. Believing this
man to be Foster, Mong advised Lieuten-
ant Bricker of his discovery, and the
Lawrence Park barracks commandant
immediately broadcast an alarm for the
wanted man and the girl believed to be
with him. His complete description was
forwarded to Washington, where FBI
teletypes warned agents throughout the
South to be on the watch for Foster
and the gray Pontiac car.

EANWHILE, in Erie, the State

Police sought to tie up the loose

ends. Shots fired from the Belgian pistol

disclosed that this was the murder gun.

It was traced to a relative of the murder
victim.

Queried about the weapon, the rela-
tive said, “Elbert Corliss took that pistol
from my house several months ago.”

Corliss was then confronted with this
fact and admitted it. “But,” he said,
“the gun was taken away from me.”
When questioned further, he refused to
say who took it.

All evidence to date pointed to Fos-
ter as the killer and Corliss as a pos-
sible accessory. With this in mind, the
police thought it expedient to throw
this accusation at the confessed auto
thief.

Corliss instantly denied the charge
and insisted he had been in Portland.
“Why, I made several phone calls back
to Erie,” he declared. “They'll prove
where I was and at what time I was
there.”

The police realized that Corliss might
be telling the truth, though they were
not overlooking the possibility that
someone else might have made the phone
calls in his name. After a full statement
concerning his complete alibi was taken
from Corliss, a thorough check-up was
started.

OTHING was heard about Foster
during the rest of Thursday, but
early Friday, in Savannah, Georgia, an
FBI agent started to comb the city’s
hotel lobbies and eating places for
someone resembling the fugitive. All
he had was the Pennsylvania State Po-
lice description of the suspected killer.
About noon, a tall, curly-haired man

CRIME DETECTIVE

AIOE RE CHAN ERE ES TRIE OR NMEE IGE CRO R

passed the
man ment

and decide
tive. He «
and tappe

“You're |
vania,” he

Caught «
ed and
was imme
Questioned
Leona Ma
tiac might
had _ broke:
and the gir

In respor
Foster said ¢
Mike Bubna
the Florid:
Robert Fis
conversatior
said he knev
either alive
to refrain t
murder t
to a gener

After I
questions fr
tody while
Shayrock
the story
from Foster
the G-men |
not believe

While she
the Pontiac vy
was found sé
under the seat
This injected
one which t!
previously

The G-mer
stains in the
it to Washi:
by their lab

Foster was
of'car theft. }
behind the w
the Shayrock
transporting
agreed to
Erie.

Notified
ments, Lieute
dispatched S
poral Mathia
left for Sav:
companied by

When thes
newspapers
Robert Fis¢
and that a!
be exposed in
was not revea
rapidly build:
case against t!
these illegal ac
pointed to Big
as James Mc!
the 26th Stree:

CRIME DETECTI\

i el

_ too. It

chair.
juously.

“May-
d. “He
ust as

thers.

ie was

you a

got an
pin that

ne back,
his cell.

the ser-
e getting
uld have
ss had a
ve been
gang on
‘b> might
were
1 on the

we

what Big

ster, Millie
er woman
found in
srought to

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“Canvass the garages and find out
who sent a truck out there Monday
night,” Bricker ordered.

The city police proved cooperative in
this task, and before nightfall results
were obtained. Three garage employees
told canvassing officers that they had
responded to a call Monday night and
hauled a mired gray Pontiac coach from
the mud at the golf course.

This car corresponded to the descrip-
tion of the one stolen from the front of
the clubhouse Saturday and subsequent-
ly, according to the statement made by
Corliss, hidden in the Cambridge
Springs barn.

The garage employees said that a
slim, dark-faced man called at the
garage late Monday night and asked
that a tow truck be sent to the golf
course. The trio responded, extricating
the vehicle. Then the slim man paid the
charges, and drove off.

When he received this information,
Mehallick said, “That sounds like Cor-
liss. There goes his alibi.”

However, when the garage employees
were brought face to face with the
prisoner at the jail, they shook their
heads. “He’s not the man,” they said.

Bubna likewise drew a clean bill of
health from them, although he did not

CRIME DETECTIVE

answer their description of the Pontiac
driver. The police were certain that the
man who had procured and paid for the
two trucks was connected with the kill-
ing of Robert Fischer. Likewise, it was
logical to assume that the stolen Ponti-
ac was the murder car.

a went through the files
and produced pictures of every
member of the auto ring, plus those of
several persons known to have visited
the mob’s headquarters on 26th Street.
After these photos were mixed with
shots of others not connected with the
case, they were shown to the garagemen
who were asked to select anyone who
looked familiar.

Suddenly, all three halted over one
photo.

The trio were pointing to a picture
of Hal Foster.

The picture now became clear im-
mediately to the police. Foster, one of
the visitors to the 26th Street house,
connected with Big Mike Bubna’s activi-
ties, had apparently driven Robert Fisch-
er to the golf course, and had mired
his car in an attempt to leave the scene.

Three garage employees swore he
had arrived at that place of business
in another car and asked to have his

own car towed out. The workers te-
turned with him, extricated the Pontiac,
were paid, and saw Foster drive off. The
employees were positive about the iden-
tification.

Despite this information, the state
police did not believe that this elimin-
ated Corliss. They had also learned
that someone was with Foster when
the latter came to the garage. It could
have been his associate in the car-steal-
ing racket who claimed to have been
in Portland. When the garage men were
asked about this, they could not identify
Foster’s companion of the murder night
because they had not seen him clearly.

The state police immediately let it be
known that they wanted Hal Foster.
News that he was being sought, how-
ever, was withheld from Corliss, Bubna
and the other suspects held in custody.

Since the Erie police .previously had
arrested Foster on two occasions on
charges of assault, detectives who knew
the man were sent out by Captain Roy
B. Mong, chief of the Homicide Bureau,
to find him. This quest was unsuccess-
ful. According to several witnesses, they
discovered Hal Foster had suddenly
left town. This getaway deepened the
suspicion against him, and a check of
the man’s recent activities was begun.

49

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Dict tne

>en passed the agent on the street. The G-
{ae man mentally checked his description
and decided he had found the Erie fugi-
tive. He caught up with the pedestrian
and tapped him on the shoulder.

“You're Hal Foster, of Erie, Pennsyl-
vania,” he said, quickly.

Caught off-guard, the suspect whirl-
ed and weakly nodded his head. He
was immediately taken to headquarters.
cl. Questioned by the FBI, Foster told where

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as Leona Mae Shayrock and the gray Pon- ji sy SUITS
lor- tiac might be found. The car, he said, : \ 2 SUITS $18.95!
had l had broken down at Savannah as he a: ves
this and the girl were headed for Florida. ' yal @ Modern Styles!
ten- In response to further questioning, 7\.4 dd 10 @ Luxurious Looks!
the Foster said the Pontiac belonged to Big a by) DS 100.00 @ Quality Fabrics!
i Mike Bubna, who had lent it to him for - y =
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, H cal low. am enclosing $1. ._ I'l pay
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nie not believe a word she told them. |
pistol , SATISFIED | Name
ago.’ While she was taken to headquarters, ; |
‘this the Pontiac was searched, and marijuana | Address
a de was found secreted in the door pockets,
ne.” under the seats and in a rear spare tire. PHOTO SPECIALS
ed to This injected a new angle into the case, bind wn have a paige proarl ce lor DELUXE
one which the police had not suspected ~ investigator. — ot heme in asd 30 STUDIO TYPE
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Foster was under arrest on suspicion » SWING-OUT .22 pr ae x
harge of'car theft. Because she had been found eT eT cart ENLARGEMENTS
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lls back the Shayrock girl faced a charge of ONLY an anats, snapshot (incl. Hoa
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Notified of their arrests and state-
ments, Lieutenant Bricker immediately
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poral Mathias to return the pair. They
left for Savannah that same night, ac-
companied by County Detective Coates.

When these arrests were made, Erie

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| newspapers hinted that the murder of your paycheck. No co-makers. Rnouat [24 Wan
| Robert Fischer would soon be solved, IT’S BRAND NEW whie°a¢ nominal cont which rl pay $100 | 35.33
«. ; , anes the balan 1 death. ;
ster and that a huge marijuana ring would This snub-nosed beauty Is precision eng estate here youve rorhibe cogpen [$300 ua ;
. . now. ¥
bai be exposed in consequence. However, it re my Eire pean seer tt his eosin pow LpeBnvelope. No obligation. Act! [amount |30Meninif
, was not revealed that the police were pocket or purse. With the new exclusive swing DIAL FINANCE CO., 410 Kipatrick Bidg. |_0! Leen | Payments
1a, an idly buildi incriminatin out feature, it's brand new and easily the ae = I panes 2) Nenroere, | S800 | 598.78.
city’s rapidly building up an 8 pe Bagge by of its os — for | DIAL FINANCE CO., Dept. 12-206 $1,000 | $42.2
} " i i i sporting events, games, contests, stage-use 410 Kilpatrick Bidg., Omaha 2,Neb. NO AGENT
ices for case against the mob in connection with sporting events, eermit: required ‘ONL sb98 vai aauats — oo Mo AGENT |
All these illegal activities, and that all signs & 35¢ shipping. Send seat, ghee or mone | ssa .
d ‘ ‘ ‘ order or order C.0.D, ($1.00 Depos'
te Po- pointed to Big Mike Bubna, also known available to Calif. residents. or New Yor City. |
+ kille as James McFadden, as the head and Not sold to minors under age 21. Addrese-annna=-------nenn-nnanonenen nnn na nnn n cnn
{ killer. 6th § h ‘ heed State age when ordering. UO. co ndiidounsedpsdnastiver=
man the 26th Street house as headquarters. Royal Advtg. Corp. ept 233 Lynbresk. W.Y. 1 diceinsk nib aii te Mite Bains oe vsssentsne

ETECTIVE CRIME DETECTIVE


NOW GROOM HAIR WITH Bubna, Fischer, Corliss, Foster and | ing that
POLARAY AND WATCH at least two other men comprised the as the
. mob which had built up an enterprise | murder.
Amazing ottle Gun of considerable proportions from car
Eze
e Sque ro Si thefts and drug-peddling. OST!
8 we seo Stops Hal Foster was not informed of a was
murder charge until he arrived back in investigat
t Erie on March 14th. Then, in the office It bega
of Assistant District Attorney McLaugh- to the ba
lin, he was told of the accusation. Street or
Almost immediately the investigation demande
di f , students, cab drivers, watch- : : i .
y : elf defense for wesoriners, gas station attendants received an entirely new reaction from Mae Sha
re. ¥ g etc. Handy palm size squeeze bottle shoots amazing the man who had so willingly con- and a rela
Sust poe gigas “Tem eerily bilnds a dio. fessed the theft of cars. It was plain i.
Just point le m, r nds ani S- . acc
Works like a Prism, Uses Light Mhles, fortabout = how Githaat potwonant injury or h wanted out and Hal said 50 house, —
Rays (NOT DYE) to Restore Color!: after effects. Fits pocket or purse. Wards off robbers, € ’ . Bubna
: agi rapists, hoodlums, vicious animals. After the officers gave Foster a com- AUS a
Apply like you would any hair dressing. Use it to SEND NO MONEY. Just mail name and address for . ae )
comb and groom hair. As you do, you automatically Defendo. Specify “clear” or with red stain to aid plete breakdown of their suspicions jokes.”
orm anna coming on Your tarThwsceake | BSS'pSpuineany sehata'cn earases ft at- | against him, the prisoner began shalt fad, joes
a polarizing lens, transforms light rays into a dark- isfied ithin 10 days f hi ri fund. . « : a ~
ening agent. Restores grey, faded or streaked hair Cash oat da 25¢ ond we vie gan gd es ae his head. “You missed by a mile,” he was not f
back to its original, vibrant color. Your more youth- yourself this easy way. Mail order today. said. ‘““That murder didn’t take place began
ful appearance comes about gradually (2 to 3 weeks) C & E SALES, Dept.441, 3016 W. VanBuren St.—Chicage 12, WM h If » gan
and the change is natural, not drastic. Not a dye or up at that golf course. stated an
stain. Won't streak hair or come off on your pillow. This statement came as a complete his tirade
USE FOR 4 WEEKS -- AT OUR RISK surprise to the investigators. What “Mike
Get your 3 month supply in a handy, unbreakable ‘ seemed to be the strongest premise in “ .
plastic jar for only $2.98 ppd. or 2 jars for $5.00, L U C KY h : FE ye P . and beg
Use for 4 full weeks. Then, if you aren't delighted | L OD ESTO NESe the case against Foster, the assumption with his |
with your natural, more youthful appearance, return MAGNETIC LODESTONES i : to take Le
it for your money back in full, no questions asked. oor, bebe gi whe eee F ana rah ean had been taken for . ride . =
POLARAY, Dept. P-22. 95 Madison Ave N.Y.C.16 | TIMES. "We offer our_ANCIENT and slain, now was being contradicted. going to
BRAND of highly MAGNETIC Could this mean that the entire theory according
LODESTONES, the same type the ANCIENTS may . : >
have used. Our ANCIENT Be AND Of highly MAG. | had been all wrong from the beginning: want her
to i flannel “ : i» ‘
Opportunities everywhere for trained pam Mise tbl) a so-called Tallsmanie ‘Seal of ‘Lack All right, then, Mehallick finally When
omen, . 20, as 8 t F MOSE: by : : ”
maar gabe eaut ae bast Pantin Ree Louis de Claremont. ALL FOUR items for only $2.00 asked, where did it happen? ; bedroom
information about easy home study capa . We make no claims and sell For a moment, Foster hesitated. It scissors, ;
lan, lapel pin, certificate and re- ‘ANCIENT PRODU H , 257- : : - +. ;
Farding future. No salesmen will call. 504 HICKSVILLE RD. Ore, Oe Eon. Y. toa obvious that he realized the. 9 Bue did)
PROFESSIONAL INVESTIGATORS ousness of his own position. Unless he ment sta
PO Box 41197-T Los Angeles 41, California . .
told the truth, all evidence pointed to cellar. Fos:
: him as the killer. He shifted uneasily and looke
in his seat and then said slowly, “In “Bubna
-New .
fF , the. basement of the house on 26th head agair
. “Street.” rg
. Relief Be aa man was
Gives You Instant Back Relie The effect was electrifying. This was a gun ou!
Eliminates ‘‘Bay Window’’ Look a new angle, a promising one. shots inti
: Quickly, following up this lead, Mc- A sten
Feel and look like a new person imm ediately! Laughlin asked, “You killed him there?” Laughlin,
Sacro-Belt, with exclusive elastic. front power Hal Foster shook his head. ‘““Not me,” Mehallick
panel, lifts your abdomen up while it pulls in. he said. “Big Mike and Millie did it. was doing
Relieves downward pressure of the diaphragm to Mew ‘killed Fische? becative Hie tried to ng
permit easier, deeper breathing. Eases pressure y ‘ Stated the
on the back and spine — wonderful relief from, collect $300 due to him on a stolen Fischer's
backache, strain, tension. Recommended for back car.” wallet out
orang erry ing og Ser eee pep Although this information seemed throwing
surgery. Slims you, tri . C : ‘ : ,
and energy...yet so light and comfortable you'll incredible, Mehallick quickly pointed out Continu
forget you're wearing it. that it fitted in exactly with his original stated the
theories about the motive. aad fae,
| FEEL BETTER—LOOK YOUNGER “Let’s have it from the beginning,” up after ‘
¢ Holds your back in ¢ Increases your breath- the sergeant told Foster, “including how lieve fo i
firmly yet gently ity that man’s body got up on the golf ee iy
adi ¢ Helps relieve tension coheed” y 8 B bury it. “I
* Flattens your front due to lack of support Th ; ee hief nodded. “I Get rid «
bulge, trims inches — eliminates nagging e@ confessed car thiel nodded. Leona }
off your waist b can clear that up first,” he said. “Fisch- new dns
TRY 10 DAYS FREE BRON ane mrnanne ten changed
Here Is the secret of TRY 10 there in the gray Pontiac, on Bubna’s Ged ier
Soarpabie, pover: [WARD GREEN CO. Dept. $B-4012 | | orders. He also told me to get out of dded ti 7
pene See ee tiene 43 West 61st Street, New York 23, N. Y. town with the stolen car, so the police added tha
in ‘back panel lift ush for ten days approval the new SACRO ; Pea her in th
and held your back ELT. After wearing for ten days, | can wouldn’t talk to me.

return it for full refund of purchase price
if not satisfied.

F | enclose $9.95. Send Pree. 4 will

To Mehallick, this all seemed logical.

WEAR 10 DAYS FREE He could see the pieces dropping into

mS a Age $1.00 sepoek, Send 0.0. place. Fischer, hot in connection with the
ha A ph ale My waist eis inch rapidly approaching show-down with
eee ei. ee aiaiie the auto ring, had been suppressed so
ten days. If notthrilled h ld lL Si ’ <
ton tags, cere ADDRESS e could not squeal. Since Big Mike
<MiTuouT etter for full _rofend. Mall city ZONE___STATE Bubna stood to lose most by any talk-
52 CRIME DETECTIVE CRIME DETE

a 7 ° -


pow ae
3

BUCCIERI, Pietro, white, hanged Reading, PA, 6/29/1893.
“Reading Pa., June 29-Pietro Buccieri was hanged here this morning. The drop fell at
11"06 o’clock. He was dead at 11:14 o’clock. Pietro Buccieri’s crime was one of the most
fiendish in the criminal annals of the state. He was born in Italy 37 years ago, came to this

country 13 years ago, and drifted to Reading, where he carried on shoemaking and often attended

to the correspondence of his fellow countrymen. In February, 1892, he was admited to St.
Joseph’s Hospital, suffering from a burned arm, received by an explosion of his lamp in his shop.
On June 23, the sisters served the hospital patients with milk, and when Sister Hildaberta handed
him his, he jumped out of his bed, pursued her with an open knife out into the corridor and finally
into the kitchen and plunged the knife into her abdomen, She died the next day, and so strong
was the feeling against the prisoner that there was some talk of lynching him, but better counsel
prevailed, and he was given a fair trial last September, convicted and sentenced to be hanged.
Buccieri’s motive for the killing has never been divulged, and it is the universal belief that he
plotted the murder without provocation, and in his own fiendish nature carried it out, His wife,
son and his mother and a aisster live in Italy, and have been informed of his fate.”-Constitution,
Atlanta, GA, 6/30/1893,

See Large Card also.
BUCCIERI, Pietro, white, hanged Reading, Pa., June 29, 1893.

"Reading, Pa., June 29, - Pietro Buccieri was hanged here this morning.

The drop fell at 11:06 o'clock, He was dead at 11:1) o'clock. Pietro
Buccieri's crime was one of the most fiendish in the criminal annals of

the state. He was born in Italy thirty-seven years ago, came to this
country thirteen years ago, and in 1890 drifted to Reading, where he carried
on shoemaking and often attended to the correspondence of his fellow
countrymen. In February, 1892, he was admitted to St. Joseph's hospital,
suffering with » burned arm, received by an explosion of his lamp in his
shop. On June 23, the sisters served the hospital patients with milk, and
when Sister Hildabertra handed him his, he jumped out of his bed, pursued
her with an open knife out into the corridor and finally into the kitchen anc
plunged the dirk into her abdomen. ‘She died the next day, and so strong was
the feeling against the prisoner thet there was some talk of lymching him ,
but better counsel prevailed, and he was given a fair trial last September,
convicted and sentenced to be hanged. Buccieri's motive for the killing
has never been divulged, and it is the universal belief that he plotted the
murder without provocation, and in his own fiendish nature carried it out,
His wife, son and his mother and a sister live in Italy, and have been in-
formed of his fate." CONSTITUTION, Atlanta, Ga., June 30, 1893 (1:7.)

z . .
3 one d 7
. . Pd a, *
Vv e

Zheres Buecsen | leva diag , Ca aged 6 -AFIFEIF
ot et se al sein a Ken» feaad_xn9 C
aeeone Como UStlsffat lo acing wu 1887. : |
1 ieee has OS = a = |
victim Wun Seitin M Mia ft LY AGE eee METHOD ¢
wis ‘ Ag ama Orth Peoria
Ciethhiol

woh disaitd Lin As hitce ef Zag far ins et ob

[ohn cae ee sis

Pecnce ener cd pLall fesyelts Mgtalol, facing, a. of Dd; hs Ob

‘ae tt Pie oA 2 : mu Lerlirs~
AILS SEITE T EET OT OE
Wat fr Meade kes tulad Mreid (nh 2 Ybt2t 7 ih, Dre cp cehieh ler

OU daide. be atest haste tht des OL Laddoed
PES EIT LI Lucac”, Hel Kabdomin - he Cuctin atdepnion tue
Milad ead Cadibed AT Ad dipper Csas faled, Bucacet Mer
ee ae a ae Mis ciaclintt tayppneny
Les hd tiyctdlteg

APPEALS

ay aan


R
‘

4, vedgide. when she started back to the kitchen,
¢ abdomen and hip, with the knife,

BUCCISRI, Pietro
7 Penge
Y ueciert, a 38-year-old native of

Italy, was an epileptic, He emi-
grated to the United States in 188

3 and settled in Reading, Pas, in
On January 7,

and permanently crippling
S Hospital, a charitable
ere on June 23, 1892, For
er-Mary Hildaberta (born
developed a hatred for
several occasions. Around
he borrowed a penknife from another

3 1887 where he practiced his trade as a shoe maker,
1892, an oi] lamp exploded, severely burning.

nw

his left arm, He was taken to St. Joseph!
institution, and he was still a patiant th
Some reason, he became convinced that Sist
iliie Shannton), disliked Italians and .he
her that he expressed to another patient on
4:30 on the afternoon of the 23rd,
Yoationt, explaining that he wished to mend some pants, and 9 as his
) left arm was crippled, the other patient opened the knife for him,

}While this was taking place, Sister Mary Hildeberta was in the ward
¥ delivering two glasses of milk

9 one of which she placed at Buccleri's
he followed rapidly
r three times, in the breast,

The wound in the abdomen was fatal
as he had twisted the knife around in her intestines and she died

in intense agony the next daye Buccieri's defense was ons of insanity
induced by his oul leney, but it was shown that ne had only one

x 4nd when he reached her, he stabbed he

seizure after he entered the hospital and that had been ee

previously, His request for a ot Re The ace was
tried, convicted and sentence ie °

wiuarie te the Pennsylvania Supreme Court whih and miei ver

twenty-four errors and the Court affirmed the judgement o ne

court on March 20, 1893. Buccieri was hanged at Reading on June

295 1893. .

" eeHANG BY THA NECK..." by Teeters, Page 329
SCAFFOLD AND CHAIR, Part II, by Teeters. Page 5)
153 PENNSYLVANIA 535

; WORKSHERT - PENNSYLVANIA - NWU

Tony Burchanti

PLACE — CITY QR COUNTY DOE & MEANS

Rockview (Lakkawanna County) FE, 601-1925

DOS OR AGE OCCUPATION . i RESIDENCE GEN

NAME John Torti

CRIME DATE
Murder 7-30-1923

MICTIM

Edvard Murphy

“ST™HS51d up of payroll on Laurel Line limited train at Moosic a :

synorsisThe following from SCRANTON TIM =S, Scranton, Pa., June L, 1925 (Photo or both on Tront Daney
It took 1) minutes to HXXHUKKR execute both men, "Burchanti, first to die, actually raced from his
Cell to the death chamber 0 feet snay and with 2 smite that at—timesseemed-more tike-a-sring—
directed at the 6 official witnesses and the Scranton newspaper men, he placed himself_in the chair
without—assistances—_this-was-at—?:61 Ah _Sixe-munites Later,—his Lifeless body -wasshecled from
room, Torti, cool and sullen to the last, took his time walking from his cell to the death chair.
He was strapped in at 7:09 end pronounced dead at 7:15, Both buried at the prison,’ Both had given
guards implicit insturctions that if any clercyman asked to visit them, he was to be told that they
were coing to their deaths without earthly spiritual aid, ‘hen guards entered Burchanti's cell, he
shouted to Torti in next cell: "Goodbye John; I'll see you up above," Torti replied: "All right,
Tony, so long," These were the last words of both, Torti and "Big Jack" Stummy had been cornered
at Tiltonville, Ohio, and Torti shot and wounded before capture, Stummy turned his own gun on self
and suicided, Torti positively identified as gunman but never would discuss case, Both orotested
innocence until end, ‘Ptaway car had been stoten in Scranton severnt weeks previously. _Eurchantt,
an expert mechanic, was driver of getaway car and after train forced to stop, had motor running and
waiting -and-stood-outside train, _helpine—tohold_passentt & i is spend ebbed,———-
Both Burchanti and Torti had worked for the West End Coal company and knew of payroll schedule,
fuit their jobs, leaving behind their pay, several days before ho} dun, _At trial their defense was
an alibi claiming that on day of holdup they had been in Yorkville, Ohio, attending funeral of a
friend killed in-a mining adcident, Friends testified that they were in Yorkville, Bothadmitted
working for Vest End but said they had left to return to soft coal fields, After convictions,
thier witnesses arested for perjury. Convicted after.three hours deliberation, ‘Witnesses threw
themselves on mercy of court and all except Tessi, believed to be brains of attempt to free mea

on peryury testimony, s uspecnded sentences. Tessi sent to prison,

APPEALS

128 ATLANTIC 659

LAST WORDS

EXECUTION

FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY=cOTHAN


Chronology of cases e .
culy 30, 1933-Laurel Line Limited held up at Moosic, and Hdward Murphy,
Killed; Motorman P, J, Durkin and Art Henshall, paymaster of the
ind the West End's payroll of 370,126.03 taken,

Narch 26, 192h-Tony surchanti arrested during attempted holdup of a train
near Lomestead, Pa. Later identified as member of Laurel Line Zanke i
May 19, 192)-John Torti wounded and captured in a gun baktle with state trao
"Bie Jack" Stummy, said to be another member of the gang, died at his own h
ding to the troopers,
June 10, 192h-Torti and Burchanti brought to Scranton and char
with Capt. “illiam A. Clark of the state police as prosecutor,
Oct. 6, 192h-Trial of bandits begins, ba ts :
Ccte 10, 192h-Verdict of murder ‘of the first degree on the first ballot.

Jet, 10, 192h, arrest of witness for defense charged with pergury.

Tec, 16, 192h-Defendants denied new trial, Subsequent appeal to supreme court also denied,

April 8, 1925-Orlando Tesi, witness for. defense, sent to prison for from 34 to 7 years by Judge
hewcomb, Two others let go on suspended sentence, ce

May 7, 1925-Torti.and Burchanti taken to death house by Sheriff Jim READ» ;
vme 1, 1925-Torti and Burchanti die in the electric chair at Rockview,

2
g

&@ vasseneer, shot and
“est ind Coal Company, wounded

carrying 500,000 payroll

pers at Tiltonville, 0%
and when cornered, accor

ged with murder, robbery and assault,

r

¥
“
#
‘f
“ *
¥
‘ *
s
be os
PERE AES SPARES ARE NESE NEM AGE

_ RECORD

- ~@at Magsic Had heen eanturead in Chiesan Admit +ad
Ae OS toe — nd GSC CR CapturegG tn -GALCaLO, HOM Fed

anne SAI SAE i oak ARO a.

NAME PLACE — CITY OR COUNTY DOE & MEANS
Paul Fasci ‘[Rockview, Pa. (T.ackawanna County) EF. 12-27-1926
OCCUPATION i RESIDENCE

GEN

white

DOB OR AGE | RACE

one Vurder DATE 30 -1923 OTHER

VICTIM AGE RACE METHOD .
“dyard Murphy - Robbery

MOTIVE

From: Scranton TIMES for 12=2);-1928: Governor Pinchot declined to reprieve pending an application
synorsislor rehearing before doard of pardons. aAtfidavits had been recelved from Chicaso men who
said they saw Fasci there about the time the Laurel Line train was held up in July, 1923. Fasci
Was" ON poiny oi coltause when ttetivered to penitentiary—on-1=23,— tre they-zoing to-kitioretow?
Are they soine to kill me now?" Fasci pleaded, 'his body shaking like a tree in a storm! when the

—gsheniff tumnad him avon tn thea sandan Thy»aa athone Tey gat 4 Ruyrphent j
CECE EE Vater tert Over to cre Hardens atte © C-GUner

a Te eS ad i Dee cee J _
Vy ave ery ser thoanvst—- ane sasstfecter cagy seen

executed for the same crime, The following from TIMES of Dec, 27, 1926 (Photograph on vaze one,)+
"Shaking life a leaf in a brisk autumn wind, Fan] Fasci joined the ranks of his four dead confeder-
ateSe..,One of the gang, 'Big Jack! Stummy, died by his own hand after state troopers had cornered

“him following a long hunt. Two others, John Torti, the actual killer of Ydward Murphy, and Tony
Burchanti were electrocuted....Mike Sassi convicted in Cambria County of another robbery ANAXEXKK
and killing and electrocuted from there, The five. men committed $72,000 payroll robbery of the
west End Coal Company... hen taken to chair, Fasci showed cowardice. Less seemed to be almost ts9

_ weak to carry him and he leaned heavily on arms of two guards, Reaching chair, he climbed in re-
Luctantiy, uttered somethine—no-ore-coutd-understand-and-in-a_few-minutes—was deads Refused to
have services of clergyman, Hisbrother Orlando had paid him Xmas fisit. Crime had been committed

kno

wine—Torti_and Burchanti but denied being
in robbery with them while admitting being involved in some bootlegging cavers with them. Buried
—in_prison cemetery as were Torti, Burchanti and Bassi, ‘as first man to be tried in Lackawanna
County under law giving jury authority to fix punishment and they decided ondeath, Fasci had
been trailed by State Police through Jestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and finally to
Chicago where captured, He had bought a car in Chicago and gone into business an that city, opera-
ting a cigar store under name of former owner of establishment... Arrested in boarding house by
Pa, State Policeman John C, Mauk and some Chicago detectives, “aived extradition and when returned
to Pa. was identified by four of the passengers present on train when it was held up in the morning,
“The four passengers testified at his triat, identifyine, They testified he was the-man-who-had
frisked the passengers for weapons, poking gun into ribs when he thought they talked too much,
Afterwards te had taken troof the payrolt-_money containers, walked over _body of Murphy and disa=
ppeared with companions, Did not take the stand in his own defense as he maintained he was in
Geieage—at—timeandcould not substantiate, hen train left Scranton on morning of 7-30-1923,
paymaster Arch Henshall of “est End Coal Company was on board with $70,126.03 and accompanied by
two_cuards, Just after train had left Moosic station, a man seated on front seat in smoking comart-
ment, facing rear of car, jumped to his feet, opened the door and oublling a revolver, fired at
Motorman P, J. Durkin and ordered him to stop the train. Three or four other men followed his
lead and started running through the car hollering "Hands up! Hands upi™ Murphy, a salesman for
an oil company en route to wilkes-Barre, dropped his newspaper and looked up to see what was going

tt aaa

a) ree Te be Jon
“whith the Wuxx bandits operated took paymastertenshatt, who-was

on, A second later, he fell across the aisle with a bullet in nits heart. the bandit—who-had
wounded Durkin had turned his sun on KMKX Murphy and killed him instantly. The quéckness with

Meee dv
guards unawares, Bandits fled away in waiting car towards Moosic and car later found abandoned,
Empty—money—containers found in-car which was abandoned on munt2in west of Old Foree,- Torti and
Stummy had been cornered at Tiltonville, Ohio, and Stummy suicided while Torti'was injured in gun-
fight. Torti identified as actual gunman, Burchanti captured when he attempted to take part in a
TEUOO y U0 holdup of Pennsylvania ratiraod train tear homestead, _Torti—amdt _furchentt tried teorethers

APPEALS

13 ATLANTIC 65

LAST WORDS

EXECUTION

SOURCE

FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY-OOTHAN

h a , ;
Re LN ae a

i

{

~


BURKE, James, white, hanged Philadelphia, PA on October 16, 1784

BURKE, James Karat Ce

Ne.,eburke, a (17-year-old? servant boy, killed his
master, Thomas M'Auliffe, a merchant in Philadelphia,
witha claw hammer-as-he slept. He attempted to flee
the country by taking passage on a boat for lreland__ :
under an assumed name. Officials followed him by small
craft down the Delaware River and intc the Delaware

Bay, where his ship was told to stop and unload their

killer passenger. Burke was hanged on October 16, 178."

"  seollang by the Neckeso" by Teeters and.Hedblam. Page 18

See RNS. PENNSYLVANIA--PACKET, Philadelphta, Oct. 18, 178.
PA %* BOOK AND MAGAZINE EXCERPTS.

- ee eee tip hae A ee BURL TB Lt te OOOO BERS oe eee


Dates are from PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.,

7

2267741

4-2-1741

4-(b«174

443-1741

Philadelphia. Last Sunday evening two men Hinoeked:at the door... *!

oF the house of Me: William Bunting in Montgomery
inthis county and being admitted, immediately Fell upon him ith
clubs, Knooked him down and beund him, together with his nephew, a
boy of about (2 years of age, that lived with hiv: Then they broke
open his chest, Took out his money and some of his wearing apparel
and robbed his store of sundry valuable goods, took his horse and
made off. The boy found mains fo get loose and unbound his
uncle, who still had some life remaining but died in a few hours.

On Tuesday Philip Cane and Hugh Cafahan, supposed to be the
murderers, Were apprehended th this city but upon examination
obstinately denied the fact , tho' tis said the deceased's pocketbook
with Some of his wearing appayel and goods Were found upon then
and thar clothes were Stained with bleod in several places. The
were buth Committed to prison. Mr. Bunting's horse was found
yesterday im the woods not far fram town.

Phi lade(phia. Last Friday morning Phi lip Cane, supposed

___, be principally concemed inthe murder of Mr,
Bunting» cut hi's throat in the durigem belonging to the prisen. He ulaS

heard qv struggle but befive anybody could get to him he was dead.
His body was the Same day exposed fp public view in the

ajoining the prison and afterward dragged out of town and buried

in o crossroad. 7

Philadelphia. Monday last at a. Court of dyer ATerminer held
inthis citys Lawrence Callahan wes arraiyhed

forthe murder of William Burrtings He: pleaded guitly and cecetued
Sentane of death accordingly. J.

Philadelphi. Yet Laurence Callahan wos executed here.
: or the murder of Me. Busting «

s — / ae e fe ..

i eae arene

typi


CALLAHAN, Lawrence, white, hanged Philadelphia, pa., XXZEXEK 4/28/1741...

| 7 —

03-26-1741 PHILADELPHIA Last Sunday in the night Mr. William Bunting
a store-keeper in this county, was barbarously
murdered in his own house. The two persons who committed this
murder had the door on their knocking, readily opened to them
by the deceased. They took that opportunity to knock him down
7 with their clubs and continued their blows till they put an end
At? \, to his life. His skull was fractured in several places. Only a
TO boy who was nephew to the deceased lived with his uncle. Him
"/ they tied while they robbed the house and store of several shop
goods etc. which they carried off with a considerable sum of
We money. The murderers were taken the Tuesday following in this
Ay city and committed to gaol where they now lye secured in irons

vay in separate dungeons.

wy ~ Fi , °

04-02-1741 PHILADELPHIA One of the men who was committed to prison
for the murder of William Bunting, mentioned

in our last, by means of a razor or such utensil, cut his
throat so that he died in a short space of time. He was buried
in the manner that such wretched offenders are by law appointed
having a stake drove through his body into the earth. There is
since a suspected accomplice in the said murder apprehended
and committed to prison.

04-16-1741 PHILADELPHIA On Monday last at the Court of Oyer & Terminer
LAWRENCE KALABAN was indicted for the murder
of William Bunting, when he pleaded guilty and received sentence
of death accordingly.

04-23-1741 PHILADELPHIA Yesterday between the hours of 11 and 12 was
executed LAWRENCE CALOGBAN, heretofore men-
tioned in this paper. He died a Roman Catholic and behaved in
a very penitent manner.

LbaTco fine Pow |
America EEC Mex UR Va
" [GU LADEL FHA, Peal


Of Police Told
Father. "She'll

LITTLE after nine a. m., six-
year-old Sue Gourley ca

, trudging up the driveway to the
home of a neighbor, Mrs. Kay Goetz.
Fierce winds were blowing and a light
smattering of snow covered the ground;
this was Saturday, January 23, 1954,
and it was cold out. Yet the child’s coat

was unbuttoned and she wore neither °

hat nor scarf on her head.

“Marty’s gone,” the little girl com-
plained when Mrs. Goetz came to the
door. ‘“She’s disappeared and left me
all alone and I don’t feel good.”

Mrs. Goetz let her in. “Goodness
sake!” she said. “And your father’s at
work, I suppose. Well, you just sit down
and I'll fix you some breakfast.”

At that time, nine a. m., Mrs. Goetz
was perturbed rather than alarmed.
Marta Gibbons—known to everyone as
‘Marty”—was only fifteen, but she
shouldn’t have left her half-sister alone
in the house. That was a thoughtless,
inconsiderate thing to do.

Then came the first, vague premoni-
tion. Marty was not a thoughtless, in-
considerate girl. On the contrary she

was sensible, reliable, with a deep feel- -

‘ing of responsibility, and quite attached
to her half-sister.

Where could she have gone? What
could have happened to make her step
out of character so and go off like this?

“Maybe she decided to do the shop-
ping early,” Mrs. Goetz said as she put
the breakfast on the table. “She’ll be
back soon.” ,

The Goetzes and the Gourleys lived
in the mammoth housing development
known as Levittown, Pennsylvania, just
about the last commuting-distance out-
post northeast of Philadelphia and not
far from Trenton, New Jersey. Their
nearest shopping was three miles away,
reached only through infrequent bus
Service for those who, like fifteen-year-
old Marty, didn’t drive. If Marty had
left for the grocery store she wouldn't
be home until ten, or 10:30. Mrs. Goetz
decided not to worry.

Above, Patricia Coffelt, Marty's
heartbroken sister. At left, PFC
Allen at portentous Curtis Lake

"Kids Do Funny Things," the Chief:

Why Would a Teen-Ager Warder Into |
The Cold Night Without Her Coat? 4

“answered. But the caller was a man, .-4

This Levittown, Pa., -
But >

Come Home."

\
2

OFFICIAL DETECTIVE, @pril, 195i. 4

By eleven, the teen-age girl had not :
shown up. Mrs. Goetz thought she'd 5
better investigate.

“Is your door unlocked?” she asked i‘

ue. 4

It wasn’t; the little girl, curled up
lackadaisically on the sofa watching
television, had a key in her pocket. Mrs.
Goetz put a coat on and trudged across
the street to the Gourley house, at No.
76 Timber Lane. Except for minor var-
iations, homes in this section of Levit-
town are alike and at a glance Mrs. Said
Goetz could see that nothing was amiss.
Sue’s bed was unmade; her sister’s, .
however had been done up but was | |
rumpled slightly as if the girl had a
stretched out on it for a few minutes _@
after arising. ;

On the telephone table was a sheet
of paper, perhaps a note Sue had over-
looked which would explain her sister’s
absence. Mrs. Goetz picked it up and
found scrawled in pencil a woman's
name, address and telephone number.

She dialed the number.

“Is Marty Gibbons there?” she asked
the woman who answered.

“Why, no,” the woman replied.““What ~ a
would she be doing here?” ae

Mrs. Goetz explained about the girl’s Be
unaccountable absence and the note she Bs
found on the telephone table. *

“Marty was supposed to baby-sit for ¥
me tonight,” the woman said. “That - ~~
must be why she had my name. But aay
she’s a sensible girl; I wouldn't worry.”  ~ >

Nevertheless, Mrs. Goetz was becom-
ing alarmed.

“If I can help you,” the woman said,
“let me know.” =

Mrs. Goetz didn’t know quite what ~ 2g
to do then, nor how anyone could help. 2g
She hung up and she was just closing i
the door, to return to her own home, “@
when the telephone rang with an in- _. cat
coming call. . ay

Hoping that it was Marty, Mrs. Goetz “a

William Gourley, Marty’s stepfather.
“Are the girls around?” he asked after
Mrs. Goetz had identified herself. :
“Sue’s over at my house,” Mrs. Goetz
replied. She hesitated. “I don’t know
where Marty is.”

For almost a minute Gourley didn’t
speak. Then he said, “I’d better come
home.”

“No,” Mrs. Goetz declared. “No |


d
shi

asked

ed up
ching
. Mrs.
across
at. No.
r var-
Levit-
: Mrs.
amiss.
‘ster’s,
t was
1 had
inutes

sheet
over-
ister’s
p and
man's
umber,

asked
‘What

» girl’s
rte she

sit for
“That
But
‘orry.”
secom-

n said,

> what
1 help.
losing
home,
an in-

Associate Editor,

OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES

she’ll be all right. She probably just
went to do the shopping.”

Mary Gourley, his wife and the
mother of the girls, was in a hospital
in Philadelphia because of a heart con-
dition, Mrs. Goetz knew, and Gourley
would want to visit her that afternoon
when he finished work, just as he had
visited her the evening before. Mrs.
Goetz knew how Gourley felt; her own
husband, Carroll, also was in the hos-
pital, although in Trenton, not Phila-
delphia.

So Gourley agreed; he'd call back
within an hour, and if Marty were
home then, he’d go on to the hospital.

HE wasn’t. The hour passed and

Gourley called and no one had heard
from Marty. Quite upset, Mrs. Goetz
said, “I talked to Louise Ritchey, her
friend, and Louise hasn’t seen her,
Mister Gourley, I don’t know where
she could be!”
* “Let’s see,” Gourley said. “The next
bus leaves at half-past twelve. If I
can catch that one I’ll be home an hour
early.”

Gourley was an employe of a whole-
sale jewelry firm in Philadelphia’s Cen-
ter City. He had to ride a subway-ele-
vated train to the end of: the line to
catch that bus and he didn’t make it.
Three o’clock had come by the time he
reached Timber Lane.

And still no one had heard a word
from Marty.

Almost frantic now, Mrs. Goetz had
talked to most: of the neighbors, to
Moody, who lived next door to the
Gourleys, to Capps who lived across the
street and next to the Goetz home, to
Schwartz and Hopkins and Allen and
Bowen. No one had heard a disturbance
during the night no one had seen Marty
at all. Several of the women had been
to the shopping-center without spotting
the girl.

They went up and down Timber Lane
and adjoining Thaliabush Lane, speak-
ing to those who hadn’t even known
Marty. Dale Moody drove to the next
section of Levittown—the Gourley car
was broken down—and spoke again to
Louise Ritchey, who also was only fif-
teen and went to school with Marty.
Louise had no idea where she might
have gone, nor did other school friends
Louise asked in turn. ;

By Phil Weck

Marty, who never would have
left voluntarily. At right,
her stepfather, Wm. Gourley

Gourley phoned his other stepdaugh-
ter, Mrs Patricia Coffelt, at her home
in Philadelphia. Mrs. Coffelt had not
heard from her sister. In desperation,
he phoned the girls’ aunt in Easton,
Pennsylvania. Marty was not there,
either.

The cold winds swept along the
streets of the giant development and
darkness came; at last William Gourley
realized that he had no alternative but
to call the police.

“I hate to do it,” he told Mrs. Goetz.
“With Mary’s heart—”

Although Levittown had 25,000 resi-
dents at that time, it is a housing de-

velopment and not a political entity as

yet. The section the Gourleys and
Goetzes live in has its civic and police
affairs and schools administered by

‘Falls Township. Gourley’s call was

channeled to the not-yet-completed
Police Headquarters of Falls Township,
where, amid plasterers’ scaffolds and
plumbers’ tools and wires the electri-
cians were stringing, it was taken by
Patrolman Gino Mettozzi.

A tall, dark-haired, good-looking
young man, Mettozzi went right out to
the Gourley home. A missing girl? This
was the kind of call he had particular
reason to fear.

His first source of information, the
neighbors, already had been covered,
he realized when he had finished ques-
tioning Gourley and Mrs. Goetz. Next
would be the kids who went to school
with Marty, or any kids of her approxi-

BY CARLOS LANE

PEERING THROUGH THE
PANE, DEATH FASTENED

ITS EYE ON THE BEAUTY

Poe

Chief Kohler, Coroner Ferris, Chief Kirby and Trooper
Dane (l. to r.) with corpse of young Marta Gibbons (top)

Bees cat clear expanse of the floor-
to-ceiling picture window in her new
ranch home, Kay Goetz glimpsed the little
itl tradging wp her walk and hurried 46 the
door to admit the child.

“Come in, Sue, dear,” Mrs. Goetz invited.
“Hurry. It’s so cold out today.”

“Marty’s not at our home. Daddy neither,”
6-year-old Sue Gourley said. “I don’t think
she was home all night.”

“Marta away all night?” Mrs. Goetz in-
voluntarily shot a glance at the trim ranch
dwelling, a replica of her own, across Timber
Lane. “Do you mean that, honey?”

“She put me to bed, right after we went
over from here last night. When I woke up
this morning, there wasn’t anybody around.
Her bed wasn’t mussed up at all.”

Mrs. Goetz called her daughter, 8-year-old
Barbara, and sent the two youngsters into
Barbara’s room to play. Then she got on the
phone.

Marta Gibbons, half-sister of little Sue, a
tall, willowy blonde, 15 years old and a high
school sophomore, served a number of the
neighbors as a baby-sitter. On Friday night,

MASTER DETECTIVE MAGAZINE, May, 195he

CAPPS, George, white, electrocuted Pa.
September 26, 1955e

fy (Bucks County) on


bringing little Sue with her, she’d stayed with Barbara
and the Goetz baby while Mrs. Goetz visited her husband
in a hospital in nearby Trenton.

Could it be, Mrs. Goetz wondered, that Marty had gone
out on another baby-tending chore, after taking Sue
home at a little before 10 o’clock on Friday night?

Mrs. Goetz called the other women for whom she knew
Marty had worked. Turning up no trace of the girl, she
phoned Louise Ritchey, Marty’s closest friend, and then
called several other girls. None had seen Marta Gibbons,
either on Friday night, or on this Saturday morning of
January 23rd, 1954. -

William Gourley, Sue’s dad and Marty’s stepfather,
had been in Philadelphia Friday night, Mrs. Goetz knew,
. visiting his wife, a cardiac patient in Doctors Hospital
for the past two weeks.

.For five hours Mrs. Goetz kept a close watch on the

Gourley home, at 76 Timber Lane in the Thornridge sec-

tion of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the enormous new
community of moderately priced ranch dwellings some
25 miles northeast of the heart of Philadelphia, on the
way to Trenton, New Jersey. When a taxi pulled up in
mid-afternoon and disgorged 45-year-old William Gour-
ley, the neighbor woman summoned him at once to her
residence across the street.

He, too, was incredulous. “Marty gone all night? That’s

not like her, at all. Leaving Sue alone? I can’t under-
stand it.”

Mrs. Goetz told Gourley what she could. Marta had

come over with Sue at about 7 p.m. Friday. Mrs. Goetz had
returned from the Trenton hospital at about 8:30.
. “Marty and Sue stayed on, watching television, for a
little more than an hour,” the neighbor said. “Marty and
I had a cup of tea. I watched them until they got across
the street and into your house. That was about nine-
forty-five. The first hint I had that anything was out of
the ordinary was when Sue came over about nine this
morning, hungry and cold.”

Gourley went back home and searched for the note
he was certain his stepdaughter would have left had she
planned on being away on a baby-sitting task for any
length of time. There was no note anywhere.

Further, Gourley noted, Marta’s coat was in the house.
Apparently she had gone out into the freezing cold with-
out an outer garment.

With their mother away, the girls had been sleeping
in the master bedroom. The stepfather saw one mussed
bed, with its imprint of his daughter’s small body, and
observed that while someone had lain on the other twin
bed, the covers had not been turned down.

“I missed the bus out from Philly last night, and stayed
overnight with friends in the city,” Gourley said to young
Dale Moody, his next door neighbor. “My
car’s on the blink.”

“I know,” Moody said. “George Capps
came over last night and got me to help get
it across to his place, and up on blocks, so
he could fix it. Marty and Sue were at the
Goetzes then. George went next door to tell
Marty he had your car. Afterward, Marty ©
came out where we were.

“She thought I was you, that you’d come
back from the city,” Moody continued. “I
asked about her mother, and Marty said Mrs.
Gourley would be home next week. She
wasn’t wearing any coat, just a sweater. I
told her she’d better get back inside before
she froze, and she went inside the house.”

Moody said he had not been around when
the two girls left the Goetz residence and
crossed the street to the Gourley home.

“I left about nine to go to Trenton and
drive Johnny Bowen back home,” he said.
“Johnny and I sat around his house till
maybe midnight, but none of us heard a thing
out of the way.”

On Saturday evening, Gourley phoned the
Trenton police to report his lovely step-

ee
alan shtor ac esos,

The report was out of the province of the
cops in the capital city of New Jersey. They
relayed it to Patrolman Gino Mattozzi of the
Falls Township force, across the Delaware
River in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. . :

In the meantime, Gourley checked further,
with Marty’s elder sister, Mrs. Patricia Cof-
felt who lived with her husband and baby in
Philadelphia, and with every acquaintance of
his stepdaughter of whom the worried parent
could think. :

The family’s circle of acquaintances was
not wide. They had moved into the new
model community only in July. Most of their

neighbors in the Thornridge section of the
‘miles of small ranch dwellings, all con-

-If his auto had been fixed, William Gourley,
stepfather of victim, would have been with her


seth

4
®
4
|

structed on a pattern by a builder
of mass production homes, also had
taken possession of their residences
at about the same time. Marty had
made many friends in the Pennsbury
Consolidated High School. She had
established quite a neighborhood
reputation as a trustworthy baby-
sitter.

But no one, her stepdad dis-
covered, had seen her or heard from
her since she and Sue had bade Mrs.
Goetz goodnight at about a quarter
to 10 Friday night.

By Sunday morning there still was
no word from or about the missing
girl.

Falls Township Police Chief
Franklin Kirby organized a search
for Marta, and to the force of cops
were joined a dozen neighbors of the
Gourleys and the stepfather himself.

Dale Moody, John Bowen, Law-
rence Ritchey and young George
Capps, who lived across the street at
79 Timber Lane, all volunteered to
help in the hunt. Capps insisted upon
aiding, even though his young wife,
Mabel, was expecting their first baby
any day now; perhaps at any hour.

“T feel sort of guilty,” the 22-year-old veteran who had
suffered a shoulder wound in Korea confessed to Gourley.
“If I could have fixed up your car in time, you’d have
driven home Friday night, and been on hand to see noth-
ing could happen to the girls.”

An employee of a Trenton wire and steel plant, Capps
was a handyman and mechanic in his spare time. He
had, some: time before, offered to overhaul Gourley’s
balky 1937 sedan but as he now explained had been held
up by recent heavy snows and had been able to begin
the job only on the night that Marty disappeared.

The searchers were out all day Sunday, combing
thickets and woods, old abandoned gravel pits, peering
into culverts and poking along the banks of the old canal,

Ranch home (top) where murderer
often peered into window to watch
teen-aged Marta (l.), a  baby-sitter

which paralleled Route 13, the sec-
ondary highway between Trenton
and Philadelphia.

Their efforts fruitless, the police,
Gourley and those neighbors who
could stay away fram their jobs,
early Monday morning resumed the
hunt for the missing girl, pushing
steadily farther and farther out from
the neighborhood of her home.

trolman Mattozzi, plodding up a
rutted cart road skirting the eastern
shore of an old gravel pit—flooded
and known as Curtis Lake—in the
Y formed by the Pennsylvania Rail-
road’s main line and the Trenton
cutoff just below Morrisville, saw
the rags draped over a tree limb at
the end of the byway, noted locally
as a lovers’ lane.

From the limb Mattozzi took a
girl’s green sweater, a torn bra and
a pair of ripped panties, the latter
considerably stained with blood.

He noted the fairly recent tracks of an automobile.

The weight of. the car, which had been driven up along-
side the tree, then turned and guided out the narrow lane,
had broken the frozen crust of mud and left clear im-
prints in several places.

Officer Mattozzi saw other marks, too, upon the ground,
the scuffed trail left by some object which had been
dragged over the frosted mud.

He followed this trail for some 200 feet to the shallow
pit of another gravel quarry, an excavation fringed by
the ghostly trunks of clumps of birch and surrounded by
thick woods.

There Marta Gibbons lay, face down, clad only i in a torn

It was at about 9 o’clock that Pa- :

13

a « a
Sa

pate i
Sas

f a . © oe = 4
Tee OE OT

Detective Irwin, Chief Kohler, Trooper Dane (l. to r.)
inspect tread of car that left clear track at death scene

.

slip and a plaid skirt. Her head and face were bloody,
her arms and upper body scratched and burned by the
brush through which she had been dragged, apparently
by the feet. The corpse was frozen. Obvicusly the girl had
been dead for some time.

There was a bullet hole through her head, with an
entry wound above and behind the left ear, and the
larger exit wound low on the right temple.

In the autopsy at a funeral home in Morrisville, Dr.
William Goldfarb, deputy Bucks County coroner, and
Dr. Fred Phillips, a coroner’s psysician, found a severe
bruise on the top of the head. They discovered, too, that
before she was slain, lovely Marta Gibbons had been
ravished by her killer.

Near the tree from which her sweater and undergar-
ments had hung, a bloody patch of earth indicated where
the murder had occurred. Here the officers found the
empty shell of a .32-caliber cartridge.

“Probably ejected from an automatic pistol” Chief
Kirby said.

‘Sergeant Adrian McCarr and Detectives D. C. Allen,
Keith Dane and Andrew Cutney, from the state police
barracks at nearby Langhorne, were soon on the scene.

They made casts of the tire tracks presumably left by
the car in which the killer had driven Marta to the dead
end of the lovers’ lane, off the Lower Morrisville Road,
about three miles from the girl’s home in Levittown,

They quickly dispatched her bloody clothing and the
cartridge casing to the state police laboratory in Harris-
burg, and followed these items with scrapings from the
victim’s fingernails. :

“Now,” said McCarr, “we've got to find out with whom
this girl would have gone riding late at night in a car,
leaving her six-year-old sister behind all alone in the
house.” .

“More than that,” spoke up Fred Kohler, chief of the
Bucks County detectives, “we’ve got to learn why she

Victim’s stepfather called “good neighbor” (.) a “louse”


‘

victim’s
licate the

i patches

and sent
Zillessen,
; Hospital
\adelphia.
had lain
ssing slug
n the soil,
‘he bullet
ent to the
e labora-
‘rowthers
markings.
down the
y showed
had been
e murder.
had been
nt, prob-
‘ious form
rush and
th a shot

er, meant
own facts
questions:
yut a coat?
gunpoint?

igators
, a re-
from
iu seeking
of the past
semblance

lise Dreis-
body had
City race-
owen, who
of the New
1 Trenton,
retary.
it to those
ral Kutney
Police in-
Levittown
vas clear,
Varta Gib-
ich- wanted
rea well.
ted his in-
» to Marta’s
er he had
een ques-
ice but had
ngle detail

-r, Patricia
phia, could
yone hurt

» question
is who had
larta. They

in for tap
ents in her
mentioning

rated most,

» more Mc-
eliability as

ho had em-

had never

own sister,
me? The
is this:

a neigh-
rew it was
{ have put

to be out

wy «CO dA

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In rechecking all angles of the case,
Chief Kirby realized that the voices little
Sue had heard from her bed might mean
someone had called on Marta, and not
have been TV dialogue as assumed at
first. But that theory raised other ques-
tions.

“In that case,” commented Kirby, “why
didn’t Capps see the person who came
in? Why didn’t he see Marta go out—”

“Why didn’t he?” inserted McCarr. “He
must have been working on Gourley’s
car at least that long. It looks suspicious
to me.”

But something more than such thin cir-
cumstantial evidence was needed when
Chief Kirby asked, “What next?” Serge-
ant McCarr had the answer.

“Next,” decided McCarr, “we find out if
Capps owns a .32 automatic.”

They went about it subtly, requesting

neighbors about details. But at Capps
home, they were looking as well as listen-
ing and the process paid off.

At state police headquarters, Sergeant
McCarr displayed an unfired .32 cartridge
that seemed identical to the empty shell
found near Marta’s body.

“It belonged to Capps,” stated McCarr.
“There are more of them in a drawer in
his home. But I saw no gun.”

The cartridges were enough. Capps was
called to headquarters for questioning and
while he was there, Trooper Keith R.
Dane, County Detective Irwin and, his
chief, Kohler, visited Capps’ garage. There
they found that the tires on his car

matched the tread marks found near the
corpse of Marta.

Armed with this first strong evidence,
the officers accused Capps directly of
murdering Marta. Working from the
autopsy report, they described to him
how he had brutally slugged his victim,
then followed with the fatal shot. They
even told him how he had muffled the gun
in the folds of the victim’s sweater. But
the clincher was a final touch of testimony
gained from little Susan Gourley.

Earlier, Susan had told of seeing Capps
on the evening of Marta’s disappearance,
but the investigators had understood her
to mean that it was when Capps had
stopped in at the Goetz home. Now, Susan
recalled that he had stopped to talk to
Marta at their own home, too, after they
had returned there.

This was at total variance with Capps’
own statements. The voice that Susan had
heard was timed to the very visit that
Capps disclaimed. Confronted with the
accumulated evidence, Capps finally
blurted:

“All right, I killed her!”

Even with that, it took skill to work
the truth from him.

Questioned if he owned a gun, Capps
said that he had picked up an automatic
while in Korea, but from his description, it
didn’t match the caliber of the gun used
in the murder of Marta Gibbons. Asked
what he had done with his gun, he said
he had thrown it onto a sandbar in Curtis
Lake.

A search there failed to produce the
death weapon. But when the hunt was
extended to the entire lake, David Hill of
Morrisville found a Belgian .32 caliber
automatic imbedded in the ice 200 feet
from the sandbar.

At the state police crime lab, Sergeant
Crowthers fired test bullets from the gun
and checked them with the bullet that
had been used to slay Marta Gibbons. The
markings tallied.

New Jersey authorities, anxious to close
out their two unsolved similar slayings,
checked thoroughly into Capps’ move-
ments on those dates. But discovered only
that he could not possibly have killed
either Mary Louise Dreisbach or Patricia
Bowen.

Capps denied that he was the phantom
prowler of Levittown and tried to min-
imize the murder of Marta Gibbons. He
insisted that she had left the house will-
ingly in his car but became excited when
he parked in the out of the way lane.

“She started shouting,” declared Capps,
“and tried to run away from the car and
I ran after her. I had been drinking and I
was excited, too.”

That was the tenor of Capps’ story dur-
ing his ten-day trial for murder, that
ended on Thursday, May 6, 1954, when
the jury brought in a verdict of first de-
gree murder. Sentenced to the electric
chair, Capps was executed September 26,
1955, in Rockview Prison at Bellefonte,
Pa.

aN 75


by DOUGLAS WHITTON

ee “220 another, he'd have her!
CRIME FILES AZINE, January, 19h.


7

one person who could throw some light on the growing

‘'mystery of Marty’s disappearance. He decided to have a talk
‘with George Capps.

“I saw Marty a little before ten last night,” Mr. Capps

replied in answer to questions. “I went over to your place ~~

and asked Marty to tell you when you got home that I had
taken your car to my place. I also told her to tell you that

- you need some new bearings and I won’t be able to fix your

car until you get them.”

The worried stepfather left and returned to his own
house. All that day ‘he sat waiting for the phone to ring. He
was worried about Marty staying away all night and leaving
her little sister unattended. He was deathly afraid that
something had happened to his pretty stepdaughter.

ATE Saturday evening, he could stand it no longer. He
phoned the police. Patrolman Gino Mattozzi of the

Falls Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, took the
call. While waiting for the arrival of the police the step-
father called Marty’s sister, married and living in Phila-
delphia with her husband. He asked his other stepdaughter
to check every person with whom Marty had the slightest
acquaintance in the Philadelphia area. ;

The family had more friends in Philadelphia than they
did in Levittown. They had only just moved into the huge
development from the bigger city a few months before. Like
all their neighbors they had had to wait while the new
community was completed.

.

The particular section of the vast new community built
25 miles northeast of Philadelphia where the family lived
was known as the Thornridge section. It was made up of
comfortable, moderately priced, ranch-style houses. The

hallmark and pride of each of these houses, alike in every 4

_ detail, was the large floor-to-ceiling picture window which

Detectives surround blanket covered, battered corpse of victim found

dominated the front facade. This big window, trademark of

middle class suburban life, was to figure importantly in the
‘, disappearance of Marty Gibbons. .

The pretty blonde girl was just 15 when unkind fate

: singled her out for tragedy. Her life up to that time had been 4
none too joyous. At a tender age she and her older sister’

had lost their father. He had been a railroad brakeman and

.was killed in an accident. Their mother had been forced to .-

board the girls in a convent school while she worked to
support them. Finally she had met Mr. Frankin and the
two were married. The family was reunited. Marty’s older
sister got married and left the home in Philadelphia. But a
little sister had been born: and, for a time, the family en-
joyed contentment. Then tragedy struck again. Marty’s
mother was stricken with a heart attack for which she had
to be hospitalized in Philadelphia. Again the young girl was
deprived of her mother, Now she herself had been placed in
charge of the household while her mother recovered. That is

how it happened that Marty had been alone in the house-

with her little sister on that fateful night of Friday, the 22nd

of January.

On Sunday morning Police Chief Franklin Kirby of the

‘

4


* 15-YEA R-OLD Marta Gibbons was missing from her

home in Levittown, Pa. Her stepfather had le

- Now, when his taxi pulled up in front «
house Saturday morning, a neighbor came out
“Your youngest daughter is in my house
erett Frankin. “The strangest thing happe
wandering over about nine this morning. Said
and hungry. sss S
_ The stepfather wanted to know where Marty was. _ :
“Well, that’s the strange part,” the neighbor answered

sy asked the child where Marty was and she said Marty ©
went out last night and did not come back. She says that _

Marty’s bed hasn’t been slept in. No one has en her since
ten o'clock last night.”  r—  .
The stepfather said the whole thing was very unlike
Marty. The 15-year-old had always been very reliable. She
‘had taken care of her little sister like a mother. She would

never stay away from home an entire night; especially with

_the younger giri alone in the house. — ii.
‘It was obvious that he was worried. Had something
terrible happened to Marty? The stepfather asked the neigh-
bor if Marty hadn't babysat for her the night before.
Yes,” she replied. “Marty brought her little sister over
here after dinner, about six, and the two of them stayed with

my daughter. I got home about eight o'clock. Your girls —
_ stayed here watching television until about nine-thirty. Every-

thing was all right then. Marty and I had a cup of tea before

= _ she went home. That was about ten. ] watched them through
. the window until the in y

ey your house. That was the
/_ last I saw of her.” eee

The stepfather wondered whether Marty had

to some friend’s house and stayed all night. -

thing unusual.

“No I haven't,” Nelson said, nviting the neighbo

Marty’s stepfather then explained his trip to the | hil

delphia hospital and said he’d missed the last bu

to stay all night in the city. He said his car w.

wouldn’t have happene
know,” Nelson told him,
ight and got me to help him take


, who had been watching the
ouse in Levittown, Pennsyl-
, from her window, hurried
lived across the street came
morning, January 23rd. The
yourley.

threw open her door and
and started up the sidewalk.
“I'd like to talk to you.”
\y overnight visiting his sick
the street to meet his neigh-
wondering how to tell Mr.
step-daughter was missing.
“little Sue is in my house.
aed. This morning, at about
‘0 my house. She said that

the man, a worried frown
face. He was referring to his
vho had been left in charge

‘t,” the neighbor continued.
as and she said that Marty
not come back. Little Sue
te a in. No one has seen
; t”

the step-father said, growing
face. “She’s always-been so
2 like a mother. She would
an entire night; especially
I’m worried, Mrs. Strome.
ned to Marty. I know it.
ou last night?” asked the

e, “she brought Sue over
nd the two of them ‘stayed
at about eight last evening.
tching television until about
all right then. Marty and
before ten she took Sue
the window until they were
ist I saw of her.”

h house.

“I wonder if she went over to a friend of hers and
stayed the night for some reason,” Mr. Gourley said.

“Well, I called most of her friends this morning,” the
neighbor said, ‘and none of them have seen her.”

The puzzled, worried father returned to his home across
the street, which was identical with thousands of others in
the development, and looked for the note he hoped he
would find written by his step-daughter. He was disap-
pointed. Mr. Gourley went upstairs to his bedroom, where
the two girls had been sleeping since his wife was taken
to the hospital. His little girl’s bed showed unmistakable
signs of having been slept in. The other bed in the room,
with its spread slightly out of place, had obviously not
been used the night before. With growing fear Gourley
noted that his step-daughter’s coat was still in its accustomed
place in the house. For lack of anything else to do the
distraught father went to his next door neighbor’s house.
Bill Nelson greeted him at the door.

“Bill, I’m awfully worried,” Gourley blurted, ‘“Marty’s
been gone the whole night. Have you seen her or heard
anything?” :

“Why, no I haven’t,” Nelson said. “Why don’t you come
in?”

“I couldn’t get home last night,” the father said, seated
in the Nelson home. “I missed the last bus from Phila-
helphia and I had to stay overnight. My car’s on the blink
or this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I know,” replied the neighbor, “George Capps came
over here last night and got me to help him take your
car. to his garage.”

Marta Gibbons (I.) was in charge of her sister.
Murder weapon (below) was found embedded in ice.


‘ie | |

wg
(9?)
"

RE a

-~

“How do you account for the fact
that your tires are a pretty close match
to the tracks we found up near Curtis
Lake?’ Chief Kirby asked.

wife’s condition, this was not significant.

Nevertheless, the police conducted
a thorough search, with, es. permis-
sion, of his house. The only thing turn- x y asked :
ed up were several shells of .32-caliber “I can’t explain it,” said Peeps.
bore. George Capps claimed that he no “There must be thousands of guys wit
longer had the gun to which the shells tires as ey, I know is that I’ve
belonged. It was an army souvenir never . oe :
which: he had lost upon his renin from Hour after hour the questioning con-
Korea. Be

The investigators knew that George to the Frankin home per :
Capps was originally from Virginia. In ‘legitimate reason. He repeatedly eu
1949 he had been drafted into the army any guilty knowledge of the crime. Po-
and had served with distinction in the lice noted that his face and arms were
Korean conflict receiving a Purple Heart free of any scratch marks. Capes i
for wounds inflicted late in 1951. While plained the deep cut he had on his He
at Fort Dix, New Jersey, awaiting his by claiming he had gotten it crawling
medical discharge Capps met, fell in under the automobile he was repairing.
love with and married his wife in Tren- At one point the questioning aM.
ton. The young couple had moved in terrupted by a phone call. Sergeant .
with the wife’s parents in the state cap- Carr answered it and in a few pone s
ital city before moving to Levittown returned and said to the suspect, ay
over the river in Pennsylvania. do you explain the fact that our tech-

The tread of the tires on the vet’s mein found traces of vomit in your

in compared with the casts car? ae ;

ade a ae een of the crime. They ““That’s a darn silly question,” Capps

matched closely, but it was determined replied. promptly. “You know my wife’s .

that expert testimony was needed and a pregnant.” :
speci was sent for from Harrisburg. Well,” said McCarr, “that phone
The investigators went over what they call was from Coroner Phillips. He just
had. “What about George Capps?” Chief finished nine ne eee again oe
‘| “He’ ; he said that Marta Gibbons definitely
Kirby started. “He’s got a lot against ; ; A
i thi i i hrew up just before. she died, some
him at this point. For one thing he was ¢ : s ht.”
i inh where around ten-thirty that night.” .
Bort bala las eae oS The suspect made no reply to that.

ne” i “Come on, Capps,” the sergeant
“Yes, and another thing,” put in Ser- 2 ’

substantiated until ten o’clock.” to determine whether it was your wife’s

“Another thing,” offered Detective Vomit we outs in the vee ede aad
Allen, “he was the one person who had eupes wou ae no ieee ee ee
the best opportunity to lure the girl was held overnight in q oe e
away from the house. His wife being racks. On the following day a cr 2
pregnant offered the perfect ‘emergency’ ‘nal identification report came t ae
for which Marta Gibbons help would ©” the suspect. At the age ee ane
be needed. That might explain why she Te ea ree el Oe
had left the house without a coat. She [nert. : A :
would have thought that she was just for burglary ule seives ae ‘he Sole

oing next door to help Capps’ wife.”  formatory for it. Upon escaping
< “Yes, and he admittedly is the last another bike and was returned to serve

one to have seen Marta Gibbons alive,” . 2 longer term. In 1953 he was arrested |

Chief Kirby said. “You know, the more ear Trenton for drunkenness and dis-

I think about it the more likely it seems Orderly conduct after he had cut a
that Capps is our man. The girl would nelgn a. yee eae ea tHe Fe
never have suspected that he had any- /ead-in. € a ee
thing but his wife on his mind at a from-clean ed ee See
time like that. How easy it would have ©” 4 charge of drun en are:
been for him to lure her out of the Still the suspect said nothing. By
house. Wasn't he. a handsome young that evening a technician had arrived
vet and an expectant father? Why, it all from Harrisburg and completed his
seems So logical.” check on Capps’ tires. The expert un-
The other officers agreed to the ex- hesitatingly stated that it was George
tent that George Capps was picked up Capps’ Ford whose tire marks had been
and brought to the state police barracks found at the Curtis Lake murder scene.
for questioning. The suspect refused to Confronted with this samune oe
admit having anything to do with the dence the suspect asked to tal ae a
crime. To alt appearances he was the priest. For more than a half hour pps
grieved and outraged unfortunate who and the clergyman remained eee
was being hounded by the police. talking. Finally the suspect emerged an
‘Why I hardly knew the girl,” Capps said he was ready te OES ee
insisted. “Do you think I'd have time to . George Capps admitted the ae al at-
notice any girl, no matter how cute, tack and shooting of Marta Gibbons os
with my wife in her condition?” the night of January 22nd. Capps ee
“What about these thirty-two caliber that he was attracted to Marta ae
shells we found in your house?” from the first day he had seen her s . -
“I told your men all about it before,” ly after moving to Thornridge. Gradu-

the suspect said. “I got them for an old ally she became an obsession to him. ;

He took to hanging around her house
gun I brought home from Korea. I lost jo Neng 2 ues
shells were still and peering in the picture :
ae 2 decided he had to have her.

tinued. Capps insisted that he had gone

oti

bi

On the night of the murder he found
out that she was alone in the house.
He went over with the excuse about her
father’s car to make sure she was still
alone. At about ten-fifteen P.M. he went
back, and acting very excited, pretend-

ed that his wife was in an emergency.
He asked Marty to accompany him to.

his house in his car. The teenager had
obviously removed her jeans before and
had slipped on the slip and skirt to
“answer the door.
_ Capps said that Marta had become
Suspicious when he turned off toward
Curtis Lake instead of going to his
house. She had asked a lot of questions
and demanded to know where she was
being taken. Capps had not answered,
but just kept driving. When he got to
the lovers’ lane he stopped and grabbed
the girl in his arms. She had protested
and threatened to tell his wife. Then
“she began to scream. The two had strug-
gled and fought. While the killer was
attacking his victim he ripped off her
Sweater and panties and flung them out
the window, not knowing they had
caught in the branches of a tree nearby.
Then, according to Capps, Marta
Gibbons managed to break away and
start running down the trail. At that
point, the suspect stated he had shot
her. Evidence uncovered later contra-
dicted this version. The police traced
the probable trajectory of the bullet and
found it embedded some four inches
below the bloody spot where the girl
had fallen. According to the police the
killer had rendered the girl uncon-
scious with a vicious blow on the head
with his gun butt. Then while she. lay
there, helpless, he had pressed the gun
close to her head and fired a shot
through her skull. After the killing he
dragged the girl’s body to the abandoned
gravel pit and threw it in. ae
When Capps stood trial he recanted
his confession and told a completely
different story. He claimed, at the trial,
that his young victim had gone with

him willingly and afterward had threat-
ened to expose him. He said that he had
lost his head and shot her. This con-
tradicted the facts which police in-
vestigators had uncovered and the story
was completely discredited by all who
heard it. Marta Gibbons had always
placed honor above everything else. And
she would never have left her younger
sister alone in the house unless she be-
ree someone in trouble needed her
elp.
In a trial which took ten days George
Capps was found guilty and sentenced
to death in the electric chair.

It ‘was never established that George
Capps had made the obscene telephone
calls that had frightened women.

On September 26th, George
Capps went to his death in the electric
chair in Rockview Prison at Bellefonte,
Pennsylvania... *

Editor’s Nore. The names Bill Nelson
and Everiesgt Frankin are fictitious.

ee

OUR POSTOFFICE HEL

: Zip Code ALL your mail ©

| Brews,

Mr. Nelson was referring to another neighbor who re-
paired cars in his spare time and who had offered to fix
Gourley’s battered sedan.

“Did you hear anything unusual over at my place last
night,” the worried step-father asked.

“Well, I wasn’t home most of last night,” Nelson said.
“About eight-thirty, after I helped Capps put your car
up on blocks in his garage, I went to Trenton.”

f leew two neighbors chatted for some time. Mr. Gourley
was desperately trying to find, among his neighbors, one
person who could throw some light on the growing mystery
of Marty’s disappearance.

“I think I'll go over and talk to George Capps,” the
parent said at length. “Maybe he knows something.”

“I saw Marty a little before ten last night,” Mr. Capps
replied in answer to Gourley’s question. “I went over to

your place and asked Marty to tell you when you got home ~

that I had taken your car to my place. I also told her
to tell you that you need some new bearings and I won't
be able to fix your car until you get them.”

The worried step-father left and returned to his own
house. ‘All that day he sat waiting for the phone to ring. He

was worried about Marty staying away and leaving Sue

and deathly afraid that something had happened to his

pretty, blonde step-daughter.

Late Saturday evening, Gourley could stand it no longer.
He phoned the police. Patrolman Gino Mattozzi of the
Falls Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, took the
call. While waiting for the arrival of the police Gourley
called Marty’s sister, married and living in Philadelphia
with her husband. He asked his other step-daughter to
check'with every person with whom Marty had the slightest
acquaintance in the city of brotherly love.

The Gourleys had more friends in Philadelphia than they
did in Levittown. They had only just moved into the huge

‘ development from the bigger city a few months before.

Like all their neighbors they had had to wait while the new
community was completed.

The particular section of the vast new community built
25 miles northeast of Philadelphia where the Gourleys lived
was known as the Thornridge section. It was made up of
comfortable, moderately priced, ranch-style houses. The
hallmark and pride of each of these houses, alike in every
detail, was the large, floor-to-ceiling picture window which
dominated the front facade. This big window, trademark
of middle class suburban life, was to figure importantly in
the disappearance of Marty Gibbons.

The pretty blonde girl was just 15 when unkind fate

singled her out.for tragedy. Her life up to that time had

Tires on this car belonging to neighbor were compared with treads found at crime scene.

sss

been none too
sister had lost t
man and was k
forced to boar

worked to sup
Mr. Gourley a
reunited. Marty
in Philadelphia
time, the famil:
again. Marty’s
which she had
the young girl \
had been plac:
mother recove!
had been alone
night of Friday

On Sunday 1


. fN Q a... e L
George, white, elec. PA (Bucks) September 160, 1955

of the
TRUSTING
TEEN-AGER

A lustful Peeping Tom watched
the beautiful young baby sitter
through the big picture window

clas

* A FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR, who had been watching the
front of the neat ranch-style house in Levittown, Pennsyl-
vania, just outside Philadelphia, from her window, hurried
to the door when the man who lived across the street came
up in a taxi. It was Saturday morning, January 23rd. The
man was 45-year-old William Gourley.

The neighbor, Mrs. Strome, threw open her door and
called to him as he paid his fare and started up the sidewalk.
“Mr. Gourley,” she shouted. “I'd like to talk to you.”

The man who had been away overnight visiting his sick
wife turned and started across the street to meet his neigh-
bor. She walked toward him, wondering how to tell Mr.
Gourley that his 15-year-old step-daughter was missing.

“Mr. Gourley,” she began, “little Sue is in my house.
The strangestething has happened. This morning, at about
nine, Sue came wandering into my house. She said that
she was cold and hungry.”

“Where was Marty?” asked the man, a worried frown
beginning to spread across his face. He was referring to his
step-daughter Marta Gibbons who had been left in charge
of his young daughter, Sue.

“Well that’s the strange part,” the neighbor continued.
“I asked Sue where Marty was and she said that Marty
went out last night and did not come back. Little Sue
says that her bed hasn’t been slept in. No one has seen
Marty since ten o’clock last night.”

“That's very unlike Marty,” the step-father said, growing
consternation apparent on his face. ‘“She’s always ‘been so
reliable. She takes care of Sue like a mother. She would
never stay away from home an entire night; especially
with Sue alone in the house. I’m worried, Mrs. Strome.
Something terrible has happened to Marty. I know it.
Didn’t Marty baby-sit for you last night?” asked the
worried parent.

“Yes,” replied Mrs. Strome, “she brought Sue over
here after dinner, about six, and the two of them ‘stayed
with my daughter. I got home at about eight last evening.
Sue and Marty stayed here watching television until about
nine-thirty. Everything seemed all right then. Marty and
I had a cup of tea and just before ten she took Sue
home. I watched them through the window until they were
in your house. That was the last I saw of her.”

by Chester McGuire

Pretense of an emergency on the part of a “‘friend” lured\a pretty girl from this ranch house.

AMAZING DETECTIVE, June, 1962


_ FIENDS WHO WENT TO THE CHAI

Handcuffed accused is led back to cell following arraignment on
rape and murder charges.

Fa

/

ae ‘Marta Gibbons was dragged by?
: feet like an animal to her grave
es? |

} > ; a

Ory ocer ror oer er ETS Tee eer errant rr a]

SHOULD HAVE ©
PULLED THE SHAES DOWN

wooded area.

Everett Franklin has never stopped cursing him
He had gone to visit his sic
dhe left Marty and his younger daughter alone in
’t help it. Circumstances forced him to stay at the

stayed away from home.

* hospital. Never before ha
the house. But he couldn

hospital for the night.

When he returned to his Levittown,
Pa., home the next morning, he found
18-year-old Mary Gibbons, his step-
daughter, gone. A neighbor greeted him
on the steps of his ranch house with the
Strange news. x

“I can't get over it,’’ she told him.

/

Lawmen converge around the corpse in heavily

by JOE FELDMAN

.‘*Your youngest daughter wandered over

to our place this morning. Couldn't stop
yawning from hunger. She's over there
now. But where’s Marty?”

Everett said he'd like to know the same
thing. He explained to her he had been
away for the night.

self for that one night he

k wife in a Philadelphia

‘““Well,’’ she answered. *‘It seems that -

Marty's done the same. Her bed hasn't
been slept in and nobody's seen her since
ten last night. Your daughter said that she
went out and didn't come back.”

(continued on next page)


have that, could 1? I lost my head and shot
her. You've got to believe me.”

No one did. All the facts about Marty
showed that she put honor above all else.

“Marta Should

(continued from page 43)

She would never have gone with a man at
that time of night, leaving her younger
sister all alone. :

The trial took 10 days. To no one’s

Have Pulled The Shades Down =

surprise, George Capps was found guilty
of murder and rape and sentenced tg
death. On September 26, a year later, he

went to the electric chair. to

Maine’s Greatest Murder Mystery

(continued from page 23)

they knew opened into a chamber the
woman used while her husband was at
sea. The captain, noticing the other men
hesitating, took the lead and opened the
door. He went in alone, and returned
shaking his head.

‘*She’s not in there,’” he reported.

Long and Hart looked with questioning
eyes,at the barely discernable outlines of
another half-closed door in the darkness
beyond. Meservey again took the lead,
followed by the other two men. As he
stepped into the room, yellow light from

the flickering wick disclosed bloodstain-
ed walls and a large, double four-poster
bed. A broken mirror frame hung incon-
gruously from one of the bedposts. Me-
servey stopped suddenly and the other
two men collided behind him with ner-
vous curses.

**She’s lying on the floor just ahead,”’
Captain Albion said. Sairy’s body was
hidden by a woollen comforter and her
bruised and battered face stared past the
group with open eyes. A bloody scarf was
wrapped around her head. This was

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44

bound tightly around her throat and s
red behind her head. Ye
The woman lay in a twisted heap. He”
arms were pulled above her head ands# ©
cured with fishline. Captain ‘Albi
brought the lamp closer and studied th —
cord. ‘‘Sailor knots,’ he commented, ~
Then he drew down the comforter andé *
saw that Sairy was attired in a long dat»
street dress. Her high boots were still =)
cased in rubbers. :
Selectman Long, with some effor,
reassumed his air of official importanct, es
“This would indicate to me that the kille

£¥;

~ must have been waiting for her when cee

returned from the post office. Exceptfft. *
the murderer, Clara Wall must have beet
the last person to have seen Sairy alive) i
Captain Albion knelt on the floor, sth ae
dying some slim, oddly shaped objec -
with burned ends lying near the bod)
Long noticed the captain holding oned
the objects and cautioned him to leay
everything as it was until the law arrive

The selectman’s warning did not st
the men from thoroughly searching th
house. They found a torn and bloodsta,
ned paper collar beneath the overturné
table, and it was apparent the woman hi |
fought vigorously. |

‘As the men returned to the deal
chamber Long asked Captain Albion iff
was true his cousin and his wife kef
considerable sums of money around th
house. . |

The captain noticed the open drawett
a wash stand beneath the window. I
contents were scattered around the flog
He said some silver appeared to be nis,
sing, and that it was customary for Lutht
to leave a fairly good sum behind for i
in case of emergency. :

“T don’t know where they kept it,”
concluded. ‘We'll have to ask Lu
when he returns.”

Selectman Long left the house to
word to Coroner Charles Mallard, Hig te
Sheriff Silas Low, and County Attom® =,
Murray Staples. He appointed Mese! :
and Hart special deputies with orders# "9
guard the house until they were reliev4 ©
by law officials. ‘

Each of the three men realized mi
murder might have been committed #7
anyone in the village or by a sailor si ;
ping ashore from a ship in the harbot}

Word of the crime spread quick |.
Groups of pecple gathered in excl ©
clusters on the unlighted street.’ Sof e

|

(continued on page 46) |

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sn! AY RRS stored tu NRA i Ste i ahlba eai “Paar a gn a ot

hae ak rE

tics Sa Rb a A an GR BRI ALE ti MBB cc

‘When she fought me, that only excited me more... ripped off
~ her Sweater and panties and threw them out the window...1 :
3 “could feel the thrill going over me.’

Everett didn’t know what to think.
Marty had never done anything like this
before. She was mature for her age and
wasn’t like other teenagers’ who came
home at all hours of the night.

*’That's what worries me most,”’ said
Everett. ‘‘She'd never go out and leave
her baby sister alone. Never!”’

The beginning of the ordeal had star-
ted. Everett tried to push back all the
horrible thoughts that were running
through his mind. He thought about all
the possible explanations that they'd all
laugh about when Marty reappeared.

Maybe she was at a friend’s house?
Wasn't that possible?

“‘She baby-sat for me last night,’’ the
neighbor said. ‘‘She went home around
ten. I watched her till she was inside the
house. When your daughter came over
this morning, I called some of Marty’s
friends, thinking the same thing you are.

‘*But she wasn’t there. I’m sorry, Eve-

; rett.’’

The stepfather was now becoming ner-

vous. He returned to his own home. Fran-

tic thoughts raced through his head. She’s *

left a note. Some kind of note.

He found nothing. He ran upstairs to
the girls’ bedroom. One bed was untou-
ched — Marty’s bed. And then he saw
Marty’s coat hanging on the back of the
door. Only Marty was missing, nothing
else was out of place.

This only made it worse for the puzzled,

_ confused man. No longer thinking
straight, he rushed out of the house to his
neighbor’s. Bill Nelson tried to calm him
down, saying she'd turn up.

“I saw her last night,”* said Bill. “‘Me
and George Capps took your car to the
garage last night.”’

George Capps repaired cars in his spare
time. He had offered to fix Franklin’s car
when it broke down.

‘Damn that car,’’ said Everett. ‘‘If it
wasn't for that car, I wouldn’t have had to
take the bus this morning when I missed
the one last night. I would have been
here.”’

Everett, hot and sweating, clutched at
straws. He talked to George Capps who
said he'd seen Marty a little before ten.
He had gone over to remind her to tet!
Everett that he had the car over at his
place.

28

hae

Everett spent all of Saturday waiting
for the phone to ring. He imagined
Marty’s voice at the other end, telling him
she was all right, telling him anything as
long as she was safe and sound. a

The call never came. By Saturday eve-
ning, now a nervous wreck and jumping
at every noise in the house, Everett was
ready to call the police.

While waiting for the police, he called
Marty’s sister in Philadelphia. She was
married with a family. In fact, the Frank-
lins had more friends in Philadelphia
than in Levittown. He asked her to check
on all the people Marty knew in Philadel-
phia. :

The Franklins had recently moved to
Levittown from Philadelphia. It was a
new community, being built as an alterna-
tive to the big city. The homes were ranch
house style, very middle class and subur-
ban. Each one had a trerhendous picture
window in the front, a window that stret-
ched from floor to ceiling. This window
would play a major role in Marty's disap-
pearance,

Marty herself had had a tough life up to
this point. Her father had died in a
railroad accident when she was very
young. Her older sister and her were put
in a boarding school while their mother
worked. A ray of sunshine came in the
shape of Everett Franklin. He married
Marty’s mother and the family was
happy.

Until her mother was hospitalized with
a heart attack. Now, she had been put in
charge of things. And these were the
events that led up to her being left alone in
the house on the night of January 22.

By Sunday morning, all hope of
Marty’s returning by herself was aban-

¢doned. Police Chief Robert Heise of the

Falls Township police got a search party
together. Neighbors and friends joined
the father. Even George Capp insisted he
take part, although his wife was expecting
a baby any moment.

George was 22 years old and a Vietnam
veteran. He worked in Trenton, New Jer-
sey. On occasion, he fixed cars for his
friends. Because of the snow that fell on
Levittown around that time of year, he
had to delay working on Franklin's car.
Now, he felt responsible for anything that
might have happened to Marty. He felt

1 RSA RS i ied errr HRA ENC

that if he had fixed the car sooner, none of,

it would have taken place.

The search carried on deep into Sunt
day night. They checked all the areas”
around the community, all the gravel pits, ©
the roads, The ground was frozen. But:
they found nothing. No sign at all of;

Marty Gibbons’ whereabouts. «

The search continued the next day. -j
One of the patrolmen, Matt Grado, was
walking along an old cart track. It no lons:
ger served its purpose but the people in;
the area knew it as a lovers’ lane. Walking
with his head down, he didn’t notice the -
rags caught in a tree till they hit him in- the

face.

Franklin came rushing up and gave a.

horrible gasp. The rags turned out to bea

gitl’s red wool sweater and a bloodied -

pair of panties. Franklin recognized them
as Marty’s, but he kept shaking his head
in a state of disbelief.

But it was her. She lay at the bottom of.

a shallow excavation. Her body had been.
mangled brutally. She wore only a light ;
skirt and a slip that was ripped in half.
Blood was caked all over her body. She
was totally frozen and deep scratches ran

along her arms, legs and breasts.

She had been dragged by the feet like
an animal. In the left temple was a gaping
hole through which the bullet had ente-
red. On the other temple, was the larger

exit hole. Blood was caked around both. E
“The girl has been beaten brutally," :
said Dr. Fred Phillips, a coroner's physi-:

cian who performed the autopsy. *‘The
body was subjected to horrible criminal

assault. No less than a fiend had perfor: ,

med multiple rape on her young body. We
are dealing with a monster here.”

A pool of blood was found underneath
the tree where her clothes were first

sighted. She had been killed and assaul- #

ted some 60 hours before. A .32 caliber
cartridge was also discovered.

It was time for the state police to be

called in. Sergeant Adrian McCarr, De-
tectives D.C. Allen, Keith Dane, and An-
drew Cutney were dispatched to the

scene. These professionals went swiftly 1

to work. Tire tracks were found. They

took casts of them, They collected scra- °}>

pings of flesh from under the body's fin-

gernails and sent the clothing to the police’.

lab.

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Many parts of the crime were puzzling.
} For example, why would Marty go out ©
riding at night and leave her sister all...
alone in the house? Why wasn't she wea- ~.
ring a coat on such a cold night? The -
detectives each had an eet of what
had happened. :

in the clear. :

The town sealed itselfin. Fear was eve-
rywhere. The women would let no one
enter their homes. Even the detectives

“Possibly she was “abducted and didn't leave them alone for the night and

i} wasn't given a chance to get her coat,’

said Detective Dane.

+ “No, I don’t think so,"
McCarr, **

around the girl’s home. Besides, her sis-

ter would have heard something.’*

wouldn't until the maniac was caught.
Marty's mother couldn't be told the
shocking news. It might kill her to learn
how her daughter had been brutally bea-
ten and raped. The doctors put her under
heavy sedation and told her Marty had

said Sergeant
no signs of a struggle in or

The investigation into the brutal killing — been killed in a hit-and-run accident.

began. Marty’s background was exami-
nedfor anyone who might have been un-
balanced enough to do such a thing to her.
Her stepfather, still in shock and disbe-
lieving, said that Marty had no boyfriends |
and never went out with boys alone. -
Everyone backed up the story. The
people who knew Marty said she had an

The case was still shrouded in mystery
and the police seemed to be getting

lured the girl out on that night? Secondly,
“why hadn't shé worn a coat? °

Then, a new development came to
light. One of the neighbors said that
Marty had been Wearing blue jeans that

exemplory character. Those for whom at J

she baby-sat said she was very careful. -

with

things beyond her young years.
The police had to conclude that she
wouldn't open a door for a stranger and

then

force.
“The only way she would have opened
a door to a stranger,”
Everett, ‘‘was if the stranger resembled
me and Marty thought I was returning
from the city without my key.”’
Sergeant McCarr decided it was time to

talk

slowly, coaxing her along, he got her to
tell him what she saw that night.
“Marty put me to bed,”’

tiny

dead. ‘‘She lay down on the other. I went

 tosleep but the door bell woke me.”’
She said she heard some man talking to

Marty about her father’s car. That man

was

their attention to him. Everyone said he
Was a good neighbor, although no one had
known him for very long.

But that wasn’t unusual in a new
community like this. George Capps him-

self,

Story as that told by Bill Nelson. Still, the
Police checked the tires on George’s car.
They found the treads to be similar to
those found at the scene of the crime. But
this meant little. Plenty of people drive

with

ssa if a track was made by one set of
€s

«tesist the sight of Marta’s body.

their children and appeared to know

leave with him unless it was by:

sobbed a grieving

to Marty's little sister. Gently,

she said, her

mind not knowing that Marty was

George Capps. The police turned

on being questioned, gave the same

similar tires. Only an expert could

George Capps was known as a
‘friendly repairman’ but couldn't

Also, no blood whatsoever was found
»_ in his car. These facts seemed to put him”

had problems geiting in. Their husbands ~

nowhere fast. First of all, who could have ~

night. But she had been found with skirt
and slip. Another element in the mystery.

**The only explanation I can see,”’ said
Sergeant McCarr, ‘‘is that she was going
to go out with someone she knew very
well.””

Two things were against this: Marty
had no boyfriends and would have left her
sister only in the direst emergency. And if
she had planned to go out, she would have
taken her coat.

**She must have thought she was only
going out for a few minutes,”’ said Detec-
tive Allen. ‘‘The killer could have lured
her away by claiming a great emergency.
In that case, it had to be one of the
neighbors.”’

The prime suspect quickly came into
focus: It was George Capps. The detecti-
ves who had asked questions in the area
discovered that the people had noticed a

man lurking around the Franklin home. ,

He would stand outside the house and
gaze in through the picture window. They
all identified this man as George Capps.

His car was examined again. No blood,
only traces of vomit on the seams of the
upholstery. This was to be expected in
view of his wife’s condition. Still, the po-
lice searched his house. They found seve-
ral shells: .32 caliber! But Capps claimed
he didn’t have the gun any longer.

The evidence against him was still only
circumstantial. An expert was sent from
Harrisburg who could verify whether or’
not his tires matched the tracks near the
scene of the crime.

The detectives regrouped and hashed
over what they had on Capps. “‘He was
seen lurking around the Franklin's
home,"’ said Chief Kirby.

“And his alibi only holds up till ten
o’clock,”’ offered Sergeant McCarr.

More and more, George Capps seemed
the logical suspect. His wife’s pregnancy
was the perfect ‘‘emergency” to lure
Marty out of the house. And that could be
the reason why Marty didn’t put on her
coat. There was no need to if she was only
going a few houses down the street.

Logic was on the side of the police. All
they needed now was some proof that
would put Capps at the scene of the crime
at the time the girl was murdered. They
brought him in for questioning. He insis-
ted on his innocence.

**How could you be so stupid?"’ he ex-
claimed. ‘‘I hardly knew the girl. And
with my wife in that condition, would I go
looking around for some girl I hardly
knew?”’

The police kept at him, questioning him
over and over about his gun, the bullets
they found, the fact that his tires matched
the tracks, him being the last to see Marty
alive.

But he insisted on his innocence. Even
after hours of questioning, his answers

(continued on page 43)
. 29

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See)

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really you? Did you have a nice trip? Wait
for me in the cafeteria. | am on my way!"

The Vietnamese girl did not respond.
The phone slipped from her fingers and
hung suspended by the cord. She felt
dizzy and faint. The voice of an airport
attendant brought her back to reality.
**Are you all right Miss? Can I help you?"

*‘No. No. I am all right. Thank you,”
she replied. In a daze, Tita found her way
to the airport cafeteria where she sat
down ata table and ordered hot tea. She
was hurt and bitter. She had been be-
trayed. It had all been for nothing. She
would return to Vietnam on the next
flight. She wanted so badly to cry but as
before, on the battlefields which had been
her people's villages, the tears refused to
flow.

An elderly Frechman approached her
table. ‘‘Pardon! You seem so sad
Mademoiselle. Permit me to offer you a
drink.” -

‘Leave me alone,”’ Tita told the man
coldly. He bowed slightly and hurried
away.

The incident served to add fuel to
Tita’s ire. She slammed her tea cup down
and snatched up her purse to depart in
search of the ticket counter. At that mo-
ment, a man stepped up behind her and
put his arms around her. As she struggled
to free herself, she heard the voice of
Thomas Adam in her ear. ‘‘Well — it
looks as if I got here just in the nick of
time.”

“‘T have been a fool to even wait here
for you! Take your hands off of me!”’
railed the furious Vietnamese girl. ‘“You
are no better than any of the men whom I
met in the brothel in Saigon. Leave me
alone. I am going back home!”

Thomas continued to talk in a soothing
tone. ‘‘Please forgive me Tita. I did not
intend to hurt you. I have some wonderful
plans for us both. First, we are going to
take a two-week vacation on the Riviera.
Then, when we return, I will find a nice
studio apartment close by where I can be
with you every single day. Later on, we
will discuss marriage. Give me a
chance.”

Tita N’Guyen succumbed to the en-
treaties. Exhausted from the long trip and
confronted with the thought of returning
to acountry already inchaos, she decided
to pin her hopes once more upon the
promises tendered by the man she loved.
She had been bruised and battered about
all of her life. Hope was the only thing left
to her now.

They left Paris to enjoy two glorious
weeks on the Cote d'Azur. During their
vacation, Thomas plied the beautiful

42

Vietnamese girl with more promises of
the good life they would have together.
She once again became convinced of his
sincerity. He told her that his marriage
had been a mistake and that within a few

»months, he would be free to remarry.

Coincidentally, Tita’s niece Thuong
was married to Raymond, brother to
Thomas. Tita was superstitious and she
firmly believed in omens. She was in-
clined to view the established family rela-
tionship as being a good sign.

Later, events established beyond a
doubt that Tita had misinterpreted the
omens. Her lover began to neglect her. In
January 1975, she learned that he had left
Paris for a trip to the Congo without say-
ing a word about his plans. Infuriated, she
spent her last centime for a ticket to Lib-
reville only to learn upon her arrival there
that Thomas had already flown back to
Paris. She was deeply hurt and frightened
at the thought of losing her man.

In February, she decided to end it all
and attempted suicide by taking an over-
dose of Valium.

She was discovered in a coma and
rushed to a hospital in Paris where she
was revived. As Tita lay in her hospital
bed, she reviewed her past. She re-lived
her childhood days and thought of how
she had managed to elevate herself
through her wits and her desirable, young
body which seemed to have been created
only for the pleasures of man. Now she
found herself alone and abandoned in the
city of Paris. She was broke and her land-
lord had threatened to expel her from her
apartment if her rent was not paid.
Thomas had even neglected this aspect of
her welfare. Thuong came to see her and
offered her the use of a spare bedroom in
her home.

On March 1, Tita left her hospital bed
and took a taxito No. 185 rue de Lourmel
and moved into the guest room in her
niece’s large apartment. Thuong and her
husband assured her that they would not

interfere with her private affairs. They
were well aware of the fact that Thomas
Adam was her lover. They would not ob-
ject to her entertaining him in their home.

A week later, at about 7 p.m. Thomas
arrived at the home of his brother
Raymond for a visit. After exchanging a
few pleasantries with his gracious sister-
in-law, Thomas walked back to Tita’s
room and softly opened the door. He
found the lovely Vietnamese girl seated

onthe floor, combing her long, black hair. —

She was nude. He sat down beside her
and watched her reflection in the large
floor mirror which sat against the wall
before her. Several minutes later they

46104 ELA TT OTT EP aT ee eee aia rot cinta ama cas pa

both. heard the door of the canal '
close. Thuong and her husband had lef,
to attend a movie with dinner afterward, {

_ They were alone.

Thomas reached out and touched the
girl's breast. ‘You are so pretty Tita. |)
enjoy watching your every movement}
You are really made for love and you
skin is as soft as a peach.** The girl craved
love and attention in her loneliness.

At 10 p.m. they both lay side by side is:
Tita’s bed. Thomas stretched conter
tedly. Tita raised up on one elbow aw
spoke. “It is hard to imagine that you ar
about ready now to change beds anf
partners and that you will finish out th
night with someone else.” 4

**Cherie. You know by now that I can’
not deny my wife. I've told you all of this,
before,’ said Thomas. j

‘*l don't give adamn about your wifel)
Tita screamed in a sudden flare of anger,
Her eyes flashed as she leaped from thy
bed and stared at the man before her. “ll
wouldn't be fair to her, mon petit chat,
he said. * i.

“Don't pretend to.be so noble!” s
retorted. : ;

The verbal battle became more heatet
In an attempt to terminate the harangug
Thomas closed his eyes and feignel
sleep. 4

The’naked Vietnamese girl stood fy
several seconds and then walked soft
from the bedroom to the kitchen wher
she placed the coffee pot on the bumé,
Minutes later she returned to the bet
room with two steaming hot cups of blad
coffee. She handed one cup to her lové
who still lay on the rumpled bed. She ha
laced his coffee heavily with a stiff dosed
powdered Valium. i

Tita seated herself cross legged upd
the floor and watched attentively as th
man in the bed sipped his drink. Valiumt
one of the new synthetic drugs common
prescribed as a tranquilizer or a sedatit
and it works as a powerful muscular ft
laxant. It is tasteless and dangerous. : }

The girl began to talk softly and hé
soothing voice lulled the man’s senses#
the drug started to take effect. Sh

4

watched as his eyes became glazed. ©
‘Is it true, my love, that you will nevé
be all mine? Come — tell me the truth’
the girl murmured. Thomas respond
his tongue thick with the effect of ti
potent tranquilizer, ‘‘Cherie, you mus

get used to the fact that I cannotleavem 7

wife. Ever!’’ Then his words became #
more than a mumble. |
Tita rose and began to pace the fl
impatiently like a caged animal. She pré
sed her clenched fists tightly to her te#
ples as if to drown out the roar oft
convulsions which had seized her.
The empty coffee cup slipped from
man’s relaxed fingers and rolled onto!

(continued on next page) _

heavy carpet. Tita bent and picked up the-

coffee cup and took it back out to the
kitchen. There were two huge kitchen
knives.on the sideboard by the sink. She

picked them both up and returned to the.

bedroom.

She stood for a second gazing down at
her lover. Only now she did not view him
as such. She felt only the cruel hurt of his

brutal rejection. She held a sharp knife in.

either hand.

Suddenly, with a cry of bitter rage, she
leaped upon the man on the bed and drove
one of the long knives deep into his un-
protected throat. The blood from the gh-
astly wound washed her naked torso in

| crimson. The man stirred feebly and

moaned in pain.

By now Tita seemed to be in the grip of
afury which knew no bounds. **Be quiet
— you lying bastard! Quit your whining!
You deliberately used me. Now suffer!"*
She bent over the bed, snatched up a
stocking from the floor, and crammed it
into Thomas’ gaping mouth, punching it

down deep with the handle of the second -

knife which she still held. Then she

plunged the blade deep into the man’s ~~

heaving chest once and then withdrew it.
Thomas Adam shuddered and then died
ina pool of his own blood and gore.

The Vietnamese girl remained motion-
less, poised over the dead body like some
avenging goddess. Parting from the exer-
tion, she shifted her position slightly and
moved from astride the body to squat by
its side, She had killed but it remained
that she exact the supreme penalty. She
pushed the heavy legs apart and with one
slashing cut, she savagely severed the
man’s penis. ;

“Never more will you belong to any-
one else. You are mine now forever. I was
the last to make love to you. You are mine
Thomas! Do you hear?"* the girl whis-
pered softly.

The faint glisten of tears appreared in
the corners of her eyes. For the first time
in fifteen years, Tita cried. She was ob-
livious of her surroundings now. All she
was able to think of was that death and

» men had been an almost constant part of .

her life as long as she could recall.

Hours later Tita’s niece and her hus-
band returned to their apartment to find it
dark and silent. When they opened the
door to Tita’s room, they were aghast at
the gruesome sight confronting them.
There on the bed lay the victim, much as
ifhe had been spread ona sacrificial altar.
Tita sat on the floor in front of her mirror
Staring vacantly at her blood-encrusted
nude image.

Veteran homicide investigators, who
crowded into the bedroom, shook their

heads at the horrendous crime which they

a been summoned to investigate. Evi-

ence of premeditation was manifest.
The slight fragile Vietnamese girl was
Bently led downstairs to the black Citroen
and placed in the back seat. A silken dres-

sing gown had been placed around the
girl’§ shoulders. As the powerful car pul-

-led away from the curb, those on the

sidewalk could not help but notice the
look of placid tranquility on the girl's face

«as she stared out of the side window of the

car.

Tita N'Guyen was charged with mur-
der and confined in prison to await her
trial. She was subjected to intense
psychoanalysis and psychiatric evalua-
tion and found sane.

Her trial was eventually set for March
8, 1977. On that date the defendant was
led into the chambers of an ancient court-
room located in the Palais de Justice. She
was represented by a very able female

\

lawyer named Mme. Georgie Myers.
After the court and the appointed judges
had heard all of the evidence and had
listened to testimony given by the girl
from Vietnam, they adjudged her guilty of
the crime of murder. be

The president of the court, however,
accorded the prisoner that same measure
of French compassion usually meted out
in cases where there is evidence of ex-
tenuating circumstances and Tita
N’Guyen was sentenced to five years in
prison. The judge decreed that she would
be eligible for release at the end of three
years, at which time she would serve the
remaining sentence on probation.

. Marta Should Have

Pulled The Shades Down

were the same. It was noted that there
weren't any scratches on him. Then the
telephone rang.

Sergeant McCarr answered it and then
returned to question the suspect. ‘How
is it that our men found vomit in your
car?”

He said it was a stupid question. His
wife was pregnant and vomited often.

**But that phone call was from Dr. Phil-
lips. He examined the body again and
discovered that Marty vomited before
she was killed.”

Capps put on a show of silence. He
refused to answer any more questions.
But the next day, Capps’ background was
revealed through a routine criminal iden-
\tification report. Te
When 10 years old, he had been arres-
ted for bicycle theft. Later he was picked
up for burglary. He escaped from the re-
formatory and stole another bike. He was
returned and served a longer term. Later
still, he was arrested for drunkenness and
disorderly conduct. His last arrest had
been for drunken driving.

Confronted with this, the suspect re-
mained silent. The technician from Har-
risburg arrived and stated that the tracks
matched the treads of Capps’ car.

It was only when informed of this that
the suspect asked to see a priest. After an
hour with the priest, he came out and said
he was ready to confess.

The statement read: **1.George Capps.
do hereby confess to the attacking and
shooting of MartaGibbons on the night of
January 22 of this year. 1 do this volunta-
rily and am under no coercion."

He explained that he had been attrac- , _

ted to Marty from the first day shé moved

a "(continued from page 29)

to Levittown. She became an obsession

with him. He began hanging around her

house and peering into the picture win-
dow.
**L had to have her."* he exclaimed. *‘I

hadn‘t had sex since the fourth month of *

my wife's pregnancy. I had to have her. I
found jout she was alone in the house
when I went to.see about the car.

“At around ten-fifteen, | knocked on
her door and said that my wife was in an
emergency. I asked her to accompany me
back to the house. She said yes. I could
feel the thrill going through me.*

Marty knew something was wrong
when he turned towards the lovers’ lane
instead of towards his house. She asked
all kinds of questions. :

**L stopped the car and took her in my
arms. The little devil fought me. but that
only excited me more. She began to
scream and threaten to tell my wife. I
tipped off her sweater and panties and
threw them out the window.”

These were the rags found by Patrol-
man Grado. Capps said that Marty mana-
ged to slip away and began to run. He said
he shot her at that point. z

**We were able to show this was a lie.”
said Chief Kirby. **We speculate that he
knocked her out witha vicious blow from
the butt of the gun. Then he shot her
through the head.”

At the trial. Capps told a totally new
story. different from any of the others he
had told before.

“She went with me voluntarily.” he
screamed in the courtroom. **Then, after
she threatened to expose me. 1 couldn't

(continued on next page)
43

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BRUBLMAN, John, white, hanged Phidadelphia, Pa., Oct. 22, 1760,

10-20-1760

PHILADELPHIA By a gentleman from Philadelphia we are informed
that JOHN BRULEMAN, who was executed there on the
8th instant for the murder of Mr. Scull, as mentioned in a former
paper, was by trade a silversmith, which business he left and went
into the army where he was an officer in the Royal-American Regiment;
but was discharged on being detected in counterfeiting or uttering
counterfeit money. He then returned to Philadelphia, where growing
insupportable to himself, and yet being unwilling to put an end to
his own life, he determined upon the commission of some crime for
which he might get hanged by the law. Having formed this design, he
loaded his gun with a brace of balls and asked his landlord to go
a shooting with hin, intending to murder him before his return. But
his landlord not choosing to go, escaped the danger. He then went out
alone and on the way met a man whom he was about to kill, but recol-
lecting that there were no witnesses to prove him guilty, he let the
man pass. He then went to a public house where he drank some liquor
and hearing people at play at billiards in a room above stairs, he
went up and sat with them and was talkative, facetious and seemingly
good humoured. After some time he called to the landlord and desired
him to hand up the gun. Mr. Scull, who was at play, having struck
his antagonist's balls into one of the pockets, Bruleman said to
him: "Sir, you are a good marksman and now I'll show you a fine
stroke." He immediately levelled his piece and took aim at Mr. Scull,
(who imagined him in jest), and shot both the balls through his body.
He then went up to Mr. Scull, (who did not expire nor lose his senses
till a considerable time after), and said to him: "Sir, I had no
malice nor ill-will against you, for I never saw you before, but I
was determined to kill somebody that I might be hanged and you happen
to be the man; and as you are a very likely young man, I am very
sorry for your misfortune." Mr. Séull had time to send for his friends
and to make his will. He forgave his murderer and if it could be done,
desired he might be pardoned.

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680 107 ATLANTIO

REPORTER (Pa.

ease was for the jury, and the fact that the | work plaintiff might perform with its own
conclusion differed is no reason for reversal. | equipment, or employ defendant railroad to do it.

The judgment is affirmed and the record|¢ Qarrrers ¢=192—Swiromine CHARGES—

remitted for purpose of execution.

PITTSBURGH. & L. E. R. CO. v. SOUTH

SHORE R. CO.
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. March 17,
1919.)

1. Carriers €==30 — InTERSTATE RATES —
SCHEDULES.

Under the Interstate Commerce Act, as
amended June 29, 1906, § 2 (Comp. St. § 8569),
an interstate carrier can neither recover freight
charges nor pay the owner any allowance for
services in connection with transportation, ex-
cept as provided in schedules previously filed.

2. CARRIERS €==30—INTERSTATE COMMERCE—
CoMPENSATION FOR SwiTcHING CARS —
ScHEDULES. -

A railroad company owning a short line
operated as a facility to a large steel plant, and
engaged in switching and placing cars receiv-
ed from plaintiff, an interstate carrier, could
not recover compensation from plaintiff, where
no schedule of rates had been filed by plaintiff,
as provided by Interstate Commerce Act, as
amended by Act of June 29, 1906, § 2 (Comp.
' St. § 8569).

3. ComMERCE €==85 — SwircnHine Cars —
AGREEMENT — JURISDICTION OF INTERSTATE
COMMERCE COMMISSION.

Where plaintiff railroad, engaged in inter-
state commerte, agreed with defendant, operat-
ing a plant facility, to pay for switching cars ac-
cording to a schedule filed by plaintiff until
adjustment by Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion and plaintiff canceled agreement before
schedule was brought to Commission’s attention,
and schedule was for rates less than value of
services, its cancellation did not oust jurisdic-

- tion of Commission to determine validity of can-

cellatiom and allowances for past transactions.

4. CARRIERS €==196—INTERSTATE COMMERCE
Commission — Recovery or SwitcHiIne
CHARGES—SPECIAL CONTRACT.

Plaintiff's agreement with defendant rail-
road, as to compensation for switching of cars
engaged in state traflic, that a dispute in rates
should be adjusted by Interstate Commerce Com-
mission, did not oust the jurisdiction of the
state courts, and recovery might be had against
plaintiff on a quantum meruit, as to such cars,
where it had made payments at scheduled rates,
which were less than actual cost of service.

5. CARRIERS €=7192—SwircHine CHARGES—
SpEcIAL AGREEMENT.
Where the exchange point was the terminus

of a route, it was competent for plaintiff rail-
road and defendant, a plant facility, except as
restrained by statute, to contract that line
freight rate should imclude service of moving

SprcraL ContTract—REcoveRY—ACTION OF
PuBLic SERVICE COMMISSION.

If a railroad, operating only as a switching
facility at a plant, applies to state Public Serv-
ice Commission to annul cancellation of an
agreement by plaintiff, a line carrier, as to com-
pensation and for the allowance of a fair
compensation for services in intrastate com-
merece, after Public Service Act Pa. became
effective, which application was pending at
trial of plaintiff’s action against switching com-
pany involving the charges, defendant could not
recover as to claims disallowed by the Commis-
sion.

7. CARRIERS €=>196 — Switcutne Cars — Ao-
TION FOR CHARGES—SET-OFF.

In assumpsit by plaintiff railroad, defend-
ant railroad, a plant facility, switching cars for
plaintiff, might set off the difference, if any, be-
tween the actual cost of service rendered in
state traffic, and amount received on account
prior to Jan. 1, 1914, when Public Service Act
Pa. became effective, but the allowance of a set-
off for services thereafter rendered, and for
services in interstate traffic would require a
new trial,

Appeal from Court of Common Pleas,
Allegheny County.

Assumpsit by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie
Railroad Company against the South Shore
Railroad Company, to recover $3,392.94 for
repairs on locomotives. Certificate and judg-
ment for defendant for $65,000, and plaintiff
appeals. Reversed, and a venire facias de
novo awarded.

Argued before STEWART, MOSCHZIS-
KER, FRAZER, WALLING, and SIMPSON,
ae

George E. Shaw and John J. Heard, both
of Pittsburgh, for appellant.
W. S. Dalzell, of Pittsburgh, for appellee.

WALLING, J. This appeal by plaintiff is
from judgment entered for defendant on a
balance of $65,000 certified by the jury in
an action of assumpsit. Plaintiff's railroad
extends from [Pittsburgh to Youngstown,
Ohio, and at the former city connects with
various manufacturing establishments, in-
cluding the Clinton Iron & Steel Company,
of which defendant is a plant facility, al-
though chartered as a railroad company.
Pittsburgh & L. E. R. R. Co. v. Clinton I.
& S. Co., 258 Pa. 838, 101 Atl. 1048. Defend-
ant had two engines and six freight cars,
also divers sidings and switches.located on
the land of the steel company and extending
to its different departments. Plaintiff's
tracks connected with those of defendant at
what is known as interchange track in Point

cars in and about the plant, as required, which

Bridge yard, where defendant took the cars

¢C—For other cases see same topic and KEY-N

UMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes

. forming it for other like plants.

(107 A,)

Pa.) PITTSBURG 4 & L, FE. R. CO. vy. SOUTH SHORE R. CO. 681

and distributed them about the plant as
needed; also gathered up cars for the out-
ward shipment and delivered them to plain-
tiff at the same point; in other words, did
a general switching business about the plant,
including the transfer of cars coming in and
going out. This embraced cars engaged in
both interstate and state (intrastate) traffic.
For many years, ending in 1907, plaintiff
paid defendant a satisfactory price for such
service; then a controversy arose with refer-
ence thereto, and, after much discussion and
correspondence, it was agreed that defend-
ant should be paid according to a certain
schedule fixed by plaintiff until the matter
was adjusted by the Interstate Commerce
Commission, when the balance, if any, for
the intervening time would be paid in full.
That schedule fixed $2.25 per car for iron
ore, $1.75 for coke, $1.60 for limestone, and
a flat rate of $2 for each car handled for a
subsidiary plant. In 1911 plaintiff, without
notice to defendant, filed this schedule of
rates with the commission; but the matter
was never brought before that body for ad-
justment, and in May, 1914, plaintiff can-
celed the agreement and refused further pay-
ment for the terminal service, while per-
Shortly
thereafter plaintiff brought this suit on an
admitted claim of $3,392.94, and interest, for
repair work, to which defendant interposed
a set-off of $93,542.30, claimed as the differ-
ence between the cost of the terminal service
and the amount received therefor since 1907.
This was based on a charge of $2.75 for
each car handled. However, at the trial
the evidence tended to prove that the actual
cost of such service was $2.46 per car, and
defendant reduced the claim to that amount.
Its case depended in part on parol evidence,
and the trial judge submitted to the jury.
inter alia, the question of the fair and
reasonable cost of such service. The jury
found for the defendant a certified balance
of $65,000, on which judgment was entered.
That was a considerable reduction from the
full amount of the set-off computed on the
basis of $2.46 per car. A part of defendant’s
claim as itemized was for the movement of
cars engaged in interstate, and the balance
for those engaged in state, commerce, but,
as the case was tried and submitted to the
jury, they were blended as one claim, and,
so far .as can be judged, the same amount
was allowed for each car regardless of the
kind of commerce in which it was engaged.
{1,2] As to the interstate shipments the
matter is controlled by federal statutes,
which seek to protect the public by securing
uniformity of rates and privileges. See Tex-
as & Pac. Ry. v. Abilene Cotton Oil Co.,
204 U. S. 426, 27 Sup. Ct. 350, 51 L. Ed.
553, 9 Ann. Cas. 1075. Under the Act of

Congress to Regulate Commerce (Act Feb. |
4, 1887, c. 104, 24 Stat. 379, as amended | 118, 61 L. Ed. 316.

June 29, 1906, ¢c. 8591, 34 Stat. 584 [Comp.
St. § 8569]) the interstate carrier must file
with the commission and also publish sched-
ules of all rates and tariffs including ter-
minal charges, and the act also provides
that—

“No carrier * * * shall engage or partici-
pate in the transportation of passengers or
property, * * * unless the rates, fares, and
charges upon which the same are transported
by said carrier have been filed and published in
accordance with the provisions of this act:
“ * * nor shall any carrier refund or remit
in any manner or by any device any portion of
the rates, fares, and charges so specified, nor
extend to any shipper or person any privileges
or facilities in the transportation of passengers
or property, except such as are specified in such
a U. S. Statutes at Large, 1905-07, p.
586.

And in effect (page 590) that only. reason-
able charges shall be allowed the owner of
transported property for services rendered
in connection therewith, which allowance in
case of complaint shall be determined by the
commission. In our opinion’ under that
statute the carrier can neither recover
freight charges, nor pay the owner any al-
lowance for services in connection with such
transportation, except as provided in sched-
ules previously filed as above stated. Plain-
tiff should have filed the tariff of rates, and
would have been ordered to do so had ap-
plication been made to the commission; but,
until such schedules were filed, plaintiff
could not lawfully pay for the switching
services in question, and, of course, could
not be compelled to do an unlawful act. See
Swing v. Munson, 191 Pa. 583, 43 Atl. 342,
58 L. R. A. 223, 71 Am. St. Rep. 772; John-
son v. Hulings, 103 Pa..498, 49 Am. Rep.
131; Medoff v. Fisher et al., 257 Pa. 126, 101
Atl. 471; Interstate Commerce Commission
v. Reichmann (C. C.) 145 Fed. 235. If the
property owner can recover from the carrier
for yard service in switching or placing cars,
without a schedule of rates therefor being
promulgated, then discrimination is possible
under the guise of claims for terminal serv-
ices, and that is what the statute seeks to
prevent.

[3] Then, again, by the agreement defend-
ant was to be paid according to plaintiff's
unfiled schedule until adjusted by the com-
mission, and neither party asked for such ad-
justment. It was a matter within the juris-
diction of the commission and by the agree-
ment made a condition precedent to any
claim of defendant for additional compen-
sation. Plaintiff's act in canceling the eon-
tract did not oust the jurisdiction of the
commission, who might still determine the
validity of such cancellation and also the
question of allowances for past transactions.
See Vennsylvania R. R. Co. v. Stineman
Coal Min. -Co.,° 242. U. S.-298, _37.Sup: Ct.
The rule under the


A diabolical murder took
Place in the cellar of the
headquarters (at far left)
of a gang of car thieves.

Despite her voluble pleas
of innocence the evidence
showed she had taken an
actual part in the murder.

Mike Dominick, a member of the car
gang is standing between Lieut. John
Bricker, left, and Corp. Mathias, right.


90

the barn owned by Robert Fischer’s wife
at Cambridge Springs.

Bubna and Fischer argued over the tele-
phone for several minutes, Dominick re-
lated, and, a little while later, Fischer
made an appearance at the apartment
and the argument continued. Everybody,
he said, was drinking heavily.

Dominick and his girl remained in an-
other room while Fischer, Bubna and
Mildred Thomas talked in the kitchen.
Once during the evening, Dominick said,
he wandered into the kitchen to get an-
other drink and Fischer, he saw, was
bleary drunk and seated on a chair. Bubna
and Mildred were with him, laughing now
instead of quarreling.

“We're going to play a joke on Fischer,”
he quoted Mildred as saying. “We're going
to give him a haircut!”

Then, picking up a pair of scissors, she
started to clip chunks of hair from the
dazed Fischer’s head. Meanwhile, Bubna’s
attitude had changed. He stepped close
to Fischer and struck him across the face.
He hit him again—and still again. Not
wishing to become involved in a fight,
Dominick said he left the kitchen and
returned to his girl with a drink.

A little later, he heard Bubna call him,
apparently from the basement. He went to
the kitchen, and Bubna’s voice came up
the stairs from the cellar.

Dominick started down the stairs, then
paused at what he saw. Fischer, ap-
parently unconscious, some of the hair cut
from his head, was sprawled on the
basement floor. Bubna was standing over
his body with one hand grasping the
dazed man’s collar.

In his other hand the big fellow held
a gun—an automatic. Then, as Dominick
gazed at this bizarre scene, Bubna fired
the gun—again—and again. Dominick lost
count of the number of times he heard
the bark of the weapon.

Fischer’s body slowly relaxed and Bubna
dropped it to the floor, Dominick said.
Then Mildred went to work with the
scissors again, clipping off wads of hair
in a crude manner in a haphazard effort to
get it all off. It was a grotesque haircut
she had given the unfortunate man. She
then clipped the collar off his shirt, then
went into Fischer’s back pocket and re-
moved his wallet. She and Bubna ripped
off some of Fischer’s clothing, and together
with the hair clippings, shoved them into
the furnace.

“Big Mike shoved the gun at me then,”
Dominick said, “and told me I was in it,
too. He told me he was going to help me
get the body in the car and that I was
going to drive it some place and dump
it. I didn’t like the idea, but he had that
gun on me and I figured he’d kill me sure.”

Dominick said his girl had remained up-
stairs all the time and didn’t know until

much later what had happened.

“We got Bob into Bubna’s car,” he con-
tinued, “and Millie started to scrub the
blood from the floor. I didn’t know where
to go. I should have gone to the police
then and there, but I was too scared and
mixed up. Then I thought of the road up
near the golf course and I drove up there
and dragged the body out of the car and
tried to bury it in the dark. Bubna had
given me the gun before I left the apart-
ment, and I threw it into the leaves.
Then when I went back to the car, I found
it was stuck in the mud. There was an-

TALE OF TWO CITIES

Over the Los Angeles fire depart-
ment’s short-wave radio system, the
following conversation recently took
place between a radio dispatcher and
a battalion fire chief:

“Battalion Chief 11,” said the dis-
patcher—"“fire reported at 2620 Lake
View Terrace.”

A few minutes later Battalion Chief
1l reported back to the dispatcher.
“There's no such address,” he angrily
snapped.

“You mean to tell me I don’t know
Los Angeles?” barked the dispatcher.

A brief interval of silence followed.
Then Battalion Chief 11 shattered the
stillness with a hearty chuckle. “You
may know Los Angeles, brother,” he
replied. “This is Cleveland, Ohio.”

Unusual atmospheric conditions had
linked the two networks, both of which
have the same wave length,

—C. G. Reid

other car near there with a fellow and
a girl in it, and they took me into town.

“Bubna was pretty sore when I told him
I had to ask these people to take me back
to town for a wrecker and he decided
that we'd better get rid of the car. We
took it alongside the apartment in the
middle of the night and washed it. Then
we burned most of my clothes and they
gave me some more and told me to take
the car to Florida and sell it, and to stay
there for a while until the heat was off,
I know I should have gone to the police,
but I talked to my girl about it and we
decided to start out for Florida. That’s
the story. I know I made a mistake trying
to get away, but I want you to know I
didn’t kill Fischer.”

Dominick and his girl were hurriedly
returned to Erie and held on open
charges. Meanwhile, Dominick’s confes-
sion, details of which had been telephoned
from Savannah to Bricker, was sprung
on Bubna and Mildred Thomas, who was
re-arrested.

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They, of course, denied the whole story.
Fischer, as they both had admitted earlier,
was at their home that Sunday night,
they said, but he was very much alive
when he left, and very drunk. They de-
nied any knowledge of what happened to
him. They continued to deny flatly that
they had any knowledge of stolen cars.

They were affable and calm in their
denials. They could not understand why
Dominick, whom they said they had be-
friended, had concocted such a story. They
did not accuse him directly, but let the
inference stand that Dominick, for reasons
of his own, had done away with Fischer.

The authorities, however, after sum-
marizing all the evidence they had before
them, felt they had the true facts. Al-
though Dominick had made a serious mis-
take in not coming to the police, he had
given a convincing and logical account of
his reasons. The motive, the murder
weapon, the death car, the murder loca-
tion, all could be linked directly to Bubna
and Mildred Thomas.

Much of Dominick’s story was substan-
tiated by his girl friend. The district at-
torney’s office made every effort to detect
bloodstains in the basement, but the hard
cement surface of the floor was known to
have been thoroughly scrubbed. The ashes
of the furnace, by the time the investi-
gators had sufficient information to tie
the killing to Bubna and his sister, had
long since been disposed of.

District Attorney McLaughlin concluded
that although minor details were missing,
he had enough information to take the
case to trial. He charged Bubna and Mil-
dred Thomas—and Dominick—with mur-
der. All three were indicted by the Grand
Jury. All three entered pleas of innocent.

When the case came to trial in May,
1946, Dominick was the Commonwealth’s
star witness against Bubna and Mrs.
Thomas. After ten days of bitter courtroom
fighting the jury retired and on the after-
noon of May 24th, found Bubna and his
sister guilty as charged, attaching a recom-
mendation for mercy to the verdict as it
affected Mildred Thomas.

Dominick, who fully admitted his part
in the case on the witness stand, was
found innocent, but pleaded guilty as an
accessory after the fact of murder.

Bubna was sentenced to death, Mildred
Thomas to life imprisonment and Dominick
to a two-year prison term.

Bubna and Mildred carried an appeal to
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Before
their case was heard, however, Mildred
broke her loyalty to her brother and
gave police a “confession.” Her state-
ment, judicial note of which was made
by the high court, implicated Bubna as
having “hired” Dominick to kill Fischer.
She attempted to clear herself thoroughly.
It failed to impress the court, however,
and the original verdict stood.

Mildred was removed to the State In-
dustrial School for Women at Muncy,
Pennsylvania, where she is now serving
a life term. Bubna, in spite of a spirited
last-minute fight for reprieve, was exe-
cuted in the electric chair at the Western
State Penitentiary Farm at Bellefonte on
October 21st, 1947.

Epitor’s Nove:

The name Arthur Rostoff, as used in
this story, is fictitious since this man
served a prison term for his part in
the crime described and is row living
an honest and industrious life. Photo-
graphs of Mike Dominick appear on page
23, left of large picture, and at bottom
of page between two Officers; also on
page 25, with stick. Mildred Thomas is
shown on page 23, also on 24 with “Big

Mike” Bubna (right).

(Continu

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HRAL CR IMES DETECTIVE » dune, 1948,

white, elec, Pa, (Erie County) on October 20, 1947,

THE BLOOD-STAINED SHEET AND, THE BODY
UNDERNEATH WAS ONLY A PRACTICAL
JOKE. YET, LATER ON, IT PLAYED AN IMPOR-
TANT PART IN SOLVING A CRIME MYSTERY.

“GREAT night for a murder!”
the doorman growled facetiously,
swinging his arms to knock snow
off his overcoat.

Detective Sergeant Jack Martin,
entering the building, grinned and
turned to answer. But his eye was
caught suddenly by the peculiar ac-
tion of a woman passing on the
sidewalk.

At the doorman’s§ mockingly
ominous words, she had jerked her
head around sharply, and stopping
in mid-stride, lost her balance on
the icy pavement and almost top-
pled over.

Eyes widened in surprise, the two
men gazed after her as she righted
herself and hurried ahead, Hatless
and sporting open-toed shoes, the
woman faced a howling blizzard
which was blowing off the Great
Lakes into the streets of Erie,
Pennsylvania.

Heedless of the startled glances,
the woman turned the corner. Then
quickening her pace, she ran up the
steps of a large house and knocked.

A big, beefy man opened the
door. Over: six feet tall and weigh-
ing close to 250 pounds, ‘he never-
theless moved with graceful ease.
Recognizing the caller, he quickly
stepped back to usher her in.

“Where is he, Mike?” she de-
manded breathlessly. “What’s hap-
pened?” :

A shadow passed over the big
man’s genial face. “Better take it
easy, Blanche,” he said kindly. “It’s
bad. You ‘still love him, don’t you?”

“But what—?” Tears of fear and
fnistration welled up in her eyes.
“Your "message was so strange.

Tell me. What’s happened to Bob.”

The big man turned his face
away. As he did so, a. stately brun-
ette came forward from the next
room.

“Oh, Blanche!” she gasped. “He’s
downstairs... in the basement.”

Impetuously, the visitor dashed
through the kitchen toward the
basement stairs. Staring after her
the big man cleared his throat.

“It’s m-murder!” he stammered
apologetically. “M-murder!”

The woman uttered a weak, high-
pitched cry, but kept on going, her
spiked-heeled shoes drumming a ta-
too as she raced down the wooden
steps.

As she reached the cellar, her
face contorted with overwhelming
grief. A shrouded figure lay on
the floor, covered by a sheet stained
with sinister smears of red! But
as the woman dropped to her knees
beside the inert form, a puzzled
frown creased her forehead. Pant~
ing nervously, she flung back the
sheet.

One quick look and her mouth
dropped open in amazement. And
for good reason. Instead of the
bleeding body she had anticipated,

: two crumpled pillows lay on the

floor. Petrified with astonishment
she was still kneeling when a peal
of laughter from the stairs snap-
ped her out of it.

Guffawing delightedly, Big Mike
Bubna shuffled down the steps.
Close behind him, the svelte bru-
nette, his sister, shook with un-
controllable mirth.

“The expression on your face,
Blanche;” she shrieked, going into

(Above) Robert Fisher, who was good-natured and liked by every-

body.

a renewed paroxysm of laughter.
“Priceless, priceless!”

Ashen-faced with shock, Mrs.
Blanche Horst Fisher slowly rose
to her feet. A sheepish smile
struggled with a resentful scowl
for supremacy. “When will I learn
not to fall for your crazy gags!”
she sighed, rolling her eyes toward
the ceiling.

Still rumbling with hilarity at his
own practical joke, Big Mike came
forward. He placed a comforting
arm around the startled woman’s
shoulders. “Come on upstairs,’ he
invited. “We'll all have a Ildrink.”
Kicking the ketchup-stained sheet
out of the way, he led Mrs. Fisher
up the steps.

Hardly were they seated in the
parlor, when Bob Fisher himself
knocked at the door. Invited in,
he chuckled good-naturedly as his
wife petulantly recounted Bubna’s
prank.

“Mike’s sure enough a riot!” he
drawled, grinning broadly. “I’ll
bet he played practical jokes on
his mother two days after he was
born!”

All hands joined in the laughter.
No one so much as suspected that
Bubna’s innocent tomfoolery might
prove to be a grim portent of things
to comel

|
He was the victim in this strange murder. |
i
|
|

(Right) Millie Thomas, who was
to learn that a practical joker Is
@ dangerous companion.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Fisher!
rose to go. Noticing her light cloth.
ing, Bubna insisted on driving her!
home. Fisher, busy with a drink,
waved a friendly good-bye to his;
estranged wife as she again faced |
the raging storm. A moment later)
estranged wife as she left. Why)
they were separated remained »
mystery to their friends.

ALMOST impreceptibly in th
succeeding weeks, the wintry blasts
and freezing temperatures eased
up, until on March 6, 1946, one
month_Jater, a tang of spring spiced
the aif.

Gulled by the gentle warmth of
the sun, two confirmed duffers ap
peared at the Erie Golf Club just
outside the city, that afternoon
Although the grounds were not yet
in shape, two local boys genially
agreed to caddie and in a few mo
ments the golfers were on their
way.

They soon realized their mistake
A blustery wind, blowing off Lake
Erie, played havoc with their
drives, but, grimly, they continue
their game.

They were coming up to th

(See over)


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Y diately got in
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*

surance of cooperation from the federal
officers.

Within a few hours, Bricker had a tele-
phone call from the FBI. Dominick and
his girl were in custody, waiting for Erie
authorities whenever they wanted them.
They were driving, the FBI agent told
Bricker, a gray sedan. According to the
registration, it was owned by a James G.
McFadden, of Erie, and Savannah police
reported it was listed as a stolen car.

“McFadden,” thought Bricker. “McFad-
den is Bubna! That fellow again!”

Every new turn the case took now
seemed to be linking up with some other
point—and the names McFadden, or Bubna,
seemed to run like a thread through every-
thing.

Lieutenant Bricker at once detailed Ser-
geants Mathias and Schauer and County
Detective John Coates to hurry to Savan-
nah to take Dominick and the girl into cus-
tody.

| Sia while the officers were on their way
south, Federal authorities were already
questioning Dominick, since it was ap-
parent that he had transported a stolen
car across a state boundary, a federal
offense.

The young prisoner was outraged when
he learned that Bubna had reported the
car “stolen.”

“Why should he have done that?” he
asked. “He knew that I had the car. He
told me to get it out of town. What’s the
pitch on this?”

The answer awaited the arrival of the
Erie officers.

These men wanted to know why Bubna
had told Dominick to “get the car out of
town.” They already were certain of the
answer, since from the garageman’s in-
formation they knew that both Dominick
and the car had been near the spot where
Fischer’s body was found. They were
going to find out a lot from Dominick, the
officers knew, but they had to draw him
out, To get him started, they used a blunt
approach.

“We know you had to get the car out
of town,” Schauer said quietly, “because
you killed Fischer in it and hauled him up
to the woods.”

Dominick paled. Across his face fluttered
the look of fear—then resentment, and
finally determination.

“Look,” he said between clenched teeth,
“surely you guys don’t think I killed
Fischer. I didn’t do it. Bubna is trying
to hang this all on me. I didn’t have any
reason to kill him. They did, and they
killed him at the house that night, then
they told me to get rid of him. I was
afraid they’d kill me, too, if I didn’t do
what they told me to do, so I just dumped

him as quick as I could and started out
for Florida. That’s the way it happened.
I saw Big Mike shoot him right in the
head down there in the cellar!”

The officer slowed him up. This was
it. They sent for a stenographer. It needed
a lot of corroboration, they knew, but it
was a good start—a clean link.

Dominick’s formal statement went like
this:

Big Mike Bubna, his sister, Mildred
Thomas, Dominick and his girl friend were
all at the West 26th Street hideout of the
car ring. All were drinking and Big
Mike was morose and bitter because he
had learned that Fischer and Rostoff, two
of his principal lieutenants, had struck out
for themselves and were holding out a
car on him. Dominick pictured Bubna as
the “bigshot” of the gang, Mildred Thomas
as “the brains.”

“He was always acting like a big gang-
ster,” the youth declared, “siving us orders
and making us do the dirty work. He had
the rest of us scared, he was so big.”

Dominick was particularly bitter in his |

reference to Mrs. Thomas.

“Millie was the brains of the outfit. She |

always laid out the plans and took care
of the money. She always managed to get
all the dough out of everything.”

Dominick revealed that his job in the
ring was to find what he termed “young
punks” to steal cars. Fischer had per-
formed similar service. The “young punks”
were paid $25 to $50 per car, after which
Rostoff would run them to Portland, Maine,
where Bubna formerly operated a garage
and had connections for disposal of the
stolen cars. The system had worked well
for several months and everyone fared
fairly well financially.

When one of Fischer’s “young punks”
provided a car, Dominick would get a
share of the split, and when one of Domi-
nick’s contacts procured the car, Fischer
was accorded a share.

However, in recent weeks, apparently
because Mike and Mildred Thomas wanted
more for themselves, they changed the
system. If Dominick’s boys brought the
car in, Fischer was to get nothing, and
vice versa. Dominick said he didn’t mind
the change, but Fischer “got sore.” That’s
what decided him to go out on his own
with Rostoff.

N the Sunday night while Mike and

Mildred, Dominick and his girl were
at the West 26th Street apartment, Fischer
called on the telephone and demanded his
cut of the proceeds from the last car the
gang had stolen. He didn’t know then
that Bubna was already aware that Fischer
and Rostoff had pulled a double-cross and
obtained a car which they were hiding in

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88

ae oe

of people saw me and you can find out I
wouldn’t have had time to get back here,
then back up to Portland.”

Lieutenant Bricker assured him his alibi
would be thoroughly checked.

“I was there to get rid of a hot car,” he
went on. “Fischer and I got the car and
we were going to keep the money for our-
selves.”

| Ferhat od continued his narration. He
and Bob Fischer, he said, had decided
to leave the gang with which they were
working and strike out on their own. That,
he theorized, was why Fischer had been
murdered. And that was why an effort
was made, Rostoff believed, to frame him
through the use of a gun that could be
traced to him.

“That was my gun, allright,” he admitted,
“Only I haven’t seen it for months. Big
Mike Bubna took it away from me a long
time ago and I never touched it since.”

That name—Bubna—acted like an elec-
tric spark. The detectives sat up, alert.
Bubna—McFadden—stolen cars.

Within minutes, police were at Bubna’s
home, a_ pretentious apartment house,
where they found Big Mike and his sister,
Mrs. Mildred Thomas, who kept house for
him. Bubna, when the detectives entered,
was calm and genial, but appeared curious.
His sister, slender, dark and beautiful in
a sinister way, objected to the intrusion
indignantly.

“What's it all about?” asked Bubna.
“What are you fellows trying to pin on
me now?”

One of the officers eyed him suspici-
ously.

“If I recall correctly,” he said, “I told
you the other day in Squire Goodwin's
office that the next time we picked you
up it wouldn’t be for signing a phony
name on your car license application. It
looks as if I was right. This time we want
to talk to you about murder.”

Bubna and his sister were taken to
headquarters. They readily admitted know-
ing Fischer well.

“Why, he was at the house Sunday
night,” Mrs. Thomas said innocently. “He
was a swell guy, always laughing and
joking. He was pretty drunk, but he
seemed all right when he left.”

Big Mike was similarly frank about his

having entertained Fischer that night.

“We sat around the house having a
good time,” he said. I just can’t imagine
anyone killing Bob. He was a swell guy.”

The police wanted to know about the
gun which Rostoff had said was taken away
from him by Bubna.

“He must be crazy,” the big fellow re-
plied calmly. “I never took any gun away
from him. This sounds like Rostoff might
be a little off in his bean.”

Both Bubna and his sister pleaded com-
plete ignorance of any traffic in stolen
cars.

“You did your darndest,” he told the offi-
cers, “to tie me up with hot cars and you
pinned a bum rap on me for using a
name I always used. Just what have you
guys got against me?”

Big Mike and his sister admitted noth-
ing, accused no one.

The officers gathered for another con-
ference. They didn’t have much on the
racketeer or on Mrs. Thomas, they ac-
knowledged. Only Rostoff’s word against
the pair. Yet, all the investigators agreed
to a common feeling that both were lying.
Finally it was decided that Mildred Tho-
mas would have to be released. Big Mike
they could hold for the time being on the
strength of Rostoff’s testimony, which had
been expanded to include admission of
numerous car thefts in the Erie area.

So far, the probers reasoned, luck had
been with them. They had the beginning
of something, they knew for sure—but
just what it was remained to be clarified.

Shortly after noon on the Friday fol-
lowing the discovery of Fischer’s body,
another break came.

A young man visited Lieutenant Bricker
and declared he believed he might be able
to supply some information which could
possibly be of value in the investigation.

“I was parked on that road near the
golf course with my girl on Sunday night,”
he said. “I’ve been reading about this
case in the newspapers, and what I have
to tell you may have some bearing on it.
While we were parked there on the road,
we saw a gray sedan ahead of us. We
figured it was just some other couple
parked there, but in a little while a fellow
came up the road and got into the car.
He couldn’t get it started, though, be-
cause the back wheels were stuck in the

“Glad you’re still up, Ed. We missed the 2:05 bus! ... okay
if we come in and wait for the 3:20?”

mud. He looked over at our car, and
then I offered to help him try to push his
car out.

“But we couldn’t budge it,” the volun-
teer informant continued, “and finally we
decided that this stranger should ride
into town with us to get a wrecking truck.
We drove him to a garage where there
was a night man on duty, and let him
off. I didn’t really get a good look at him
because it was dark and I doubt if I could
identify him if I saw him again. That’s
all there is to it, but I figure it might
mean something.”

It certainly did, Bricker told him. The
officer obtained the name of the garage
where the informant had dropped off the
stranger and immediately sent two officers
to attempt to locate the night man.

: Fore found him and he readily recalled
that he had hauled a car out of the mud
Sunday night. He believed he might
recognize the man who had engaged him,
he said, if he saw him again.

The garageman was taken to police head-
quarters at once to make a formal state-
ment and look over the rogues’ gallery on
the chance that he might spot the man
among the photographs. With officers, he
spent some time looking at picture after
picture, until finally one seemed to catch
his attention particularly.

“I'd almost say for sure,” he declared,
“that this is the fellow.”

The Bertillon photograph bore the name
and identification of a man named Mike
Dominick. And not too surprisingly, he
had a record of activity in auto larcenies.

Plainclothesmen were immediately de-
tailed to pick up Dominick, who had an
Erie address and whose family was well
known. They reported back shortly,
however, with the information that the
young man wasn’t at home and hadn’t been
seen in his usual haunts for several days.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Mehallick was talk-
ing to Rostoff in his jail cell.

“Sure, I know Dominick,” he admitted in
a reply to the detective’s questions. “But
I don’t know where he is or if he’s even
tied up in this. He was one of the gang,
but that’s all I know. Why don’t you talk
to his girl friend? She might be able to
tell you something.”

Sergeant Mehallick learned from Rostoff
the girl’s name and immediately went to
her home. This girl, he learned, wasn’t
home either. Hadn’t been around for sev-
eral days—since Sunday, as a matter of
fact, her mother revealed. The absence of
both of them began to look suspicious.

“But we got a telegram from her,” the
woman added. “She’s in Georgia—Savan-
nah—and she wants some money.”

Mehallick was doing some thinking. Both
Dominick and the girl gone since Sunday
—Dominick seen near the scene of the
crime—Dominick known to Rostoff, who in
turn linked Bubna to the case.

“Can you let me see the telegram?” the
officer asked of the girl’s mother, where-
upon she produced it at once. “Have you
answered it yet?” the detective asked.

The worried woman replied that she
hadn’t because she didn’t have the fifty
dollars her daughter had asked for. Me-
hallick told her not to answer the message
under any circumstances, and assured her
that her daughter would be home soon.

The detective quickly contacted his
superior officer with the information he
had uncovered.

“Dominick and the girl,” he said, “are
probably still in Savannah waiting for
the money. If we have them picked up
down there and held for us, I'll bet we
have this killing cleaned up when we get
Dominick back here.”

Lieutenant Bricker immediately got in
touch with the FBI in Savannah and pre-
sented his request. He received every as-

~

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50

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7


S ANY COUNTRY DWELLER knows, in the spring
A kids love to walk in the woods. They’ll trudge along
over ground sodden with the early thaw, poking with
sticks at everything in sight, holes that might, conceal a
rabbit, hummocks that might house a still-sleeping ground-
hog, piles of leaves that might cover the burgeoning shoots
of spring flowers. Whatever they find is always good for
a little bragging to the other kids, but on March 4th a
couple of 12-year-olds tramping through a ravine near
the municipal golf course five miles south of Erie, Pennsyl-
vania, made a discovery that established them as heroes
among their classmates. They had poked at a mound of
leaves and uncovered the body of a murdered man.
Lieutenant John Bricker, of the state police, sped to the
scene with a detachment of troopers as soon as the report
came in. Deputy Coroner Allen J. Firman arrived at almost
the same time and Bricker helped him to remove the leaves
covering the body so he could begin his examination, The

body they uncovered was that of a young man about 30,
his face swollen and covered with cuts and bruises. Curi-
ously, someone had clipped off all of the victim’s hair, even
his eyebrows. Only one foot was shod, the other was bare.
His trousers were missing; he wore only undershorts and a
soiled white shirt from which the collar and neckband
had been ripped away.

Coroner Firman pointed to five purple-ringed wounds
in the head. “Bullet holes,” he said. ‘But he sure took a
terrific beating first.”

“How long has he been dead?” asked Lieutenant Bricker.

The coroner shrugged. “Can’t tell for sure till we do a
post mortem, but I’d guess two, maybe three, days.”

Bricker had just finished listening to his troopers’ re-
ports of what they had observed in their first quick search
of the area when District Attorney Damian McLaughlin
arrived. Bricker filled him in on the details.

“The hair-clipping on the head and eyebrows, and the
missing neckband of the shirt add up to one thing,’ he
told the district attorney. “The killer didn’t want him
identified in a hurry. It looks like he was beaten and shot
somewhere else and then brought out here. The killer has
two or three days’ start on us, and so far there’s not much
to go on. We're giving the ground a good going over, and
we’ve got some footprints and tire tracks over on the road,
but they may have no connection with the killing. The
coroner’s about ready to take the body in for an autopsy.
What we need, as fast as we can get it, is to have the
victim identified.”

The district attorney gave orders for the photographer to
make several dozen copies of the pictures he had taken
and distribute them to detectives and the newspapers.

Sergeant John Mehallick now came up, carrying an ob-
ject on the end of a stick. It was a small pistol, in the
barrel of which he had inserted a twig to avoid blurring
any possible fingerprints its surface might bear. ‘I found
it under some wet leaves over there, about 60 feet from
the body,” he said. Closer examination showed it to be
a Belgian-made automatic, .25 caliber.

Bricker shook his head. “If it’s a war souvenir, it’ll be
a rough one to trace.”

Besides the weapon, troopers had found a tattered piece
of cloth which appeared to have been torn from the vic-
tim’s shirt. It had been caught on a bush near a fairly
clear set of footprints in the soft, moist earth. They were
able to follow the footprints to a road some 30 yards dis-
tant, where they became lost in a welter of tire tracks,
one set of which gave evidence that a car had been mired
in deep mud; spinning wheels had dug deep smooth
trenches in its effort to get out, and clods of mud, now
almost dry, had been whipped backwards for a distance
of several feet. Bricker ordered technicians to make plas-
ter casts of all the tire tracks and footprints. The pistol
was sent to ballistics.

Later, at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Erie, where the body
had been removed for autopsy, the pathologist confirmed
that the dead man had been viciously beaten before he
was slain. He also said that any one of the five bullets
in the victim’s head could have caused death. The slugs,
of small caliber, were sent to ballistics to determine if they
had been fired from the Belgian .25 automatic. ‘

The autopsy report estimated the man’s age at 30, said
he was 5 feet 8 and weighed 150 pounds. His hair had
been brownish-black. He had a gold front tooth in his
upper jaw.

Lieutenant Bricker gave orders for the statistics to be
checked against missing persons reports. They also were
released to the press to augment the earlier information,
and to be published with the dead man’s photograph.

The decision to publish this data paid off the very next
day, but it was a little while before the police heard about
it. Warren Fischer, an Erie factory worker, saw the photo-
graph of the dead man in the newspaper, read the accom-
panying description and had a premonition that the victim
was his brother Robert. A heavy drinker and a gambler,

51

ine +

ne over to his
When I got
med me that
and was lying
heet.
| rushed down
he sheet, only
pillows on the
xe was roaring
he stairs and
p with which
\ulated blood-

nother quizzi-
inge sense of
hias observed,

“But also a
1e prankster a
d abruptly to
ho is this guy

red her hands
the H-Bar-B,”
»uzzled expres-
> woman hur-
} was the name
». Originally it
who died two
cident. Shortly
Millie Thomas
‘uced us to her
Mike brought
became pretty
rible practical

goodhearted.
a house I own

big, beefy fel-
--d a rather

said.

red under
ip his hat, he
get going,” he

g friend whose
Mike Bubna!”
y started down

his was really

ied. ‘But if the
le those tracks
‘ported it miss-
ion from him-

' the sergeant

see what ‘Mc-
le suggested.

the two officers
ot. At the first
door.

1 said airily.

en abruptly, a
imed his lips.
ing, “the men
\ny news about

the parlor of
v heard their
ring at a beau-
seated on the

omas,” Bubna
) chairs.
knowledgment,
a polite smile.
the big man

Martin said
v if the car be-
r Mike Bubna

closely for any
slation. But
nto a broad

“So you've found me out, eh?” he said,
nervously. “Guess I'd better explain. You
see, I was playing a practical joke on a friend
of mine, and this was all part of the plan.
Last Monday morning I lent him my car
for a trip he was taking out of town. Then

I reported the car stolen as of that night. I

used a phony name so that my riend
wouldn’t get wise too soon. But frankly, this
one got out of hand—I never expected my
stolen-car report to become involved ,some-
how in a murder investigation.”

“Who's your friend?” Martin demanded.

Bubna looked surprised. “You don’t know?
Then I guess you haven't caught him yet? J
thought that was why you came. . ie
Abruptly the impish twinkle died out of his
eyes. “His name is Willard D. Foster,” he
said gravely.

Eyes narrowing the sergeant rubbed his
chin with his knuckles, while Mathias stared
moodily out the window. “Willard Foster,
eh!” Martin murmured finally. “Well, thanks
a lot. I guess we'll be running along.”

Outside, Martin broke the silence. “We'll
get to Bubna later for falsifying a name on
a complaint, and using the police depart-
ment for a gag. Right now we have something
more important to handle.

“tt’s a cinch Foster’s not going to be
pleased with Bubna for putting the finger on
him. The case against Foster is really adding
up. He borrows Bubna’s car to take a trip.
Half a day later--after he has stipposedly left
—he turns up in the middle of the night not
fifty yards from the spot where a body is
found later. To be sure, we don’t have a
motive yet, but we do know that he knew
Fischer. An argument after a couple of drinks
all around and .. .” The sergeant concluded
with a flip of his hand.

Mathias nodded. “Puts us right back where
we started—looking for Foster.” And we
haven't had a nibble yet on that alarm we
sent out.”

Returning to headquarters, Sergeant
Martin flashed new bulletins to police in
every state of the Union, describing the fugi-
tive and the missing car. Then, abetted by
Mathias, he began picking away at every
known connection of Foster’s for a lead to his
possible whereabouts.

Two days of painstaking endeavor and
Corporal Mathias finally sauntered up to
Martin’s desk, his face wreathed in a grin.
“Here itis!” he exclaimed. “I just found out
that Foster has an uncle who runs a tourist
camp near Miami. Can you think of a better
bet for a guy trying to lay low?”

“It could be what we've been looking for,”
Martin exclaimed, joyously. Then, picking
up his telephone, he soon had the wires hum-
ming to the South. Detailed descriptions of
the wanted man were flashed to the Florida
State Police and to law-enforcement agencies
all along his probable route.-

The next day the activity bore fruit.
Martin had just checked in when his phone
rang. “Savannah calling,” the operator

trilled. A moment later, a man’s voice was’

drawling the good news that Willard Foster
had been picked up driving the gray Pontiac.

Within an hour, Corporal Mathias and
Sergeant Schauer were on their way to Sa-
vannah to bring back the fugitive. And four
days later, the long-sought gray Pontiac se-
dan was pulling up in front of the Lawrence
Park barracks and disgorging the prisoner
and his escort.

Ushered immediately into Lieutenant
Bricker’s office, where Christoph and Mong
were on deck and waiting, Foster made a
show of injured innocence, “What's the mat-
ter with you cops anyhow?” he demanded.
“Can't a guy go off on a vacation any more?
I told your men I didn’t know anything
about Bob Fischer's death and I’m telling
you the same thing. 1 borrowed that car from
my friend Mike Bubna last Tuesday to run
down to Florida for a few weeks. Any crime
in that?”

Bricker eyed the suspect in deep silence
for a moment. “No but there's a pretty big
crime in murder,” he said finally. “It so hap-
pens that we've got three men who can place
you out at the spot where Fischer's body was
buried last Monday: night. Furthermore,
your friend Mike Bubna has already told us
that he turned the car over to you on Mon-
day morning, and that that was the last time
he saw either you or the car. In short you're

ticketed for the hot seat and no two ways ~

about it. ,

A frightened scowl suddenly settled over
the suspect’s features. “Now I get it,” he mut- ~
tered through his teeth. “I’m being rigged
for the old frame. Well, I’ve got news for
you: I’m not holding still for any murder
rap.”

MYou mean you're nominating another guy
for the part?” Christoph demanded.

“Two other people,” Foster snapped.
“Mike Bubna and his sister.Millie Thomas.”

The officers jolted to attention. “We're
listening,” Bricker said, poker-faced.

“Okay, then get set for a story that'll curl
your hair,” Foster retorted. “And from some-
one who was there when it happened.”

A gulp of water and the suspect was em-
barked on a story that lived up to its advance
billing. ;

The thing had been touched off, Foster bet
gan, when Fischer had crossed the hot-car
ting headed by Big Mike Bubna and his
sister Millie by pulling off a couple of jobs
solo and retaining all the proceeds instead
of cutting in the rest of the gang. But some-
how Big Mike had gotten wind of Fischer’s
double-dealing and, after summoning Fischer
to his house, presumably to pay him. his
share of the proceeds from the sale of a
stolen Cadillac, he had lost no time taking
appropriate steps.

“Bob arrived, a little after 9 o'clock,” Fos-
ter’s account ran, “and. right away Big Mike
took him into the Kitchen. The two of them
argued for a while, back and forth. Then,
after a brief silence, Big Mike called out my
name.

“T went out to the kitchen, but no one was
there, and T was standing around asking my-
self ‘what goes?’ when Mike called out again
—from the basement. I started down the cel-
lar stairs, but at the first landing, I froze
in my tracks.

“Bob Fischer was lying on the basement
floor, bleeding from the mouth and groaning,
and Big Mike was standing over him, kicking
and slugging him like a crazy man, with his
sister Millie right beside him egging him
on, Then, just like that, Mike pulled out his
little Belgian gtin and fired five bullets into
Bob’s head.

“By this time I was feeling a little nause-
ated so I bolted. up the stairs and tossed down
two stiff slugs of whisky. When I came back,

- Millie had Fischer’s head on a newspaper

and was hacking off his hair and grinning all
over while. Mike shaved off his eyebrows.
When they got through barbering him, Mike
ripped the.collar off Fischer's shirt and Millie
got his wallet. Then, after lifting the bills
out of it, Millie threw the wallet ‘and the
collar into the blazing furnace.

“Just then Mike glanced up at me. ‘You're
in this, too, Buster,’ he growled, waving the
gun. ‘So hustle down ‘here and give me a
hand with the body. We got to get it out of
here.’ ,

“Having no alternative, I gave Mike a
hand and the two of us carried the body out
to the car while Millie got busy with the
scrub brush and pail of water on the blood
splattered on the cellar floor and on the
steps. Then, Mike handed me the gun, and
said: ‘Get rid of it—after you've stashed the
body.’”

Continuing with his narrative, Foster de-
tailed how he had driven out to a lane ad-
joining the Erie Golf Club, pulled the body
out of the car, dragged it across the field to

,
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the ravine and hastily covered it with dirt
and leaves to conceal it.

Returning to the car, he went on, he had
just climbed in, he said, when he discovered
that he had failed to dispose of the murder
gun, whereupon he had gotten out again,
flung the weapon as far away as he could,
and then gotten back behind the wheel, only
to discover that the car was mired in sticky
mud. After futilely trying to dislodge it by
himself, he had finally gone to summon a
tow-car, and the latter had hauled him
out.

On his arrival back at the house, he was
met by Bubna who greeted him with the an-
nouncement that “everything’s all cleaned
up.” Millie had then taken over, first direct-
ing him to remove his bloody clothing so
that she could burn it*and then handing him
soap, brush and pail of water with orders to
give the car a good cleaning. On completion
of the job, Bubna had given him $230 and
directed him to “take a powder and lay low
until we see how the wind blows.” Reluc-
tantly he had complied, heading south the
following morning. The rest the officers

. knew.

Told point blank that they were being
charged with the murder of Robert Fischer,
Mike Bubna let out a roar of rage, and his
sloe-eyed sister, Millie, bristling suddenly
like ‘a puma at bay.

“You're absolutely nuts!” Bubna bellowed. '

“Millie and I don’t know from nothing about
any murder. The guy you're looking for is
Willard Foster.”

“We've already got him,” Bricker said
quietly. “And he’s given us the whole story.”

The two suspects paled, “It’s his word
against ours,” Bubna shot back, his voice
edged with fear. Go ahead and prove it, way
don’t you?”

“We intend to,” Bricker replied. “In the

meantime, the two of you are going to wait
behind bars.”

The proof was soon forthcoming. Sub-
jected to chemical scrutiny, the cellar floor
and stairs proved to contain traces of blood
of the slain man’s blood-type.

Next a search by troopers turned up the
cab which had chauffeured Fischer over to
Bubna’s house on the evening of the murder,
the driver in question revealing that Fischer
had mentioned that he was about to collect
“a nice hunk of dough” from a_ business

associate on whom he was calling. Finally’

after some exhaustive digging by Mehallick
and Schauer, the ex-G. I. who had sold the
_ Belgian .25 to Bubna was located at Albany,
~ Pa., and established positive identification of
the gun by producing a memorandum of
sale containing the correct seven-digit serial
number of the weapon.

The case against the lethal pair duly
welded, a grand jury was impaneled to hear
the evidence, the body immediately return-
ing murder indictments against Mike Bubna
and Millie Thomas and an accessory-after-
the-fact indictment against Willard Foster.
The following day it returned the indict-
ment charging Pat Corbin with car theft,
the latter promptly pleading guilty to the
charge and being sentenced to a term of 18
months in the state penitentiary.

On May 21, Mike Bubna and Millie
Thomas were brought to trial in Erie County
Superior Court. Speedily found guilty, four
days later Judge Burton S, Laub sentenced
Millie Thomas to life imprisonment and
sentenced Mike Bubna to die in the electric
chair, the electrocution taking place on
schedule on October 2Ist.

A week later Willard Foster received his
come-uppance. Found guilty of being an ac-
cessory-after-the-fact, he was sentenced to
serve a five-year term in the state peniten-
Uary at Bellefonte.

The Corpse That
Whispered |

[Continued from page 31]

extremely technical angles,” Hoey pointed
out. “We need a first-rate chemistry expert.”

Tinning knew just the man, and before
the day was over, had engaged the services
of Edward Oscar Heinrich, consulting expert
in legal chemistry, with offices and laboratory
in San Francisco,

Heinrich could not get to the Walnut
Creek factory until the morning of the fol-
lowing day, August. 1, When he did so, after
reviewing all the known facts in the case
with Tinning and Hoey, he put in a long
session there—with intriguing results.

The first observation that captured Hein-
rich’s interest was made, curiously, outside
the laboratory. In the back of the room were
double doors which opened on the landing
of a rear staircase to the basement. Heinrich

‘noticed that a triangular area of the landing,

with the sill as a base, had been severely
scorched, and that the same condition cgn-
tinued for a couple of feet on the room side
of the floor. When the chemistry expert got
down on all fours and sniffed the periphery
of the burned flooring, he caught the odor
of benzol. At the same time he noticed a
tiny signpost which, from its revelatory mag-
nitude, might have been a billboard. This
was the outline of a match on the burned
landing. Clearly, someone standing on the
landing: had poured benzol, some of which -
had seeped under the lab’ door, then had
flung a match on the liquid. The match itself
had been consumed in the resultant blaze,
but had protected the minute area of the

flooring where it had fallen. Obviously an
incendiary had been at work.

Heinrich next directed his attention to
the blood in the closet. To the chemist’s
practiced eye, the quantity was far too much

_ to be explained as the result of a lung hem-

orrhage. He also realized that, if the victim
had been injured as the result of the ex-
plosion, the great quantity of blood - lost
would have prevented him from reaching the
aisle where he had been found. Then, the
uncharacteristic color of the blood sent Hein-

»tich to his portable equipment for testing

materials. As a result, he determined it con-
tained sulphur dioxide, which is released on
the combustion of carbon disulfide. This
suggested two conclusions: one, that the
later chemical had been an element in the
explosion; two, that the blood had been shed
prior to the explosion—hence its color—and
not as a consequence of it.

Continuing his inch-by-inch examination
of the laboratory, Heinrich paused lengthily
at thé end of a workbench. Markings on the
floor clearly showed that a chair customarily
sat there, although it was now removed, More
significant, the floor, the end of the work-
bench and the ceiling over the area were
stippled with tiny blood spots. These signs
could best be interpreted, Heinrich believed,
by imagining a man seated in the chair who
had been attacked, probably over the head.

Finally, the expert gave the aisle where the
dead man hdd been found an intense scru-
tiny. Except for the portion of it which had
contained the corpse, the aisle and the
surrounding furniture were virtually undam-
aged. This condition completed a reconstruc-
tion of events which Heinrich was now
prepared to formulate.

As he saw it, the victim had been attacked
before the explosion and fire, and was prob-
ably dead when they took place. Having been

|

bludgeoned while
had been removed t
profusely. T]
plosion and
in the aisle é
combustible chemi«
With this prelimin
perpetrator then lc
the landing, he pu
expecting the resu
would be so great
would be left of an
The door had blo
as per calculation
Consequently, the
materialized, and |
ing unmanageab|:
quickly doused.

Before leaving
took mental inven
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material consistc:
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he took along for n

The expert dro
talk with the dist:
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and the light in
findings. * ‘Tm sui
the victim did n«
Furthermore, | ¢
Dr. Schwartz. I'm
tation ‘that at the
erated he was 4!
several hours. An

Schwartz, who w
only ten minutes
The district at

he had heard fo)
declared: “If you
your conclusion !
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over the transcri|
people who knew
was Schwartz.”
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mortem to be p<
When it was
following day, t!
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Charles Henry *
didate for the }
of death was a
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proved the vicitr
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four hours befo:
As for the rc
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was put at so
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Nor could the
eyeballs had |«
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pulled—and th
curred after h¢«
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your suspicions. He'll permit you to
see the body, though I must tell you
it’s in bad shape. Stay there until you
hear from me.”

Hanging up, .Mathias apprised Ma-
hallick and Schauers of the conversa-
tion and his plan to pick up Maguire.

HE three officers had no idea who

Maguire was, nor how they might
recognize him, and 13th and Peach was
a busy intersection. After a few min-
utes’ wait in the shadow of a building,
however, they spotted a man walking
furtively. The officers recognized him
as Elbert Corliss, a suspected member
of the auto theft ring. They took him
into custody.

“What's all this Maguire stuff?” Me-
hallick demanded when the man was
seated among them at the Lawrence
Park barracks.

Corliss, a thin-faced, shifty-eyed man,
protested he did not know what the de-
tectives were talking about. Mehallick
decided to play a hunch. ‘The man you
called on the telephone recognized your
voice,” Mehallick said calmly.

Corliss averted his gaze and shrugged.
“Okay,” he said, “I did make the call.
Let me tell you why.”

The detectives waited while he lit a
cigarette.

CRIME DETECTIVE

“I was up in Portland, Maine,” Cor-
liss began. “When I got off the train
at Erie this morning, I bought a paper.
All over the front page, I saw an ac-
count of that murder the other night.
Then I read a description of the dead
man, and it sounded familiar to me.
That's why I made the phone call.”

Mehallick leaned back in his chair.
“And who do you think the dead man
is?” he asked.

“Bob Fischer,” replied the suspected
car thief.

To the state police, Corliss’ informa-
tion came as a mild surprise. That is
until Mathias told the others about the
phone call he had received from Fisch-
er’s friend, who was also suspicious.

“He’s over at the morgue now, I be-
lieve,” the corporal added. “If the dead
man is Fischer, his relatives ought to
be able to tell us shortly.”

Mehallick rose. “We'll hold Corliss in
custody,” he said. “We can get back to
him later. Let’s see if the body has been
identified.”

wy. the officers joined the rela-
tives of Robert Fischer at head-
quarters, they had conclusive proof of
the identity of the victim. The wife,
another relative, and the friend recog-
nized the man’s gold teeth and had defi-

RTT THIN ELIE I EH

nitely identified him as Robert Fischer.

“Do you know where he was going,
and who was with him?” Mehallick
asked.

The wife nodded. Bob Fischer, she
said, had arrived at her house in an
intoxicated condition about eight o'clock.
Although she and her husband had
separated, they were still on triendly
terms.

Continuing, she stated that Fischer
was grumbling about some money due
him. He spoke about $300 which was
owed him. Then he made several phone
calls. She did not know anything about
his financial affairs, and added that she
did not hear with whom he was talk-
ing.

About nine-ten, after he had con-
cluded his calls, Fischer said he was
going to see the man who owed him
the money. This time, he intended to
collect it.

When the woman told the officers the
address, they looked at each other in
surprise. The three-story house at that
address on 26th Street had long been
under suspicion as the headquarters of
the stolen car ring. Its present occupants
were “Big Mike” Bubna and his sister,
Mrs. Millie Thomas, a sloe-eyed brun-
ette.

But “Big Mike,” Mehallick recalled,

47


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46

ing the serial number with* those on his
list.

EANWHILE, County. Detective
Coates had made a significant
discovery in connection with the Cam-
bridge Springs farmer. According to
his relatives, this man had once under-
gone a severe operation for mastoid
trouble. In checking with Dr. Burt,
Coates discovered that the murdered
man had no such scar. This eliminated
the missing farmer as the victim.

The local ‘police and the district at-
torney’s office likewise had made no
progress with their theory that the crime
might have been connected with the
slaying of Meyers. The Pittsburgh au-
thorities had reported that they knew
of no gang suspects who fitted the vic-
tim’s description.

At the height of the investigation
Wednesday night, Erie Police Lieutenant
Paul W. Schaaf at headquarters tre-
ceived a telephone call from a woman
who said she wanted to report that a
relative, Robert Fischer, was missing.

“Bob Fischer?” Schaaf said quickly.
“He’s probably made a getaway. We've
been looking for him: since last Satur-
day in connection with a stolen car job.”

The women said she knew nothing
about the stolen car, and insisted that
Fischer would have no reason to run
away. “I don’t think he would leave
town,” she said and added that she was
worried that something had happened
to him.

Schaaf promised to start another
search for the missing man. After he
concluded the telephone conversation,
the police officer was puzzled by the
report of Fischer’s disappearance and
recalled the information Erie Police
Chief George J. Cristoph received from
one of his officers, Patrolman Everett
Ruska, on Saturday, March 2nd.

A few days before, an automobile had
been stolen from a spot in front of one
of the local clubs. Then Ruska had re-
ceived a tip that the car was hidden in
a barn, some nine miles east of Cam-
bridge Springs. Since this was outside
his jurisdiction, Cristoph turned the in-
formation over to the State Police.

For months the Erie Police and the
State Police had been attempting to
build up a case around a gang of car
thieves. The trail led toward six-foot-
one, 245-pound Michael Bubna, the re-
puted head of the ring, but there was
no.direct evidence to prove this.

Mehallick and Mathias immediately
went to work on the tip concerning the
auto theft. They discovered that Robert
Fisther had once lived in the vicinity
of the Cambridge Springs barn, so they
kept plugging. This made them most
anxious to talk to. Fischer. \

Although the state and city police
hunted for the thirty-four-year-old man

the entire weekend, they were unable to
find him. Then they decided to pick up
one of the man’s friends and ‘Big
Mike” Bubna. Both men were arrested
around midnight, March Sth.

The pair denied knowing anything
about Robert Fischer, and hours of ques-
tioning brought no results. Both men
were released the following morning,
the day the body was found near the
golf course.

On that Wednesday night, however,
when the Erie police received the query
about the missing man, they did not
connect it with the corpse found in the
hastily-improvised grave.

HAT same night, Dr. Burt disclosed

the results of his autopsy. He said
he had never seen a victim who had
been so brutally mistreated prior to the
actual killing. Five bullet wounds in the
head caused death.

“Both his eyes were blackened by
blows,” the report stated, “and it ap-
pears that an attempt was made to
strangle him by hand. Both thighs con-
tained cigarette burns. The nose was
broken and the skull fractured. All five
bullets were fired into the right side of
the head, at close range.”

“The condition of the wounds indi-
cates that he was beaten unconscious
first, and then the bullets were fired
into his head as he lay in the mud. It is
impossible to determine the exact time
of the slaying, but it appears that it
happened Monday night.”

This report immediately sent Mehal-
lick, Schauers, Mathias and_ several
troopers back to the murder scene. They
canvassed the entire district to find
someone who might have seen the kill-

ers on the golf course, or heard the’

shots. Although they investigated thor-
oughly, their efforts were fruitless.

Wednesday night passed without the
victim’s identity being established, but
on Thursday morning Corporal Mathias
received a telephone call from Robert
Fischer’s friend, the same man who
had been picked up with Bubna.

“‘A man who said his name was Ma-
guire just phoned me,” the caller said.
“He said he had information about

Bob, and he wants me to meet him at
Thirteenth and Peach streets. He said

a strange thing. He wants me to buy
a morning paper.”

The man hesitated for a moment and
then continued, “I sent my wife out for
a paper, and I read about the golf course
murder on the front page. My wife and
I agree the description of that dead man
sounds very much like Bob.”

Mathias spoke rapidly. “Don’t meet
Maguire,” he said. “We'll take care of
that. Although Fischer and his wife are
separated, please ask her to go with
you to the Erie headquarters to identify
the body. Tell Chief Cristoph about

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48

had previously denied knowigg anything
about the missing Fischer. “Wonder
what he’s going to say now?” the ser-
geant said. Then, turning to Mathias
and Schauers he added, “Bring him in,
along with Mrs. Thomas and anybody
else you find in that house.”

ITH County Detective Coates, Me-

hallick went back to the barracks
to talk to Corliss. Lieutenant Bricker
joined them as they interviewed the
prisoner.

“That was your pal, Fischer, all
right,” Mehallick told Corliss. “What
do you know about it?”

Corliss did not seem surprised about
the identification. “You heard me tell
you I was in Portland,” he said. “I
went there Sunday, and I just got back
today. How would I know anything?”

Mehallick was far from convinced,
particularly since Corliss seemed to be
setting up a pretty fair alibi for him-
self. This alone was sufficient to arouse
the officer’s suspicions.

Deciding to crack down on the case
and get all the available information,
the state officers revealed their knowl-
edge of the auto theft ring and Corliss’

suspected connection with it. The off-

cers did not know whether it was be-
cause the man sought to evade respon-

sibility in a murder or not, but their
plan worked. Almost immediately he
began to “sing.”

Corliss revealed the set-up of the
stolen car racket, naming Bubna, Fisch-
er and himself as three of the members.
He told how machines were lifted in
Erie and transported into Maine, where
they were fenced. In all, Corliss said he
had participated in about twenty such
deals.

The man admitted stealing the car
from in front of the club on the previ-
ous Saturday, adding that it was he
who hid it in the Cambridge Springs
barn. “But I didn’t take it to Maine
with me,” he said. “You can register a
car up there without having the car
with you. But I ran into some trouble,
and I came back to straighten it out.
That’s when I read about the murder.”

Mehallick nodded. “Who was in the
deal with you on that car?” he asked.

“Just Bob Fischer,” the man replied.
“He and I were working it alone. We
dealt the other out.”

The sergeant pondered this piece of
information, but he did not reveal his
conclusions to Corliss. Instead he said,
“Give me a list of all the people who
called at that 26th Street house.”

The prisoner recalled only a few by
name, but among these was one Hal
Foster, who was on the police list as
another suspected car thief.

As Mehallick finished his notes, he
asked Corliss, “That was a gray 1940
Pontiac sedan you stole, wasn’t it?”

The man nodded. “A nice job, too. ht
should still be out in the barn.”

“It’s not,” Mehallick said.

Corliss jerked upward in his chair.
“It’s not there?” he said increduously.
“Then who took it?”

The sergeant leaned forward. ““May-
be Bob Fischer,” he suggested. “He
could have double-crossed you, just as
you and he were dealing out the others
Maybe that’s the reason why he was
killed. That would have given you a
motive.”

Corliss scowled in anger. “I got an
alibi!” he flared. “You can’t pin that
on me. I was in Portland.”

“We'll see,” Mehallick came back,
ordering the prisoner back to his cell.

ee Corliss’ departure, the ser-
geant told Bricker, “We're getting
close to the motive. Fischer could have
been killed when he and Corliss had a
falling out, or he might have been
erased for double-crossing the gang on
that car deal. Better still, the mob might
have felt he was hot, since we were
looking for him, and put him on the
spot so he wouldn't talk.”

Bricker nodded. “We'll see what Big
Mike has to say.”

When Bubna and his sister, Millie
Thomas—along with another woman
relative of Bubna’s who was found in
the 26th Street house—were brought to
headquarters, they denied any knowl-
edge of the Fischer murder.

Confronted with evidence that he
headed a stolen car ring in Erie, Bubna
shook his head. “You can’t prove any-
thing like that,” he said. “J know noth-
ing about it. I’m refusing to talk until
I see a lawyef.”

Millie Thomas was likewise uncom-
municative. Her flippancy indicated that
any questions she might answer would
reveal no information. Realizing that
he would have to play a waiting game
before requestioning the suspects, Brick-
er ordered them to be locked up.

Bubna and his sister went to the
county jail, whereupon the state police
detectives began looking for other mem-
bers of the suspected car-theft ring, as
well as persons Corliss named as visit-
ors to the 26th Street house. Although
a number of suspects were taken into
custody, no trace was found of Hal
Foster.

ATE on the day following the dis-

covery of Bob Fischer's body, the
case took a sensational turn, when state
police laboratory experts who were in-
specting the terrain at the golf course—
including the tire tracks—determined
that a car had been stuck in the mud
not far from where the shirt and pistol
had been picked up. Furthermore, there
was evidence to show that a tow-truck
had pulled it out.

CRIME DETECTIVE

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MURDER HOUSE

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(Continued from page 35)

ufacture. Five shots had been fired from
its clip. “Looks like one of those war
souvenirs,” the sergeant said. “There’s
quite a number of those things around
these parts now.”

Doubt about that was instantly re-
moved when Firman said five bullets
were embedded in the man’s head. In
addition, the coroner said, the dead man
had been given a very severe beating.
He had suffered a number of injuries,
any one of which would have caused
death.

“Any clues to his identification?”
Mehallick asked.

Firman nodded. “I’ve just examined
his teeth,” he said, “and there is some
very distinctive dental work. He has a
prominent upper-front gold tooth and
two porcelain-covered front teeth with
gold inlay rims. Any dentist would rec-
ognize that work.”

“That would be a helpful clue,” the
sergeant said significantly, “if the vic-
tim came from around these parts, but

this job has all the earmarks of a gang
ride, with the usual disdain of this type
of criminal for the ability of the police.
It was careless to toss that gun away
near the body, but whoever did it may
have had an ace in the hole there. There
is a possibility that we may not be able
to trace the weapon.”

The mention of a gang killing stirred
Sheriff Babbitt’s interest. “This may be
an offshoot of that Danny Meyers mur-
der in Pittsburgh last week,” he said.
“Meyers was involved in a gang wat
which extended into Kentucky. Three
other murders are linked up to it.”

“The Pittsburgh authorities should be
notified about this at once,” McLaughlin
said. “I'll phone the prosecutor down
there and see what can be learned.”

At the same time, County Detective
Coates also had a suggestion. “A farm-
er from Cambridge Springs disappeared
two weeks ago,” he said, “and we've
been looking for him since. He could
be this fellow.”

McLaughlin admitted this possibility
and requested him to contact relatives
of the missing farmer and have them
attempt identification.

“How long do you think this man has
been here?” Mehallick then asked the
coroner.

“Possibly since Monday night,” Dr.
Firman replied. “It’s lucky we had all
that rail since then. Otherwise he might
have remained hidden under this cover
of mud and leaves for an indefinite
period.”

The body was removed to the morgue
at a local hospital where Corporal Ber-
nard J. Moran of the Butler State Police
barracks took the victim's fingerprints
for comparison with Army, Navy and
FBI records. Then the body was turned
over to Dr. K. L. Burt, the institution’s
pathologist, for an autopsy.

After the Lawrence Park barracks,
commanded by Lieutenant John Bricker,
assumed charge of the case, Mehallick
was joined by Sergeant William Schau-
ers and Corporal C. M. Mathias.

This trio of experienced homicide in-
vestigators first took tire-print impres-
sions at the golf course, then scanned
the terrain for additional clues. Their
search, however, did not turn up a
single new lead.

Their next step was to turn the .25
caliber Belgian pistol over to C. W.
Condon, of the alcohol tax unit of the
Treasury Department. Condon reported
that forty guns of Belgian make had
been brought back from overseas and
registered with him, and began check-

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THE KILLER
WHO TURNED
TO STONE

Hundreds saw him tried, hundreds
saw him swing. That was 60 years ago

but you can still get a look today.

by THOMAS J. KENNEDY

@ It was back in the Gay Nineties, during the gas light era,
when Diamond Jim Brady was playing host to the Floradora
girls and Lillian Russell was the toast of Broadway; when John
Drew, the matinee idol, was causing feminine hearts to flutter,
and the gay blades of elite society would take their lady fair for
a spin in Central Park on a bicycle built for two.

It was during this period that Pietro Buccieri, an Italian immi-
grant, who had landed in America a few years before with his
dark-haired and buxom bride, decided to give up his job as a
shoemaker in New York—a trade he (Continued on page 6)

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earn”

gate was thrown open to admit ticket
holders, while the. others remained closed.
When the crowds, who had converged at the
other gates, realized what was happening,
there was a mad scramble for the main gate,
and those who had sold their tickets, as well
as those who were unable to obtain one, were
caught up in the stampede and swept along
in the mobs’ rush to gain entrance. Some were
trampled upon required hospital care and
were taken to St. Joseph’s~ hospital. While
they missed out on the hanging, they at least
got a chance to view the hospital ward where
the crime took place.

The mob must have been reminiscent of
the days of Nero, when the people of Rome
crowded the Coliseum to watch the Chris-
tians being devoured by lions.

T WAS said that something like 800 tickets

were printed and distributed, and why this
was allowed was never disclosed. Anyway,
those who were now inside the jail yard were
allowed to remain whether they had tickets
or not. To open the gates and try to eject
them seemed impossible, because of the angry
crowd outside that still clamored for ad-
mittance, some of wham had paid the $5.

The crowd inside soon quieted down, and
as rapidly as possible, were marched through
the rotunda and along a narrow pathway
roped off along the western end of the jail
yard, where the scaffold was standing near
the wall. In silence, each one inspected the
instrument of death. A space had been roped
off, 15 by 25 feet, around the gallows, for the
sheriff's deputies, and reporters.

The scaffold, a portable one which was
painted a dull gray, had been brought down
from Pottsville a few days before, and had
recently been used to snuff out the life of the
last convicted member of the infamous Molly
Macguires, a band of cutthroats, who for
years had caused a reign of terror in the
boisterous coal regions around that territory.

The traditional 13 steps led to the platform,
which measured eight feet square and was
divided into two sections in the center. Two-
by-four crosspieces stood about eight” feet
above the platform, in the exact center of
which was fastened the gallows rope, which
measured about 18 feet in length, thus al-
lowing the condemned a drop of ten feet
through space, a distance calculated to break
the neck of most mortals. Below each section
of the platform, was an upright piece of
timber, measuring about three inches square,
which held each section of the platform in
place. A heavy cord was attached to each
upright, which encircled a pulley, and one
good tug of the cord would dislodge both
supporting uprights, causing the platform to
open up and the condemned man to come
crashing down.

At 7:30 that morning the prisoner had a

-hearty breakfast of ham and eggs, coffee, and

a glass of port wine.

Father Isoleari, of Philadelphia, along with
Fathers Cleary and Januskiewicz, of Reading,
arrived at the jail early and administered
the last rites of the Catholic Church,

Warden Smith had provided the. con-
demned man with a white shirt, blue trous-
ers and a pair of felt slippers.

At exactly 10:20 a.M., a deputy, accom-
panied by Sheriff Fahrenbach arrived, the
former carrying a bucket of water and a cake
of soap. The deputy ascended the gallows
platform, and with the soap and water, he
proceeded to massage the rope thoroughly.

«

It was a new one, having been donated by
ex-Mayor Frieter, of Philadelphia, who owned
and operated a cordage works.

On the ground, near the gallows, stood
Sheriff Fahrenbach, whose attention was cen-
tered on a board about five feet long, pro-
vided with straps, which seemed to arouse
the curiosity of many of the spectators. If
the prisoner had refused, or had been unable
to negotiate the 13 steps to the gallows, it
was the sheriff’s intention to strap him fast to
the board, and have the deputies carry him
to where the noose awaited him.

The horizontal windows in the cells, sur-
rounding the jail yard, enabled some of the
prisoners to obtain a good view of the pro-
ceedings. In the lower tier of cells, prisoners
could look out against the scaffold without
much difficulty. Those on the upper tier had
more of a problem. They overcame this,
however, by providing themselves with small
pocket mirrors, which they attached to sticks.

At 11. a.m. the death procession appeared,
with Fathers Cleary and Januskiewicz leading
the way, followed by Sheriff Fahrenbach, who
was leading the prisoner, his wrists hand-
cuffed behind him. Father Isoleari had suf-
fered an attack a few minutes before the death
march started, and was. too ill to appear. Be-
hind the sheriff and the prisoner came four
deputies and Warden Smith. Near the top of
the scaffold the condemned man_ stumbled,
and would have fallen, had. not the sheriff
caught him by the arm, and steadied him. Law
officers and reporters ranged themselves
around the foot of the scaffold, within the
roped enclosure, while the surging crowd in

the rear pressed against the ropes,-and were

forcibly restrained by. jail deputies.

Buccieri kissed the crucifix, while Father
Cleary placed his hand on the condemned
man’s head, made the sign of the cross, and
gave him his blessing. The prisoner seemed
more composed now, and he listened intently to
the Clergy, making responses. to the prayers
in Latin. Father Cleary kneeling down offered
prayers for the man who was about to die.

The sheriff now stepped forward, and
placed the noose around the condemned
man’s neck, pulling it snug, just below the
left ear, after which he drew a strip of black
cloth from his pocket, and drawing it over
the prisoner’s eyes, he knotted it firmly at
the back. {

A solemn hush swept over the crowd, some
crossed themselves and averted their faces,
while others stood transfixed, their eves glued
on the doomed man.

UICKLY and silently, the sherilf descended
the steps to the ground, while reporters
and deputies moved back. Grabbing the cord
that was attached to the two uprights that held
the divided platform in place, he gave a quick
pull. The uprights toppled to the ground, both
halves of the platform banging against the
sides of the scaffold, and Buccieri-shot down
for a, distance of ten feet, where his body
hung. suspended, Exactly four minutes had
elapsed from the time he ascended the gal-
lows until he dropped to his death. .
Suddenly it was noticed that blood was
trickling down from the back of Buccieri’s left
ear, where the noose had been knotted, stain-
ing his white shirt and trousers, The rope had
cut into the flesh, making a large wound,
which was only made larger by the weight
of his body.
-Those who believed in premonitions were
pleased to learn of an incident that took place

in the prisoner’s cell, about a month before
his hanging. A visitor had stopped before
Buccieri’s cell for a few moments, and in
pantomine, the condemned man went through
the motions of hanging. As he did so, his foot
slipped against an iron table in his cell, caus-
ing him to fall backward and strike his head
against the edge of his cot cutting a deep
gash in his scalp.

The handcuffs that shackled the prisoner,
before he was removed from his cell for the
hanging, proved to be an old pair, and no
key was found that would unlock them, so
a locksmith had to be summoned.

This would be the end of the story ordi-
narily. A condemned man had paid the su-
preme penalty. But Buccieri’s story did not
end here. His story after 60 years, is still a
part of Pennsylvania history and legend.

Shortly after the execution, the still curious
public was told that Buccieri’s body had been
claimed by relatives in Pittsburgh and was
to be shipped back to his birthplace in Italy.

A short time later, a reporter who covered
the trial stated that soon after the hanging,
the brain was removed and examined by
several prominent doctors and aroused so
much curiosity that it was sent off to a clinic
in Philadelphia for jurther study.

But both of these accounts were contra-
dicted by a third which held that in accord-
ance with a will Buccieri made shortly before
his death, his body was turned over to Father
Cleary and then buried in a local cemetery.

There is no record, however, in Berks
County or anyplace else of his ever having
been buried. And I can say definitely that
no post mortem was ever performed, and
that the body was never sent to Italy.

HE fact is that it was taken from the

morgue to the undertaking parlor of Theo-
dore C. Auman a few days after the execution,
and strangely enough, is still there today. I
saw the body and can testify that, true to
legend, Buccieri’s flesh has changed to stone.
I saw the marks of the gallow’s rope which
are still visible, a dark purplish shadow against
the gray pallor of the stone, and the same
privilege will be extended to you if you are
not a crackpot or curiosity seeker.

Dressed in silk pajamas the body rests on a
couch in a separate room in the rear of the
undertaking parlor. I wanted to take a pic-
ture, but Theodore Auman, Jr., the son of
the original owner, politely but firmly refused.
No pictures, he told me, were ever taken, and
the chances are they won't be.

Mr. Auman does not have any data on
Buccieri but he did give a hint as to what
caused the amazing petrification of Buccieri’s
body. Back in the early nineties, he told me,
his father had been experimenting with var-
ious embalming fluids, and thought it pos-
sible that he had hit on some mixture that
may have caused the stone formation when
injected into the corpse. But the exact cause
will probably never be known.

Several astute showmen have tried to get
permission to take the body on a tour of the

- country on what they said would be a lec-

ture tour, but all efforts to make an ex-
hibition of Buccieri’s remains have failed.
The attorneys in the case, the jurors who
found him guilty, the judge who passed
sentence and the sheriff who sprang the gal-
lows trap have long since returned to dust.
Yet Pietro Buccieri, having resisted all efforts
to see him buried, still lies with dignity and
some comfort, immune to the ravages of time.

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034 HARTRANFT’S ESTATE, .
7 Opinion of the Court. [153 Pa.

admitted the debt and said, have new notes fixed and he would
fix it when he came in again.” And again: “ He said he would
sign new notes. He said he would renew this indebtedness.

Nevertheless he did not renew the notes ; and the witness from
whom we have quoted said: “I can’t tell why he did not sign
the notes; he put it off from time to time.” The witness's
opinion that he did not deny his lability or that he admitted
it, will not do unless the words on which that opinion is based
are given, so that the court and jury may determine whether
the opinion is well founded. A conditional or qualified prom-
ise, without more, will not toll the statute. <A promise to
make a renewal note or to waive the statute by an instrument
in writing to be executed in the future, will not amount to a
renewal or a waiver when it appears that the instrument was
prepared, but its execution postpondd, or “ put off from time
to time,” and finally left undone. Then too the bank held
three notes when these conversations took place. One of these
was renewed a few months before the General’s death. Was
this the extent to which he intended to renew his liability ?
He did not sign the other renewals when his aivenston was
called to them, but “ put it off from time to time.” The prom-
ise to renew is too indefinite to enable us to determine with
certainty what was its scope; and, when we consider the sub-
ject in the light of his conduct, we cannot say that the court
below erred in the conclusion that no sufficient acknowledg-
ment or promise is shown to have been made by General Hart-

~yanft to toll'the statute.

We think the case was well decided by the learned judge of
the court below, and the decree appealed from is now affirmed
at the cost of the appellant.

?

COMMONWEALTH ov. BUCCIERI, Appella: 534
1893.] Syllabus.

Commonwealth v. Buccieri, Appellant.

,

Criminal law—Murder—Premeditation.

On an indictment for murder where it appears that the prisoner bor-
rowed a penknife, had the owner open the blade for him, and then started
in pursuit of the deceased as she was leaving the room, and gave her three
deep stabs in different parts of the body, and the whole time that elapsed
between the first indication of the prisoner’s purpose and the giving of the
fatal wounds was not probably longer than between ten and twenty sec-
onds, it is not error to charge ‘that if for any period of time, no matter
how short, there was on the part of the accused, a conscious design and
determination to kill, the killing was murder of the first degree.”

Charge of court—Absence of word “willful” in instructions.

Where the court has in one part of its charge fully and accurately de-
fined murder in the first degree, itis not a ground for reversal, that, at the
close of the charge, the court, in recapitulating in substance what had been
said, omitted the word “ willful.”

Evidence—Motive.

Where the commonwealth has proven willfulness, and the fully formed
purpose to kill, every averment of the indictment is sustained, and the law
does not call for proof of a sufficient motive or of any motive.

Where it is admitted or established that the prisoner did the act of kill-
ing, the motive is unimportant in determining guilt, unless insanity be set
up as a defence, when the absence of any motive which would prompt a

sane man to the deed adds to the strength of positive evidence of unsound-
ness of mind.

/

Insanity as defence—Evidence.

Evidence to support a plea of insanity on an indictment for murder is
insufficient, which merely shows that the prisoner was an epileptic, and
that the disease weakened the intellectual powers, and in some cases pro-
duced total insanity, but fails to show that the prisoner was in any way af-
fected by the disease on the day of the killing.

Opinion of witness as to insanity of prisoner.

A witness who is not an expert will not be permitted to express an
opinion as to the prisoner’s sanity where the acts and conversations upon
which the opinion is based, as well as the phase of insanity sought to be
proven, have no bearing on the mental condition of the prisoner at the time
he committed the crime.

A witness testified that the prisoner at intervals was subject to epilepsy,
and that during these attacks and from their effect fora day or two after-
ward he was mentally irresponsible. The witness had not seen the pris-
oner thus afflicted for seven months before the killing, and had not seen
him at all for four months before the killing. Held, that the witness was

incompetent to express an opinion as to the prisoner's insanity on the day
of the crime.

"C6QT-6c~-9 Seed SBuTpeey peduey foqtum Sosjetg “TUaTOONE

owen

AL

6

had learned in his native village as a youth-—
and move to Reading, Pa.

Here, he was told, was a town in which
he could advance himself, and perhaps become
Proprietor of his own’ shoemaking shop, Eager
to grasp at an opportunity that offered such
a rosy future, Buccieri accepted the advice of
his friends, a few of whom were already
settled in this thriving eastern Pennsylvania
city, and he and his wife took up residence
in Reading. Shortly after his arrival, he opened
a shoemaker’s shop on Willow Street and es-
tablished living quarters in the rear.
‘While of a somewhat taciturn nature, he
was an accomplished musician on the ac-
cordion, and was often called upon to per-
form at weddings, celebrations, and picnics.

While his wife, Marie, a few years his
junior, was quick to adapt herself to the
styles and customs, as well as the language of

their new country, it seems that her husband’

was somewhat backward in these respects,
When he appeared at public gatherings and
political functions, he had to address his re-
marks through an_ interpreter.

And so it was, that while he prospered in
business, he made few friends.

A year or two had passed, when Marie
received word that her mother was seriously
ill, and so boarding a train for New York, she
took passage on the first steamer bound for
her native Italy to be with her ailing parent.

Buccieri remained in Reading, industrious-
ly working at his trade and taking care of his
customers. But several months after his wife’s
departure, word reached him indirectly,
through well meaning friends, that her con-
duct, upon returning to her parent’s home,
was not all that it should have been.

HE letters became less frequent and final-

ly stopped altogether. Buccieri started
to drink, and his neighbors recalled later that
he became subject to epileptic fits. In Febru-
ary, 1892, he was. admitted to St. Joseph’s
Hospital, suffering with a badly burned arm,
sustained by the explosion of an oil lamp in
his shop. He received the best of care and
medical attention, but the burns refused to
heal, extending almost to the bone. It was the
intention of the attending physicians to try
skin grafting, and Buccieri was notified of
this plan. On the day before this operation
was to take place, the patient was in the male
surgical ward, with Lawrence, W. Scott,
a lion tamer with Forepaugh’s Circus, who
had been badly clawed by a tiger a few days
before.

Sister Louise Hildaberta, a nurse at St.
Joseph’s Hospital, had been on the staff about
five months, when Buccieri was admitted to
the institution.

She was a young woman of 24, and had
taken up nursing in her home town of Hunt-
ingdon, Pa., a year or two before coming to

Reading. She was of a cheery disposition,

always kindly and solicitous of her patients.

On the morning of the day scheduled for his
skin grafting operation. Sister Hildaberta en-
tered the ward, and was about. to hand Buc-
cieri a glass of warm milk, when the patient,
who a few minutes before had borrowed. a
large clasp knife from Scott, jumped up from

his cot, and grabbing Sister Hildaberta by .

the throat, started cutting and slashing, final-
ly plunging the eight inch blade into her
abdomen. The Sister ran screaming through
the wards, leaving a trail of blood in her wake,
where she finally collapsed in the arms of, a
visitor, who had just entered the hospital.

After a fierce struggle, Buccieri was finally
overcome, but not until he had inflicted some
minor cuts on some of the other patients who
tried to subdue him,

Whatever caused his mental crackup,
prompting him to murder, will forever re-
main a mystery. Buccieri, who could speak
little English, had a. rather hard time
making his wants known, especially to Sister
Hildaberta, and had developed a sort of fix-
ation that she was neglecting him in favor of
other patients. But later, at his trial, he ex-
plained through an interpreter, that he had
no recollection of committing the crime. The
same defense is used by criminals today,
basing their acts of violence on what is
termed a mental blackout.

Sister Hildaberta died from her wounds the
next day, despite all efforts to save her.

The shoemaker went on trial for his life, in
September of that year, ,

Reverend Arnold Stecker, a clergyman from
Jersey City, had told reporters during the
trial of Buccieri, that he had visited the pris-
oner several times, in company with Rev. J. J.
Kuendig, a few weeks before the trial opened.

“I have seen him four times and have con-
versed with him,” he said. “His conversation
was incoherent, and his eyes shifted at times,
like those of a tiger, and I would not trust
myself alone with him.”’ Whether Reverend
Stecker was called as a witness for. the _de-
fense or the prosecution was not disclosed.

The prosecution lawyers were J. H. Jacobs
and Assistant District Attorney Rourke. They
were opposed by defense Attorneys William
B. Bechtel and E. H. Deysher who, in an
effort to show that Buccieri was not in his
right mind at the time of the crime, called
upon witnesses ..to testify that Buccieri was
subject to epileptic fits. These were days when
people believed the prejudice that an epilep-
tic fit can transform .an honest man into a
criminal.

Addressing the jury, Mr. Bechtel said, in
part: “... Is not this murderous assault upon
a defenseless Sister, whose life was one of
self-sacrifice and devotion to the suffering,
and who had nursed him through sickness and
pain, evidence enough to show that his mind
was diseased and irresponsible? What bene-

fit could the death of this worthy young »

woman have been to this poor and miserable
man?” f ‘

When attorney Bechtel sat down, his part-

ner, E, H. Deysher took over.
“Here was a man who was devoutly re-
ligious,” he told the jurors, “a man who,
it has been disclosed at this trial, would
go out of his way to help the sick and the
needy among’ his fellow countrymen, some of
whom were utter strangers to him. A man who
tried to live up to the teachings of his church,
as well as the things he learned as a child at
his mother’s knee. What manner: of man, you
may ask, could commit such a wanton crime,
while in his right mind?”

In addressing the jury, Mr. Rourke, for
the Commonwealth, said in part: “This was
a murder, one of the most outrageous, hav-
ing been perpetrated by a man fully responsi-
ble for his acts, and the penalty should be

“death. What does ‘the defense say in rebuttal,

in order to clear their client? They have built
up a.defense on his having been subject to
epileptic fits, and yet half a dozen people
living in his neighborhood for. years, have
never heard of the defendant’s alleged af-
fliction. It is very singular that the friends of
the prisoner alone seem to be. the only ones

‘

_ yellow pasteboards.

who knew of these fits. The fact that the
defendent was placed on the stand to testify
in his own behalf, proves that his lawyers
considered him sane. The murder was pre-
meditated and well planned, and no reason-
able evidence of insanity has been presented.
I ask that you find him guilty of murder in
the first degree in the interest of law and
order...”

A storm of applause swept over the court
room as District Attorney Rourke finished his
speech, whereupon Judge Endlich interrupted
the clamor by banging on the bench with his
gavel. “I give notice,” he said, “that this is a
Court of Justice, and not a political meeting.
Order will have to be maintained, and there
must be no further demonstrations, either
favorable or unfavorable to counsel. If there
is any further noise, the tipstaves will eject
all offenders from this courtroom.”

PUBLic feeling was running high against

the prisoner, and when the jury of 12
men returned to the courtroom, after a couple
of hours deliberation, announcing their verdict
of first degree murder, without any recom-
mendation of mercy, the courtroom became
a bedlam, Again the judge started banging on
the bench with his gavel, but he could have
used a sledge hammer and the chances are it
wouldn’t have been heard above the din. Ap-
plication was made for a new trial, which
presiding Judge Endlich refused, and on
December 27, Buccieri the lonely immigrant
cobbler was sentenced to be hanged by the
neck until dead.

The case was taken to the Supreme Court,
which refused to intervene, and Governor
Pattison issued the death warrant on March
26, directing that Buccieri be executed on
June 29.

During the next three months, from the
time the Governor signed the death warrant,
until the date of Buccieri’s execution; his
attorneys left no stone unturned to save their
client from the gallows. A week before his
scheduled hanging, they spent three days in
Harrisburg, the state capital, in an effort to
have the governor reconsider his decision. But
the chief. executive turned a deaf ear to
their pleas for a commutation of sentence.

The morning of June 29, 1893, brought
warmth and sunshine to Berks County, and
while there was a slight chill in the air, this
was soon dispelled by a warm breeze.

Around 8 A.M. several hundred people
started to congregate near what was then
known as Penn Common close by the county
prison. The early morning trains had brought
in a large number of people eager to witness
the hanging, many of whom had _ secured

‘tickets of admission. Others had arrived in

carriages and buggies from neighboring towns
and villages.

Chief Cullen and a squad of 40 policemen
were in full charge of the jail. Among the city
officials who were present, were several coun-
cilmen, as well as Mayor William F. Shan-
aman.

The more prosperous citizens, who hovered

- around the jail gates, but lacked a ticket of

admission, paid as much as $5 for one of the
‘By 10 A.M. it was estimated that at least
3000 people had gathered around the various
gates leading to the prison yard. Inside the
walls there was an oppressive silence. None
of the prisoners was at work that day.
A few minutes after 10 o’clock the main
(Continued on page -8)

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092 COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant.

Opinion of the Court. [153 Pa.

reply counsel, but this is what we said, “ for one to strike down
his benefactress is contrary to the conduct of men of sound rea-
son;” that is, the prisoner, with every motive for gratitude
and tenderness seemingly, was ungrateful and cruel : this com-
bination of ingratitude and cruelty is so startling, that it is
highly improbable a sane man would be guilty of it. ) As, other-
wise, the prisoner would be guilty of it, the presumption is he
was insane. Obviously, the Suggestion is, that the enormity
of the crime is evidence of insanity, and the learned judge of
the oyer and terminer ought not to be convicted of te for
not detecting a distinction which none of us see, plainly as it
may appear to the learned counsel for the prisoner.

The 14th specification alleges error in the charge in calling
ee to the appearance and conduct of the prisoner during

That this was altogether proper, it is only necessary to quote
what was said by the learned judge: “ Now, gentlemen, you
will consider the evidence and all of it that bears singe ae
question of sanity, the evidence of the physicians on both
sides, the evidence of those who knew him on both sides, the
appearance and conduct of the prisoner before you aa the
testimony as to his past acts.”

When it is kept in mind that the defence was epileptic in-
sanity, a combination of physical and mental infirmities; that
the prisoner was on the witness stand testifying to his ones in-
sanity ; it was right, in referring to the evidence bearing on
this question, to direct the attention of the jury, without sug-
gestion or comment, to the appearance and conduct of the oe.
oner as facts for their consideration along with the other testi-
mony. |

The 19th and 20th assignments are to the silence of the
court on prisoner’s second and third points. The one asks the
court to assume that the testimony of the defence showing epi-

lepsy is not contradicted, and then instruct the jury this fact

of itself should be sufficient to raise a doubt as to prisoner’s_

criminal responsibility. The other asks the court to assume as
a fact that those afflicted with this disease are easily excited
to passion and revenge, accompanied with a morbid irritability
which must impair moral responsibility, and this of itse’lf is sue
ficient to negative deliberation and premeditation. |

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. 553
1893.] . Opinion of the Court.

The fact as stated in both points was contradicted ; not, that
prisoner some time in his life had had attacks of epilepsy, but
from the evidence it was earnestly contended he had not been
afflicted with such attacks for months, perhaps years, before
the crime; and that the light character of the disease in his
case had but little, if any, effect on his mental condition. The
court should have given an unqualified negative to the points ;
simply not noticing them, so far as any possible effect on the
jury was concerned, was a more favorable treatment to the pris-
oner than an abrupt negative, and he has no ground of com-
plaint. The action of the court is a substantial denial of the
points, and we so regard it.

“The 21st assignment is to error of court in not defining
manslaughter to the jury. There was not the semblance of
evidence of any provocation, to say nothing of sufficient pro-
vocation, for the attack on deceased. It would have been just
as pertinent to the issue raised for the court to have defined
excusable homicide, and explained to the jury that if Sister
Hildaberta had made a furious attack on the prisoner, en-
dangering his life, the killing was excusable. The prisoner
had a right to instructions on the law applicable to the evi-
dence; as there was no evidence which in the remotest degree
pointed to the offence as manslaugher, the court committed no
error in not noticing the point. .

The 22d assignment alleges error in polling the jury. The
prisoner has a right to a poll of the jury to ascertain whether
each member concurs in the verdict; the exact words used by
a juror in answering are not material, if they indicate clearly
the assent of the individual mind to the verdict. The court,
before the jury left the box, at the instance of the prisoner’s
counsel, in a formal and legal mamtier ascertained that every
juryman expressly assented to a verdict of murder of the first
degree. This is all that the law requires, or the prisoner has a
right to demand; therefore the verdict on which the judgment
was entered was correctly recorded.

As to the 23d specification of error, alleging that, on motion
for a new trial, the court did not by attachment compel the
taking of certain testimony, and have it filed of record, so as to
make it a subject of review on this appeal, we can only say the
taking of the testimony was a matter wholly for the considera-


054 COMMONWEALTH ov. BUCCIERI, Appellant.
Opinion of the Court. [153 Pa.

tion of the court below. On the affidavits presented, that
court did not consider the testimony sought after of any im-

portance; we would not have reviewed evidence taken on a

motion for a new trial, if filed.
The 24th assignment uleges that the court erred in refusing

to entertain a plea of insanity at bar when prisoner was called
for sentence.

The verdict of the jury on the 12th of September, 1892,
found that at the time of the commission of the crime, on the
23d of June previous, the prisoner was sane. When called
for sentence on the 12th of December, 1892, he filed a written
averment that since the com mission of the crime he had become,
and was then, insane. There was nota single corroborative
wfidavit of friend, counsel, physician, or jail attendant accom-
panying the plea; nora single specific fact stated which might
move the court to further inquiry.

As is said in Laros y. Commonwealth, 84 Pa. 200, “the
plea at this stage is only an appeal to the humanity of the court
to postpone punishment until a recovery takes place, or as a
merciful dispensation. If a case of real doubt arise, a just judge
Will not fail to relieve his own conscience by submitting the
fact to a jury.” _

We assume that in overruling this plea, the just and humane

judge of the oyer and terminer found nothing to raise a doubt
in his mind as to the sanity of the prisoner when he was called
for sentence. If theré was nothing to raise such doubt, it was
his imperative duty to disregard a plea which could only serve
to delay the judgment which justice and the law demanded
should follow the crime with due promptness. So this assign-
nent of error is not sustained.
The nature of the crime, the gravity of the consequences to
the prisoner, his apparent friendlessness, all seemed to us to de-
mand the most careful scrutiny of this. record, that we might
detect and correct any error that worked to his prejudice, if any
had been made. We find none. He had a most careful and fair
trial; the zealous efforts of able and astute counsel from a month
before the trial, at every stage of the proceedings, down to the
final hearing in this court, The learned judge of the oyer and
terminer, in a most clear and impartial charge, submitted the

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. 555

ini f the Court.
1893.] Opinion o

evidence to the jury, and there is nothing ° pepace hove?
is not the truth. Therefore, the intent hi " haba hal
and terminer is affirmed, and it is ordered tha sighiianrelg
mitted for the purpose of carrying the SEnIenice ,

“Sanders v. Sharp, Appellant.

i — Forfeiture. . = ont ew:
7 ie Febdcsert years for the sole purpose of mining for oil, ete.,
ease

i i ase, the lessee agreed
ontained provisions that, in consideration of the ae t — Bee ag -
<a: , ithi rear from the executi ;
; ‘ations within one year ' 5 0

“to commence operatior 2 eeenes
l < fter pay to the lessor four hundred dollars per annum Rekanabiehe
ereatter pz s ae ak heen,
amenced,” and that ‘:a failure to pay within sixty days

con ao at

OYrKS ¢

p S] } 10 «
Gas Co., 130 Pa. 222.

iabili y showing by parol
thereof, cannot relieve himself of personal liability - I " a Ore -
eaeel ‘oposed corpor: t
ing as gent of a propos
S chaksimers eh abts or in os ch company at least without show-
<cons wi vere about to organize su 7,3 ehou v"
Pre thal the exec ti of the lease was induced by fraud, misrepresenta
i on ‘ 3 ; |
ing that the executi
5
tion, ete.

Affidavit of defence. . | pieweupacuioio!
eek of defence to an action on a lease, setting uj}
An ¢ g

ise ‘event judgment.

eous parol agreement, should be clear and precise, to prevent judg
ran 3 ag ‘ s es
: 1 Oct. 17, 1892. Appeal, No. 321, Oct. P., 1892, by
Pat M SI from judgment of C. P. Washington Co.,
defendant, M. Sharp, gmet less eae

3] anders, tor wa
: Yo. 26, for plaintiff, Stephen ;
Nov. T., 1891, No. 26, , SS
of a sutticient affidavit of defence. — Before STERRED | 2 :
WixurAMs, McCoiium, MircHent and Hryprick, JJ.

il leas Rule for judgment: for
Assumpsit for rent on oil lease. Ru judg

want of sufficient affidavit of defence. 7
y NJ + . > « . IS .
The affidavit of defence was in part as follow

«3. A short time prior to the date of we ae Oe ee
nent, A. M. Brown, Isaac Sharp, Isaac Le a * a
Sayers, A. B. Caldwell and John Waterhouse agre eae
associated with each other and with me persons ; ‘ . =
become associated with them and to form an io one 8 a
pany for the purpose of drilling an experimenta

as

BULLOCK, John, white, hanged Philadelphia, Pa., 11/7/1741.

"D hiladelphia: On Monday night last a most horrid murder was
committed in this city by one JOHN. BULLOCK on the body of his wife
as she lay in her bed by cutting her throat and stabbing her in
several places, He was next day apprehended and sent to gaol."
AMERICAN WEEKLY MERCURY, Philadelphia, ¥ enmnsylvania May 14, 1741.

"Monday last John Bullock, a cooper of this city, being as some suppose
disordered in his senses, cut his wife's throat with a sharp~pointed
pocket-knife and gave her besides above 50 wounds in the body. He

did not attempt to escape but being the next day in the afternoon at

a public house, it was observed that his shirt-sleeve was bloody and

as he appeared to be much disordered and confused, some persons went

to his house and there found the woman lying dead and miserably
mangled, He is committed to prison and the Coronor's Inquest have
found it wilful murder," PENSYLVANIA GAZETTE, Philadelphia, Pa,,

May 1h, 171.

st AIGA SSUES OSORNO PIT IS tae, ste eceenenecaetesnemmerenemtmenenent atameaneneinnaeenn) ameaumenenas

03-01-1742 Philadelphia PA Extract of a private letter from Philadelphia
| dated Febr. 23rd: "Last Saturday morning

Willtam Bullock of this city, hatter, (brother to the unhappy
John Bullock who was a few months ago executed for the murder of
his wife), was committed to gaol for the murder of hts negro boy,
being about 8 years old, who he beat to death most barbarous ly
and in all ltklthood will follow his brother. He bought the boy
but a few days before."

villalny-

"On Saturday last John Bullock was executed here, according to sentence
for the murder of his wife, He was privately though decently buried

by his friends the same evening in the Strangers Burying Ground." PENNSYL-
VANIA GAZETTE, Philadelphia, X&MMAX¥ Pennsylvania, 11/12/17\1,


“Okay,” answored Jack, “Allen, you
ind Urella hop onto this job. It's up
9 you both to break it, It’s all yours,
Vork on it any way you wish, do any-
hing you please, but break it,”

Later, after the
nd Allen discussed the State Troop-
t's plan. Urella had taken the type-
Titten:- tabulation of the holdups and
le theft and recovery of stolen auto-
— and the big map of Delaware
ounty, fo ,

“Now here’s what I want to do first,”
id Urella, “I want to check back over
‘ese past jobs. I want to get a real
mposite idea of what: the guy in the
‘nama hat looks like. Then we'll go

Chester.” :
At 11 that night, Sunday, July 15,
‘ella, somewhat weary from a long,

inding day of interviewing the vic-
1s of previous holdups, entered Ser-
int Kelly’s office in the Glenolden
tracks. He sat down near Kelly, hot
i tired but obviously elated.

‘Well, Rocco, how goes it?” asked
ly. “Find anything?” ~

‘VE seen twelve people,” answered

Urella. “And I’m convinced I’m on -

right angle.”
Good. What did you find?”
The guy who did the dirty work in
se past jobs was six feet tall, a six-
t kid who always needed a shave,
more than that, the two things
t jibe are these: Shank said the guy
d and walked with his left shoul-
hunched up. So did the punk
se people describe. Left shoulder
ier than the right. And he always
e a hat pulled down over his eyes.”
Chat shoulder’s a lead,” Kelly ex-
ned. “A good lead.”
’m sure of it. And besides, accord-
to my list of victims here, there is
man who actually can describe him.
seeing him tomorrow early. Any-
g new here?”
Yothing important. The usual few
ects that we quickly checked out.”
elly’s phone rang and he answered

t’s Chief of Police Dukes of Clif-
Heights,” he told Urella in an aside.
ally turned back to the phone.
\ what?” he said. “A Chevrolet
re! Yes ...yes... Okay! Hurry
ong!” He hung up and turned to
la. a P
think we’ve found the bandits’
Dukes says it tallies with our
ription and it has bloodstains on
‘ear seat. He’ll be along with it in
ort while.”
ifton Heights is only a few miles
Glenolden, and it wasn’t long be-
Dukes, driving the stolen car,
ed in front of the barracks. With
was another man.

€ car was inspected, but no prints,
»t those of Dukes on the steering-
1, were found. :
ank was brought to the barracks
spect the vehicle.

was positive it was the one the
len had used.

Stains on the rear seat were in-
ed blood. And, Kelly concluded,
in Stauffer must-have been right.
k must have plugged the gangster..
lly at once despatched a detail of

Police to check on hospitals in
atire county, as well as in.the ad-
1g counties and in Philadelphia,
d out if anyone had sought med-
id for bullet wounds.

4 a. m. each report was negative.
\e had walked into a hospital with

wounds. No doctor reported
ng such @ case. So that lead swift-'
ered out.

‘ly the next morning, Urella and

were back on their dogged pur-

They entered a grocery store on
al Avenue, Chester Township.
itore was owned by Daniel Ellis,
iad been held up and robbed on .
ight of July 7, six days before the

killing. They found Ellis, a mid-
sed, well-set man, behind the
er. Urella told him why they were ;

1at’s good,” Ellis said, “and what
do?”
uld you identify the bandit who-

d you if you saw him again?”
s did not hesitate.

conference, Urella.

“Let me see,” said O’Boyle, “It must
have been about four or five days after
Zerbe was killed. It was after supper
sometime, maybe about half-past seven.
I was standing at Eighth and Morton
Streets. That’s my beat. A man comes
up to me and says there were two men
right down thé block that he had over-
heard in a funny kind of conversation.

- “I ask him what kind of conversa:
tion, and he said he heard one man
saying to the other, ‘Well, they'll never
get me alive. I’m sure of that. Tl
keep the gun handy and shoot it out.
It would be a pleasure to plug a lousy
cop!’ : .

“I'm positive I could. I won't forget
him for a long while.”

“Describe him,” said Urella,

“I'd say he was about six feet, maybe

taller. Well built, solid-like. He wore
a big panama hat pulled down over his
eyes. He needed a shave. He had red \‘
cheeks and light blue eyes. ‘He was a
good-looking fellow. Why, I said to
him, ‘You could be doing better things
than holding up People!’ He said to
shut up. But even though he had his
hat pulled down over his eyes, I could
See enough of them to tell that they
were slanted at the corners, and when
he stood there with his gun pointing
at me, his left shoulder was higher than
his right-one.”

‘That clinched it for Urella and Allen,
That was enough for them. Urella
patiently memorized the descriptions of
the man he was seeking until he felt
that he would be able to walk into a
crowd of men and pick out the one.

‘*THE man told me he thought the

* fellow who was doing the bragging
was named Mayer or something and
lived up around there. I went dowh the
Street and tried to find the men} but
they were gone. When I reported :in

é .

-~ Coming, Next Month

he Giant February OFFICIAL. DETECTIVE STORIES Will
Bring You More Dramatic, Up-to-the-Minute Fact-Detective
Stories Taken from Actual Police Records, Including: .

Trailing the Millionaire Dope King

Live Bait for a Killer

"Us Rustlers Make Our Own Laws"

It Had Happened Before—a Hard-Working Farmer Had Attempted
To Expose a Ring of Cattle Rustlers and Had Been Murdered.
And Now Another Farmer Was Slain, One Who Had Defied the
Rustlers. Sheriff Thompson of Louisa, Kentucky, Knew It Had to
Stop—But Until He Got the Bloodhound He Didn’t Know the
Secret Behind That Rustling Ring and the Family Feud It Involved,
This Is Another Top-Notch Bit of Reading in That February Issue

“Look for a Killer with Horns"

Out of the Night Stepped a Masked Killer
Red Tassels to Shoot Down Mary Bell, the Pretty Bride, in Cabool,
Missouri, Why? Who Was He? Why This Outlandish Disguise? .
The Bell Case Will Startle and Intrigue You

_ These Are Only a Few of the Stories Scheduled for That Giant
February OFFICIAL (Unless a Postponement Is Necessary to
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in OFFICIAL Is’ Authentic, Timely—It’s Better Reading Every

Month. The F ebruary Issue Will Be on Sale Friday, December 19,
Order Your Copy Now

with Stripped Horns and

They left Ellis. Outside, Urella said: that night, I turned the thing over

“Now, Allen, I’m ready to try my to Tassoni.”
Chester angle.” “Pretty slim stuff is right,” said
Ten days latér—days in which Allen Urella. “But we'll look into it.” :

and Urella studied the rogues’ gallery
photographs and records in Chester,
days in which they interviewed almost
all of Chester’s detectives and Police,
tough, fruitless days—Urella was al-
most convinced it was hopeless. And
then they ran into Patrolman John
O’Boyle, — ‘

“How are you boys doing?” O’Boyle
asked as he saw them in the roll-
room of Chester Police Headquarters,

“Terrible,” answered Urella.

O’Boyle thought a while.

“Listen,” he said. “I turned a little

They went to the locality in question,
Eighth and Morton Streets in Chester,
They didn't have much hope or en-
thusiasm. ‘True, the words that had
been overheard in Chester were almost
‘the same as those with which Harvey
Zerbe had been threatened before he
died. But at best it was a slim lead.

They decided to canvass Morton
Street first. Both of them were in
plain clothes and looked like agents
going from door to door, asking if a
man by the name of Mayer lived there.

They canvassed for two hours without

something over to Tassoni just before I
went on my vacation. I don’t think he’s
done anything about it yet, and I don’t
blame him. It’s a pretty small shake.”
“What was it?” asked Urella.

result. Then Urella rang the doorbell
of a house close to Eighth Street.
The.door was opened by’a tall, heavy-
set man in his early thirties, As soon
as he-saw Urella he broke into a wide,

happy smile and shouted, “Hey, Rocco!
Hya, boy! | What. brings you here?
Come on in,”

Urella entered and they shook hands.
This was Frank Riposito, an old friend
of Urella,

“What cooks, fella?” asked Riposito.
“Haven’t seen you since just after I was
married.”

**P)IDN’T know you moved out here,”
said Urella.

“Been here for a couple of years. I

work at the Baldwin Locomotive Works.
What’s up? You still a State cop?”

“Yes. I’m working on a case out
here. Mdybe you can help.”

“Sure will if I can.”

“Do you know a guy by the name of.
Mayer around here?”

“Well, I know a guy by the name of
Moyer. Works at the General Steel
Castings in Chester. Maybe you mean
Moyer. Are you sure it’s a Mayer
you’re after?”

“It could'be Moyer, too. What's his
first name, and where does he live?”

“Name’s Charlie. He lives right
around the corner. Rooms there.”

“What does he look like, Frank?” . ’

“Good-looking guy, Roc. About six .
feet. Built like a pretty good middle-
weight.” i

“Brown hair?”

“Yes,”

“Blue eyes?”

“Yeah, he’s got blue eyes. I’m sure.”

“How does he walk? I mean does he
walk with one shoulder hunched up?”

“Never noticed. Why, Roc? What’s
up?” Ki
- “Can’t say now, Frank. Keep this to

yourself. I might need you again.”

“Okay, Rocco. Any time.”

Outside, Urella waited for Allen, flush
with new enthusiasm. He felt on the
hunt again. He told Allen what he had
found.

They walked quickly into Eighth
Street, past the address that Riposito
had given him. It was a two-story
rooming-house with a porch in front,
They went back to their car and drove

. to the plant of the General Steel Cast-

ings Corporation, where they went to

. the office of the personnel manager.

“Have you a man by the name of
Charles Moyer working here?” asked
Urella.

The personnel manager got his rec-
ords and went through them.

“Yes, we have,” he said. “Charles
Frederick Moyer, age twenty-four. He
is a burner, makes an average of forty-
five dollars a week. He has a good
record.”

“Was he ever in the Army?” Urella
asked.

“No. He worked at Sun Shipbuild-
ing Corporation before coming here.
He was deferred because of essential
employment.” , .

“Is he still working here?”

“Yes.”

“You say he has a good
he ever miss any time?”

“Let me _ see.” The personnel
manager read the record. “No absen-
teeism two years ago. None last year—
well!” .

He looked up from the record.

“I’ve made a mistake.” :

“How?” asked Urella. A

“When I said he was still working
here, I should have said he’s still on our
rolls. But he hasn’t worked since July
twelfth. This is the third of August.”

“Not since July twelfth!” Allen re-
peated. “Are you sure of that?” :

“Yes, I am.”

*pe YOU have his picture there on
the records?” asked Urella.

“Yes, and his finger-prints, too. Take
@ look if you want to.”

Urella and Allen leaned over the desk.
They looked at the photograph of
Moyer, a passport-like picture showing
him from ‘the waist up. The print
wasn’t very complimentary but they
Could see this was a good-looking youth,
with dark, wavy hair, eyes slanted down
atthe corners, thickish eyebrows, a
well-molded forehead. His lips were
full but set well in his slender face.

Urella read the description beneath

record. Did

the print. Six feet, 185 pounds, blue
eyes, dark-brown hair. Single. This .
i . 59
' ; ’
2

Perlman, who had been briefed on
- case, said he agreed whole-heart-
edly,

u Pt gases let me stage it and you stand
y ”

“This is your show, Captain,” sald

Perlman, “I’m waiting for the

curtain.”

Sabbatino summoned Detective
ney,

“All that stuff we got back on the
pawn tickets found in Tito‘s room,” he
said. “Put it out ona table in the squad
room. Williams hasn’t Seen that yet.”

In about ten minutes, - Detective
Rooney was back.

“It’s all spread,” he said. “Looks like
a Macy’s window.”

Sabbatino unlocked a@ drawer in his
deck and withdrew the mottled green,
98-cent flashlight.

“Now,” he said quietly, “put this with

the collection, Not conspicuously, but.

somewhere that he can See it.”

Lieutenant Coyle came in to report.

“Our friend Williams has confessed
to about every burglary in Brooklyn,”
he said. “He Seems anxious to qualify
for one of those concrete pent-houses up
at peroing, What do we do with him
now?”

“That’s coming,” said Captain Sab-
batino. “Make out like you need
further proof on some of those jobs he

"Us Guys Hate Gl Heroes—See?"

“Shank,” asked Jack, “what’s your
story?”

“All right,” Shank answered, breath-
ing deeply and Clasping his hands as if
to control himself. “We had decided to

drove up. I got suspicious right away
because it drove beyond reach of the
8as hoses.” '
“What kind of car?” asked Jack.
“A two-door job, Could have been
a five-passenger coupe or a sedan; I’m
aa It was a Chevwvie. I think I

Sars Say it wasa Chevvie coupe,

.” interjected the man who
said he lived across the street. :
“What’s your name?” asked Kelly.

a terrible thing.” ’

“You say you got suspicious, Shank,”
Said Jack. “Why?”

“AS soon as I looked out,” said Shank,
“I saw that the car didn’t stop near
enough to a gas hose. There were two
men sitting in the front Seat, and they
didn’t act like People do when they

want some service, They didn’t say

anything. Just sat there.
“I hung up. I had the gun and
Zerbe was out there alone.”
} fangs do you mean by that?” asked
ack,

“Well, since these holdups started
around here, we kept a gun in the place.
I’m licensed for it. At nights if I’d go
out to a customer I’d have the gun. And
if Zerbe went out he’d have it. And
there I was Standing inside with the
sun in my pocket. I felt sure some-
‘hing was going to happen.

“When I looked out again, sure
‘nough, there it was. The big guy with

‘e was trying to tell me what was go-
1g on. I stepped out of the door and
elled, ‘Drop that gun, I’ve got you cov-
red!’”

Shank stopped for breath, then con-
nued:

“Zerbe ran just as the shooting
varted. The big guy fired first, and I

is car. My gun jammed. He fired
8

Beiter “Sv athlete WN rte Sar NE pe

wants to confess, Then bring him into
the squad room,"

To Detective Rooney, the Captain
said, “Roger, this is your show, You did
all the leg work, and you found Vito, All
I want is for you to get him to admit
that he owned that flashlight.”

A big smile spread over the younger
detective’s face, .

- “That flashlight!” he_ exclaimed.
“You said it would hang the killer of
Selma Graff—and maybe it will!”

Prosecutor Perlman was right on deck
when Lieutenant Cooney brought
Williams into the Squad room.

“Look, Tito,” said Detective Rooney.
“You've been very Cooperative, cleaning
up these burglaries for us. But shucks,
boy, you'll only be tried for one anyway,
Now here’s some stuff that maybe you
hee ne If so, we'll take it off the

He held up an expensive Portable _

radio.
“This one of your knick-knacks?”

‘
W1LIaMs was studying the whole
array on the table, .

“Aw, heck,” he said. “All that stuff
is mine. I stole it, and I hocked it,”

Detective Rooney beamed his
Pleasure.

“Say, that’s fine. It clears up a lot
of things for us, By the way, is this

from behind the opposite side of the
car, then he leaped into it and they
drove off toward Chester. I ran out to
Zerbe. He was hit . es

“I wish I'd taken that license num-
ber,” he added. :

“How about you, Stauffer?” asked
Jack. “Did. you get it?”

“No. I wish I had, too.”

Shank looked at the floor, again de-
tached.

He looked up after a moment and
said, “You know, I think this wasn’t
just a holdup.” ;
_“You think Zerbe was deliberately
murdered?” asked Kelly with some as-

tonishment. in his voice. “What for?” :

“I can’t say exactly. I can’t even be
sure. But there were some People who
didn’t like Zerbe. Not because they had
anything real against him. They just
didn’t like what he was.” .

You guys think you own the world now,
just because you were dragged in the
Army. Us guys hate GI heroes—see? It
would be'a pleasure to Plug you.’

once at Shank, for in Shank’s words,

: if true, could be one of the most incred- .

ble motives for ‘a killing they ever had
heard. Kelly’s eyes showed complete
amazement. :

Was this really the motive? Would
anyone kill a veteran merely because
of jealousy over that man’s war record?

“I know there are quite a few punks
who couldn’t make the Service for one
reason or another and who hate a sol-
dier who has done a great job,” said
Jack. “But I never heard of a killing
on account of it. Fist fights, yes. But
never a killing.. Are you sure of that,
Shank?”

“It sure looked like the fellow who
got wise with Zerbe,” Shank said.

“You never saw this guy before that

Aight‘in the taproom?”

yours or did you ateal it from AOMeONG?"

Hie held up the flashlight,

“Oh, that’s mine,” said Williams,
“By golly, T thought I'd lost it, Where
did that come—"

He stopped short, and the color
drained from his face like the air from
@ pin-pricked balloon. *

Assistant District Attorney Perlman
announced later that Williams made a
statement admitting that on the night
of April 19, 1947, after consuming an
uncounted number of “sneaky Petes”
& combination of whisky and wine—he
had set out on a lone wolf tour to rob a
few apartments and -get some more
money to drink more of the atom-bomb
concoctions, ° °
‘In this alleged confession, he ad-
mitted having Picked up the iron Pipe
in the alley-way between two buildings,

the cellar door, and forced a window.
In the room shared by the Graff

“The Lord help me!” Williams said,
according to Prosecutor Perlman, “I
wouldn’t have touched her if she hadn’t
woke up!”

“Just twice. Tonight and that other
night. I’m sure Zerbe didn’t know him
either.”

“Where’s your gun?” asked Kelly,

Shank took it out of his pocket and

- handed it to Kelly, who examined it.

It was a .38 Colt automatic. Five shots
had been fired.

“Now exactly where were you stand-
ing when you fired and where was the
other man?” asked Jack,

“I was just outside the door. He was
in front of the first pump. That’s

- about fifteen feet, Zerbe was right be-
tween us.”

“You say he fired first?”

“Yes.”

“How far away was Zerbe from the
gunman when Zerbe dropped?”

“About five feet, I'd Say.”

“Could you see his gun?” asked Kelly.

“Yes. I’m sure it was a thirty-two.”

“Now give us a good description of
him,” said Kelly,

se LL, he’s a g00d-looking guy, six

feet or over. He wore @ panama
hat pulled down over his eyes, but the
reason I’m sure he’s the same person as
the one in the taproom is because he
stands or walks with his left shoulder
hunched up. I couldn’t see all of his
face tonight, but he had the same lean
chin as the one I’m talking about. He

the taproom.”

“Do you think you hit him when you
fired?” asked Jack.

“I think he was shot,” the girl sud-
denly interjected,

Jack turned to her. “What makes
you think that?”

“I saw him get into the rear seat
holding his right shoulder. I could
see him drop down to the floor of the
car as if he was in terrible pain.”

“I saw that, too,” added her father,
“Just about everything that Shank Says,
I wig But I couldn’t get his face very
well.”

Two hours later there was a con-
ference in Jack’s little office in the
courthouse at Media, the Seat of Dela-
ware County, Around the big table sat
Jack, Kelly, Troopers Urella and But-
Cavage, Corporal Roth and Detective
Allen. In front of Jack were several
typewritten sheets. To his left was
a@ large map of Delaware County, pin-
Pointed with blue and white-headed
Pins. .

Jack related what Shank had told

em,

“We're up against one of the most pe-
culiar cases we’ve had in many years,”

Williams, proud of some rudiment.

ary schooling, asked to write his con-.

fession in his own hand, Perlman ane
hounced,

He went to the police lineup at Centre
Street Headquarters the following day,
where, upon direct questioning, he said
he had bludgeoned Selma Graff, police
told reporters, They also said he re-
enacted the crime that Same day in the
Graff apartment, in the presence of
Inspector Whalen, Captain Sabbatino
and Prosecutor Perlman.

ON SEPTEMBER 1, before Magistrate

Masterson, Williams
waived a hearing and was held without
bail for the grand jury on a charge of
homicide. Only the grand jury can fix

taken out of uniform and made third-
grade detectives while Inspector

Whalen, Captain Sabbatino and Lieu- ‘

tenant Coyle were commended by
Mayor William O'Dwyer,

The name of Thomas Potter as used
in this story is fictitious to protect an
innocent individual who, nevertheless,
did rush to confess to @ crime he had
not committed,

(Continued from Page 31)

he said. “And we don’t have much to
g00n. We haven’t hada report yet of
any arrests of suspects, and if my cal-
culations are right, we won’t. But the
question that bothers me is this: Are
the gunmen who Pulled this job the
Same who pulled the other nineteen
holdups since March? Or is Shank’s
supposition correct, that the gunman
actually was out to get Zerbe?”

The faces about that table were
grim when Jack finished. There was
silence for a few moments and then
Trooper Urella, who had done some
work on the chain of previous stick-

se [VE given these past cases @ good go-
ing over, and there’s one thing that

“Well, first of all these men work in
the same way. Just before a string of

stolen. There was one reported tonight
—a two-door Chewvie. But more impor-
tant than that is my idea of where the
men are from. I think we ought to
work on Chester, for I have a pretty
800d idea that they are from Chester.”

“All right, Urella,” said Jack, “What
makes you think they are from
Chester?”

“Take a look at this,” said Urella,
Standing up and pulling the map to-
ward the center of the table. “These
pins show the locations of the jobs. All
in Delaware County, )

“Notice that the holdups ‘all are
about twenty to thirty miles away from
the city of Chester, in a semi-circle.

“Now, no holdup man is going to
Operate in a territory where he might
be recognized; we all know that. These
fellows live Somewhere and they fan
out in all directions for their jobs. The
Place that’s equal distance from their
holdups is Chester.”

Kelly studied Urella, a rugged six-
footer who had been on the State Po-

lice force for ten years. Urella had a’

consistently fine record. He didn’t
rate himself as a Sherlock Holmes, but
Kelly, his commanding officer, knew
that Urella was never one to go off
half-cocked. When he was assigned to
a tough case, Urella cracked it,

Kelly said to Jack, “This case will
take digging and hard Plugging. I be-
lieve it’s not going to be easy to crack.
I'm for assigning Urella with anyone
you assign, Fred. Let them dig’ into it.
It will simplify matters,”

sw

saceiceemaahaaactneniaiaaaeaae a ET eT

‘senger coupe. A forty-one. He Pushing their way through the ex-
\inks he plugged it twice.” cited crowd, the officers found Zerbe ly-
“Any description of the punks?” ing face upward not far from one of the
“There were two. Shank got a good gas pumps. His luck indeed had run
ok at one, the fellow who did the out.

ooting.” A doctor was kneeling over him, and’
“Good! Get that stuff on the tele- beside him stood a tall man who was
Des, quick!. And then let’s go—” unashamed of his tears. ~

This was Saturday night, July 13, Kelly took command of the situation
46, just before midnight. at once, barked out orders, and soon
A few minutes later Kelly, Urella, the troopers had the excited crowd in
xrporal Rudolph Roth and Trooper order, pushed some distance away.
anley Butcavage were in a police car Kelly approached the Doctor. “What
eeding west on McDade Boulevard to do you think, Doc?”

e scene of the crime. Shank’s gas “Dead, Sergeant,” he answered,
ition was in Folsom, on McDade Standing up. “One bullet. Hit under
vulevard, which is one of ‘the~main ~his left shoulder blade and cut right
zhways from Philadelphia to Chester, down through his heart.”

nnsylvania. The State Police Bar- The whine of a police siren was heard
cks at Glenolden is only a few miles on the Boulevard, and a car jerked to a
om Folsom. stop near the gas station. Three men

leaped out. | They were Fred Jack, bril-

|= LOOKS like Zerbe’s luck must liant chief of the Delaware County de-

have run out,” said Urella. tectives, his ace assistant, Earle Allen,
“What do you mean?” asked Roth. and Chief of Police Vincent Kuberski
“I just saw him yesterday, and we of Ridley Township, in which Folsom
re talking about his time in Europe. is situated.
me home without a scratch and he They rushed over to Kelly.
¥ plenty. He said he was just another “Zerbe’s dead,” said Kelly to Jack.
‘ky GI in the ETO.” “One shot.”
‘He's got a fine wife and three swell “Get any details?”
ls,” added Roth after a’silence. “It’s “Not yet. We just arrived.”

Hell of a note.” ‘Nb “Where’s Shank?” asked Jack.
‘It’s worse than that,” declared “Here I am,” answered the tall man.

lly. “It’s another gas-station hold- “You own this place, don’t you?”
. How many does this make, Urella?” asked Jack, ;
‘Exactly twenty. The first one was “Yes.” ‘

ireh eighth.” “Get into your office there,” said
The police car had reached Folsom Jack. “Allen, you go with him.” ,
that time. It swung into Shank’s Urella and Roth came up to Kelly
s Station, which fronts on the Boule- with a man and a young girl.

‘d. A large crowd of men and women “These are the only two who saw
$ milling about. most of what happened,” said Roth.

Charles Moyer: "It would
be a pleasure to plug you"

“They live right across the street
there.”

“Okay, take them inside.”

“It was an attempted holdup,” said
Urella. “And a gun battle.”

“Never happened this way before,”
said Jack. “Not in the jobs that have
been pulled here since March. Never a
shot fired before.” \

stretcher. Blood covered the upper
half of his body.

“Get him to the morgue at Taylor
Hospital,” said Jack. “We'll want an
oh le And the bullet, if it’s still in

im.” ‘

bulance parked close by.

“Let’s find out what we can from
Shank,” said Jack. He and Kelly went
into the office of the little white filling-
station. The man wha. said. he was
Shank was sitting in a chair gazing at
the floor. He seemed like a fighter just
recovered from a knockout. The man
and the girl stood near by. .

(Continued on Page 58)

Through long’ months of
war, Mrs. Zerbe and her
children waited. And then—

31

Two men were placing Zerbe on a

Zerbe's body was placed in the am- -

6 EY TN 6

EEN TPE R RI Ba AMES Ry

Md... ee en eRe ee | eee
‘ * tg ' : '

‘again and took the bus back to Chester,

was the picture and description of a
typleally #00d=looking and apparently
hard-working American youth,

“Nice-looking kid,” Urella romarkod,
“What's wrong with him now? Why
isn’t he working?”

“He was hurt in an automobile ac-
cident. ‘That's what his mother told
us. She phoned in on the morning of
July fifteenth,”

“Have you checked on that?” ;

“No. We don’t check unless they
claim compensation, He’s asked for
none so far.” *

“Will he get his job back any time?”

“Yes, any time. He’s a good worker.
His type is scarce now.”

“We'd like to get copies of his picture
and finger-prints,” said Urella,

“That_can be arranged at once.”

An hour later Urella and Allen were
in Media looking up the rogues’ gallery
records of Delaware County. :

THEY found a Charles Frederick

Moyer. apts tae ‘

And they found that tle photograph
from the General Castings records and
the one in the rogues’ Ballery were al-
most identical! The only difference
was that the General Steel Photograph |
was that of a youth a little older than
the one in the gallery.

The record of the Charles Frederick
Moyer in the rogues’ gallery was a long
One. It began back in early 1938 when
he had been sixteen and was a list
of arrests for petty larceny, burglary
and various misdemeanors.

For only one crime, a burglary and
assault to which he pleaded guilty in
1942, had he served a prison sentence,
eight months in the Media jail.

Urella and Allen went back to Eighth
and Morton Streets. It was after 6 p,m.
They covered that neighborhood for,
five hours, watching for their man,
waiting patiently, Then, at 11:15, as
they stood across the street from the
boarding-house, a tall youth, hatless
and with a good crop of dark hair,
came out of the corner taproom, The
Street lamps outlined him as he walked.

“That's him, that’s Moyer,” Allen
said. “Let’s pull him.” ,

“No. Not yet. Did you noticé his
shoulders, Allen?”

“Yes. That's what I was just going
to say. It’s not his left shoulder that’s
hunched up. It’s his right. That shoul-
der’s hurt.”

“Did you notice how he favored his
right arm? How he Swung the left one
and carried his right arm close to his
side?”

“Yes. I did.” ;

“Let’s call Jack and Kelly. It’s time
to make a report.”’

A half-hour later Urella and Allen
were talking with Sergeant Kelly and
Detective Jack in Jack’s Media office,
Urella made a full report of what they
had found. :

“Do you think you ought to pull him
in?” asked Jack. -

“No,” answered Urella. “Not yet. He
might lead us to his buddy. I'd like to
get the both of. them at once, if -we
can.”

Jack and Kelly agreed with Urella. ,

“WELL tail him night and day,”

' Said Jack. “Contact the Chester
police and make sure you have a detail
watching him when you're off. We won’t
let him out of our sight.”

At 6 o'clock the next evening Urella
received a call that-Moyer had entered
the boarding-house. He and Allen
drove to Chester, relieved the plain-
clothesman on duty near the house and
took up the vigil themselves,

Just as it grew dark, Moyer, again
hatless, came down the steps. He went
to Ninth and Madison Streets in
Chester. A bus for Darby, which is
several miles to the east, came along
and Moyer boarded it. Urella and Allen
followed the bus in their car...

At Sycamore Road in Clifton
Heights, Moyer got off the bus. Urella
followed him on_ foot. He walked -
through Clifton Heights to the small
village called Addington. There he
walked down Mill Street, a narrow dirt
road, to a three-story frame house set
back in the fields, ;

At 11 p. m. Moyer came back on the
highway, walked to Sycamore Road

60.

They followed him the boarding-
house, :

Barly thé next day Urella and Allen
returned to Addington, Allen, posing
as & census taker, went to the frame

house, In less than fifteen minutes he ’

& carpenter for a local manufacturer,”
“Let’s check him.”

AT THE plant where Byron worked
they learned that he had even a
better record than Moyer had. He had
been on the job Steadily for almost five
years, making ninety cents an hour.

Byron also had a record, a long, nasty
criminal record,

His police biography started back in
1926 when he was eighteen years
old.’ He had served much time in jails
for robbery, holdups, assault and bat-
tery and other crimes. He had spent a
long time in the Federal Penitentiary
at Atlanta. In 1941 he was released
from the Media Jail after serving a
year for robbery. .

“This beats the Hell out of me,” said
Urella. “It looks like both of these
mugs work for a long spell and then
bust out.” .

- you think they’re pals?” asked
Allen;

“Let’s find out.”

“We'll have to put another detail on

‘Byron, too,” said Allen.

acre We'll contact Glenolden for
at.”

The next night, while Fred Jack and
Corporal Roth were covering the. home
in. Addington, Urella and Allen were
near the boarding-house in Chester,

Around 9 p. m. Moyer and Byron were
tailed to.a small taproom in Clifton
Heights. They stayed inside until about
11:15 p. m. and were shadowed back to
aoe home, where Moyer Stayed that
night.

Chief Jack made a few discreet in-
Quiries in the Clifton Heights taproom.

“Moyer and Byron are buddies all
right,” he said to Roth when he came
out. “They've been buddies for a long
time. They're always together. They
always sit by themselves in the.taproom
and don't talk very much. This is their
hangout in Clifton Heights.”

“Why not pull them in now?”

“We could. But I don't think it’s a
800d idea. Don’t forget, the only thing
we have on Byron is that he has a rec-
ord. No one can identify him as be-
ing one of the killers of Zerbe. I want
to be completely sure of thesé men be-
fore I make an arrest.”

- “We have Shank to make an identi-
fication, and also Ellis,”

“VE thought of that,” said Jack.
“But don’t forget, Shank didn’t see

Byron. Neither did Ellis. And on El-
lis’ identification we'd get Moyer, if he’
was the man, only for a small job. He
could beat the rap on Zerbe.. These are
tough hombres, Roth. They know the
answers. I'm going to play for some-
thing else and save Shank and Ellis
for later. I'm going to squeeze them
in, break them without speaking to
them almost. In other words, keep a
tail on them, and let them know it.”

-This was a night in the middle of
August, 1946, a night during which Jack
‘organized and set in motion his war
of nerves. :

It continued until the night of No-
vember 5.

Between these two dates an intensive

‘plan of shadowing was in constant op-

eration. And always Moyer and Byron
were allowed to realize it,

At 10 p. m. on the evening of Novem-
ber 5, Urella and Allen were on Eighth
Street in Chester, watching the board-
ing-house where Moyer lived, when
he came out. > :

“Look!” exclaimed Urella. “He's
carrying a suitcase!”

“Let’s take him!” said Allen. “He’s
likely to leave the State.”
~ “No, we'll follow him & while.”

They followed him again to Ninth and
Madison Streets, where he caught a
bus. Again he got off. at Sycamore
Road and waited,

In @ short while, Byron was
coming up the road. .He also was car-
rying a auitonne,

Both men were dressed roughly, as

if for a hitch-hike or riding freighta
and trucks,
. Byron and Moyer stood without
speaking at the corner, They looked
about nervously. as if they knew they
were being watched. Jack and Roth,
who had been tailing Byron, joined the
other detectives. A bus for Philadel-
phia came along. '

“Now,” said Jack. “Let’s go!”

Just as the bus stopped, Urella and
Jack stepped up with drawn guns.

“Just stay where you are!” ordered
Jack, ‘ :

Byron made a move as if to bolt.

“Don't take a step!” Said Urella.

Both men showed amazement as the
handcuffs were locked on their wrists,

Then Byron Said, “It’s about time.”

“What do yourmean by that?”

“When you tailed us, you cops sure
did a lousy job. We could seé you every
time. It drove us nuts.” +

One hour later, close to midnight,
the big conference room in the District
Attorney’s office was filled. District At-
torney C. William Kraft; Junior, of
Delaware County, sat at the head of
the large conference table. Near him
was Fred Jack. Urella, Roth, Butcavage,
Sergeant Kelly, First Assistant Dis-
trict Attorney Karl Johnson and J.
Franklin Taylor, Official court sten-
ographer, were in the room, ‘

MOYER was brought: into the room

and seated in a chair to the right
of Kraft. He glanced around the room
with interest as if he were enjoying this
attention. He was clean-shaven, rosy-

cheeked, and greatly resembled a col-

lege senior.

“You don’t look like a killer,” said
Kraft.

“I’m not,” answered Moyer. “I’ve
killed no one.”

“You can save us a lot of time, Moyer. ‘

We have the goods on you.”

“What goods?”

“The killing of Zerbe. And nineteen
holdups before that.”

to two red splotches below Moyer's col-
larbone. ‘

“These are fresh Scars, Mr. Kraft,”
said Urella.

Kraft felt with his fingers about
Moyer’s right shoulder and back.

“Bring in Doctor Peters,” he said.

Moyer sat back in his chair. He
seemed relievéd and sighed deeply. But
there was still a smile on his face. He
still showed no fear,

Doctor Peters entered. Kraft pointed
out the scars,

“What do you make of them?” asked
Kraft.

The silence was deep and expectant
as the physician examined Moyer.

Then he straightened up,

“Look here, Mr, Kraft,” said the Doc-
tor, pointing to two little bulbs on
Moyer’s back, just beneath the shoulder
blade. “These little white blisters are
two bullets.”

. There was silence again—an aston-
ished silence as every person looked at
Moyer. He was still calm and without
fear. ;

“What about those bullets?” asked
Kraft. “You were wounded in the gun
duel with Shank, weren't you?”

MOYER slouched back in his chair
and sighed deeply again.

“For a long time now,” said this
Strange youth, “I’ve been having a
dream. I’ve been seeing myself just
like I am now with all you guys around
me. And here-I am. Gimme a ciga-
rette, somebody.” ‘

Kraft gave him a cigarette and lit it
for him, e

“Yes, I got those two bullets in me
that night we tried to hold up Shank.
T'll talk. Ill be glad to talk.”

‘And he did. :

He made a complete confession to the

'
murder of Harve:
confessed to ever:
holdups'in De!

He was the o
Aa quarr
night, hi

“Them vets think
he said.
worked an

id I thought we
Joint up just to show this g:
such a hero after all,”

He insisted, ho’
let which killed
during the gun
had hit Zerbe

Moyer was hi
battle, he said,
how he and
wounds the:
doctor, /

Byron, ‘when he
had talked, also

y Zerbe and he also
¥ one of the nineteen
aware County, | |

ne who had tried to start
be In @ taproom one

they’re pretty hot,”
where this fellow
‘d hold the
uy he wasn’t

wever, that the bul-
Zerbe had been fired
battle with Shank and.
accidentally.
t in the shoulder in that
and he told the officers
Byron had ‘treated his
mselves, ‘afraid to see a

learned that Moyer
confessed. He took

the blame for instigating the series of
holdups that had led to the death of
War Hero Harvey Zerbe. >

“Don't blame the kid,” he said, re-
ferring to Moyer. “I led him into these

jobs.”

Both Moyer and Byron, however,

' were found equally guilty. Judge Al-

bert Dutton McDade—after whose
father McDade Boulevard, on which
the murder was committed, is named—

sentenced

chair,

both to.die in the electric

Appeals|to the State Supreme Court
were denied; Governor James H. Duff-
refused to intercede. Shortly after
midnight October 6, 1947, Moyer and
Byron paid for their crime in the eléc-

tric chair at Rockview Penitentiary.

STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP,
MENT, CIRCULATION,
* THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF AUGU
AS AMENDED BY THE ACTS OF
AND JULY 2, 1946
e Stories, published mont!

1933,
Of Official Detectiv
Pennsylvania, for Octobe:

Philadelphia (1),
1947, 3p

Regulat
to wit:

1. That‘the names and a
lisher, editor, Managin
400 N. Bre ad st Phi del
400 roai mY jade!
400 N. Broad St, Phi

Fditor, Harry Keller,
Pa.; Business Mana
11 West 42nd St., New

Harry K
Pa. ; Managin,
St... Philadelp)
Kenneth Friede,
(8), N. Y.

4 Hi
3. That the!

Issue ‘of this

*. Sworn

day of Se
(Seal) VIRG:
(My commission expires M:

rt

hly a
1

MANAGE-
ETC,, REQUIRED BY
ST 24, 1912,
MARCH 3,

t

ledge
weekly, semiweek

ddresses of the pub-
editor, and business man-
le Publications, Inc.,

ja (1), Pa,; Editor,

er,
ork

‘ KENN!

(Signature of bu:

to and subscribed
ber, 1947.

INIA A, WOOD
ar. 30, 1948.)

leet waie

ETH FRIEDE
siness manager) :
before me this 23rd

ing 1 per-
nds, mortgages,
(If there are none, so

66

her, still hear her voice. “Don’t fall. Not so
fast—please....”

It was a little before 8 pat. when Mrs.
Goetz returned home from Trenton, Marta
and a very sleepy Susie were sitting together
in a big leather armchair in front of the tele-
vision set watching a comedy program. “I
have to get our little Susie home to bed,”
Marta said. “She’s just about passed out,
haven't you, Susie?”

“No,” Susie said, but it wasn’t a very con-
vincing no.

“Tt’s terribly cold out,” Mrs. Goetz warned
them. “You must really bundle Susie up.”

“Yes, I will,” Marta promised and then
promptly set- about wrapping Susie up
thoroughly. When Susie was dressed, Marta
slipped into her own polo coat and put her
earmuffs into position. Mrs. Goetz watched
the two girls from her front porch window as

they disappeared down the road toward home. -

It was soon after that thé nightmare must
have begun.

Marta returned home and put Susie to bed.
A moment after she had kissed the child good-
night and partly closed the door separating
Susie’s bedroom from the hall, Marta heard
the chime of the front door bell.

He stood there in the doorway. A good-
looking young man—tall and lanky, with the
kind of friendly blue eyes which seems to hide
nothing. He smiled—but it was an awkward,
almost embarrassed smile. Marta knew. him,
of course, and she asked him to step inside, to
come out of the cold. But then he explained
why he was there. She spoke with him for a
few minutes and then she went outside with
him, not bothering to take her coat with her.

She climbed into the front seat of the car
and smiled at him as he switched on the motor.
But a minute later, as they raced down the
road toward Curtis Lake, the basin of which
is an abandoned quarry about a mile from
Levittown—then she must have known. The
speed at which he drove must have frightened
her; and when he looked over at her, his jaw
working up and down almost imperceptibly,
his lips trembling, his eyes fierce and wide,
then she must have stopped in her throat the
most awful of cries.

T first, he made an effort—an incoherent
one—to reassure her, to tell her that she
must not be frightened, must not fight him; but
when he pulled the car into an isolated lover’s
‘lane, a rough, narrow road leading to the
lake edge, and pulled sharply on the brakes,
she must have called out for help in an agony
of fear. Then there was only the wildness and
the panic, the brutal hands and the screaming
which could not be heard, which was inside of
her head and which trembled through her
body. ...

“Pil tell her! I'll tell her!” She ran from
the car, skidding along the snow covered slope
which swiveled down toward the lake—and he
ran after her, shouting: “You won't! You
won't! You wouldn’t dare!” The sharp
branch of a tree cut across her face, lashing
her across the mouth and eyes. She fell to
the ground and lay there sobbing. And then
he was on top of her, kicking and slapping
her.

“T'll tell ber—I’ll tell her—I’ll tell her—”
She repeated the words until she could no
longer hear them herself. Her own blood filled
her'eyes and mouth. .

She, of course, never heard the shot when
he fired a bullet into her brain... .

A little after midnight, it began to snow—
light, bitter flakes slanting into the lake. Lev-
ittown began once ‘more to look like a Christ-
mas card as the fresh snow covered the snow
which was frozen and soiled.

Mr. Gourley returned home at about 9
o’clock that night. He looked in on Susie to
make sure that she was safely in bed, but he
wasn’t alarmed when he found that Marta
was not in the house. It was quite possible
that she was still at the Goetz home, that

she had brought Susie back, put her to bed
and then returned to the Goetz’s to watch ©

television. Marta was a competent young girl
and well able to take care of herself. Mr.
Gourley, utterly weary, left two lights burn-
ing for Marta, the porch light and the light in
the kitchen, and then he went to bed.

ARLY the following morning, Mr. Gour-

ley left for work. He noticed that Marta
had forgotten to turn out the light in the
kitchen and the one on the porch, but he de-
cided that she had probably: come in very late
and certainly he wouldn’t wake her up at
such an early hour—it was 7 a.m.—in order
to reprimand her for such a slight misdemean-
or. But he reminded himself that he must say
something about it to her that evening. “No
use our supporting the electric company,” he
told himself,

Susie was sound asleep a minute before nine
and wide awake a minute later. By nature,
Susie did everything rapidly, including waking
up. In another minute, she had padded into
Marta’s room and had discovered that Marta
wasn’t there and hadn’t slept in the bed that
night. It wa’ something that had never hap-
pened before—that Marta should spend the
night out without Susie’s knowing about it—
and tears, either of rage or panic, were al-
ready trembling in Susie’s eyes as she dressed,
put on her snow pants and snow hat, and set
out for Mrs. Goetz’s to ‘find out if Marta had
returned there and spent the night.

On her way, Susie met Mrs, Capps, who
lived across the road from the Gourleys. Mrs.
Capps was sweeping the snow from her front
walk. Daddy had said that Mrs. Capps was

going to have a baby soon, but Susie had.

never asked her if it were true—and Susie
couldn’t understand how Daddy would have
found out about it.

“You going out exploring all by yourself?”
Mrs. Capps asked.

“No,” Susie answered. .Susie was shy and
uncomfortable with grownups—except for
Daddy and Mommy—and her replies to their
questions were usually of one syllable. Be-

‘sides, she hadn’t exactly understood Mrs.

Capps’ question.

Mrs. Capps laughed and said: “There’s a
darling,” and Susie smiled and walked on. As
she passed, Susie glanced at the Capps home—
almost identical to the Gourley home and di-
rectly across the street from it. Both families
had big picture windows fronting on Timber
Lane. But now there was no one looking out
of either window.

“No, she isn’t here. She wasn’t here last
night,” Mrs. Goetz told Susie.

“J didn’t have breakfast,” Susie said.

“Marta isn’t home?”

“No,” - Susie -said -tearfully. “She -wasn’t
home at all. She wasn’t home last night.”

“You wait right there,” Mrs. Goetz told
her. “Just give me a minute to get my coat.”

On their way up Timber Lane, Mrs. Goetz
stopped for a moment to speak with Mrs.

Capps. Mrs. Capps suggested that Marta
might have had another baby-sitting date
after she had left Mrs. Goetz’s the night be-
fore. Perhaps she had put Susie to bed and
then left in order to earn another few dollars
that same night.-

“Yes, that’s possible,” Mrs. -Goetz agreed,
“and then spent the night there. But she
didn’t say anything about it to me... .”

Mrs. Goetz fixed breakfast for Susie and
while Susie ate, Mrs. Goetz checked Marta’s
appointment pad. She knew that Marta was a
methodical girl and kept a list of all her baby-
sitting engagements. After Mrs. Goetz’s own
name on Marta’s pad was the name Mrs. B.
Mooney. There was a telephone number, but
no address. Mrs. Goetz didn’t know anyone

by the name of Mooney, but she decided to.

call the number and see if Marta had indeed
spent the night there.

“No, she’s supposed to come tonight,” Mrs.
Mooney said over the phone. “Right after
dinner.” :

Then Mrs. Goetz spent a frantic and worried
day phoning everyone she could think of at
whose home Marta might be. But from the
first, she knew how unlikely it was that she
should locate the girl; she knew it inside of
herself, had known it perhaps as soon as she
had answered her door that morning and found
Susie there wanting breakfast.

Be it was not until Mr. Gourley returned
home from work late Saturday afternoon
that Mrs. Goetz could bring herself to say that
the police ought to be notified. Mr. Gourley at
first was stunned. But then realizing what the
situation was, he promptly picked up the
phone and called for the police. “Mary .. .
we mustn’t let Mary know,” Mr. Gourley told
Mrs. Goetz after he hung up .“Not yet .. .”
Mary Gourley was dangerously ill and, at
all costs, Mr. Gourley was thinking, his wife
should be spared any kind of shock. The
news of her daughter’s disappearance would
have to be kept from her .. . at least for the
time being. -

State police, under the direction of Detec-
tive Sergeant Adrian McCarr, enlisted the aid
of the entire community in the search for the
missing girl. Saturday passed and Sunday and
still no clue was discovered to her where-
abouts.

It was about 10 a.m. Monday when Police-
man Gino Mattozzi saw it. It was wrapped
about: the slim trunk of a birch tree and was

‘frozen into position so that it looked like a

green hand gripping the base of the tree. Fol-
lowed by a party of Levittown men, Mattozzi
worked his way down the snow-covered slope
toward it.

“It’s a sweater;’ he announced, “a girl’s
sweater. We’d better spread out and work our
way down toward the lake.”

“Look—down there!” It was a neighbor of
the missing girl who pointed down the slope

- now. If your eyes were very sharp, you could

probably make it out... . As they scuttled
down toward it, they picked up other bits of
her clothing, both shoes, about ten yards
apart, then parts of her underclothing, torn
and bloody, her blouse and one of her socks.
Her semi-nude body was frozen into a strange-
ty awkward position.

“Oh, God, no—” The scene was a little
tile-walled room in the back of a funeral par-
lor. William Gourley had been called in to
identify the body. “What have they done—
what have they done to her?” he muttered.

“But it’s her?’
know.

“Yes...”

Marta Gibbons’
mates and teache
tioning, but no s
lead to the soluti
ered. “She was a
student,” one of
High School said,
last person anyth
to.”

Mrs. Goetz an
Mrs. Capps to ne
open my front «
neighborhood, no
was taking care
been told yet wh
for the time bei
Goetz’s.

On Monday a
his wife, Mary,
killed in an auto
Doctor’s Hospita
wisest course unc
ley spent two hoi
to police headqu:
ther questioning.

For five hours,
questions. Aftery
paper reporters ¥
further questions
the crime was “
maniac ...I kp
more than you d

UT on his w
stopped at
Susie wanted to
Mr. Gourley the
tell Susie as well
pened. “Someon:
plained.
“Yes,” Susie s
“But we don’t
on, “but we hav
something very
“7 know who
came on Friday
Mommy...”
Susie told he:
“He fixed Dadd:
“Yes, that’s 1
“He was workin
left for Philade
didn’t even knov
to her... .”
George Lee (
road from the
Korean war vet
the purple heart
tle. He worked
turing plant in
Mabel, was exp
a few days tim
searching partic
missing girl. He«
who had come
night and hac
Marta had left
said, “‘ cause I
is always open.
there, only I «
‘cause I was sh
A squad car
and the young
in for question
tives searched
other things, |

ae]

v


2d that Marta
iby-sitting date
’s the night be-
isie to bed and
ther few dollars

. Goetz agreed,
there. But she
.o me... .”

for Susie and
checked Marta’s
aat Marta was a
of all her baby-
(rs. Goetz’s own
e name Mrs. B.
one number, but
’t know anyone

t she decided to.

{arta had indeed

1e tonight,” Mrs.
ie. “Right after

antic and worried
ould think of at

But from the
it was that she
rew it inside of
x3 aS soon as she
orning and found
st.

Gourley returned
iturday afternoon
rerself to say that
1. Mr. Gourley at
-ealizing what the

picked up the
lice. “Mary .. .
Mr. Gourley told
» .“Not yet...”
susly ill and, at
thinking, his wife
{ of shock. The
uppearance would
. at least for the

‘rection of Detec-
tr, enlisted the aid
the search for the
i and Sunday and
‘d to her where-

aday when Police-

It was wrapped
virch tree and was
t it looked like a
e of the tree. Fol-
»wn men, Mattozzi
snow-covered slope

nounced, “a girl’s
out and work our

»”

e
was a neighbor of
ed down the slope
y sharp, you could

As they scuttled
‘d up other bits of
about ten yards
-nderclothing, torn
one of her socks.
zen into a strange-

scene was a little
k of a funeral par-
been called in to
have they done—
her?” he muttered.

“But it’s her?” the detective wanted to
know.

“Yes...” :

Marta Gibbons’ neighbors, girlfriends, class-
mates and teachers were called in for ques-
tioning, but no substantial clue which might
lead to the solution of the crime was uncov-
ered. “She was a good student, a very good
student,” one of her teachers at Pennsbury
High School said, “and a wonderful girl—the
last person anything like this would happen
to.”

Mrs. Goetz and.Mrs. Capps agreed. Said
Mrs. Capps to newsmen: “I’m afraid now-to
open my front door. With a killer in the
neighborhood, no one is safe.” Mrs. Goetz
was taking care of little Susie. Susie had not
been told yet what had happened; just that,
for the time being, she. would stay at the
Goetz’s.

On Monday afternoon, Mr. Gourley told
his wife, Mary, that her daughter had been
killed in an auto accident. A physician at the
Doctor’s Hospital had suggested this as the
wisest course under the circumstances. Gour-

_ley spent two hours with Mary, then he went’

to police headquarters in Morrisville for fur-
ther questioning.

For five hours, he answered the detectives’
questions. Afterwards, he told the news-
paper reporters who waited for him with still
further questions that he could only say that
the crime was “obviously the work of a sex
maniac . . . I know nothing else about it, no
more than you do.”

BY on his way home that night, Gourley
stopped at Mrs. Goetz’s to see Susie.
Susie wanted to know where Marta was and
Mr. Gourley thought it was perhaps best to
tell Susie as well as he could what had hap-
pened, “Someone took Marta away,” he ex-
plained.

“Yes,” Susie said. “I know.”

“But we don’t know who,” her Daddy went
on, “but we have to find out, because he did
something very bad to Marta. . .” .

“I know who it was,” Susie told him. “He
came on Friday night when you were seeing
Mommy...”

Susie told her story again for the police.
“He fixed Daddy’s car.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Mr. Gourley put in.
“He was working on it for me Friday when I
left for Philadelphia to see Mary. Why he
didn’t even know Marta, had hardly said hello
to her... .”

George Lee Capps, who lived across the
road from the Gourleys, was 22 and a
Korean war veteran who had been awarded
the purple heart for wounds received in bat-
tle. He worked in a wire and steel manufac-
turing plant in Trenton, and his young wife,
Mabel, was expecting a baby, her first, in just
a few days time. He had been in one of the
searching parties which had hunted for the
missing girl. He was also, Susie said, the man
who had come to their frofit door on Friday
night and had talked with Marta. Then
Marta had left with him. “I know,” Susie
said, “’cause I heard him ring ’cause my door
is always open. And’ I went to see who was
there, only I didn’t want Marta to see me
*cause I was sleeping.”

A squad car was sent to the Capps home
and the young man and his wife were brought
in for questioning. At the same time, detec-
tives searched his home. They found, among
other things, four .32-caliber shells—but no

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67

> wouldn’t
‘ed.
d to

od,

ne time

kill her...
ed to tell.”

y

Marta had a smile that could break your heart. It came from some place deep inside of her, came from some inner happiness.

LEVITTOWN, PA., JANUARY 26, 1954

@ Marta was not a beautiful girl. But at 15, she was already
far more than that—she was wonderfully attractive, wonder-
fully alive. She had the kind of smile which could break your
heart. It came from someplace deep inside of Marta, from
some inner happiness, and it could do things to your heart,
perhaps because it made you envy her, perhaps because it
made you love her. And it was also possible that you could
have wanted Marta—wanted her badly.

“She was not the type who ran around much,” a classmate

in Pennsbury High School said later, after it was known what
had happened to Marta. “She didn’t have any boyfriends—
but she could have had—all she wanted.” And that was true.
Eventually, Marta could have had anything she wanted, be-
cause she was bright, modest and responsive. And people
liked her.

In Levittown, a “model” community built-on the sprawling
farmlands near Morrisville, Pa., Marta was a “model” girl—
except that “model” is such a stiff and priggish word and
doesn’t come near describing Marta’s (Continued on page 65)


1 Mattson, but
I am a mar-
ppily with my

, a tragic re-
aarters. Lange
divorced wife.
sobbed: “I love

into tears and
ith his ex-wife.
d stick by the
that they could

band told re-
be interviewed.
L.

iid. “I always
re her. Now is
rr.”

nt in the torrid
arence in their

to what anyone
e’re not going
x over this. If
that matters.”
ssion, however,
the home of
and incredulity
e family.
ially bitter be-
using us-to set

ne,” he snapped,
ar of her again.
own family ?

{ can bear,” he
hand. “I don’t
sighbors.””
vidow, who had
f calm all week,
ut Lange’s con-
» pulled herself
ith in her hus-

» day I die,” she
id to change my
may think I am

years together,
ything take that

ie murdered her

o do that,” she
thing he must
kill John.”

ked upwards:

ie can see that I
ives and pointed
bought the gun.
ange as the man

ange stood mute
ler’s Judge John
urder charge. A
for the milkman,
county jail with-
» is awaiting ac-

Grace and Ray
ory are not the
who were in fact
described in this
d to avoid em-
nt persons.

You Wouldn’t Dare

continued from page 21

particular warmth and friendliness; and it is
this warmth and friendliness that one should
understand, should feel, in order to know
what Marta must have gone through during
those last hours.

It was Friday, January 22, 1954. It was
a cold, angry day with ragged, frosty clouds
scudding down from the northeast all after-
noon. There was not enough warmth in the
air to turn the clouds into snow.

Marta’s stepfather, William Gourley, was
going into Philadelphia to visit Marta’s moth-
er, who was in Doctor’s Hospital with a heart
ailment. He would be back, he said, about 8
or 9 o’clock that night.

“I’m going over to Mrs. Goetz’s to take care
of the baby,” Marta told him. “She’s going
into Trenton to see Mr. Goetz.” Mr. Goetz,
also very sick, had been hospitalized in Tren-
ton, N. J.

“It’s a bad year,” Marta’s stepfather said.
“I don’t think I know two people who aren’t
under the weather. I think I know four peo-
ple who are in the hospital . . .”

“Well, you-tell Mommy to get well.”

“Yes,” Mr. Gourley said. “Are you tak-
ing Susie with you to Mrs. Goetz’s?” he wanted
to know. Susie was Marta’s six-year-old sis-
ter.

“Sure, Susie’s going,” Susie said, “and see
television.”

“My chief assistant baby-sitter,” Marta
laughed, picking the child up and planting
a kiss on her forehead.

“More,” Susie said.

“No, no more. You go kiss Daddy,” Mar-
ta directed and Susie skipped across the room
into her daddy’s arms.

“We'll bring back Mommy very soon,” he
promised Susie. .

“Yes, bring back Mommy,” Susie agreed.
“Tell her we love her.”

“And I'll tell her, too, that you’re taking
good care of me... you and Marta.”

“Yes,” Marta said quite seriously. “Don’t
let her worry about us. I can take care of
all of us...”

A few minutes later, Marta was walking
down the icy road toward Mrs. Carroll Goetz’s
home. It was a distance of no more than
400 yards. Susie, looking like an overstuffed
doll in her snow suit, muffler, snow hat and
galoshes, galloped along ahead of Marta,
working up steam, and then sliding for a
short distance across a particularly good
stretch of ice. You could. hear Marta’s voice
calling after Susie, warning her not to fall, not
to run too fast. Of course, Susie did run too
fast and she fell. But she screamed with
laughter and picked herself up before Marta
could reach her.

Marta, meanwhile, wasn’t conscious of what
a fine, lovely image she cut as she followed
Susie down the road. She couldn’t have
known that at that very moment she was
being watched, that there was a young man
who had to clamp his teeth into his lower
lip in order to keep himself from shouting out
his desire—his wanting of her. She couldn’t
have known that when she disappeared from
view, this same man beat his forehead with a
clenched fist in order to drive back the
thoughts that were crowding into his mind,
that when he closed his eyes he could still see

‘

65


“She’s probably gone to market. Have
you had any breakfast, Sue?”

The only answer was muffled sobbing.

“Sue, come right over here, dear, and
have something to eat with us. Will you
do that?”

“Yes,” came the tearful reply, and a
moment later the child came running
over.

From her Mrs. Goetz learned that the
two girls had unlocked their door the
previous night, and Marta had sent Sue
straight to bed.

“She said she'd wait for Daddy. I heard
Martie talking a little while after that,
and some man said something. But it
didn’t sound like Daddy.”

“Don’t you worry. Eat your egg and
then I'll go over home with you and we'll
wait for Marta. I’m sure she just got up
early and went to market so she’d have
tinte for other things during the day.”

But her own household chores de-
manded attention, and Sue, after a hearty
meal, settled down to play with the Goetz
children. And it was nearly noon before
they went home.

Sue had a key to the front door. As they
entered she called, “Martie! Martie!” but
got no answer.

Everything was in order. On the mantel
above the fireplace was a slip of paper on
which a telephone number had been writ-
ten, arid Sue explained that Marta was to
call there for an appointment to baby-
Sit.

They hurried through the house to-
gether and the neighbor noted that
Marta’s bed was in order.

“Wasn’t she here all night, Sue?”

“I guess not,” the child said. “I didn’t
wake up.”

A glance in the parents’ bedroom also
showed that evidently it had not been oc-
cupied during the night.

Thinking that Marta might have made
an early engagement, Mrs. Goetz called
the number penciled on the slip of paper
above the fireplace, but was told that
Marta had been hired for that evening.

Now the woman was really worried.
Keeping Sue with her, she made a tour of
houses in the neighborhood, but no one
had seen Marta. Finally Mrs. Goetz tele-
phoned to Philadelphia, where an inquiry
at Doctors Hospital disclosed that the
girl’s father had been in that morning to
see his wife and was expected back. Did
he have a 15-year-old girl with him? The
authorities said they did not know.

After repeated calls, Mr. Gourley was
located at the hospital. He said that he
had stayed overnight in Philadelphia in
order to be with his wife on Saturday,
and that he had not heard from Marta.

“[’ll be right home,” he said. “Take care
of Sue, please; I'll get there as fast as I
can.

Before leaving Philadelphia he tele-
phoned Marta’s married sister, Mrs.
Patricia Coffelt, who. lives at 6205 Wash-
ington Avenue, but she had heard nothing
from the young girl.

By the time the jeweler reached Levit-

town, the entire community was alerted
over the girl’s absence and the police were
notified.
_ Residents, incensed at rumors of Peep-
ing Toms and fearful for their own chil-
dren, joined the police of Falls Township
and spread out across the countryside to
aid in the search. A description of Marta
Gibbons was broadcast over the radio and
police of nearby towns were asked to join
in the hunt. Boys in Marta’s high-school
class volunteered to help; far into Satur-
day night they drove through roads and
lonely streets looking for her.

Appeals were made over the radio for

66 A

information concerning her and it was
announced that, because of the illness of
her mother, the family was particularly
anxious to get in touch with the girl.

Early Monday morning, January 25,
Patrolman Gino Mettozzi of Falls Town-
ship drove off Newbold Road near Lower
Morrisville Road, into a narrow lane that
comes to a dead end at Curtis Lake. The
area is thickly wooded except for a clear-
ing at the end.

Mettozzi began a routine search. He
came upon a girl’s shoe, of the “loafer”
type popular with youngsters, lying on
the thawing ground not far from the still
frozen lake. A few feet away was its mate.

Then Mettozzi found bloodstains and
drag marks on the ground. He followed
them and came upon a brassiere and

SPEEDY SOLUTION

A policeman in Cagliari, Sardinia, told his

doctor that the medic's prescribed cure for
a nervous breakdown was no good at all and
pumped five bullets into him. The cop then
went to headquarters and filled out a regular

raha report on the slaying—and turned
imself in.

’

panties, and a green sweater hanging
from the limbs of a small tree.

A little distance away was a body, lying
face downward, the arms flung up and
spread out in front, and naked except for
a slip and a plaid skirt twisted and pulled
above it.

Mettozzi noted the marks on the
ground that seemed to indicate the girl
had been dragged by her feet ; he saw the
grooves which her slim fingers apparently
had dug through the soft earth. There was
no need for him to be told that the search

for Marta Gibbons had ended in death.

The very rigid stillness of that slim body
had givén the answer.

Later, when additional police arrived
and the Pennsylvania State Police from
the Langhorne barracks had_ taken
charge, the area was carefully roped off.
Then systematic examination revealed
tire marks at the edge of the clearing,
suggesting that Marta had been brought
there, alive or dead, in an automobile. A
.32-caliber cartridge was also found near
the body.

On one slim finger was a silver signet
ring with the initials “M. G.,” and a gold
bracelet dangled from her wrist.

As police lifted the body, they saw ter-
rible marks upon her face indicating that
she had been beaten. On her half-naked
body were other cuts and bruises, and
there were two holes in her head showing
that she had been shot in the right temple
and that the bullet had emerged below
the left ear.

Her murderer had selected a truly
secluded spot to leave her body. The lake

-is a popular bathing resort in summer, but

nothing could have presented a lonelier
pore on that winter day. The sheer
rutality of the attack fitted the stark
landscape; the bitter wind that swept
upon it seemed as pitiless as the fate that
had overtaken the vouthful victim.

At the J. Allen Hooper undertaking
establishment in Morrisville, where she
was taken, William Gourley viewed his
stepchild with stricken face.

“My God!” he whispered. “What did
they do to her!”

And then turning to Sergeant Adrian
McCarr, commander of the state police
barracks, Gourley declared, “This was
done by someone she knew!

“I believe someone knew the circum-
stances,” he went on, “knew that I was to
visit my wife at the hospital after work
and that I wouldn’t be home until late.
It must be someone who knew Marta,
who watched the movements at our
house. I don’t believe any stranger would
have come up and induced her to leave
with him. She was a fine girl and would
never have left home with anybody she
didn’t know. And there was that night
not long ago when she thought she heard
somebody outside our house in the middle
of the night. I got to thinking she’d
dreamed it. But now I know it’s true.
Somebody was after her.”

For hours, police questioned boys with
whom Marta had gone to school. Some
volunteered, others were sought at their
homes and brought in for questioning. But
none was under definite suspicion, and
one by one they were dismissed.

Meanwhile, Coroner Russell J. T. Ferris
reported that Marta had been criminally
assaulted and had been dead about 48
hours. She had been lured to death, there-
fore, shortly after she left the Goetz home
on Friday night.

It was the Gourleys’ next-door
neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Dale Moody,
who gave Sergeant McCarr his first lead.

“My wife and I had just put our two
little girls to bed, about 9 o’clock Friday
night,” Mr. Moody said, “when there was
a knock at our door. I went to open it
and George Capps was standing there.
I asked him to come in, thinking he might
need some help about his wife—she’s go-
ing to have a, baby and he was sort of
upset because it’s their first child.

“‘TIs anything wrong?’” I asked him,
and he said, ‘Oh, no, Mabel’s all right, but
I was just over to Bill Gourley’s house
to help him fix his car. And he’s not home.
I wonder if you’d lend mea hand so I can
move it over into our carport and work
on it.’

“T said sure I would. He looked in at
my wife, who was resting on the sofa,
and made some pleasant remark about
‘taking it easy.’ And then we both went
out. I helped him push the car, which had
some bearing trouble, out into Timber
Lane and then I got into Capps’ car and
pushed Capps in Gourley’s car until the
engine turned over. I followed him into
his carport, and Capps got some wooden
blocks from the tool shed in the back of
his carport and drove the car up on the
blocks while I put blocks behind the rear
wheels to keep it from rolling back.

“We had just finished doing that when
Marta walked over from the Goetz house,
where she had been baby-sitting. She
looked at me and said, ‘Oh, I thought you
were my father.’ I said I hadn’t seen him,
guessed he wasn’t home; and then I asked
when her mother would be getting out of
the hospital. She said, ‘Not until next
week.’ She was wearing a green sweater,
no topcoat, and I said she’d better get in-
side or she’d freeze to death. And she
went back in the Goetz house.

“Capps and I worked on the Gourley car
until about 9:30 and then I had to drive to
Trenton to pick up a neighbor, so I left
him. I got back about 10:15 but I don’t
recall whether the car was still at Capps’
carport.

“He’s a nice young fellow,” Moody
added. “Kind of quiet, moved in here in
July—about the time most of us did.”

Sergeant McCarr, habitually  soft-
spoken, thanked Moody for his informa-
tion, then turned to little Sue Gibbons.
Gently he questioned her about Marta’s
actions after returning home that night.

The child told McCarr that she had
heard a man’s voice in conversation with


Marta Gibbons woke suddenly in the middle of a still
night.

Something had startled her from sleep. And yet, as she lay
there alert, her young breasts rising and falling against her
pee there was no sound but the thumping of her own

eart.

In the twin bed, her little sister, Sue, slept quietly.

It was very dark, with the open casement window a mere
gray square against a waning moon. Not even a wind dis-
turbed the draperies. But some subconscious instinct had
warned Marta of danger that lurked nearby. She was cer-
tain she had not been dreaming.

Close to panic, she slid from bed and groped her way
across the room. As she did so, a door closed gently at the
end of the hall and she heard her stepfather’s faint cough.

Relief flooded her ; she would rush down and whisper to
him that there was a prowler outside her window. Then she
remembered her mother’s illness and the doctor’s warning

Detective C. Irwin points out to Chief F. Kohler and Troop-
er K. Dane the tire that matched tracks at murder scene.

*

Patricia Bowen was bludgeoned to death.
Did the Peeping Tom murderer slay her?

that she should not be emotionally upset. After a moment’s
hesitation Marta crept back to bed, comforted by the knowl-
edge that someone in her own family was awake and that
she had only to call out to summon immediate help.

Before dozing off, she made up her mind to look around
outside the house in the morning.

The next day, however, she was late for breakfast and
had to run to catch the bus for school. Besides, a killing
frost had obliterated any footmarks that might have been
left by a prowler.

Marta Gibbons was a pretty, vivacious, dark-haired girl
who appeared more mature than her 15 years.

Her father, a railroad employe, had been killed in 1941.
Her mother, Mary, had subsequently married an expert
jeweler, William Gourley. He provided a comfortable home
for his wife ‘and his two stepchildren at 76 Timber Lane,
Levittown, Pennsylvania, the big new planned community
two and a half miles beyond the [Continued on page 65]

Officers G. Custer, L. Gass, and State Detective D. Allen
check for clues at lonely wooded spot where body was found.


the circum-
that I was to
tal after work
me until late.
knew Marta,
ments at our
tranger would
he leave
irl vould
1 anyuvuy she
yas that night
ught she heard
e in the middle
thinking she’d
‘now it’s true.
n¢d boys with
, school. Some
ought at their
yestioning. But
stispicion, and
1issed.
sell J. T. Ferris
een criminally
dead about 48
.o death, there-
he Goetz home

v

ys’ next-door
Dale Moody,
r his first lead.
st. put our two
o’clock Friday
vhen there was
ent to open it
tanding there.
nking he might
wife—she’s go-
1e was sort of
st child.
’ I asked him,
’s all right, but -
ourley’s house

he’s ~* rome.
a ha! I can
port work

e looked in at
g on the sofa,
remark about
we both went
car, which had
t into Timber
Capps’ car and
s car until the
owed him into
t some wooden
in the back of
car up on the
behind the rear
ling back.
oing that when
1e Goetz house,
>y-sitting. She
, | thought you
adn’t seen him,
nd then I asked
- getting out of
Not until next
green sweater,
d better get in-
leath. And she
jouse.
the Gourley car
had to drive to
zhbor, so I left
:15 but I don’t
; still at Capps’

ellow,” Moody
»ved in here in
t of 1.”

abit
or his uuo0rma-

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eit
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Se ee

» Sue Gibbons. . .

about Marta’s

yme that night. °»'7
r that she had“?

nversation with,

es

Marta when they came home from the
Goetz house.

“And I saw a man come up to Martie
outside our door and he said he needed
some parts for a car.”

“Do you know Mr. Capps?” the ser-
geant asked.

“Yes, I think so,” the child replied.

It became clear that Capps was the next
person to question. On Tuesday morning,
McCarr telephoned the young man at his
home at 79 Timber Lane, and asked him
to come to the state police barracks.

“You very kindly joined in the search
for Marta Gibbons,” Carr said, “and I
thought you might be able to help us in an
angle of this case.”

The tall chap who walked into the bar-
racks a short time later was calm and
self-assured. In answer to the usual ques-
tions, he said he was George Capps and
had been warning at L. A. Young Com-
pany, wire manufacturers in Trenton, as
handy man and mechanic during his spare
hours. He added that he had served in the
army in Korea and had been wounded in
the shoulder and given a medical dis-
charge.

While he was being interrogated a de-
tail of police went to his home and
searched it.

Meanwhile, Capps expressed sorrow
over Marta’s death, said he knew the girl
slightly and explained that he had been
helping William Gourley repair his auto-
mobile.

“IT saw the kid and her sister ‘on Friday
night while I was working on the car, and
it was about 10 o’clock,” he went on. “I
know that’s the right time because I re-
called a television program that was on at
that time—but I’d promised Gourley to
finish the job, so I went on with it. The
girls went in their house and that’s the
last I saw of them.”

He seemed at ease, later, with news-
papermen, and did not object to posing
for them after police had allowed him to
shave.

_But when little Sue Gibbons saw him
his manner underwent a complete change.
For the child pointed at him and said to
Sergeant McCarr, “He came to our door
after Martie and I got home. I saw him!”

Capps recovered in a moment. “Sure,”
he said, “I asked for small spare parts Mr.
Gourley was supposed to get me,” he said.

He denied he owned a revolver.

“I had enough shooting overseas,” he
told police.

“Then what about this?” McCarr thrust
out his hand.

Capps shrank back.

“What do you mean? That’s not mine.
I never owned a gun.”

McCarr stared at him for a moment.
Then quietly he announced, “We found
this .32 cartridge in your own house. It
is an identical match with the bullet that
was fired through Marta’s head.”

Capps looked at the faces around him,
and sudden panic seized him.

“All right,” he said, “I killed her!”

The story he told in the hours following
was a pattern of sexual desire that had
been upon him for weeks, ever since he
had first noticed the pretty Gibbons girl.

“I_ knew her falks were away,” he said,
“and I went to the house after she got
back with her kid sister. I asked her to’
come out in the car with me for a little
ride. I said that my wife was not feeling
well and that I was worried about her
and wanted company.

“I took her in my own machine and we
drove out to Curtis Lake. And then I just
lost all control of myself.” He gave a

twisted grimace. “She fought, all right.

When I tried to tear her things off, she
put up a real battle. I don’t remember

what all I said. But I threw her clothes
out the window of the car and they must
have caught on the tree and I got her in
the back seat of the car. She got awfully
sick to her stomach but I wouldn’t let her
go. And when she finally did break loose
she started screaming hysterically and
saying she’d go right home and tell her
folks and tell everybody what I had done.
I got out my revolver. It was a souvenir I
brought from Korea, and when she
started to run I fired at her and she fell.

“I was going to throw her in the lake
and started to pull her feet first toward
it. But it was still frozen, so I just left her
there and went home.

“T threw the gun away.

“Now I’m glad it’s over. I haven’t been
able to sleep. Now I am greatly relieved.”

An examination of his car showed

“marks of Marta’s illness, and the tires

fitted into the imprints found at the death
scene.

“It is a plain case of first-degree mur-
der,” said Sergeant McCarr.

Police Chief Franklin Kirby of Falls
Township issued an appeal for help in
locating the death gun. Capps said he had
thrown it onto a sand bar jutting into the
lake, and later, in re-enacting the crime,
showed the spot where he had left it.
However, it was not found. Arraigned
before Justice of the Peace John Melvin
and held without bail Capps was trans-
ferred to the Bucks County Prison in
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to await trial.

Meanwhile, police discovered that
Capps had a long record of juvenile
delinquency that began in Virginia when
he was 10 years old and was charged with
numerous thefts. But the New Jersey
State Police are interested in a possible
recent phase of his criminal activity and
shortly after his arraignment, sent de-
tectives to question him about an un-
solved Trenton murder.

The victim in that case was pretty Mrs.
Patricia Frye Bowen, 27, a secretary at
the New Jersey School for the Deaf, who
was found bludgeoned unconscious and
dying in a picnic grove on the school
grounds on June 24, 1952. Intensive in-
vestigation is now under way to deter-
mine whether Capps is guilty of that
crime. .

Meanwhile, it was her physician, Dr.
Martin H. Wendkos, who broke the news
to Mrs. Gougey of her daughter’s tragic
death. He did not say she had been at-
tacked, but only that she had been killed
in resisting an attempted attack. He
showed her a newspaper picture of Capps
and said, “This is the man who confessed
killing your daughter.” And the heaft-
sick mother cried, “I can hardly believe
it. He seemed so nice and offered to help
fix our car and was so friendly.”

Knowing it is too late to save her own
daughter, the bereaved woman has one
interest at present: to persuade other
parents never to leave their children
alone.

“If only people would listen and realize
how dangerous it is for young children
to be alone at night,” she said. “And espe-
cially it is important to teach them never
to open the door to a stranger, or even a
casual acquaintance. Neighbors have seen
this man walking past our house and
looking toward our windows. They could
not, of course, know what he had in his
mind; but if people were more suspicious
of strangers, perhaps such tragedies could
be averted.”

Capps’ fate will be decided shortly, as

‘the scales of justice begin to weigh all

the evidence against the Peeping Tom
whose lust drove him to ravish and slay
an innocent young girl.

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_ paused to wipe

” she continued.
e if I wouldn’t do
he meant it. The
idn’t know what

se | e alone,
. *¥c etter do
are lots of ways
ere!’

I was so afraid. I
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ney, at this point,
id. “That will do.
iy ‘other time?”

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body where my
he pretty witness
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fon the stand how
her to dinner and
ies of the pictures
ice, her friends.
ed unless you do
she said the pho-
nd then she asked,
e.to do?”

t that Ingabord re-
ords, the fantastic
ned Mitman had
il, he wanted me to
who come out of
at it should be easy
m al ing them
get girls for
wouiu wive me a spr
zirl I would get

she told that story i
e end of her screen = jj
sre important thing }
yufd be found guilty Se
ich as a year in jail, {
ation to Germany!
jury did find Inga- ~
ally guilty, because “"
es the German girl’

re were some jurors
justice had gone a.

zy the weird circum-

ie pictures had been —

‘dner felt that way 4
nposed only a light,
ngabord, and then

of Mitman’s trial— -3)
m Ingabord’ s—the — ws
clared by the jury . ae
shopathic.” Se
; then faced with a /
ven though found 94
ection 288-A P. C. 4)
her be treated as a)
ally sick person?
53, Judge Gardner |
ent of criminal pro- |

walk State Hospital »
days’ observation. ;
ne a -*~ous problem | a
ailir where two =
cent i
ecent years. ‘
-up on Mitman dis

eckered backgroun
.stless childhood in
town, and followe@;
wanderlust that toom

him to Mexico, Canada and other far
away places.

In 1940, Mitman had been arrested by
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for
fraud. Later he had been released and sent
back to the States. After the war, his rec-
ord showed, Mitman turned up in San
Diego, where he got into police trouble
by answering newspaper ads placed by
models desiring mnpro}mment—-not the
kind he offered.

Later, posing as a Slottyweod posture
specialist, he was arrested for contribut-
ing to the delinquency of two teen-age
girls who had been unwittingly sent to
him by a Hollywood photographer to
learn how to pose. He was found guilty
and sentenced to one year on each count.

That was shortly before Mitman
spotted Ingabord’s ad in a Los Angeles
newspaper, and started off on that bizarre
adventure.

Psychiatrists who studied Mitman were
divided as to whether or not he was a
sexual psychopath and eventually he was
released from Norwalk and returned to
jail in Santa Ana to serve out his sentence.
Then, last summer, he was released under
bail pending an appeal of his conviction.

One psychiatrist after lengthy inter-
views with Mitman, concluded Mitman’s
“hobby” was a menace to public morals.

“In documenting such lewd acts,” he
said sternly, in a report to Judge Gardner,

Pennsylvania's Sex-Mad
Peeping Tom Slaying

[Continued from page 11]

Fairless Works of the U. S. Steel Cor-
poration.

Marta was a sophomore at nearby
Pennsbury High School, popular with
her classmates and active in school affairs.
But she didn’t have a steady date. She
was known in the community as a “good
girl who didn’t run around.”

Fond of children, a quality undoubtedly
fostered by her devotion to her young
sister, Marta was in demand in the neigh-
borhood as a baby sitter. All of her spare
time she devoted to her mother, who,
early in January, had developed a heart
condition. The illness was a matter of
great concern to the family.

Because of this, the girl did not mention
in front of her mother the dreadful fear
she had experienced at being wakened by
what she felt sure was a potential house-
breaker. But she poured the story out-to
her stepfather.

Gourley questioned Marta about her
ever. having talked with men. Did she re-
call anyone in the neighborhood stopping
her? Had she been followed? To all these
inquiries the young girl could only shake
her head.

“Maybe I just imagined the whole
thing,” she said finally.

“Well, be careful,” Gourley warned.
“There’s a lot of terrible things happen-

ing nowadays.”

He repeated his caution about talking
to strangers, and made his lovely step-
daughter promise that she would keep
Sue with her as much as possible.

“There’s safety in numbers, at least,”
he said. “And whenever you're out baby-
sitting, try to have some other girl with
you for company. It won’t be as much a
temptation to bad men as it would if they
thought you were alone.”

A few days later,on January 10, 1954,

“the photos might get into the hands of
others, even juveniles. Obscene pictures
have a dangerous effect on the imagina-
tion and can have even more frightful ef-
fects than seduction itself!”

He saw in the set of pictures a strong
evidence of a perversion known to medical
science as “voyeutism”—a desire to look
at sexual scenes.

The psychiatrist noted that Mitman
was “definitely an extrovert with a gran-
diose attitude that includes delusional
trends.” He cited as an example the fact
that some of the pictures taken in the
Laguna Beach motel “obviously show the
defendant pulling a string to operate the
shutter.”

Another psychiatrist was kinder to Mit-
man and blamed his strange passion for
nude pictures on an unhappy first mar-
riage which caused him to “feel imbittered
toward all women.’

And of poor Ingabord, a probation of-
ficer concluded that “while she stands con-
victed of a hideous crime, she is only the
victim of the offense... .”

That was the price Ingabord paid for
listening to the honeyed words of the fast-
talking Mitman: being dragged through
the courts to protect others against simi-
lar traps. And she only hopes that other
aspiring young actresses may be spared
the sorrow she feels as a result of the fate
that befell her.

Mary Gourley was admitted to Doctors
Hospital, 17th and Summer streets, Phila-
delphia, for treatment of her heart ail-
ment. Although dismayed, the little
family soon adjusted itself. Marta took
over the chores and kept things running.
And she still accepted some baby-sitting
appointments to earn spending money.

On Friday, January 22, after Marta’s
stepfather had started out to visit his wife
at the hospital, the girl, taking Sue with
her, went across the street to the home
of Mrs. Kay Goetz. The housewife had
asked her to baby-sit while she went to
see her husband ina Trenton, New Jersey,
hospital.

“I won’t be long, Marta, and I’m sure
the girls will give you no trouble,” the
neighbor assured her.

Marta gathered the Goetz children—
Donna, 8 years, and Barbara, 8 months—
on a sofa in front of the television set,
which she turned on to entertain them.

But they were not alone. Out in the
darkness a man also watched. But he had
eyes only for the slim girl who sat in the
midst of the children.

When Mrs. Goetz returned after an
hour and a half’s absence, the baby was
asleep in Marta’s arms, and the mother
said, “Oh, Marta, you just look so pretty
sitting there.”

She was unaware that for more than an
hour that same attractive picture had held
a monster spellbound in the shadows out-
side.

At Mrs. Goetz’ invitation Marta and
Sue remained for a cup of tea, and it was
about a quarter of ten when Marta said
to her sister, “Well, come on, Sue,
Daddy’ll be getting back and wondering
about us.”

Mrs. Goetz stood at the door and saw
them go hand in hand, down the walk,
and across the street to their own home.

At 9 o'clock next morning, her tele-
phone rang and Sue Gibbons’ childish
voice said, “Is Marta there?”

“Why, no, dear,” the neighbor replied.

“Well, I don’t know where she is!” The
little girl sounded close to tears. “I can’t
find her.”

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of getting in real trouble. Next time I

} was caught it might be a jail sentence.
} Also I wanted to get as far away from

my parents and my happily married
sisters as possible. I didn’t want to bring
any more shame on them.

And so as soon as I could save a
couple of hundred bucks, I took a bus
for Chicago. I didn’t know a soul there,
but a girl I’d met on Broadway had
given me the name of a friend of hers
she said could help me.

That’s how I landed at the joint in
Chicago, and I’ve been there ever since.
It’s just about right for me. Night after
night I get up on the platform and strip.
I coax men into the booths, Sometimes
I take one of them home with me.

I realized that I was running the risk

That way I make enough money to
satisfy the vicious, destructive craving
for drugs that led me into this night-
mare existence in the first place. And
as long as I can jab that needle into my
arm whenever I need to, I can take the
life—because the real world and what I
do in it seems not to matter.

But when my beautiful glow starts to
wear off and I let myself think of the
future, that’s when I get the horrors.
Because of dope, I’ve already sunk as
low as a girl can. Unless by some
miracle I can bring myself to undergo
medical treatment and throw off the
habit completely, I’ll have no future. ¢

Edjitor’s Note: All names used in this
story are fictitious.

TRUSTING TEEN-AGER
(Continued from page 29) °

expiained that several months before
this vicious crime, a number of house-
wives in the Thornridge section had
been receiving anonymous phone calls
from someone who was obviously a sex
pervert. This guy, whoever he was,
would call up some woman. When ;she
‘answered the phone he would make all
sorts of obscene proposals and use filthy
language. ~ Rae

“We haven’t been bothered by this
guy for over a month,” the chief con-
tinued, “but that type seems just the
same kind who might try this sort of
thing we’re in now.”

As a first step the investigating offi-
cers made a thorough investigation into
the background of the slain girl, look-
ing for any boys in her life who might
have been capable of this heinous crime
in a fit of passion.

“Marta had no boyfriends,” said the
grieving stepfather when questioned by
the police. “She never went out alone
with any boys,” he said flatly.

Mr. Gourley filled the investigators
in on his step-daughter’s’ background.
Marta had spent her first year in high
school in a parochial institution in
Philadelphia. In Levittown she attended
Pennsbury Consolidated High School.
There the lithe, blonde teen-ager had
been popular and fun loving, according
to her classmates and teachers. Mr.
Gourley said that Marta had gone to
the movies and to the teen-age center
with her girlfriend once or twice. She
loved sledding and especially horseback
riding. In fact, according to the be-
reaved parent, Marta had had a date to
go horseback riding with a girl chum
“ hers in Philadelphia that very Sun-

ay. \

_ Marta’s best friend backed up the
step-father’s assessment of the dead
girl. According to the friend Marta had
not been interested in boys. :

Mothers in the area who hired Marta

Dept. AD-6, 271 Wallace St., Freeport, N. Y.

62

Gibbons to baby-sit for their children

attested to the fact that the teen-ager
was extremely careful about locking
doors and had always displayed a cau-
tion and trustworthiness far beyond
her years.

To the police it seemed very unlikely,
on the basis of these reports, that the
dead’ girl would have opened the door
to a stranger and then gone out with

him. The only explanation was offered

by the step-father.

“The only way she would have open-
ed the door,” Mr. Gourley said, “was
if the stranger resembled me somewhat
and Marta thought that it was me re-
turning from the city without my key.”

Much as they hated to do it, Ser-
geant McCarr and Chief Kirby decided
to talk with you Sue Gourley. As gently
as possible they asked the tot to de-
scribe what had occurred in the house
after she and her half-sister returned
from Mrs. Strome’s house across the
way. ‘

“When we camé home, Marta put
me to bed,” Sue related. ‘She tucked me
in and then she laid down on the other
bed. I think she went out of the room
in a little while. I’m not sure because I
was sleepy.

“I woke up later when the door bell
rang. I thought it might be Daddy. But
it was some man who talked to Marta
about Daddy’s car.”

That man was George Capps. He had
readily admitted that he called at the
Gourley home at about 10 on Friday,
and Mr. Gourley described him as a
good neighbor. The distraught step-
father pointed out, in support of this
opinion, that Capps had volunteered to

/ fix his car without being asked. In ad-

dition hadn’t the young vet insisted on
accompanying the searchers in spite of
the fact that he could easily have beg-
ged off due to his wife’s condition?
“How long have you known George
Capps?” Chief Kirby asked. :
“Not very long,” the step-father ad-
mitted, “but none of us in this section
have known anyone here too long. It’s
a new community. Capps is a good man.
He came over of his own free will just
because, he felt it was the thing to do

for neighbors t
George Capy
the police he h
help him in p
to his garage.
the car until a
he went over
When he retu:
later his wife w
some coffee ar
In a short time

Mrs. Capps
band had work:
10 p.m. She
around with tl
asleep at abou!
his wife both
heard no unus
suspicious stra
Friday night, J

Nevertheless.
have a look ;
Capps’ 1940 |}
were strikingly
at the scene of
was by no me
ever. Many pec
type of tires ai
identify a pair «
An examinatio:
closed no trace
the interior. T)
Korean War ve

Rememberin;
only recently a
Philadelphia kn
the police requ
larger city to r
known to Mart.

In the meanti
door to door
throughout Lev
come up with
bered somethin
consequential, t
on the trail.

A deep and
on the Thornri:
barred their dc
daughters. Dete
hard time gail
security of the \
not stay away
any longer unti

Mrs. Gourle
covering from
was not told tt
was feared that
of the brutal
would worsen
after much ev:
ized that the si
to be told som
bare truth that
attacked and s]
mother consta
daughter and \
when her que
evasively, and |
queer looks.

Finally her «
was best the pa’
Under strong s
oldest daughter
that Marta was
was told that M
and killed in a
was the second
an had experienc


: probed the many nearby wood thickets, abandoned gravel

pits, culverts and the banks of the old canal. The ground
was frozen hard in that chill January and at the end of the
day their efforts proved futile. No trace of the missing girl
was found. Throughout Sunday the waning hope had ling-
ered that Marty was all right and would turn up unhurt.
Mr. Gourley cold hardly wait to ask Sue if her half sister
had phoned while they were out looking for her. But un-
fortunately Sunday passed with no hint of Marta Gibbon’s
whereabouts.

On Monday morning the search was resumed. Those
neighbors who could, including Mr. Gourley, stayed away
from their jobs and participated in the search. At about nine
A.M. Patrolman Mattozzi spotted some rags caught in a
tree. He had been treking up a rutted cart track, no longer
used, but known locally as a lovers’ lane. This road skirted
an abandoned gravel pit which was flooded and known as
Curtis Lake. Mattozzi examined the tattered remnants of
clothing hanging in the branches. Closer.scrutiny revealed
them to be a girl’s green wool sweater and a bloodied pair
of panties.

The Falls Township patrolman looked around carefully.

He noticed a set of tire tracks which had obviously been »

left recently. The weight of the car had broken the frozen

28

crust of mud and left a clear set of tracks. The officer
followed them. Further on, Mattozzi noticed other marks.
The hard ground was scratched in several places as though
something had been dragged through the'crusted mud.
Some 200 feet further on the track gave way to another
abandoned gravel pit. This excavation was fringed by a
border of lonely gray-white birch trees. The whole area was
heavily wooded.

Crudely thrown, in the bottom of the excavation, lay the
pathetic body of Marta Gibbons. She was clad in a plaid
skirt and .torn slip. The. body was badly bruised. Frozen
blood was caked on her upper body and head. The corpse
was entirely frozen and scratch marks ran the length
of her arms and legs.’ It appeared as though the girl had
been dragged, probably by the feet, to that lonely spot.
She had been dead for some time. A gaping hole in the
skull was the point of entry for a bullet. On the lower right
angle ce the lgrger hole through which the deadly missile

ad exited.

HE body was removed to a funeral home in nearby

Morrisville where Dr. William Goldfarb, deputy Bucks
County coroner and Dr. Fred Phillips, a coroner’s physician,
performed an autopsy.

near eae

The young bx

»

The medica
bludgeoned ov
criminal assau
a fiend, accord

Near the tre
had been disc
frozen mud. |
some sixty ho
cartridge was

A call was
horne and. Ser
Keith Dane, a
These state px
what was pres
they took scra
nails and dis
laboratory at

Several aspe

“With who!
at night, leavi
sergeant wonc

“Yes,” agre
County detect
on such a fre

“Perhaps sh
put in Detect

“No, I dor
step-father re}

“Perhaps st
take a coat,” |

“There wer:
Detective Kot
didn’t hear a

“I wonder
that sex-telep)
Chief Kirby v

The Falls


nna + lan aaa

lear set of tracks. The officer
Mattozzi noticed other marks.
hed in several places as though
ed through the crusted mud.
he track gave way to another
excavation was fringed by a
»irch trees. The whole area was

ttom of the excavation, lay the
bons. She was clad in a plaid
dy was badly bruised. Frozen
er body and head. The corpse
cratch marks ran the length
oeared as though the girl had
the feet, to that lonely spot.
e time. A gaping hole in the
or a bullet. On the lower right
rough which the deadly missile

to a funeral home in nearby
lliam Goldfarb, deputy Bucks
Phillips, a coroner’s physician,

The young baby sitter was popular in Levittown.

»

The medical examination revealed that the girl had been
bludgeoned over the head severely and subjected to brutal
criminal assault. She had been ravished by nothing less than
a fiend, according to the doctors.

Near the tree where the tattered clothing of the dead girl
had been discovered a large pool, of blood discolored the
frozen mud. It was there that the crime had taken place,
some sixty hours before. At this scene a spent .32 calibre
cartridge was found. :

A call was put in to the state police barracks at Lang-
horne and.Sergeant Adrian McCarr, Detectives D. C. Allen,
Keith Dane, and Andrew Cutney soon arrived on the scene.
These state policemen took casts of the tire tracks left by
what was presumed to have been the killer’s car, In addition
they took scrappings of flesh from under the corpse’s finger-
nails and dispatched the bloody clothing to the police:
laboratory at Harrisburg, Pa.

Several aspects of the crime were puzzling from the outset. -

“With whom would this girl have gone out riding, late
at night, leaving her young sister alone in the house?” the
sergeant wondered. ” i

“Yes,” agreed Detective Fred Kohler, chief of Bucks
County detectives, “and why wasn’t she wearing any coat
on such a freezing night?”

“Perhaps she was wearing one, but we just didn’t find it,”
put in Detective Allen.

“No, I don’t think: that’s likely,” replied Kohler. “Her
step-father reports that all Marta’s coats are in the house.”

“Perhaps she was kidnapped and didn’t have a chance to
take a coat,” Detective Dane offered. ‘

“There were no signs of a struggle in the Gourley home,”
Detective Kohler explained. “Besides the young sister, Sue,
didn’t hear anything.”

“I wonder if there is any connection between. this and
that sex-telephone scare we had here a few months ago,”
Chief Kirby wanted to know.

The Falls Township chief (Continued on page 62)

This Korean War veteran lived nearby.


ey could stand it no longer.
nan Gino Mattozzi of the
ity, Pennsylvania, took the
‘ival of the police Gourley
and living in Philadelphia
his other step-daughter to
10m Marty had the slightest
lerly love.

ds in Philadelphia than they
y just moved into the huge
city a few months before.
i had to wait while the new

vast new community built
ia where the Gourleys lived
‘ection. It was made up of
|, ranch-style houses. The
these houses, alike in every
iling picture window which
ais big window, trademark
‘as to figure importantly in
bons.

just 15 when unkind fate
life up to that time had

/

(

been none too joyous. At a tehder age she and her older
sister had lost their father. He had been a railroad brake-
man and was killed in an accident, Their mother had been
forced to board the girls in a convent school while she
worked to support them. Finally. their mother had met
Mr. Gourley and the two were married. The family was
reunited. Marty’s older sister got married and left the home
in Philadelphia. But little Sue had been born; and, for a
time, the family enjoyed contentment. Then tragedy struck
again. Marty’s mother was striken with a heart attack for
which she had to be hospitalized ‘in, Philadelphia. Again
the young girl was deprived of her mother. Now she herself
had been placed in charge of the household while her
mother recovered. That is how it happened that Marty
had been alone in the house with little Sue on that fateful
night of Friday, the 22nd of January.

On Sunday morning Police Chief Franklin Kirby of the

Neighbor (r.) insisted on helping searchers although his wife was expecting a baby.

Falls Township police force organized a search party to

‘look for the missing girl. The police were joined by dozens

of neighbors and Mr. Gourley himself took part. Even
Mr. George Capps, whose wife was expecting a baby at any
moment, insisted on joining the volunteers.

“I feel sort of guilty,” Capps had said. “After all, if I
had been able to fix the car sooner this thing might never
have happened.”

The 22-year-old Korean War veteran seemed sincerely
remorseful over his pretty, young neighbor’s disappearance.
George Capps was an employee of the Trenton, New Jersey,
wire and steel plant. In his spare time he repaired his
neighbors’ cars. Due to the heavy snows that fell on
Levittown at that time Capps had had to postpone working
on Gourley’s car. He held himself responsible, in some
measure, for the fate of Marta Gourley.

All day Sunday the searchers combed the area. They

27

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definitely that Marta Gibbons had been
criminally assaulted prior to the murder.

The blow on the girl’s head had been
delivered with a blunt instrument, prob-
ably the gun butt. ‘Her unconscious form
had been dragged through the brush and
there, she had been killed with a shot
from a muffled gun.

To find the murderer, however, meant
probing deeper into all the known facts
to find the answers to these questions:
Why had Marta left home without a coat?
Had she been forced to leave at gunpoint?
Or had she been lured away?

While Pennsylvania investigators
weighed these and other questions, a re-
quest for detailed information came from
the New Jersey state police, still seeking
leads on two unsolved slayings of the past
few years that bore a marked resemblance
to the present case.

One was death of Mary Louise Dreis-
bach, whose ravaged beaten body had
been found near the’ Atlantic City race-
track. The other was Patricia Bowen, who
had been slain on the grounds of the New
Jersey School for the Deaf, in Trenton,
where she had worked as a secretary.

While links were being sought to those
cases, Sergeant McCarr, Corporal Kutney
and other Pennsylvania State Police in-
vestigators concentrated on the Levittown
investigation. One thing was clear,
whether or not the slayer of Marta Gib-
bons turned out to be the much-wanted
“Peeping: Tom,” he knew the area well.

Sergeant McCarr concentrated his in-
vestigation upon the area close to Marta’s
home. William Gourley, after he had
identified Marta’s body, had been ques-
tioned exhaustively by the police but had
been unable to provide a single detail
pointing to a likely slayer,

Similarly, Marta’s older sister, Patricia
Coffelt, questioned in Philadelphia, could
only say: “Why would anyone hurt
Marta? Everybody liked her.”

Investigators asked that same question
when they. talked to girlfriends who had
gone horseback riding with Marta. They
learned that she had also gone in for tap
dancing, but none of the students in her
dancing class could recall her mentioning
anybody whom she feared.

The point that was reiterated most,
looming larger and larger the more Mc-
Carr studied it, was Marta’s reliability as
a babysitter. Every mother who had em-
ployed her insisted that Marta had never
left a child alone.

Why, then, had she left her own sister,
little Sue, alone in their own home? The
only explanation McCarr had was this:

“She might have gone over to a neigh-
bor’s or out to a car. She knew it was
getting colder and she would have put
on a coat if she had expected to be out
long.”

In rechecking all angles of the case,
Chief Kirby realized that the voices little
Sue had heard from her bed might mean
someone had called on Marta, and not
have been TV dialogue as assumed at
first. But that theory raised other ques-
tions.

“In that case,” commented Kirby, “why
didn’t Capps see the person who came
in? Why didn’t he see Marta go out—”

“Why didn’t he?” inserted McCarr. “He
must have been working on Gourley’s
car at least that long. It looks suspicious
to me.”

But something more than such thin cir-
cumstantial evidence was needed when
Chief Kirby asked, “What next?” Serge-
ant McCarr had the answer.

“Next,” decided McCarr, “we find out if
Capps owns a .32 automatic.”

They went about it subtly, requesting

neighbors about details. But at Capps’
home, they were looking as well as listen-
ing and the process paid off.

At state police headquarters, Sergeant
McCarr displayed an unfired .32 cartridge
that seemed identical to the empty shell
found near Marta’s body.

“It belonged to Capps,” stated McCarr.
“There are more of them in a drawer in
his home. But I saw no gun.”

The cartridges were enough. Capps was
called to headquarters for questioning and
while he was there, Trooper Keith R.
Dane, County Detective Irwin and his
chief, Kohler, visited Capps’ garage. There
they found that the tires on his car
matched the tread marks found near the
corpse of Marta.

Armed with his first strong evidence,
the officers accused Capps directly of

‘ murdering Marta. Working from the

autopsy report, they described to him

,how he had brutally slugged his victim,

then followed with the fatal shot. They
even told him how he had muffled the gun
in the folds of the victim’s sweater. But
the clincher was a final touch of testimony
gained from little Susan Gourley.

Earlier, Susan had told of seeing Capps
on the evening of Marta’s disappearance,
but the investigators had understood her
to mean that it was when Capps had
stopped in at the Goetz home. Now, Susan
recalled that he had stopped to talk to
Marta at their own home, too, after they
had returned there.

This was at total variance with Capps’
own statements. The voice that Susan had
heard was timed to the very visit that
Capps disclaimed. Confronted with the
accumulated evidence, Capps finally
blurted:

“All right, I killed her!”

Even with that, it took skill to work
the truth from him,

Questioned if he owned a gun, Capps
said that he had picked up an automatic
while in Korea, but from his description, it
didn’t match the caliber of the gun used
in the murder of Marta Gibbons. Asked
what he had done with his gun, he said
he had thrown it onto a sandbar in Curtis
Lake.

A search there failed to produce the
death weapon. But when the hunt was
extended to the entire lake, David Hill of
Morrisville found a Belgian .32 caliber
automatic imbedded in the ice 200 feet
from the sandbar.

At the state police crime lab, Sergeant
Crowthers fired test bullets from the gun
and checked them with the bullet that
had been used to slay Marta Gibbons. The
markings tallied.

New Jersey authorities, anxious to close
out their two unsolved similar slayings,
checked thoroughly into Capps’ move-
ments on those dates. But discovered only
that he could not possibly have killed
either Mary Louise Dreisbach or Patricia
Bowen.

Capps denied that he was the phantom
prowler of Levittown and tried to min-
imize the murder of Marta Gibbons. He
insisted that she had left the house will-
ingly in his car but became excited when
he parked in the out of the way lane.

“She started shouting,” declared Capps,
“and tried to run away from the car and
I ran after her. I had been drinking and I
was excited, too.”

That was the tenor of Capps’ story dur-
ing his ten-day trial for murder, that
ended on Thursday, May 6, 1954, when
the jury brought in a verdict of first de-
gree murder, Sentenced to the electric
chair, Capps was executed September 26,
1955, in Rockview Prison at Bellefonte,
Pa,

| Was the

reasoning and !
only kind I kn
around and I k:
most people kn
bright enough a:
it’s not just matt
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life. It reads, ‘t
Why? How d
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I was born M
My mother was
we kept skippir
wherever her
working. So far
husbands—but |
quently, I was
mother or othe
At fourteen |
in Peoria, Il]. M:
who insisted I ¢g
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feel ladylike ar

She put ti
caught immedi:
officers was sy:

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treated you.”

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giving my aunt
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One night 1
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I did, too. I }
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But the prison
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I went to Balt
appraise the

iis


In recent weeks, all Levittown had been stirred by rumors
of a phantom “peeping Tom” prowler who later phoned
housewives to comment on the surveys he had made through
the bedroom windows of their ranch-type homes.

There had been reports of door-bell ringing and a figure
darting off into the dark; all similar enough to brand them
as evidence of the same marauder, rather than an epidemic
of molesters. Efforts to trap the prowler had failed, and he
appeared to be coming bolder.

But all had seemed serene when Mrs. Goetz had glanced
along the street as the two girls departed at about 9:30 the
night before. There was another reason why Mrs. Goetz
had felt no concern for the safety of the two girls. She men-
tioned it to Susan:

“Marta expected your father home last night, but she
said she didn’t think he would be very late. Wasn’t he home
when you arrived there? Didn’t you see him this morning?”

Headshakes were Susan’s answers to both questions. So
Mrs. Goetz went over to the Gourley home to see if she
could find an explanation. Instead, the mystery deep-
ened,

Only Susan’s bed had been slept in. Apparently Marta had
gone out somewhere and her stepfather, William Gourley,
had not returned home at all. In Marta’s bedroom, Mrs. Goetz
found a pair of blue dungarees that the babysitter had been
wearing the night before, indicating that she had changed
before leaving the house.

But where could Marta have gone? Why had she left little
Sue alone?

There was no immediate answer to those questions. Be-
side the telephone, Mrs. Goetz saw a local number written

The stone-faced slayer, right, is led from his prison cell by State Trooper
Andrew Kutney to undergo further questioning after confessing the killing.

on a pad. Mrs. Goetz called it, hoping it would solve the
riddle.

The woman who answered turned out to be another Levit-
town housewife who wanted Marta as a babysitter and had
given her the number so that she could call back and fix
the exact time. The woman had not heard from Marta since.

William Gourley worked for a Sansom Street jewelry
concern in Philadelphia, so the next step was to contact
him there or at Doctors’ Hospital, where his wife Mary

was recuperating from a heart attack. Reached by telephone,
Gourley was amazed to learn of Marta’s disappearance. He
said he would start for Levittown at once.

Another person who might have heard from Marta was
her older sister, Mrs. Patricia Coffelt, who lived in Phila-
delphia. But a call there drew a blank. Mrs. Coffelt had
been expecting Marta to visit her shortly, bringing a girl
friend with her from Levittown. But there had been no
phone call or other word from Marta.

The afternoon of that bleak, chilly day of Saturday, Jan-
uary 23, 1954, was spent making inquiries among neighbors
and Marta’s school chums. William Gourley, arriving home
from Philadelphia, took charge of the search, but soon real-
ized that police aid was warranted.

The vast housing development of Levittown, in growing
to more than 25,000 in only a few years, had spread into
surrounding townships. The subdivision where Gourley lived
was located in Falls Township, so his call was put through
to Police Chief Franklin Kirby, who told him he would
come to Timber Lane and investigate the girl’s mysterious
disappearance.

Chief Kirby had been called in on some of the prowler
incidents, though most of them had been handled by Bristol
Township police, and had been fearful of more serious
depredations.

From Mrs. Goetz, Chief Kirby learned that a neighbor,
George Capps, had stopped at her home Friday evening to
speak to Marta about a repair job he was doing on her step-
father’s car. Capps, a 22-year-old veteran of the Korean cam-
paign, worked at a wire factory in Trenton and was glad to
pick up extra money as a mechanic because his wife was ex-
pecting a baby.

But Gourley’s car required some
new parts, and Capps had to haul
it into the carport adjoining his
house. He had wanted to let Marta
know so she could tell Gourley
when she saw him. Learning of this,
Kirby checked with Capps.

“I saw Marty go over to the
Goetzes,” explained Capps, “so I
stopped in there to tell her that her
father’s car needed a new bearing,
that was all. I was only there a few
minutes—”

“And that was the last time you
saw the girl?”

“No. After I’d moved the car into
my carport, she and little Sue came
past on the way home. I was still
working on the car, but pretty soon
I called it quits for the night.”

Chief Kirby then talked to Dale
Moody, another neighbor, who had
helped move Gourley’s car. Moody
had also seen Marta and little Sue
walking to their home while Capps
was working on the car. Later,
Moody had driven off in his own car
on an errand.

Gourley told police that the fact
his car was laid up partly accounted
for his failure to return to Levit-
town from Philadelphia as he had
planned.

“IT missed the last bus,” he ex-
plained, “and decided to stay in the city.”

“What about a train?” queried Kirby. “Weren't they still
running?”

“Only to Trenton,” returned Gourley, “and it would have
been too late to catch a bus from Trenton back here.”

Chief Kirby nodded understandingly. Commuting was
one of Levittown’s growing pains. But Gourley was con-
cerned with bigger problems.

“I hadn’t an idea anything would happen to Marta,” he

decla

ow

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wood an
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veloped.
nington,
eled all

risoner,,
n with

y 5, a
inson in
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tranger

ned to
to the
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hought
nd de-
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ned in-

ne hun-
toute 15,
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hat his

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nt State
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lisbury
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satisfied
ription
Brown
ton and
or Ver-

ere the

ane 2 fl

pide ,
|
notified
his son, Stokes looked at the vagrant and chal-
scription lenged him.
i that a “Your name is not Townsend,” he said.
e should “It’s Elmer Taylor. You worked in a bar-
ber shop in Eastport, Me. A boy where
rge Tay- you roomed made a sketch of you.”
eutenant The prisoner refused to admit this until
him ina confronted with the drawing itself.
.g and he “Roll up your right sleeve,” Stokes or-
i on. One dered. “I want to look at your arm.”
ance for Elmer Taylor, alias Edward Townsend,
iudeville complied after a mild protest. There was
the tattoo with the clasped hands, pierced
Harold heart and initials, “E. T.”
he had Stokes said, “I’m from Massachusetts.
barber. A girl named Stella Kale was murdered
d there at Salisbury Beach. We’ve been on your
wanted track for a long time.”
eutenant The prisoner said he had never been in
« arrived Salisbury Beach.
wspapers “You were there all right,” Stokes
countered. “We know you worked at
ymouth, Hampton Beach on the Saturday before
2 hitch- the crime. You bought sunglasses in a
drug store there and we found them near
the sus- that girl’s body. You went to Eastport,
lymouth Me., and worked there a week. That is
car he where the sketch was made. Then you
ed me a sold a wrist watch you took from Stella
i to his

Kale to a man in Plymouth, N. H. What
happened to the ring with the ruby set-
ting?”

There was no answer. The prisoner just
sat there stunned b the evidence amassed
against him. Finally he said, “Alright, I
did work in Hampton Beach. I bought
sunglasses and witch hazel there, but I
don’t know what happened after that.”

Stokes enlightened him. As the ques-
tioning continued throughout most of the
night, the man said his real name was
George Elmer Taylor and that he was
from Cleveland, O. In better days he had
been a good buck-and-wing dancer, but
that was before he started to drink
heavily.

Taylor waived extradition back to
Massachusetts. Placed in a police lineup
at Salisbury Beach along with six other
men, he was identified by the conces-
sionaire who had steered him away from
the roller coaster tracks, by the druggist
in Hampton Beach and by several other
people.

Fingerprints showed he had been con-
victed of armed robbery in West Virginia,
serving a five-year prison term under the
name Elmer Thompson. This same man

had been wanted for questioning in con-
nection with still another murder in Buf-
falo, N. Y

Police believed the man’s real name to
be Elmer Thompson, but he was arraigned
on a first degree murder charge in Dis-
trict Court, Amesbury, on July 13, 1927,
under the name of George Elmer Taylor.

Brought to trial October 10, the defend-
ant took the stand in his own behalf and
testified that on the afternoon preceding
the crime at Salisbury Beach he had been
drunk on liquor and witch hazel,

“The last thing I remember was my
drinking at Hampton Beach,” he said.
“That was Sunday afternoon. When I
woke up Monday I was in Boston.”

Thanks to some brilliant detective work
and the complete cooperation of public
spirited citizens and newspapers, the evi-
dence against the accused man was over-
whelming. The jury found him guilty as
charged with no recommendation for
mercy. Elmer Thompson, alias George
gre Taylor, was put to death on March

(The name Frank Hennessey is fictitious to
protect the identity of a man indirectly in-
volved in the investigation.—The Editor)

Slaying of the Laughing Baby
Sitter

[Continued from page 47]

car along a rutted road that skirts the far
shore of the lake. In summer, couples
used this as a lovers’ lane, but the skaters
had only driven on it a short distance be-
fore parking their cars. The road was visi-
ble from the lake and since the skaters
had noticed nothing there, a further search
seemed superfluous.

But Mettozzi, checking to the last de-
tail, kept on to the end of the road. There,
he spotted a girl’s loafer shoe on the bleak,
barren ground, Getting out of the car, the
patrolman soon found the mate to the shoe
—and more! He saw blurred tire tracks
veering from the ruts. As he followed
them, ‘he noticed something fluttering
from a low tree branch that was hidden
from the lake.

The fluttering object was a girl’s bra
and from another branch dangled a pair
of pink panties. What captured Mettozzi’s
attention still more was.a green sweater
lying on the brown-and-white back-
ground of frozen earth and sprinkled
snow.

Broken brush and scruff marks on the
ground showed where an object had been
dragged. That trail dwindled as Mattozzi
followed it to where it dead-ended in a
shallow gravel pit almost beneath the em-
bankment of the Trenton Cutoff.

A dead end indeed for the pitiful victim
whose frozen, bloodstained body had been
dragged to this hiding spot. Patrolman
Mettozzi had found missing Marta Gib-
bons. The girl’s body was lying on its face
and her slayer had evidently dragged her
through the brush feet first, for her only
remaining garments, a slip and green plaid
skirt, were twisted high above her arms
and shoulders.

Soon, the area was alive with investiga-
tors summoned by Mettozzi’s immediate
call to headquarters. Chief Kirby was ac-
companied by State Police Sgt. Adrian
McCarr and Cpl. Andrew J. Kutney, Chief
of County Detectives Fred Kohler arrived
from Doylestown, the county seat of
Bucks County. Also on the scene were

Coroner Russell J. T. Ferris and Dr. Wil-
liam Goldfarb, deputy coroner.

The girl’s head and body showed bruises
that could have resulted from a severe
beating. But the cause of her death ap-
parently was a bullet wound behind her
left ear. Her head was turned slightly
toward the left and when the body was
lifted, another wound was observed in her
right temple.

On the ground close by was a .32 caliber
shell ejected from an automatic. Police
looked for another in the brush but found
none. The tire marks first noted by Patrol-
man Mettozzi furnished another potential
lead, though as yet there was no posi-
tive proof that the slayer’s car had made
them. Various cars could have come along
this old road since the ground had frozen.

However, a moulage was taken of the
tire marks and though there was only
fragmentary traces of the tread, investiga-
tors agreed that matching them might be
possible, once a suspect’s car was found.

Meanwhile, the body of Marta Gibbons
‘was taken to the J. Allen Hooper Funeral
Home in Morrisville and there identified
by William Gourley. Shaken by the sight,
Gourley repeated, “What have they done
to her! What have they done to her!”

George Capps stared in disbelief when
he learned the news. All during the search,
he had kept reassuring Gourley that
Marta would be found unharmed. “Noth-
ing could have happened to her,” Capps
had repeated. “Nothing.” But now Capps
chided himself on his own negligence.

“I’d planned to keep working on Gour-

ley’s car until he arrived home,” Capps
told investigators, “but I decided we
would have more time to discuss the re-
pair job the next morning. Besides, I have
to grab what sleep I can in case I have
to rush my wife to the hospital.”
, Chief Kirby and Sergeant McCarr
agreed that Marta could have left her
home, whether forcibly or voluntarily,
soon after Capps had finished working on
the car. Susan, when questioned, remem-
bered hearing voices while she was going
to sleep, but they could have come from
a TV show. that Marta was watching.

“We may learn something more about
the time angle from the autopsy,” com-
mented Chief Kirby, “but how close it: can
come, after two days and with the changes
in the temperature, is hard to tell.”

Dr. Frederick Phillips, who performed
the autopsy with Dr. Goldfarb, came up
with the finding that the victim had been
dead “more than 48 hours,” which set
the time of the murder prior to Saturday
morning. He stated that the dead girl had
first been clubbed then shot through the
head with a single bullet. The fact that
he had been unable to find the slug con-
firmed this.

“The bullet entered behind the left ear,”
the physician said, “severed the spinal
cord and came out the right temple be-
side the eye.”

That accounted for two wounds, yet
only a single cartridge on the ground.
It settled another question, too. In ex-
amining Marta’s green sweater, investiga-
tors had found powder burns on it, indi-
cating that another shot had been fired
into the victim’s body. But Dr. Phillips
had found no corresponding bullet wound.

Now, when the autopsy report was re-
layed to Sgt. Elmer Botliger, a state police
detective-chemist, he stated that the
powder burns could have resulted from
the gun having been wrapped in the
sweater to muffle the report. This would
support the theory that only one shot had
been fired.

“We've searched every square foot

_ where the body was found,” declared

Chief Kirby, “so we should have found
that bullet by this time. How far could
it have gone?”

“Not very far,” returned Dr. Phillips.
“You should find it very soon if you dig
for it.”

“Dig for it? Where?”

“Directly beneath where the victim’s
head was lying as the wounds indicate the
bullet was fired downward.”

The investigators had gathered patches
of bloodstained earth and snow and sent
them for analysis to Dr. Frank Zillessen,
director of laboratories at Jeanes Hospital
in Fox Chase, a suburb of Philadelphia.
The spot where Marta’s head had lain
was soon determined and the missing slug
was found buried a few inches in the soil,
as Dr. Phillips had predicted. The bullet
was in fair condition and was sent to the
Pennsylvania State Police crime labora-
tory, where Sgt. Edward H. Crowthers
made a miscroscopic study of its markings.

The job now was to track down the
callous sex slayer. The autopsy showed

> 59

you

declared. “Chief, you’ve got to find her! Please, I beg you.”

“We'll find her.”

Though his tone was grim, Chief Kirby still hoped for
the best, as he detailed men to check all movies, dances or
any other places where Marta might have gone with friends.
She could have left on the spur of the moment, forgetting
to leave a note in her hurry. The fact that Marta would not
ordinarily have left Sue alone all night was easily dis-
counted, because she had expected that Gourley would be
home shortly.

Chief Kirby notified police of adjoining townships, who
made similar checkups, but with negative results. The hunt
was extended to Trenton and both Pennsylvania and New
Jersey state police were informed of the girl’s disappearance.
The description of Marta Gibbons that went out on the tele-
type to states along the Atlantic seaboard read: Height, 5
feet 4 inches; weight, 110 pounds; brown eyes and reddish
hair.

No one was sure of what clothing Marta had changed to,
but the green sweater she had on when babysitting was men-
tioned in the description as that was not in the house. Her
topcoat, however, was in the closet where she usually kept it.

“She couldn’t have expected to stay outdoors long,” de-
cided Chief Kirby, “or to go very far away—not in the

freezing weather we’ve been having. So we'll start our.

search right from her home on Timber Lane.”

Starting at daybreak Sunday, Capps led searchers through
old gravel pits pockmarking the outskirts of the new sub-
division. Other neighbors scoured back lanes, clumps of
wood and brush, as well as frozen streams flowing into the
Delaware River.

All day, the searchers worked in relays, with Falls
Township patrol cars keeping contact with those far afield.
At dusk, the futile hunt was postponed until the next day.
That evening Chief Kirby studied reports and mapped new
plans.

“We've covered most of the open areas,” commented Kirby,
“like fields and gravel pits. The creeks were frozen over
prior to Friday night, so they can be eliminated. That means
beating through the brush until we’ve searched all of it.”

Originally, investigators had jumped to the conclusions
that Marta might have been a victim of the phantom prowler.
But two days of intensive questioning throughout the wide-
spread community had failed to produce any new reports of
the terrorist.

Most quiet of all had been the subdivision where Marta
lived. Nothing strange or suspicious had been noticed by any
neighbors on the frosty Friday night when Marta had last
been seen. For all anyone knew, the missing girl might have
walked out after dawn Saturday morning, making her bed
before she left the house.

While volunteer searchers were assembling near the girl’s
home for another all-day hunt Monday morning, Patrolman
Gino Mettozzi, driving one of Falls Township’s three patrol
cars, swung into a side road linking heavily traveled High-
way No. 1 with Route 13, both of which lead into Trenton.

This was just outside of Morrisville, on the Pennsylvania
side of the Delaware River, across from Trenton. Two lines
of the Pennsylvania Railroad converge near Morrisville, the
four-track New York division coming up from Philadelphia
and a two-track fast freight line from the West, known as
the Trenton Cutoff.

Added to the network of highways and rail lines, an old
canal runs alongside the main tracks of the Pennsylvania
Railroad. Methodically, Mettozzi checked the frozen over
canal,

Next, he swung onto a side road, skirting an oval-shaped
pond in the V formed by railroad embankments. Known
locally as Curtis Lake, this was an abandoned gravel pit
that had filled with water. Skaters had been on the lake
all day Saturday and Sunday. Police had questioned them,
but they had seen no sign of Marta Gibbons.

Now, Mettozzi tooled his patrol [Continued on page 59]

Coroner Ferris, left, Police Chief Franklin Kirby, uni-
form, and another officer, confer at scene of slaying.

Left to right, Detective Irwin, Detective Chief Kohler
and Trooper Dane checking tread marks of killer’s car.

This is the home from which lovely Marta Gibbons was
abducted while her younger sister slept in nearby room.


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e 23]
eres

vy anything about
the outfit pulled
» hold the whole
ut while I can.”
ve,” Bricker ad-
ight on this con-

confessed. “The
vho reported his
ubna. And Bubna
e automatic from
his idea is, but it
.s from here.”

is bit of informa-
‘stimated. Swain,
to the investiga-
a picture of Mike
‘ues’ gallery files.
1 hired me to tow
id,” he declared.
I’ve seen his pic-

ned a confession
stolen car racket,
ticipation in the
ther. He was re-
Bricker, Corporal
Roy Wong, went

prize fighter and
ig World War II
ially. “Come in,”
ton my Pontiac ?”
for Mr. McFad-
‘ker said deliber-
z Big Mike Bubna

d, his eyes grew
e?”
me when purchas-
Bricker told him.
matter of murder
k into.”
. Carmen “Millie”
with her brother,
custody. Both pro-
no avail. Taken to
nfronted with the
Arthur Stoynoff,
ge.
‘he declared. “I
about any stolen
at to. Bob Fischer

nought Arthur was,-

; out to be a louse.”

see Fischer last?”
, unperturbed.

Bubna answered
ominick were at the
nks. But I haven't
since.”

have had any rea-
out of the way?”
Not that I know of.
get along too well.
ion, Dominick took
f left at my place—
teal from him—arid
my car. He killed
n. But I wasn’t in-

mie An

volved in the killing and I don’t intend to
take the rap for it.”

“And you've no idea how we could get
in touch with Dominick ?”

“T can’t tell you,” Bubna admitted. “He
has a girl friend by the name of Eleanor
Tarbell. Maybe she can help you out.”

Obtaining the girl’s address, the three
officers went to her home, only to learn
that Eleanor Tarbell had also shaken the
dust of Erie from her heels, Presumably
she had left town in company with Mike
Dominick.

Dominick, meanwhile, was beginning
to loom as the key figure in the murder
investigation. An alarm was sent out for
him and the Tarbell woman, along with
a description of Bubna’s two-tone Pon-
tiac. Stoynoff’s alibi for the.time of the
murder was checked and verified. And
a thorough search of Bubna’s home fol-
lowed.

This was conducted by Detectives Ed-
ward Allen and Edward Williams. They
uncovered no evidence of Bubna’s con-
nection with the ring of car thieves, but
they did recover nearly $1,000 worth of
bedroom linens, lingerie and silverware,
all of which had been reported stolen.
Millie Thomas was charged specifically

. with these thefts.

HE whereabouts of Mike Dominick

and Eleanor Tarbell, however, re-
mained the big stumbling block. Lieuten-
ant Bricker, anticipating that the girl
might get in touch with relatives in the
city, made arrangements to have a check
placed on all incoming mail and tele-
grams, The wisdom of this precaution
became apparent when an alert telegraph
operator intercepted a wire from the
Tarbell woman, in which she requested
that fifty dollars be mailed to her in
Savannah, Georgia.

The lieutenant immediately contacted
FBI Agent D. K. Brown in Savannah,
asking that both suspects be placed under
arrest and held for the arrival of Erie
officers. Twenty-four hours later the
pickup had been made and Sergeant
Schauer, Corporal Mathias and County
Detective John Coates were en route to
the southern city.

“We've already impounded the Pontiac
sedan,” Agent Brown told them on ar-*
rival. “Laboratory tests have produced
traces of human blood on the upholstery:
of the car. The blood type can be
matched with that of Fischer, for further
proof that this machine was used to dis-
pose of the body.”

Both Dominick and the Tarbell woman
waived extradition, and returned to Erie
with their captors. “I don’t know how
you found us,” Dominick muttered. “Or
why you even started to look for us in
the first place.”

“Tricks of the trade,” Corporal
Mathias said with a grin. “Even 1f we

_hadn’t connected you with the murder,

Big Mike Bubna was out to get you for
stealing his car.”

Dominick’s face purpled. “Stealing his
car!” he yelled. “Why, that lousey «..
just wait till I see him.”

He had his chance a short time later,
when they arrived at police headquarters

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by

“I lost count of the number of
times I heard the gun go off,”
prisoner (1.), who witnessed murder,

told investigators, (Right) Police
officials examine basement floor
where crime occurred, for evidence

“We’re playing a joke. We’re going to give him a haircut!” the girl said. It was a grim

| TELEPHONE on the desk of
Justice of the Peace Walter Goodwin
buzzed, almost as: if to Signal the end
of the hearing, in which he had just
found a man guilty of falsifying his name
on an automobile license application.
Goodwin, whose bailiwick was the
suburb of Wesleyville, near Erie, Penn-
sylvania, lifted the instrument.
“Yes,” he said after a moment,
“They’re still here. Just a second.”
He turned the telephone over to a
Pennsylvania state trooper, one of two
who had brought in the defendant on the
auto license charge. The officer carried
on a brief conversation with his caller,
then turned abruptly to his fellow
trooper and Goodwin.
“We'll have to let this thing go for
now,” he said. “There’s been a killing

south of town. Couple of kids shag-
ging balls near the golf course came
across’ a body full of bullet holes.”

Turning to the defendant, a tall, 250-
pound man named Mike Bubna, who
was accused of using the name of James
G. McFadden on his automobile license
registration, the trooper added:

“You make arrangements with the
Squire for your fine, Bubna. We’ll have
to leave. And watch yourself on this
car business. Next time we pick you
up it won’t be for a rap like using a
phoney name.” : 3

The officers hurried out of the alder-
man’s office to their car and “Big Mike”
Bubna signed a bond covering payment
of the fine.

Detectives were soon converging on a
death scene in a‘lonely wooded ravine,

jest th:
sodden and cold in a wet March thaw, merous
adjacent to the municipal golf course out five
five miles south of Erie. head.
Here, in a rudely scraped out depres- “Bulle
sion, partially covered by a moist blanket as thoug
of rotting foliage, was sprawled a man’s up first,
body. Under orders of State Police. been de:
Lieutenant John Bricker, a squad of The ir
troopers had already started a careful body.
search of the area and were taking pre- covered
cautions to preserve such clues as might ‘victim
remain to be discovered under closer and a s
scrutiny of the area later. had bee
Deputy Coroner Allen J. Firman _ Distri
arrived and made a preliminary exami- lin arrl\
nation of the body, after carefully re- briefed
moving its covering of leaves. “He v
The dead man was perhaps thirty he was
years of age, his features swollen be- did it «
yond recognition and marked by nu- he wou
Sitti


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in Erie, There he learned that Bubna
had virtually accused him of stealing the
gun with which to kill Fischer and then
stealing the automobile in which to make
his escape.

“There’s no use denying it,’ Bubna~

said virtuously, ‘“I—lI ‘had to tell them,
Mike, that you and Bob didn’t get along
too well together,”

“You double crossing rat,” Dominick

‘screamed, “Wait until I do a little talk-

ing on my own.” ,

Bricker ordered Bubna removed from
the room. Then he looked at Dominick,
“Now we're ready for your story.”

O FAR as the activities of the car
stealing gang were concerned, Dom-
inick provided them with the same

story as that.told by Arthur Stoynoff, |

Bubna, he declared, headed: the gang. He
and Fischer took care of the car thefts,
while Stoynoff disposed of the stolen
machines,

“I always got along fine with Bob
Fischer,” Dominick told them, “But
Bubna tried to pull a fast one. ‘Bob and
I were to split on'every car we arranged
to have stolen. But Big Mike didn’t tell
Bob when I brought one in and he didn’t
let me know when Bob had had one
picked up.

“Bob got wise to the double dealing
and put up a squawk, He accused Bubna
of holding out.on him and asked for more
Pn That’s when Bubna knocked him
oO pee
“Were you there at the time?” Lieu-
tenant Bricker asked casually.

“TI sure was,” Dominick admitted.
“And believe me, it’s something I’ll re-
member as long as I live.”

According to Dominick, he went to
Bubna’s home on Sunday, March 3. They
spent the eyening discussing “business”
while Millie served drinks, Later, Bob
Fischer came in and began arguing about
the money he claiined Bubna owed him.

“T didn’t want to take sides one way
or the other,” Dominick declared, “So I
got up and went out for awhile, I was
gone maybe half an hour. When I went
back no one was around. I walked out
in the kitchen and poured myself a drink
when [heard Big Mike yell for me. He

said he was in the basement with Millie, ~

“Well, I went to the top of the base-
ment steps. and looked down. Sure
enough, Millie and Big Mike were there.

. Fischer was lying on the floor and Mike

was kicking him around. Millie had his
wallet in her hand and was going through
it looking for money. All of a sudden,
Mike pulled out a gun and began firing
at Bob. I turned around and ran upstairs
and out in the kitchen for another drink.”

“What happened after that?” Bricker
prompted, as Dominick appeared to falter
in his story. “Why didn’t you call the

: police ?””

“T was too scared,” Dominick admitted.
“Big Mike is a tough guy. And I wasn’t
looking to get what Bob did,” /

Afterward, he declared, when Fischer
was. lying dead on the floor, Millie
stripped him of his clothing and
everything else by which they thought he
could be identified, and threw them in the

furnace. The bloodstains were washed |

east aaee

down the drain and Dominick was
ordered to put the body in Bubna’s auto-
mobile and dispose of it at his own dis-
cretion.

“I didn’t know just what to do with
it,” Dominick confessed. “So I waited
until Monday night. Then Bubna said
T had to get it out of the way. SolI drove
out to the golf course and buried it in that
little ravine, I threw the gun away, too,
because Big Mike thought it might be
dangerous to have around the house in
case the cops began checking up on us.

“When I tried to drive away, the rear
wheel got stuck in the mud. Some young
fellow and his girl came along and took
me to the garage where I hired the
wrecker to give me a tow. I was scared
sick because I knew he’d remember me
when the body was found, But I didn’t
know what else to do. I had to get the
ee away from there, and get it away
ast.”

On learning the details, he said Bubna
flew into a rage and ordered him to take
the Pontiac out of town for a few weeks.
After collecting thirty-five dollars for
expenses, Dominick then contacted his
girl friend and the two left for Georgia
on Tuesday morning.

“Everything might have been all
right,” Dominick commented bitterly.
“But Bubna tried to get out of the mess
by reporting his car stolen. He figured
I'd be picked up and accused of the
murder,”

Dominick’s part in the crime was
backed up by the fact that his footprints
fitted the moulage impressions found near
the shallow grave, However, Big Mike
Bubna was not implicated except through
his confederate’s confession—and this he
steadfastly declared was a lie.

True, the tires of Bubna’s car matched
the markings found on the road shoulder
near the ravine, But Bubna did not deny
that his Pontiac may have been used for
transporting the body. He merely con-
tended that it had heen stolen before that
occurred.

In an effort to,corroborate Dominick’s
statement of what had occurred, Bricker
had him reenact the crime. His account
of what happened was then checked with
the previous report, but no discrepancies
were found, Other officers were dis-
patched to Bubna’s home, with orders to

, examine the cellar thoroughly for evi-

dence of the crime.

L“80R4TORY experts took samples

of water which remained in the cel-
lar drain and analyzed them. Traces of
human blood were found. Hairs were also
found clinging to the metal vent and it
was proved that these had come from
the head of the dead man. There seemed
little reason to doubt that they had found
the exact: spot where the murder of
Robert Fischer had occurred.

With this evidence Bubna, Millie
Thomas and Dominick were promptly in--
dicted for first degree murder.

Both Bubna and Dominick pressed for
separate trials and ,this request was
granted,

Big Mike Bubna and his sister, Millie
Thomas, went to trial during the second
week of May, 1946. Millie and Mike took ~

4]

the stand
the murde:
ing been i
state alleg
killing.
Mike D«
ness for th
sion of the
assisted in
Millie a
nocent plez
telephone 1
connected t
thefts. St
not implica
mit and pli
to car theft
The casi
Millie was
May 24, 19

or on a rac

guest could
ing been i
sure an inv
The way
happy. The
receiving ci
and the me
We were
then I had
I said, “I
any more.
lished to gi
that twenty
out. By no
seen us in
that we’se ;
get drunk a
to handle «
into busines
apartment,
liquor, food
going to be

OU tho
nodded
she agreed.
place, the f
buy whatey
good addre:
“Further:
lot easier to
apartment |
not only can
we're handi:
raise the a:
refreshment
much rathe
couple of ni
ment nearby
a couple of ;
the girls Ic
makes the c
“Sounds |
around,”
It was a ¢
It worked
dicted. Mos

were entert


k was
s auto-
vn dis-

lo with
waited

na said
I drove
- in that
ay, too,
ight be
ouse in
) on us.
the rear
e young |
nd took
red the {|
s scared
nber me
I didn’t ' |
1

get the
it away

d Bubna
1 to take
vy weeks.
jars for
ected his
Georgia

deen all
bitterly.
the mess
e figured
1 of the

ime was
ootprints
yund near
3ig Mike
t through
id this he

+ matched A
{ shoulder
{ not deny
1 used for
erely con-
vefore that

Yominick’s
d, Bricker
‘is account
ecked with
crepancies
were dis- }
1 orders to i
y for evi- {

ok samples
in the cel- *|

Traces of i
“s were also i
vent and it :
come from ‘
iere seemed 4

y had found
murder of |
ona, Millie }

oromptly in- +
tT.

pressed for ;
‘equest was

sister, Millie
z a second
id Mike took ©

the stand and denied any knowledge of
the murder. They also denied ever hav-
ing been in the car theft ring which the
state alleged was the motive for the
killing. r .

Mike Dominick was the strongest wit-
ness for the state. He repeated his ver-
sion of the slaying and admitted that he
assisted in the disposal of the body.

Millie and Mike Bubna found their in-
nocent plea blasted when hotel registers,
telephone records and telegraph records
connected them with Stoynoff and the car
thefts. Stoynoff had proved that he was
not implicated in the killing. He did ad-
mit and pleaded guilty, in county’ court,
to car theft charges.

The case of Big Mike and his sister
Millie was given to the jury at 4:14 on
May 24, 1946. They deliberated only four

or on a race horse. Anything so that the
guest could show his appreciation at hav-
ing been invited—and incidentally, in-
sure an invitation for the next party.

The way it ended up, everybody was
happy. The girls had a good time plus
receiving cash, the host got his kickback
and the men got to meet the girls.

We were doing fine, Lou and I, and
then I had 4 brilliant idea.

I said, “Lou, we don’t need the agency

any more. We’re well enough estab--

lished to get along without it, and save
that twenty-five per cent we’re handing
out. By now all the party-givers have
seen us in action often enough to know
that we’se good ‘company, that we don’t
get drunk and stupid, that we know how
to handle ourselves. Why don’t we go
into business for ourselves—use our own
apartment, and for a flat fee furnish
liquor, food and even other girls, if it’s
going to be a big party?”

| Phedes thought it over carefully, then,
nodded. “Sure, we could do that,”
she agreed. “We've got a nice looking
place, the furniture is passable—we can
buy whatever we need—and we've got a
good address.

“Furthermore,” she went on, “it’s a
lot easier to talk business in a small cozy
apartment than a big hotel suite. We
not only can save the twenty-five per cent
we’re handing out to the agency, we can
raise the ante and make money on the
refreshments we hand out. A man would
much rather tell a client, ‘I know a.
couple of nice girls who have an apart-
ment nearby,’ than have to say he knows
a couple of girls he can call up. It makes
the girls look more legitimate, and it
makes the client feel more at ease.

“Sounds like a good idea all the way
around.”

It was a good idea all the way around.
It worked out just like Lou had pre-
dicted. Most men—particularly if they
were entertaining important politicians

hours before returning a verdict of guilty
with a recommendation of mercy for
Millie. The stubbornness of one juror

revented the death sentence for both. He
held out for life so far as Millie was con-
cerned. Judge Elmer L. Evans presided.

The case of Mike Dominick was a
strange one. He was brought up for
trial on the murder charge in February,
1947, The state had already presented
his story at the trial of Mike Bubna and
Millie Thomas as a strict eye-witness
account of what happened. Since they
accepted this story as the truth, and since
Dominick only admitted to disposing of
the body, he was acquitted of the murder
count. He pleaded guilty as an accessory
after the fact and was given a sentence
of twenty-two months in the peniten-
tiary.

Sex Party

[Continued from page 15]

or big company executives—preferred to
do it in an attractive apartment.

We made good hostesses, Lou and I.
Usually we were introduced as young
and coming actresses and we were both
pretty and had nice clothes and a good
fund of small talk.’ We knew how to keep
the ball rolling until everybody had had
a few drinks and was relaxed. Often, of
course, the pa:'ty would consist of half a
dozen or more men, and we'd have to
call in other girls. But that was all
arranged in advance, and well covered
by the fees we charged.

We had a good business, and so far
as I was concerned, everything was al-
ways on the up and up.

Oh, sure, sometimes things happened
that weren’t so kosher, but I personally
had nothing to do with them. Occasion-
ally, for. instance, one of our clients

- would come armed with a little camera,

and later, when the client was so drunk
he didn’t know what he was doing, or
was passed out on the couch, a photo-
graph would be snapped, just in case the
client needed persuading when the con-
tract signing came around, Many a tough
business man who. wouldn't tous a bribe
or a kickback with a. ten-foot pole will
give in very meekly rather than have his
wife find out he was partying.

And I know that more than once a
guest woke up to find he’d been clipped
for all his ready cash by one of the girls
we hired, but as I say, I stayed strictly
away from anything like that. Tech-
nically I was always completely innocent,

It was an easy life—until that Satur-
day night in June. We had a business
date that night, Lou and I, with Max
Brown, a customer of ours who was a
big fur manufacturer. He’d called me up
the night before and said he was bringing
along a Mr. Carmody.

“Carmody is the fur buyer for one of
the largest string.of stores in the coun-
try,” Brown said. “I want him to have a
good time. It’s important to me, Frances,

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pe aie as eS Sas
ey CE Be

aim yet? 1 thought that was why
you came .. .? The impish twinkle
died out of his eyes. “Ilc’s Michael
Dominick,” he added seriously.
Silently the Sergeant rubbed his
shin with his knuckles. Mathias
stared out the window. The silence
lasted for almost. a ful mimute.
“Michael Dominick!” Mathias

aaid softly. “Well, thank you. We'll ,

be going now.”

“That kind of a sense of humor
must cost him a lot of friends,” the
Corporal muttered as they returned
to their car.

“It’s a cinch Dominick’s not going
to chuck him under the chin for
this. The case against him is really
adding up. He borrows Bubna’s car
to take a trip. Half a day later—
after he has supposedly left—he
turns up in the middle of the night
not fifty yards from the spot where
a stiff is found later. To be sure,
we don’t have a motive yet, but we
do know that he knew.Fisher. An
argument after a couple of drinks
all around and...” The Sergeant
goncluded with a flip of his hand.

Mathias nodded. “Puts us right
back where we started—looking for
Dominick. And we haven’t had a
nibble yet on that alarm we sent
out.”

Back at headquarters, they re-.
ported on the latest developments.
‘Then they sat back while Chief
Christoph got something off his
chest.

“I’m putting you in charge,” he
barked, waggling a finger at Mar-
tin. “Forget, about everything else
and bring Dominick in!”

Wasting no time, the Sergeant’

sparked an intensified man-hunt,
flashed new bulletins to police in
every state of the Union, describing
the fugutive and the missing car.
At the same time, abetted by
Mathias, he. pecked away at every
known connection of Dominick’s for
gome .lead to his possible where.-
abouts.

TWO days of painstaking en-
deavor and Corporal Mathias finally
gauntered up to Martin’s desk.
“Here it is!” he said, grinning. “
just found out that Dominick has
an uncle who runs a tourist camp
near Miami, Can you think of a
better bet for a guy trying to lay
low?” . .

“This) may be what we've been

fooking for,” Martin exclaimed, eyes:

bugging. Then, picking up his tele-
phone, he soon had the wires hum-
ming to the South. Detailed des-

criptions of the wanted man were.

sent to the Florida State Police and
to law-enforcement agencies all
along his probable route.

The next day the activity - bore
fruit. Martin had just .checked in
when his phone rang. “Savannah
calling,” the operator said.. A
moment later, a man’s voice was
drawling the good. news that

' Michael Dominick had been picked

up driving the gray Pontiac.
That afternoon, Corporal Mathias
and Sergeant Schauer of the state

62 :

police were diapatehed to Savannnh
to bring back the fugitive.

Four days later, the long:-aought
gray sedan puled up in front of
Lawrence Park barracks. Led into
Lieutenant Bricker’s office, Domin-
ick snarled. :

“What’s the matter with you
cops?” he demanded. “Can’t a man
go off on a vacation any more? I
told your men I didn’t know any-
thing about Bob Fisher’s death. I
borrowed that car from my friend

‘Mike Bubna to run down to Florida

for a few weeks. Any crime in
that?” p

“Why didn’t -you tell your friend,
Big Mike, where you were going?”
Bricker asked.

“Huh?” The suspect’s eyes widen-
ed. “What do you mean? Of course
I told him. It was no secret.”

The Lieutenant smiled quietly.

“That’s strange,” he said. “Bubna

reported his car was stolen.”

Dominick’s'-jaw dropped. “What!
The dirty double-crosser put you
guys on my tail!” he fumed. “Why
aden ¥

“Double-crossed you, did he?”
Schauer tsk-tsked reprovingly.

The prisoner ground his teeth to-
gether, seething with anger. A’ few
minutes later, a’ fantastic confes-
sion was pouring from his lips. “I
didn’t do it, I want you to under-
stand,” he led off. “That devil Big
Mike ... he’s not even human!”

“Tet’s have it straight,” Bricker

urged.

“OQ.K. It started Monday after-
noon, in Big Mike’s house on 26th
Street,” Dominick began again.
“Mike and Millie and I were sitting
around, drinking, when Bob Fisher
dropped in about six. He left soon,

but returned after nine, He was

plenty lit up by that time. 1 guess.

we all were, too, but Fisher was the
most potted. Millie Thomas picked
up a pair cf scissors. and began
snipping at his hair. He was too far
gone to stop her. Big Mike began
rocking with laughter. ‘Trim his
locks, Delilah!’ he kept calling.
Millie went to town and cropped
Fisher’s hair almost to the scalp.
They both thought it was a great
joke, then. But it sure made them
sweat later!”

“What do you mean?” Bricker
demanded.

“Well, about a half hour later,
Big Mike and Fisher got into an
argument. I heard Mike yelling that
Bob had crossed him in a car deal.
Then he slapped Fisher across the
face with his open hand. There was
more noise and swearing. They sort
of drifted into the kitchen, Next
thing I know, Big Mike was calling
me from the cellar.”

“Where was Mrs. Thomas?” the -

Lieutenant asked, blinking.

“She was with them,” Dominick
said. ‘She’s 100 per cent poison clear
through. I heard her laughing as I
started down the steps. Then, sev-
eral shots! When I got there, Big
Mike was holding that dinky Bel-
gian gun of his. It was smoking,
and Fisher was stretched out on the
floor, his face all bloody. Mike had
been pounding his head against the
drain .. .”? The suspect swallowed
nauseously. ‘

“That didn’t bother Millie, though,”
he went on. “After Mike was
through with Fisher, she calmly
rolled the body over and extracted
his wallet.. Then she cut the collar
off Fisher’s shirt and threw it into

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the furnace. Suddenly she turned
white, remembering —hiw hair al?
over the parlor! Dashing upstairs,
sho gathered it all up in a ner
paper and threw that into the f
too.” q

The swarthy prisoner pau w
lick his lips. “Meanwhile, Big mike
and I had dragged the body to the
car. Then he ordered me to get rid
of it—the gun, too—so I drove out,
past the golf course and dumped
them. I dumped them, but I got
stuck in the mud and had to call
a tow truck. Mike looked at me
funny when I told him about. it.
That must of been when he was
fixing up this dirty deal—the big
hyena! Anyhow, he said I should
take the car and ‘duck out of sight.”

“Do you always do what Bubns
tells you to?” Bricker asked.

“Well, Fisher didn’t . . -” the
prisoner said bluntly. ;

Dominick booked, the officers
sped to West 26th Street. |

Confronted with the charges,
Bubna. denied them stoutly. “Fisher
left here at six o’clock Monday and
never came back,” he declared. His
sister backed up his every word.

However, sharp-eyed. investiga-
tors, combing the house, found evi-
dence to refute these denials. The
recently scrubbed linoleum in the
basement yielded traces of human
blood, and the floor drain, its screen
covering pried away, gave up sev-
era] strands of sandy human hair.

“Bob Fisher’s!” Shauer exclaim-
ed. “Here’s one practical joke that’s
going to backfire on this diabolical
brother-and-sister act. That prank
of clipping their drunken victim’s
hair gives us just the definite link
we need. They'll never be able to
talk away these few wisps of hair.”

The Sergeant’s prediction held
true.‘On March 27th, Bubna.,
Thomas and Dominick were br
before Alderman William F. +
for preliminary hearing. He bound
them over to the Erie County Grand
Jury April term.

Forseeing the successful conclu
gion of the’ case ‘against Big Mike
Bubna, his sister and his cowed
henchman, Mong ordered Pat Cor-
bin released on the murder charge

With the coming of May, the law
moved quickly. On May: Ist, 1946
all three prisoners were indictec
for murder. On the fourteenth
Bubna and Mrs. Thomas came v}
for trial before County Judg
Elmer L. Evans. Ten days later, :
jury of seven men and five wome:
found both guilty. Mrs. Carme:
Millie Thomas was gtven life im
prisonment for her part in the mur
der. Big Mike Bubna was sentence
to die in the electric chair.

“That big brute will be gettin
his own close haircut soon enoug
now,” Martin commented to hi
side-kick, as he walked out of tk
courtroom. °

Only Michael Dominick still 1
mains to be tried.

(THE END)

|

oicture?” Mong wanted to know.
“Pm not sure,” Ruska said. “But
(ve been looking for him as a
material witness. You see, I haven’t
a shred of evidence on Corbin, But
Bisher knows plenty about his ac-
tivities, and I thought he’d be able
to furnish just the link I needed.

Now here’s the interesting part:.

my boys reported that Corbin was
also hunting for ‘Fisher over the
week-end, going from one joint to
another, and doing a good deal of
drinking. He was overheard mutter-
ing something about having been
‘gouble-crossed.’ ”

“Where's this Corbin now?”

Ruska’s face fell. “He’s gone. My
mon lost him after Sunday night.
{ looks like he’s skipped town.”

“Let's get moving then,” the
Chief said briskly. “You, Jack, get
a bulletin out on the teletype. You,
id, start checking Corbin’s friends
for some clue to where he might
be heading. Maybe he has a girl in
town? Maybe she can help.”

The Chief’s suggestion turned out
to be a valuable one. After an all-
day search, Ruska straggled back
to headquarters at seven in the
evening, a triumphant glitter in his
ye.

“{ think we've got them, Chief,”
ne said, almost as soon as he en-
tered Christoph’s office. “Corbin’s
girl has skipped, too. However, I
located an aunt of hers who re-
ceived a wire this morning. She
wanted some clothes sent without
any fuss.”

“Where to?” Christoph demanded.

“pittsburgh. Here’s the address.”

Lifting the telephone, the Chief
called the Detective Bureau in the.
Smoky City. Twenty minutes later,
the Pittsburgh police called back to
zeport that they had collared the
fleeing couple. °

Losing no time, Christoph dis-
patched Detectives George Barber
and John Anthony with State Police
Corporal Mehallick to pring the
pair back. After a three-hour drive
from Erie, they arrived at Pitts-
purgh Police Headquarters.

Mehallick was about to leave with
nis prisoners when, the Desk Ser-
geant handed him the. keys to Cor-
bin’s car. Sauntering out to the
parking space in back, the Coryoral
handed the keys and car-check to
an attendant. A moment later, his
eyes sparkled brightly. The man
brought out a gray Pontiac two-
door sedan!

Whisked back to Erie, the un-
communicative suspect was turned
aver to Lieutenant Bricker and
Captain Mong for questioning. He
blanched when Bricker broke the
charge. .

“Murder!” he whispered, licking
his lips. His previously stubborn
attitude of refusal to answer ques-
tions dropped away. “I thought you
cops were still on my tail for that
bot car business,” he muttered un-
easily. “You ought to know mur-
der isn’t in my line.”

“Being murdered wasn’t in Bob

Fisher’s line, either,” Bricker said
quietly, “but it happened. When’d
you see him last?” he added mat-
ter-of-factly.

“Monday night — about supper
time,” the suspect replied. “Just as
I was leaving town.”

No amount of grilling could shake
Corbin’s story. After a six-hour ses-
sion, he still stood firm. “I left
town Monday evening,” he insisted.
“Fisher was alive then—I saw him
entering his wife’s house.”

Shaking his head doubtfully,
Mong waved the suspect to a cell.
“{ wonder if he and Dominick can
be in cahoots: on this thing,” he
mused, after the prisoner had been
led away. “They’ve worked together
before, transferring stolen cars.. bis

“Maybe. But how about Corbin’s
story that he saw Fisher going to
visit his wife?” Bricker asked.
“They’re separated, arent they?”

“Martin and Mathias are out

looking for Mrs. Fisher right now,”

the detective captain informed him.

ACROSS town, at that very mo-

ment, the detective pair was being -

admitted to Mrs. Fisher’s apart-
ment The woman’s red-rimmed eyes
and wan face revealed that she al-
ready knew about her estranged
husband’s death. ‘
In reply to Mathias’s opening
question, she readily admitted her
husband’s visit Monday night. “He
stopped by for a few minutes about
nine o'clock,” she said, beginning to
sniffle. “He’d. had several drinks,”
she added in a low voice.
“Why would anyone want to mur-
der him?” the Corporal questioned
Mrs. Fisher shook her head
“Mrs, Fisher shook her head

“wow!

1 didn't mean to intrude.”

slowly from side to side. “Thats
what makes it so hard to believe.
Bob was such a friendly guy —
everybody liked him! The whole
thing seems like a nightmare to
me. It’s unbelievable . . . just like
that other time...”

“What other time?” Martin asked
curiously, perking up.

“It was a practical joke Mike
Bubna pulled on me about a month
ago,” she explained. Nervously, she
related ner friend’s grisly prank.

The two officers looked at one
another quizzically. “Strange sense
of humor,” Mathias commented.

“Weird,” Martin said. “But too
obvious to make the prankster a
suspect. I’ve never heard of a killer
rehearsing a murder that way, if
he really meant business. By the
way, who is this guy Bubna, any-
way?” he asked, turning to Mrs.
Fisher.

The grieving woman fluttered her
hands helplessly. “That all goes
back to the H-Bar-B,” she said,
sighing.

Noticing the puzzled expression
on the detectives’ faces, she quickly
went on: “That's the name of a cafe
Bob and I ran in Edinboro. Origin-
ally it belonged to my first husband,
Dr. William Horst. He died two
years ago in an automobile acci-
dent. Shortly after I married Bob,
he hired Millie Thomas to work at
the cafe. She introduced her
brother—he’s Mike Bubna—and he
brought Michael Dominick around.
We all became pretty good friends.
Big Mike’s a_ terrible practical
joker, but he’s good-hearted. As a
matter of fact, he lives in a house
I own on West 26th Street.”

Martin’s jay tightened. “A big,

beefy fellow, black mustache and
hair, rather sharp dresser?” he
asked.

“Yes, that’s Mike,” Mrs. Fisher
said. '

“McFadden!” Mathias muttered.

Impatient to get going, they left
Mrs, Fisher’s apartment.

“So our big friend whose car was
gtolen sails under an alias!” the
Corporal remarked as they descend-
ed the stairs.

“Do you think that car was really
lifted?” Martin asked.

“J don’t know,” Mathias replied.
“But it seems to me, if this guy’s
car is the one that made those
tracks near the ravine, he might
have reported it missing in order to
divert suspicion from himself.”

“Where is the car, then?” the.
Sergeant questioned. “The Pontiac
Corbin was driving is legally regis-
tered under his own name.”

“Let's see what ‘McFadden’ has
to say,” Mathias suggested.

Climbing into their car, the two
officers sped to West 26th Street.
At their knock, the big man opened
the door. :

“Hello, McFadden,” Martin said
airily.

The man blinked. Then a tiny,
mischievous smile trimmed his lips.
“Oh yes,” he said, recollecting, “‘the
men from headquarters. Come in.
Any news about my stolen car?”

Inside the parlor of the house, the
officers hardly heard their host’s
question. They could barely keep
from staring at a sultry brunette
seated on the couch. ,

“May I present my sister, gentle-

men?” Mrs. Thomas,” he intro-
duced.

The detectives nodded acknowl-
edgement.

“Now what about my car?” the
big man asked again. '

“Well, that’s a question,” Martin
said solemnly. “You see, we have
to know if the car belonged to
James McFadden or Mike Bubna
before we can go any further.”

Both officers eyed their host
closely for any reaction to this un-
expected revelation, But to their
surprise he only broke into a broad

“So you've found me out, eh?”
he said, chuckling. “Guess I’d bet-
ter explain the gag. You see, I was
playing a practical joke on a friend
of mine and this was all part of
the plan. I lent him my <ar for a
trip he was taking out of town.
That was last Monday morning,
March 4th. Then I reported the car
stolen as of that night. I used a
false name so that my friend
wouldn’t get wise too soon. He’s
pretty well aware of my penchant
for pranks. But frankly, this one
got out of hand—I never expected
my stolen car report to become
somehow involved in a murder in-
vestigation.”

“Who's your friend?” Martin de-
manded.

Bubna looked surprised. “You
don’t know? But haven’t you caught

(See Over)

~~

BUBNA, Michael, white, elec PAS (Erie) October 20,

BY WALTER LOWRY

1. had been a severe winter, but almost
imperceptibly the wintry blasts and freezing
temperatures began easing up until, by the
afternoon of March 6, 1946, a definite tang
of spring was spicing the air.

On the afternoon in question, beguiled
by the gentle warmth of the sun, two con-
firmed duffers appeared at the Erie, Pa. Golf
Club just outside the city. Although the
grounds were not yet in shape, two local
boys genially agreed to caddie, and in a few
moments the golfers were on their way.

The golf enthusiasts soon realized their
mistake. A blustery wind, blowing off Lake
Erie, played havoc with their drives. But
reluctant to give up, they grimly continued
with their game.

They were coming up to the eighth hole
when a ball, abetted by the wind, sailed
clear past the northern boundary of the
course. The two caddies, Fred Lichtenwalter
and Elmer Zimmer, went in hot pursuit,
Plunging through a patch of briars, they
had just started down the side of a steep
ravine when suddenly, young Zimmer, wha
was leading the way, stopped short.

“What's that?” he whispered hoarsely.

His friend followed his pointing finger,
and an.instant later his mouth dropped
open at the sight before him. Two human
feet were sticking out of a long, low mound
of mud directly ahead.

PARAS EGA WD BARRO OB OO RAR,

1947

DARING DETECTIVE, May, 1952


ee eee

The feminine charm of the sloe-
eyed girl was equalled only by
the callousness of her heart.

Official photographer Harry Nielson
and State Corporal John Mehallick,
above, on the golf course grounds
where the body of the victim, right,
lies in a shallow, leaf-covered grave.

The youths exchanged puzzled glances.
Then, gulping nervously, they slowly pushed
forward, bodies taut and eyes alert.

They had proceeded for a distance of
some thirty feet when they made another
discovery, this one more grisly than the first!
A man’s head—puffy and purpled with
bruises—was protruding from the mound at the other end.
Their curiosity more than satisfied, the two caddies whirled
and sprinted for the clubhouse to spread the alarm,

Within the half-hour, an impressive array of investigators
began gathering in the lonely ravine. Lieutenant James
Bricker and Corporal John Mehallick, from Lawrence Park
barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police, were first on hand.
Soon after came Chief of Police George Christoph and De-
tective Captain R. B. Mong. And finally the Erie County
officials arrived, Sheriff Paul Babbitt, Acting District At-
torney Damian J. McLaughlin, Acting County Detective
John Coates, and Deputy Coroner W. A. Firman making up
the group.

After scraping away the remains of the crude surface
grave, the officers examined the corpse. It was that of a
fairly young man with black hair cropped close to his scalp.
He had suffered a fearful beating. Both eyes were black-
ened and his nose was smashed. The body, clad only in an
undershirt and shorts, showed numerous purple bruises.
Five shots through the head had blasted out the man’s life.

Preliminary examination over, the investigators deployed
through the ravine to search for clues. Almost immediately,

Corporal Mehallick made a find. Bending down, he picked
up an unusual-looking pistol which the sheriff identified
as a .25-caliber Belgian-make automatic.

A few minutes later, Detective Coates raised a shout.
He had discovered a bundle of clothing under a bush.
When the officers sidled over, he was holding up a pair
of gray flannel pin-striped trousers and a torn white shirt

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with the collar and neckband roughly sheared off.

“In all probability, that missing neckband had some
interesting laundry marks,” the county detective remarked.
“Looks like someone was determined to prevent identifica-
tion of the body.”

Frowning, Bricker turned to the deputy coroner. “How
long do you figure he’s been dead?”

Firman leaned over the corpse for a closer examination
of the skin bruises. “A couple of days at most,” he said,
presently. “Since Monday night or thereabouts.”

The roar of a motor on the dirt road above interrupted
the discussion. A moment later, two men scrambled down
the side of the ravine and strode over to the assembled
officers. They were Sergeant Jack Martin, a city plain-
clothesman, and State Police Corporal C. M. Mathias, a
pair that often teamed up in city-county criminal probes.

Gravely, the newcomers listencd to Bricker’s outline of
the set-up.

“I'd sure like to know how the corpse got down here,”
Martin observed, half to himself.

“The guy didn’t do it under his own steam—that’s for
sure,”” Mathias vouchsafed.

The two of them climbed back up the slope. Stooping,
they examined the ground between the brink of the ravine
and the dirt road nearby.

Close inspection of the muddy earth brought interesting
results. Tire tracks indicated that two cars had recently
been driven close to the lip of the gully. One of them had
apparently run into trouble. A deep furrow showed where

The hous
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before she
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52

permission. Wait for me there. We’ll
take care of your ‘Charlie’.”

Schaaf immediately notified Lieu-
tenant Bricker of these developments.
Next Schaaf put in a call to Mrs.
Fischer. She asked that woman to go
to the morgue and view the body, too.
A_stake-out was placed on the corner
of Peach and 13th Streets. In a few
moments the police noticed a man with
a thin face and furtive look skulking
about the corner. Bricker went up be-
hind the stranger and said, “Hi, Char-
lie.” When the man spun around Brick-
er recognized him immediately as one
of those suspected of being in the car
theft gang. His name was Pete Guzik.

“So you’ve changed your name to
Charlie, eh, Pete?” Bricker said. “Why
the switch?”

“What .. . I don’t know what you’re
talking about,” Guzik said.

“Oh, come off it!” the lieutenant de-
manded. “That call you made to Brad-
ley . . . he recognized your voice.”

“So what of it,” said Guzik. ‘“There’s
no law against it.”

“You had better come along with us.”

The investigators, with Guzik in tow,
went straight to the morgue at the gen-
eral hospital. There Mrs. Foster and
Ace Bradley were picked up and the
group repaired to the Erie police head-
quarters. It was established that the
corpse was Robert Fischer.

Bricker and Schaaf first interviewed
the newly made widow. She told the
police that although she was still mar-
ried to Fischer she no longer lived with
him.

“When did you last see him,” Bricker
asked.

“Why, he came to my house at about
eight o’clock on Monday evening,” the
woman said. “He was drunk.”

“Did he say anything that might be

of use to us?”

“He was grumbling about some
money somebody owed him,” the widow
stated. “He made several phone calls.”

“Do you know who he called?”

“No.”

“Do you know what the calls were
about?”

“No.”’

“What time did he leave your house?”

“He left at about ten after nine,” the
widow said. “Bob said he was going to
collect the three-hundred dollars that
was due him.”

“Did your husband mention where
he was going to get it?”

“He said something about going to
Twenty-sixth Street.”

That street was known to all the in-
vestigators as the residence of “Big
Mike” Bubna and the suspected hang-
out of the car theft ring. Lieutenant
Schaaf put out an order to raid the
address and bring in anyone who was
found on the premises. The investiga-
tors next turned their attention to Pete
Guzik.

“Why did you make that phone call
to Bradley?” they asked him.

“I just got back from Portland, Maine,
this morning,” the thin-faced, shifty-
eyed man replied. “When I got off the
train I saw the papers and the head-

lines about the golf course murder. The
description sounded like Bob Fischer
and I wanted to talk to Bradley about
it. I didn’t want to take a chance using
my name in case his phone was ‘bug-
ged’.”

“What do you know about Fischer’s _

death?”

“Nothing. I swear I don’t know a
thing.”

Lieutenant Schaaf opened a file and
began reading to Guzik all the informa-
tion they had compiled on the auto
theft ring. As item upon item rang
true Guzik began to fidget. He assumed
that the police knew a lot more than
they did about the activities and mem-
bers of the gang. Suddenly, the little
punk started to pour forth information.

He revealed the entire setup of the
ring. He named Bubna, Fischer and
himself as members. He related how
they would steal vehicles in the area
and license them in Maine where regis-

tration of a car was possible without —

actually having it there. Guzik stated

He died for making demands.

that in all he had participated in about
twenty such robberies. He admitted that
the ring had stolen the last gray Pon-
tiac sedan from in front of the club.
the thin-faced thief said. that he had
gone to Portland to arrange this latest
deal and had come back because there
had been some trouble.

“Who was in on that one?” Sergeant
Mehallick asked. :

‘Just Fischer and me,” Guzick said.
“We hid the car in a barn over near
Cambridge Springs. That was a neat
little job. The car is probably still there.

“No, it’s not,” the sergeant answered.
“We had a tip and we looked there. We
didn’t find any car.”

Guzik sat bolt upright in his_ seat.
“You didn’t find a car there?” he asked
incredulously. “Then who could have
taken it?”

“Maybe Fischer took it,” Bricker
said trying to bait the thief. “Maybe he —

was double crossing you just the way
you two double crossed Bubna and

rest.” ees
AMAZING DETECTIVE

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Guzik became furious.

“Maybe that’s why you killed Fisch-
er!” Schaaf said.

“You're out of your mind,” Guzik
said. “You know I was in Portland. I
can prove it too. I made some phone
calls from up there.”

“Maybe .. . maybe not,” Bricker said.

The auto thief was taken away and
lodged in a cell. By then the raiding of-
ficers were back from 26th Street with
Mike Bubna, his sister, Mrs. Millie
Thomas, and another woman who hap-
pened to be there, in tow. The new-
comers were questioned at great length
but nothing new was learned from
them. They were surly and uncom-
municative. Finally Bricker ordered the
lot of them to be held for further ques-
tioning. Pete Guzik was visited in his
cell and asked to prepare a list of all
those seen by him to come and go at
the 26th Street house. The list was
prepared naming most of the other sus-
pected members of the auto theft ring
including one Reuben “Rube” Charles.
A warrant was issued for Rube’s arrest.

With four figures in the case under
lock and key, the investigators met and
held a skull session.

“I think we’re getting close to the
motive for the killing in this case,” Ser-
geant Mehallick said. °

“Yes,” agreed Lieutenant Bricker.
“With Fischer double crossing Guzik,
Guzik might have killed him. We'll
have to check that alibi of his further.”

“Maybe Bubna and the rest bumped

him off because Fischer and Guzik

were double crossing the rest of the
mob,” Schaaf offered.

“How about this?” Mehallick put in.
“Maybe Bubna and the rest of the
mob killed Fischer because they knew
he was hot. After all we were after
Fischer and the gang might have killed
him to take the heat off the rest of
them.”

Late into the night the officers sat
around tossing ideas back and forth.
The next morning they got a lead when
the report of the state police techni-
cians, who had been examining the
golf course murder scene, came in. The
report stated that the tire tracks at the
scene were of a car whose wheels had
spun while stuck in the mud. From the
looks of it the car had been unable to
get out of the mire on its own power
and traces of a second vehicle, a tow-
truck, were found. The experts were of
the opinion that the car which carried
Robert Fischer to the death scene had
become bogged down in the muck and
had had to have a tow-truck to pull it
out. A canvass of the garages in the
vicinity was immediately initiated. At
length two garage employees were
found who remembered taking their
truck to the golf course on that Mon-
day night, where they pulled out a gray
Pontiac Sedan that had been stuck in
the mud. The garage men stated that a
thin-faced man had arrived in a sedan,
which drove off immediately, and asked
them to accompany him to the golf
course. They had gone and had freed
the Pontiac. The thin-faced man had
paid and then driven away.

AMAZING DETECTIVE

The description as thin-faced, of the
Pontiac driver on the fatal night, sug-
gested Pete Guzik. The mechanics were
asked to identify Guzik at the Erie jail.
The two stated emphatically that Guzik
was not the man whose car they had
pulled out of the mud on Monday night.
The garage employees were then con-
fronted with “Big Mike” Bubna. He,
too, was not the man whose car they
had towed on the murder night. The
investigators were proceeding on the
assmption that the gray Pontiac sedan
was the car in which Robert Fischer
had been taken for a ride. Likewise,
it was assumed that whoever drove that
car was connected with the murder.

The garage employees were shown
mug books containing photographs of
all criminals known to the police. Every
known member of the auto theft ring
had his likeness in that book. The two
men slowly turned the pages of the
book. Suddenly, they halted and both
pointed to one picture. It was a mug
photo of Reuben “Rube” Charles.

“So Rube drove the murder car,”
Sergeant Mehallic said.

“Guzik told us that Rube came and
went often at the house on Twenty-
sixth Street, and he might have been
there on the day of the murder,” Lieu-
tenant Schaaf recapped. “It turns out
that Fischer was killed after visiting
Bubna at his house. And Rube Charles

was positively identified as the man who
drove the murder car.”

“Charles had to have some help,”
Bricker said. “He couldn’t have taken
Fischer for a ride by himself. Did the
tow-truck operators say anything about
seeing any confederates?”

“Both of them said that they thought
Charles had someone else with him in
the gray sedan, but neither could see
him clearly,” Mehallick said.

“It could only have been Bubna or
Guzik,” Schaaf said. “We’ve got to get
hold of Rube Charles as soon as pos-
sible. The key to this murder lies with
him.”

HE Erie police had been anxious to
arrest Charles for some time. They
redoubled their efforts to apprehend the
suspected auto thief and possible mur-
derer. Twe detectives who knew Charles
by sight and were acquainted with his
hangouts were detailed to bring Rube in.
After the city was given a thorough
scouring in an effort to flush the elusive
thief, the Erie police believed that
Charles had managed to slip out of the
area. This was confirmed when it was
learned that Charles’ known girl had
recently left town on what her friends
described as a “long vacation.”
The recent and hasty departure of
Rube from the Erie environs deepened
the police’s suspicions. The investigators

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BUBNA, Michael, white, electrocuted Pennsylvania (Erie)

@ AFTER SEVERAL DAYS of steady,
pelting rain, the fairways and greens
of the golf course on the outskirts of
Erie, Pennsylvania, were too soggy for
decent play, although the downpour
had stopped and the drying rays of the
sun were trying to push their way
through the scudding rain clouds. The
first signs of life on the course came
with the appearance of two teenage
boys carrying long sticks, They began
to poke through the coarse, rough grass
at the edge of the fairways, searching
for golf balls. Instead, one found a
man’s shoe protruding through a mound
of mud . . . When he tried to pull it
loose, he discovered that the shoe was
firmly laced to something inside the
mound. He began to scrape the mud
away, and saw that the shoe was at-
tached to the foot of a man. And that
the body of the man was buried deep
inside the mound. The boy stood a
moment, staring at the grisly find in
disbelief.

Terrified, the two boys jumped back

a few steps. In their flight one of them
brushed a metallic object with his foot.
Closer scrutiny revealed the object to
be a small pistol. Without another glance
the two boys tore across the field and
out of the golf course, frantic to report
their gruesome discovery to the police,

Lieutenant John Bricker of the Penn-
sylvania State Police took the report
on that morning of Wednesday, March
6th. Within moments the lieutenant
and a team of detectives and technicians

‘were on the scene. The boys led the in-

vestigators to the clump of bushes in
the rough off the 17th hole.

Cops find traces of blood in floor drain.

50

The body was that of a man between
25 and 30 years of age; closely crop-
ped, light-brown hair; five-feet eight
inches tall; and weighing about 150:
pounds. He was attired in white under-
wear, which was mud-caked and blood-
stained, belt-less trousers rolled down
around his ankles, no socks and one
tan summer-weave shoe. :

Dr. W. A. Firman, the deputy coro-
ner, bent over the form and began his
preliminary examination. While this was
in progress Lieutenant Bricker had his
men fan out over the area and study
the ground. The lieutenant held the smail
pistol by a pencil inserted in the barrel
and examined it.

“It looks like a twenty-five caliber
automatic,” he said to Sergeant John
Mehallick, standing nearby. “Probably
of Belgian make.”

“There are a lot of those around,”
the sergeant said.

The circle of detectives scanning the
ground began to close in around the
clump of bushes. One of the men re-
ported that he had seen signs of a
struggle in the mud on a small rise
about 100 feet away. The group made
their way to the spot. There they found
marks in the mud which indicated that
something, probably the body, had been
dragged from the hillock. Some dis-
tance further away the investigators
came upon a set of clearly marked tire
tracks.

“Get a cast made of those tracks,”
the lieutenant instructed. “It looks as if
the body was brought here in a car
and then dragged down to that clump.”

The group of detectives retraced their

on October 20, 19h:7.

steps back to the site where the body
lay, following thé abrasions on the
ground. The investigators stood around

‘mulling over the probabilities.

“It has all the ear-marks of a gang-
land slaying,” County Detective John
Coates offered. “It looks as if the vic-
time were taken for a ride and dumped
here.”

Just then Dr. Firman looked up as |

he completed his preliminary examina-
tion. =

“This guy was really messed up,” the

pathologist said. “He was shot in the
head five times at close range. There are
a number of other wounds, any of which
might have caused death, which indicate
that he was subjected to a severe beat-
ing.”

a gang killing,” Detective Coates said.
_ “Any clues to identification?” the
lieutenant asked.

“The killer or killers cut away the
neck-band of the shirt taking the laun-

dry mark away,” said Dr. Firman.:

“However, there is some very distinc-
tive dental work in the mouth which
might help.”

“A woman phoned in a report the

other day from Cambridge Springs,”
the county detective offered. “She re-
ported that her husband, who runs a
farm there, is missing. Might be him.”

“Check it out, will you?” Bricker
asked.

Se body was removed to the morgue
at a local hospital. The police crew
finished its work at the scene and in
short order the golf course was deserted.

AMAZING DETECTIVE i

“It gets to look more and more like


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The first job was to learn the identity
of the brutally slain man. The corpse
was fingerprinted and a set of impres-
sions was forwarded to the F.B.I., the
Army and the Navy. County Detective

Coates telephoned to the Cambridge
Springs woman whose husband was
missing and informed her that the po-
lice had found an unidentified body.
The woman gave Coates a description
of her missing spouse which immediate-
ly precluded the possibility of the golf
club corpse being her husband.

She said her husband had had a mas-
toid operation which had left an ugly
scar behind one ear. A check of the
corpse revealed no such scar and that
angle of investigation petered out.

Another possibility which was being
run down was that the body was a vic-
tim of a gang war that was going on
in Pittsburgh. All known members of
the rival gangs were checked in the
files and none found to fit the descrip-
tion of the nameless corpse.

That night a call came in for Lieu-
tenant Paul W. Schaaf at his Erie,
Pennsylvania, police headquarters. It
was from a woman who reported that
her husband was missing. The missing
man’s name was Robert Fischer.

The name immediately rang a bell
with the Erie policeman. For months
the area around his city had been plagu-
ed by a series of car thefts. It was well
known that a gang of professional car
thieves was operating in the area. Rob-
ert Fischer and other local men were
suspected of being members of the ring.
In fact there was a warrant out for the
arrest of Fischer who was wanted for
questioning. Lieutenant Schaaf, at the
time he received the report that Fischer
was missing, did not connect it in any
way with the unidentified corpse that
had been found. The Erie policeman
assumed that Fischer had managed to
slip through the dragnet that had been
spread for him.

Schaaf decided to haul in some of
Robert Fischer’s known associates. Con-
sequently, Ace Bradley and “Big Mike”
Bubna were brought into the Erie
police headquarters for questioning.

On his desk before him, Lieutenant
Schaaf had a report of the latest auto
theft. About a week before, a gray
Pontiac sedan had been stolen from in
front of a local club. It was thought to
have been the work of Fischer and his
gang.

For hours on end Bradley and Bubna
were questioned about the thefts. They
refused to admit anything. Then the
lieutenant turned his questions to the
whereabouts of the elusive Fischer. Both
men turned mute. They claimed they
had not seen him in weeks and had not
the slightest inkling of where Fischer
might be. Finally, after several hours of
dogged questioning with no results, the
pair was released.

Thursday passed with the golf course
body still unidentified. The most popu-
lar theory was that the nameless corpse
had been a member of some gang. For
some reason he was taken for a ride to
the lonely course where he was slain
gangland-style.

AMAZING DETECTIVE

She was deadliest of the gang.

When Deputy Coroner Firman’s au-
topsy report came through late that
night this hypothesis was strengthened.
The doctor stated that the five bullet
wounds fired at close range from a .25
caliber pistol had caused death.

“Both his eyes were blackened by
blows,” the pathologist stated. “It ap-
pears that an attempt was made to
strangle him with bare hands. In addi-
tion there are cigarette burns on both
thighs, the nose was fractured as well

as the man’s skull. It appears that he

was beaten unconscious and then the
five shots were fired into him as he lay
in the mud. I can’t fix the time of death
exactly. The closest I can pin-point it
would be some time on Monday night.”

As a routine matter, Lieutenant
Bricker sent several of his troopers out
to canvass the area around the golf
course. It was hoped that somebody
could be found who saw something on
that fatal night. However this line of
investigation turned up nothing useful.

HE next morning the police got

their first break on the case. A phone
call came for Lieutenant Schaaf at Erie
headquarters.

“This is Ace Bradley,” the caller said.
“I just got a very strange call. A man
who gave his name as ‘Charlie’ said he
wanted to meet me at the corner of
Peach and Thirteenth Street. He said he
had some information about Fischer and
that I should buy a morning paper.

“My wife went out and got a paper,”
Bradley continued, “and I saw the
headlines about the murder. From the
descriptions in the paper it looks like
your corpse might be Robert Fischer!”

“Here’s what I want you to do,” the
lieutenant said. “Go to the morgue at
the general hospital and view the body.
I'll phone Chief Cristoph to give you

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DETECTIVE

ing that was done, he now bulked large
as the man with the best motive for
murder.

eee story of the actual crime
was one of the most gruesome the
investigators had ever heard.

It began when Fischer, drunk, came
to the back door of the house on 26th
Street on the night of March 4th, and
demanded to see Bubna. Foster, Leona
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and a relative of Big Mike’s were in the
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Bubna, the informant said, was al-
ways a “playful chap, given to practical
jokes.” The butt of these in the past
had been Robert Fischer, but Fischer
was not feeling up to it that night and
began to “tell Big Mike off,” Foster
stated and added that Bubna reacted to
his tirade with fury.

“Mike became furious,’ Foster said,
“and began slapping Fischer around
with his big paws. Then he told Millie
to take Leona out of the room. ‘This is
going to be messy,’ Bubna said.” And,
according to Foster, he added, “I don’t
want her to see it.”

When Leona Shayrock was led to a
bedroom, Bubna called for a pair of
scissors, the story continued. Then Big
Mike dragged Fischer. down the base-
ment stairs into the concrete-floored
cellar. Foster said he went to the stairs
and looked down.

“Bubna had been pummeling Fischer's
head against the concrete floor until the
man was unconscious. Then Bubna took
a gun out of his pocket and fired five
shots into Fischer’s head.”

A stenographer, summoned by Mc-
Laughlin, was transcribing the story.
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Continuing the story, the prisoner
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Leona Mae Shayrock, questioned a-
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changed her story completely. She veri-
fied everything Foster had said. She
added that Millie Thomas had come to
her in the bedroom and said that she

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Nickels Before 1945 ....... .. 16,000.00
Silver Dollars Before 1938 ...... 11,750.00
Half Dollars Before’ 1947 ........ 5,550.00
Pennies Before 1919 .... 4,800.00
Dimes Before 1946 ...... .” 4,750.00
Quarters Before 1941 ...........+ 4,500.00
Half Cents Before 1910............ * 3,500.00
Lincoln Pennies Before 1940 .. 250.00

54

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and her brother had killed Fischer. The
girl added that she saw the body and
the bloodstains in the cellar, and while
she was in the bedroom, she heard four
or five shots.

FTER these statements were com-
pleted, the police rushed to the
murder house and discovered complete
verification of Foster’s story. Blood-
stains were found on the kitchen and

basement floor, although attempts had

been made to eradicate them. Near the
furnace, they discovered several hairs
which were later identified as Fischer's.

In the furnace ash can were remnants
of clothing and the wallet. The murder
car, when examined by the FBI, was
found to contain bloodstains of Robert
Fischer's type.

Hal Foster took the investigators over
the entire crime route, reenacting per-
sonally what he saw and did. The man
pointed out the spot where he had dug
the.grave and named two people who
gave him a lift to a garage when his
car became stuck in the mud. These
people were unaware of the crime and
had no connection with the case.

Elbert Corliss, the police soon learned,
had told the truth about his trip to
Portland. What the man did not know,
of course, was that Fischer had double-
crossed him, as he and Fischer were
double-crossing Bubna, and had re-
moved the Pontiac from the barn during
his absence from the city. It was from
the sale of this car to Bubna that Fisch-
er tried to collect $300 from Big Mike.
But Bubna, being wise to the fact that
he was being counted out on several
car deals, refused to pay. Fischer's greed
had led to his death.

Big Mike Bubna and his sister, Millie
Thomas, refused to talk about Fischer’s
death. McLaughlin noted that they did
make incriminating admissions and
‘both lacked alibis for the time of the
murder, set between nine-thirty and
ten on Monday night. But neither con-
fessed the actual killing.

McLaughlin promptly filed murder
charges against Bubna, Mrs. Thomas
and Hal Foster. The trio were arraigned
before Alderman William Heisler, who
held them without bail for a prelimin-
ary hearing on March 28th.

On that day, both Hal Foster and
Leona Mae Shayrock retold their stories
for the benefit of the court. At the con-
clusion of the hearing, at which Mc-
Laughlin presented most of his damag-
ing evidence, Heisler ‘found probable
cause and turned the case over to the
grand jury.

Leona May Shayrock was held in
high bail as a material witness, and the
stolen car charge against her was drop-
ped. Corliss found himself detained be-
hind bars on two counts of automobile

|
|

|

|

NAME.....---0ee> MT OP Ue ohh kegahes
. |

|

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oe

CITY. foc ceee ce seeeceee STATE......4+

larceny.
CRIME DETECTIVE

The 5
turning
against
an acce
Hal Fos
was br
car thet
he was
months

On M
Thomas
County
guilty, :
Laub s
ment
chair
Octobe:

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guilty
prompt
in the s
tion h:
State
people
release

Nort
Leona

are

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that sh
regard
Was g:
whole t
Sam’s p
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quarter

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pulled
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CRIME


<5 pHi eel RMR NAR tet

The
and
vhile
four

com-
the
plete
lood-
and
had
r the
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nants
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en his
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DETECTIVE

84
e

The grand jury acted on schedule, re-
turning first-degree murder indictments
against Bubna and Millie Thomas and
an accessory-after-the-fact.count against
Hal Foster. The next day, an indictment
was brought in charging Corliss with
car theft. Following his plea of guilty,
he was sentenced to a term of eighteen
months in the state penitentiary.

On May 21st, Mike Bubna and Millie
Thomas were brought to trial in Erie
County Superior Court. Speedily found

guilty, four days later Judge Burton S.

Laub sentenced Millie to life imprison-
ment and Mike to die in the electric
chair. The execution took place on
October 20th.

A week later, Hal Foster was found
guilty of the accessory charge and was
promptly sentenced to a five-year term
in the state penitentiary, due considera-
tion having been shown him by the
state for his aid in constructing the
people’s case. Leona Mae Shayrock was
released.

Note: The names Elbert. Corliss,
Leona May Shayrock and Hal Foster
are pseudonyms.

HOW MANY HUSBANDS

DO YOU WANT TO KILL?

(Continued from page 33)

HEN they picked Nannie up. at: the

Kinders’, the police mentioned only

that she” was wanted for questioning in
regard to the death of Sam Doss. She
was gay and unconcerned about the
whole business, laughing off the report of
Sam’s poisoning as a mistake.

“How on earth could my Sam have
gotten poisoned?” she asked Stege, wide-
eyed, as they sat in his office at head-
quarters.

“We kind of think you gave it to him,”
the homicide chief replied.

She giggled. “You're kidding. I'd
never do a thing like that. I loved Sam.”

“Like you loved Richard Morton?”
Stege asked.

Nannie cocked her head as she looked
at Stege, puzzled. “Richard Morton?
Who in the world is he?”

For a moment, Stege’s poise was
ruffed. The woman’s bewilderment ap-
peared so genuine that he thought may-
be he had, after all, made a mistake.
But he went on more certainly a mo-
ment later when he remembered the pol-
icies and the indisputable evidence of
her handwriting, which had been com-
pared by experts with her signature in
letters and on the recently-signed au-
topsy permit.

Stege reached into his desk drawer,
pulled out the policies, and flipped them
onto the desk in front of her, so that

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536 COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant.
. Syllabus. [153 Pa.

Evidence of drunkenness.
Where the prisoner alleges insanity from epileptic fits, during which

he would fall to the floor or ground and lie in a stupor, it is competent for

the commonwealth to show that the falls and stupor which the prisoner at-
tributed to epilepsy were really due to drink, .

Opinion of expert witness.

Where insanity caused by an epileptic fit is alleged as a defence to an
indictment for murder, it is competent for a physician, who examined the
prisoner an hour after the commission of the crime, to express an opinion
as to his mental soundness, although the examination was not for the pur-
pose of ascertaining whether there had been a recent epileptic convulsion.
The character of the examination detracted only from the value of the
Opinion.

A physician may express an opinion upon the mental capacity of the
prisoner, from observations made while the prisoner is testifying in his
own behalf on the witness stand.

Charge of court—Appearance and conduct of prisoner.

Where epileptic insanity is alleged as a defence on an indictment for
murder, it is not improper for the court to call the jury’s attention to the
appearance and conduct of the prisoner at the trial and while on the wit-
ness stand.

Charye of court—Omission to define manslaughter.

Where there is no evidence on an indictment for murder which points
in the remotest degree to the offence as manslaughter, the court commits
no error in failing to define manslaughter.

Indictment—A verment as to weapon—Bill of particulars.

Where an indictment charges that the prisoner did ** feloniously, will-
fully, and of his malice aforethought kill and murder Sister Mary Hilda-
berta,” it is not necessary that the weapon used should be averred, nor the
manner of the killing; nor has the prisoner a right to demand a bill of
particulars. A bill of particulars will only be granted to prevent a sur-
prise or injustice; but never to specify the evidence to be adduced by the
commonwealth. ?

Refusal to grant continuance—Discretion of court.

An application for a continuance on the ground of want of time for prep-
aration by counsel, and for obtaining witnesses by the prisoner, is an ap-
peal to the sound discretion of the court, and the Supreme Court will not
review the exercise of this discretion, except in a case of a very gross
abuse of it.

The court may properly refuse a continuance in such a case, where the
senior counsel for the prisoner was assigned more than a month before
trial, and the junior five days, and communication with their client was
easy, and they could invoke all the power of the commonwealth to compel

the attendance of witnesses.

Change of venue—Act of March 18, 1875.
The Supreme Court will not reverse a judgment on an indictment for

4 y 5
$7 RE Ab P Agen age
F
bie R i
1st antes apeapgapnsete maT

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. 537
1893.] Syllabus—Statement of Facts.

murder because the court below refused a change of venue, where the affi-
davits in support of the application merely state a belief that a strong pre-
judice existed against the prisoner by reason of which he could not havea
fair trial. In such a case the intensity of the excitement and the extent of
the prejudice are peculiarly within the sound judgment of the court where
the crime was committed.

Jurors—Challenge for cause.

On the trial of an indictment for murder, a Juryman may be properly
challenged for cause by the commonwealth, who testifies on his voir dire
that he did not think that a man who would commit such an offence was of
sound mind, and that it would require evidence to change that opinion.

Adjournment of court—Allowance of time for counsel.

An adjournment of the trial from Saturday evening until Monday morn-
ing, and restricting counsel to two hours for argument, are matters within
the discretion of the lower court, which the Supreme Court will not review.

‘Answer to points.
Where facts stated in a point are assumed to be uncontradicted, but in

fact are absolutely contradicted, it is no ground for reversal that the court
ignored the points without answering them.

Polling of jury. 1
The prisoner has a right to a poll of the jury to ascertain whether each

member concurs in the verdict; but the exact words used by a juror in ~
e . ¢ : . rw ay 4 a i 7
swering are not material, if they indicate clearly the assent of the indivi

ual mind to the verdict.

Evidence on motion for new trial—Review. ;
The Supreme Court will not review the action of the court below, in re-

fusing an attachment to compel the taking of certain testimony offered on
motion for a new trial.

Plea of insanity offered at time of sentence.
A plea of insanity offered at bar when the prisoner is called for sentence

is properly rejected when there is no corroborative affidavit accompanying
the plea, nor any statement made which might move the court to further
inquiry.

Argued Feb. 27,1898. Appeal, No. 233, Jan. T., 1893, by
defendant, Pietro Buccieri, from judgment of O. & T. Berks Co.,
Sept. T., 1892, No. 98, on indictment for murder. Before
STERRETT, C. J., GREEN, WILLIAMS, McCoLLuMm, MITCHELL

and DEAN, JJ.

Indictment for murder. .

‘The facts as they appeared at the trial before ENDLIcH, J.,
are stated in the opinion of the Supreme Court.

Verdict, guilty of murder in the first degree. Defendant

<

540 COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant.
Opinion of the Court. [153 Pa

The time that elapsed between the first indication of pris-
oner’s purpose and giving the fatal wounds was not probably
longer than between ten and twenty seconds, evidencilg, as
argued by prisoner’s counsel, too short a time for delibera-
tion and premeditation, essential elements of murder of the
first degree. The court instructed the jury, “That if for any
period of time, no matter how short, there was on the part of
the accused, a conscious design and determination to kill, the
killing was murder of the first degree.” In determining whether
the statement of a general rule of law, although correct stand-
ing by itself, may be misleading in its application to the facts
of a particular case, we must have before us the facts. What
are the facts here, either not in dispute or clearly established.

The prisoner is a shoemaker by trade, possessed of some ed-
ucation, is thirty-eight years of age, was born in Italy, came
to this country in 1883, located in Reading about the year 1887,
carried on his trade there until the 7th of January, 1892. That
day, by the explosion of an oil lamp, he was so severely burned
in the left arm as to permanently cripple that member; the
same day he was removed for treatment to St. Joseph’s Hos--
pital, a Catholic charitable institution in the city of Reading.
There he remained until the 23d of June, 1892, being nursed
and cared for all the time, and although the injured arm was

useless, otherwise he had become strong physically. Sister
Mary Hildaberta, the deceased, was about twenty-three years of
age, was a member of the religious order of St. Francis, and
with other members of her order assisted in ministering’ to the
wants and alleviating the sufferings of diseased and injured
patients. She had taken her turn for five and a half months,
day and night, in nursing the prisoner and his fellow-sufferers:
in the hospital ; her last act of kindness to him before he stabbed
her was to place a glass of milk at his bedside. Abouta quar-
ter to four o’clock on the afternoon of the day in question,
Laurence W. Scott, another patient, was sitting in an invalid’s
chair near the entrance to the sick-room, when the prisoner
came to him and asked the loan of his knife to mend his pants.
Scott handed him the closed knife. The prisoner, having the
use of but one hand, asked Scott to open the blade, which
he did. Just about this time, Sister Hildaberta had come into
the sick-ward with two glasses of milk; one of them she gave

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. 541
1893.] Opinion of the Court.

to a patient, John O'Brien, the other she placed by prisoners
bed; then, she walked towards the kitchen at the other side
of the room. All her movements, from the time she ince
ed until she started’to leave, were in full view of the pris-
oner. While she was placing the glasses of milk, he was
getting the knife from Scott. After he got the open cine °
turned and rapidly followed her, concealing the knife in his ” :
out to the kitchen, when he attacked and stabbed _ - ne
breast, hip and abdomen. She tried to escape, turned a ia
screaming back into the sick-ward, pursued by the eta ;
when Scott raised his chair to strike him down; then he oe
and gave the knife back to Scott. All three wounds were ne
ones; the one in the abdomen indicated that the knife *
been twisted around in the wound, as if with intent to cut the
intestines or disembowel her, and was necessarily fatal; after
i suffering she died the next day.

ee ise of hese facts, it seems to us, the language an
learned judge, “If for any period of time, no matter mal -
there was a conscious design to kill, the killing was muraer 0

instructi the
the first degree,” was proper instruction. The conduct of

prisoner, for the few seconds preceding the fatal stabs, points
to both deliberation and premeditation ; indeed, it is rare .
homicide cases that these operations of the mind are tacieais

by acts so significant of them, and of nothing else. wai pris:
oner, with the object of his attack in view, observing her pa

ments and that she is about to go to the kitchen, borrows .
his fellow-patient a knife, a deadly weapon, the first act in ee
tive of the purpose; every movement from that pene

the moment he plunged it into the body of Sister cia a,
distinctly disclosed the existence and persistence of the purpose.
He asked that the knife be opened; the purpose, imme a
use; concealed it in his hand, that this purpose might ao be a
covered or interrupted; followed her to the kitchen, W here he
interference of other patients could not balk him in his pe
pose, and then with unrelenting ferocity of purpose repeatedly
sti Ts .

OTe et be no purpose in the mind such as this one, are
is not the product of deliberation and premeditation 5 ~ act
of the one necessarily presupposes the existence of the ot —_
Where a cruel and deadly blow has been struck, and no pre-


542 COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant.
Opinion of the Court. : [153 Pa.

cedent conduct significant of an intent to strike has been. shown,

it is interesting, profitable perhaps, to consider the processes of
thought leading to the act, and to discuss the rapidity of the
mind’s operations in reaching conclusions, in the hope of de-
termining whether it was prompted by a sudden or rash im-
pulse, or was the accomplishment of a fully formed purpose.
But when the final act has been preceded by a number of others,
following each other in quick succession, but all in regular or-
der, all pointing irresistibly to the purpose, it is idle to waste
words in discussing what length of time is essential to deliber-
ation and premeditation in framing in the mind the purpose ;
the fact of the purpose being shown, the time necessary for de-
liberation and ‘premeditation, whether lon g or short, must have
passed, just as certainly as the existence of a grain of corn de-
monstrates that there has been the time necessary to its growth.
So that, in this case, if only a few seconds passed from the
time the prisoner received the knife until he used it, the law as
stated by the learned judge of the oyer and terminer was cor-
rect. It was, in substance, the law as stated by Judge Rusa
in Commonwealth v. Smith, 7 Sm. L. 696, that “no time is too
short for a wicked man to frame in his mind his scheme of
murder, and to contrive the means of accomplishing it.” In his
charge to the jury in Drum’s Case, 58 Pa. 9, Justice AGNEW
quotes this expression, and says: “It must be qualified, lest it
mislead.” Since then, it has often been argued, as is done in

this case, that shortness of time between the first indication of
a purpose and its accomplishment should at least raise a doubt

as to the fact of deliberation and premeditation; as if, after

the first thought, there must be time for cogitation, for brood-

ing over it, and this time must be proven by the commonwealth,

or no fully formed purpose to kill can be inferred. But this

is a mistake ; Drum’s case has not changed the law. It was

there alleged by the prisoner that Mohigan, the deceased, had

struck him in the face, and that he, Drum, had then suddenly,

before the blow could be repeated, drawn a knife and inflicted

the fatal wound. The commonwealth alleged that Drum had

provided himself with the knife, and sought the deceased.

The question on the evidence was, whether the knife had been
provided for the use to which it was put, or whether its use
had been suddenly provoked by the attack. Justice AGNEW,

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. 543
1893.] Opinion of the Court.

who charged the jury, while not denying the correctness of the
law in Smith’s case, “that no time is too short fora wicked
man to frame in his mind his scheme of murder,” further said,
it might mislead if applied without qualification to the partic-
ular facts set up in defence by Drum; for if the knife had not
been prepared for the purpose’ of killing Mohigan, the sudden-
ness of the act in drawing and using it tended to rebut the
idea of a fully formed purpose to kill, or deliberation and pre-
meditation. If, without dispute, Drum, before being struck by
Mohigan, had drawn the knife, advanced toward Mohigan, and
stabbed him, the eminent jurist who tried the case would not
have thought it necessary to explain or qualify the law in
Smith’s case; the fully formed purpose would have been so
unmistakably evinced by the conduct preceding the act, al-
though the time in the case supposed would have been very
brief, that no explanation would have been called for. A fter-
wards, in Lanahan v. Commonwealth, 84 Pa. 80, Justice nl
NEW fully pointed out the reasons for the qualification in Drum’s
case. . .

As to the absence of the word “ willful” in the instructions
at the close of the charge, recapitulating in substance what had
been said on the question of insanity and premeditation, no in-
jury could have resulted to defendant by the probably inadver-
tent omission. The definition of murder of the first degree had
been very clearly stated in other portions of the charge, as well
as the distinction between it and murder of the second degree.
The jury could not possibly have been misled, or have forgotten
the pointed instruction that murder of the first degree is the
specific intent to take life of a mind fully conscious of its pur-
pose. ; |

The 18th assignment complains that the general tenor of the
charge was unfair to the prisoner, and did not correctly present
his case on the evidence.

A charge may be technically correct, and so acurrately state
the law that no specific error can be pointed to, and still may
in its tone be so one-sided as to be liable to the charge of par-
tiality. But, after a careful reading of this charge, and a close
scrutiny of all the evidence, we are confident that this assign-
ment is not well founded. The defence of the prisoner, in--
sanity, was prominently brought to the attention of the jury,

038 COMMONWEALTH ». BUCCIERI, Appellant
Statement of Facts—Opinion of the Court. [153 Pa

asked t r jurors |

nace _ the jurors polled. -Some of the jurors answered

a y in the first degree.” Defendant objected to the r
rding of the verdict. The Court: “The jury m: b 4

again and each juror as he answers will say b} hi voive n a

| | ay by his voice w

= not he finds the defendant ‘guilty of murder in the caval

S ea One juror answered again: “Guilty in the first de.

gree.” The Court: “Guilty of what?” A. « Seder

in the first degree.” . )
Errors assigned are st

Court.

Guilty of murder

ated in the opinion of the Supreme

el Degsher, w B. Bechtel with him, for appellant, cited
on an ae continuance : State v. Brooks, 39 La. hee
a 7 an yee ade ee change of venue: Seams -
; a. 3 State v. Nash, 7 Iow: : St:
rooney: 10 Towa, 506; Taylor vy. Gardiner, ae pes
ee v. Allen, 185 Pa. 492; Goersen v. Com., 99 Pa. 398;
bel cate v. Com., 91 Pa. 502; Rex v. Bootytian 5 Car EP
byitiea Ghee of eons Rizzolo v. Com., 126 Pa. 11;
n 1 of non-expert Witness: Taylor y. C .
270; on admission of expert's opinion - K ~ can miss oe
Com. v- McClain, 110 Pa, O70, on chanee  a omicide, ge
prisoner: State vy. Freidrich, 29 Pacific R 1059; on voll -
jury: Williams v. Maryland, 60 Md. 402: Brown y hate E
; - State, 5.

Tex. Law Review, 81
‘ >; on h: . t ~? .
Drum, 58 Pa, 9, » O15 charge as to design to kill: Com. vy.

J. H. Jocobs and W.J.R
: Toco - a. liourke, H. P. Keiser and J
Miller, district attorney, with them, for seimonitetic pie

to change of ve 1, cited as
n s ’
g ue: Com. v. Allen, 135 Pa. 492; on charge as to

Se a aed Burrill, Circumstantial Evidence, 502,
Lanahan vy. Gidea. Bd Pa Bit os Com., 83 Pa. 79;
108; Lynch y. Gon, 17 Pa oir minted v. Com., 37 Pa.
u ee manslaughter : Brown 7 Com, nN Pa, 106 he Sarge
to 21th » eo MeMeen v. Com., 114 Pa. 305 as
specification . Mu L : Laros y. Com., 84 Pa. 200; as tothe 25th
nee mt MeLain vy. Com., 99 Pa. 86; Lanahan v. C

a. 80; McCue vy. Com., 78 Pa. 190. —

OPINION BY Mr. Justice DEAN, March 20, 1893:

COMMONWEALTH v. BUCCIERI, Appellant. . 539
1893.] Opinion of the Court. ©

of the 23d of June, 1892, killed Sister Mary Hildaberta at St.
Joseph’s Hospital in the city of Reading. Being arrested,
tried, and convicted of murder of the first degree, and sentenced
to be executed, he took this appeal, alleging as error: (1) The
refusal of the court to grant a continuance. (2) The refusal of
the court to award achange of venue. (3) Overruling motion
to quash indictment. (4) Denying prisoner’s application for
bill of particulars. (5) Sustaining a challange for cause on
part of commonwealth to Thomas J. Hill, a juror called. (6) In
sustaining an objection of commonwealth to a question put by
prisoner’s counsel to Gustano Bruno, a witness, for the purpose
of eliciting his opinion of the sanity of prisoner. (7 and 8) Per-
mitting commonwealth to show drunkenness of prisoner in re-
buttal of testimony that he was epileptic. (9) Permitting Dr. A.
B. Dundore, a witness for the commonwealth, to give an opin-
ion as to prisoner’s mental condition an hour or two before the
examination, and also an opinion based on insufficient facts.
(10) Permitting Dr. Martin Luther to testify as to soundness
of memory from observation of prisoner’s manner and testi- —
mony on witness stand. (11) In refusing to adjourn the court
on close of evidence on Saturday evening to Monday morning.
(12) In limiting time of prisoner’s counsel for discussion of
evidence to the jury to two hours. (13 and 14) Error in
charge of court on subject of insanity, the principal defence
set up by prisoner. (15, 17, 18 and 25) Errors in the charge
as to essential elements of murder in first degree, and un-
fairness of charge towards the prisoner. (19, 20 and 21) Er-
ror in not answering at all prayers 1, 2, and 10 for special
instructions. (22) Error in ‘polling jury, and accepting and
recording verdict. (23) In refusing to attach for contempt
witnesses for failure to appear and testify, in.obedience to sub-
pena on motion for new trial. (24) In refusing to order in-
quiry into sanity of prisoner when called for sentence. (25) In
entering judgment on verdict when evidence did not warrant
a finding of murder of first degree. There is no 16th assignment
of error noted in paper book ; while the numbers are 25, there
are in fact but twenty-four assignments. ;
As the 15th, 17th, 18th and 25th assignments allege error
in instruction to the jury which tended to bring about the ver-

dict, we will consider them first.


"Egy

Arizon

(eu

Repub lican. :

” PIENIX, ARIZONA, FRIDAY, “MORNIN NG. JULY

or”
ody

1894, .

The

\aron in the
Slaughter fale
Is now 683———
Down Goes
Everything!
Immense Discount
OH Our
Entire Stock.
This Sale will last
40 Days, but the
\ i el | Karly days are the

Days to call
And Get Choice
Bargains.
Around and

has wired us }
se out stock
) days.
buying
mous bills aie
vusly
Prices and
have

oods to be
ed

Come

| sonal character and public

LOYAL MR. VILAS

Defends the cnacacies

of His Late Eaieerst_

Counters on the Senator)
From Maryland.

The Administration Receives a.
Discolored Optic.

The Motion of Senator Hill to Re~' testitied as to being warned to get oot | Debs Takes Pains to Say that He ts

cede From the Amendment to
Protect Iron Ore Defeated.

| By the Associated Press

Waeuinuton, July 26.--Senator Vilas)
who was secretary of the interior and
later poetmaster general during Mr.
Cleveland's tiret administration, te-|

\phedtoday to Senator Gorman's @t-
tack
“houre he held the tloor amid the wrapt

upon the premdent. For two)

attention of the sénate and the gal-
leries, delivering his scathing rebuke of |

ithe Maryland senator.

He denounced Mr. Gorman’s assanlt

‘as wanton, reckless and unjustifiable,
aod though he declared that Mr.’
Cleveland needed no defense at his!

hands he took up seriaiion the chargea
made by Mr. Gorman and met them
with masterly skill and logic. He
iuade hia statement, he raid, in the in-
terest of the truth and of history. Mr.
Gorman was not in the senate at the

itime and to this fact the Wisconsin

senator called attention with regret.

In conclusion he eulogized the per-
integrity of
Mr. Cleveland. in the most glowing

| woanded his brother-in-law, last night, |
attempted the ite ot-—ire- nat bver-in: inw |
aboat @ week ago, He is also ace — af
| caepiracy with two tahans to blow!
iMp wath dynamite the hoase of his!

| tathee- An-taw but.the Haliane refused to
enter into the scheme.

| Ormig wae today arraigned and the
charge of murder was entered aeelaae |
“iw a0 jhanrer, the —trother ot
Ornig's wile in euil alive bat his wounds |

fareof euch a nature that they will!
; Probably prove fatal,

‘ WORGEN: L~ TRIAL.
| Dameaing Ry lderice Against the

Striker. |

Woovtarp, Cal., July 26.—The vial!
dence this morning draws the net!
jeforer around Worden, charged witn |
| train-wreckingand murder, Witnesses ;

by armed men who were in the depot.
'R.H. Honee of Loe Angeles, teatitied
that he met Worden on the river
steamerat Sacramento. Worden eaid
‘he might do something that would sur-
| priee him (House.) |

House further testified that Worden |
eaid he could tie up the boat if he
wished. He carried a valise which he
wae very solicitoas about and caused
| | Houee to notice it.

Resuming Work.

Curcaao, Jaty 26.—Fires started to-
(day inthe works of the Ilinois Ntee)
‘company which have been shut down
leince the beginning of the railroad
strike. The plant will resume with
{fullforeeon Monday, giving employ-
} ment to about 3.500 men. ‘

% ?

4 A Murderer Hanged,

yLeston, Pa., July 28.—Willlam

Burt, a balf-breed Indian, was hanged
today for the murder of an old couple

victune.

LOCAL BRIEFS.

There will be a meeting of the city
conneil tonight.

in 1893, and firing the house of bie aged |

CLEARING AWAY.

‘The Coast Strike ‘an Af-
fair of History.

iMilitary Is Withdrawn
at all Points. ~

| Nothing Remains of the Great
Revolt but the Damages.

not Organizing Any More
Labor Unions.

By the Aseoviatest frees.

San Faancraco, Jaly 26.—Thet the
railroad strike in northern California te
believed to be nearing the ead is shown
in the fact that preparationa are being
made to retire the etate militia from
the field, the militiamen expecting to
be ordered home not later than Sunday
next. The merines who have been
stationed at Oakland will leave for
Mare Island tomorrow morning.

At Sacramento « large force of militia
and regular eoldiere ie still maintained,
Troops are also held at Danemair and
Redblud, on the Oregon branch and at
Truckee, Rocklin, Woodland and Port
Costa. At Truckee and Rocklin there
ia a etrong force of regulars and marines.
Armed guarde continue to eecort many
of the more important traine but of
late there have been no serione d
turbances. The railroad company
atill badly in néed of men for many

longer any doubt that the po om
lost their canes and there te longe:
any hope of a compromise,

nee,

po weets Carve:

‘the further fact

BANKING.

President. P. J. Cons, Vice-President.

[\ NATIONAL BAM,

THE ONLY

ted States Depositary

IN ARIZONA.

$100,000
i

Up Capital,
Bonds to Secure Deposits,

see oe orem

A.H. Hakschier, Cashier. | c
‘and defeated, the

terms, declaring with dramatic fervor
thata president of the United States
who had received so many evidences of
the honor and respect of the people
could not suffer from this attack of the
MaryJand eenatcr.

At the conclusion of his speech Mr.
Vilas explained that in view of the fact
that Mesers, Gorman and Smith had

/aecnred him that hie motion to recede
‘from a one-eighth differential in favor

of the refiners of sigar, must fail and
that the Democratic
caucns had decided to agree toa further
conference without inetructions, he
wonld withdraw his motion,

After some general remarks by Sena-
tor Stewart against the interference of
the executive with the legislative
branch of the government, Mr, fills
notion that the senate recede from ite
amendments placing a duty of 40 cents
per ton on coal and iron, was voted on
emrbheane, except

‘Mr. HansBrought of Nerth Dakota,
joining with the Demberats bound be
caucus agres nt againet at.

ESERTED ARMIES,

Induatriate Left ia
Lurch by thelr Leadara.

The the

They Apply 1a Valw fer Panwres-
sional Ald to Gal Yack ta

Thelr Hamen.

| Hythe Assanlated Press

Wasrixaros, duly 26. barge and in
digngat delegations frow the industrial

‘ ott +
FORTEC

\ sabe!

pi ICONS tO Tier yy wae
day to Bictar Vasquez and
Montijo.

The Ivy Gireen restaurant holds ite
patrone by serving the best steaks 10
the city,

No matter where von are going Selim
Michaelson of the Palace cigar store,
can save you money on your ticket,

L. H, Demers knows how to make it
pleasant for couples who visit the park

D ’ :

One Lavor Organization te Suffi+
clent for Him.

Cnicago, July 26.—President Debs
ofthe A. RK. U. said today; “I have
seen inthe newepapere mention of «
new organization called the American
Labor anion, ead my name bas
coupled with it. [have no connection
with thie organization whatever, of-

‘these eveninge. Hieice cream ie per
fect.

A sponge bath will cause sleep theee
hot pights Keclaropers houae pher
macist has a jot of eponges at half
price.

There will be services at the Center
atreet M. BE. south church tonight.
The services will be conducted by itev.
W.L. Albright.

The Republicans of Tempe
willhold a maces meeting at Andfe's
ball next Saturday afternooa at &
| o'clock to select delegates to the county
ouvention to be
'poblcan primaries,

For school district No. 22, one of the
districts in which the election went by
default, County Superintendent Jordon
i yeeterday appointed Daniel Martin and
| Joseph Gilson members and EK. kK,

Baker, clerk of the board of trustees,

| Harry Plattner yesterday let acon-
ftract forthe building of «a handsome
bresidence in Orchard Grove addition,
i Phe carpenter work woll be done by

PPheotore Latge, the brick work by KR.
Ht) Faulkner.
| ddoprating by Svoth & Braneh.

The following (ranefers.of real ecxtate |
were yesterday entered for record
Kate L. Phoauns sin Ww.
Anna M. White aig), fee

precitiet

i

i.

voted for at the Re- |

and the painting and |

Thomas to!
Zi twp liom, of. {

ficially or otherwise, and any use of
iny name in copnection with it is
wholly unauthorized,”

ro

| Chicago Sued tor ptrike Damages,
| Cricauo, July 26 —The first eait of
jimany that are tobe brought againat
|Chicago by the railroads for damage
incurred during the etrike wan filed by
the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago
road today.” The sult will serveasa
{tent is for 6,000 to freight
Tare,

| RAWLINS WAS DISCHARGKD.

cane and

| Hie Arrest Proven to be an Unayeid-
able Accident.

The trialof W. S, Rawlins arrested
hight Defore Jast charged with attempt-
‘ing to carve Robert Hughes in a Wash-
ington etreet ealoon took place yeeter-
day afternoon before Justice Kineaid.
The defendant hired a lawyer and de-
maded a jarytrial, When the cade
was called both the defendant's attor:
ney and the district attorney agreed to
withdrew and leave the matter to the
joetice and jury,
|. The facts were fully brought ont and
it wae sbown that while there had been
arow there had been no physical dem-
anstration, The defendant had @ knife

arnoes encamped in south Washington,

4a, #00, Frank iovowers and ei dn tui threw him out of the saloon. He fell

lines of particular work but there is no *

in his hand and « precautions apectator po

> te wa ali
Rooms 6 and 6 Fleming Bloe

omenanenactstttis

Money Loaned on

for ice, Our loots

Frozen Said, Lasts and Is te
P.MTNOR.

Mis. P to storerooma, offices ond
reading room. The eecond stery 8
contain ladien’ perl, dian dining reom

large kitchen, pantey
me all Mall agate aise appele

vision lift and
mente. On thie
structed an aaditoriam wet A
pacity of about 760, The main

‘Depositary for- (Qe Tenriigrial Funds -

ill be encrreled by @ nisie-foot z
applied qt (he rev of the cbouse com- ey “ Sarbawt, wely sec 3} twp 1 p.,| inte the armas of an officer who thus Sine separated bye. periatyle,

| finding business thrast pon him could will be seven je exits,

\ sat it Boxesin Arizona. uuttee Ondabor today, not to ar ein! Pea
7Steel- “Lined Vaults and Steel Safety: Deposit Boxesin Arizo ‘ ot ue ws vad their. Ge, $2 ay do nothing else than to arreet’ him, | whea required; _. with an
| ba kj R is, but to plead for assistance, The | Theve wee born yesterday to Dr. and } Hert }. | foot straight ran { and 6 ig
00 ime eposits, enera i HE USINESS. expated has happened. Their leaders) Mrs. doveph Uiyjvea eon. Dr, Hogbes Rawlina was discharged se aaleaa oa na h ny be
os re R ‘ . Ribot them and they, avuaht| i who wadterialiyudesisted at the birth, 1 “PENSONAL me men

ts Kued on AIT the Principal Cities of the World. renuvaal aid to neturalto helo aly victor ete: ager ! | se

Ph ; oe -ealities whence they had come. L Gatien asittolt. dinakl, dareGpiie “nt | $10,000 to } - bates is

cPnix. rizona. Coxey'e iiien eaid theit Nealer lad! : Regt. Ac AF; Fulton of Tempe is ini boure. Intereat low. Dalton
j : left them in (he lurch yeeterday., Kel. | jeadacinedipely ger ebnat ERe wanes) i8. W, cor, Washington and Wall Ste.

MACHIIINES SIEOR.

ly’s men aveired that their leader had’

drifted away several dava ago and that; Adittlee hild not quite three weekwold,

‘of Mr. and Mrs James Dann, died Tart

facture of a double set of teeth for him, j

Harry McVhanl wae in towo yester- |
day from Agus Caliente.

| The remarkable basiness done by |

Bs 2s they did got) expeck to see tim again » lanch counter is larg
4 Frye spade Be 4 thse ee mn night at o'clock of epaeme, bronght on te ewe sont bb Sigg igi fevers pagar ew efforts of Me, Jan
: probably abandoned (hem. The men by inabiity to take nutrition, Phe’ svete vote Se en | owlen aie peatry cook. Ille supe:

who were bratight fr jit the Pacific [aoeral will take piare at Ou clock this terday on crsalge sap avity Bale never been disputed,
coast by Kelly wereypartvalarly indig- | "oTning from the residence of Mr Mr. Ho, Crouch and family left. i
\ nant and expreseed a fervid de&ire to! Fol on Rie at de Bg er Mr, ye page ET Ap oc peta trip ofa do Vardy-& Yomlineos. Pacise Gia

; ‘p +i . , .] tar and feather their yeneral. ils beh abibed it SM Mi aka ERA Odin is te : ATE :

Madison St. Bet. Center and First Ave.. Phunix, Ariz Mr. MeCano told) them that there; bakery. | Henry Gilles and Dick Wi Carrol of | “Standing roomealy’ at the Pac

fo all kinds waepnar the *hightest tance the gov.) dames Rennie, the Winner of) the [rent halle, Montana, were reagistored | | (Atatto: Crowds turned away.

TY ahs

Mochina and Bailor Week

Queen's pose and the reputation of by

ernment appropriating for their return ;
United

ane pent them ty the’ deel «6: ube pe the lmet visskcaMmat 10" tle

fat the Lemon hotel yesterday,

ee ee ae ye ee ee ee

Dentannimet a eae fine ¢ oke.e

BURKE, James white, 17, hanged Philadelphia, PA, on 10-16-178h,

*
. She crimes of James Burke, (ex. at Philadelohia on 10ftésoy) as reworked
4 by The emsy/vania Jourral (ex meee asthe

al acca Siem: Sates Scan ea

ILS-ITE¢ =A post harrid waurvler was last Tuesolay canmitfed an phe hed,
‘ Of ims thy MeAullifte ut bis house tn Front Sfrect gee Black
Horst filley. Jo tae afermom of thet aay lis servant fad, (abst /7
years Wd), bows abserued 10 fave Stout yp the house, arrd after lackio
@ tht Moor, Witt} OF Wags while giving tut Myap his master had”
fone To Uepsty and that he was garg Somewhere else fo work
lsh! bis master rwehurmed. Tye toree fllawing days people i the

Ea ere

z
BE 8 i Na i ea ieee GS
bat - ee, See ‘ =<

134323399914

—

‘

o-~,
Ory
4
“~
hee
;
@=.
<
7
:
a
x
re |
e

x’)

Tad

~
G

©

phbor hood were exceedingly incommmeded by a rast oli fe oone//
heh SMéitttd 10 com fro We Mehulibes hase. br ty (f WAS
so offensive that sore persons ined To Car fhe Frese tad accord -
Ut ij oan at ome of the window's whew they buteld a spechacle hoo Stacking
W ost ipion * The mv tad bee teuretired tr batt bed Sygpased on Tus
hens pa eae # te Stine Sits tion ever Since, pos pearly oe-

lured by yermitt, By 8 ark on bis skull 7 appeared that the beri
by ec yo ral rd _ was lAyjng rear".

thy lS Sti) nt Sfifurdlty LUMI bist trad of fours. 79 1e-

ds oBered for gortidhy be On SUipletiys hen The poppe -

or, whieh peas highly Probable, 0s po say besides hor aad bs

fer ts Stitt I The house clariing liye above-ran tioned time. Mad the
lecatsed baeving 2 large Sion of Pomy by hing 21 the Monthy before Stovns

0 Confiron this SUSI.

918-1784 — to our Ist we mentaned the neurder of Me: Meu Pe
And thet lis Sertant, Names Burke, who taas Suspected
OF the tact had gone 0fF « Frum 900d infirmsatinn (+ wats fourrd that he Dat
faktn his paige on btard a brig bound 79 Carke and which bad 2i)ed
from ders we bse ghd “oh ts birth a Pac of the otrcased,
pe b bo bs sean t Vise/ Ared by ¢, ar diinary actiity
PEASY tr ilar haribay flak about fue;
ig Ktedy Is honed. burke assed ad bob suf pel dover
where he leas tkamnned befane Mudge Stamey. He Cornftrsed thats be bad 07
ae te th topuaintance, Serva! 10 a treadtsonar tr lbs cry,
Yared whe hte hild the Carle fle abber Ckecuted the dichulical business by
Striking Ii. Mehul Be 00 te head snd thf bey Shew Hook biS prsaey
whith the wher carried off and dd nt obiide 2M Stfurday menrwing,
burke wus then Conant tled fo aerate Catl and a mecanper dfpafehed
10 the Chic Uistiee of tls Slate, whe cased the rmurderer fo be ‘
fended and be 15 How to prison. A thrrd person lies accused bufad-
Whi ted to bail. 1 /s remarkable that Mondly might being very Aggy,
he Tog Concluded nop fo proceed clown the bay, abharwnse, (she utitad
belly tear), Cuiry affenps 70 overtehe the vest] must pave beers Varin.
Burke had thocy hin when Secured rear 2200 ta Gd whiehyygrmes
to be part of the musncy fr: MeMulitte had by his before fits deaf th,


October 16, 178)
BURKE, James

ware Bay where the ship was ordered to halt and Burke was removed _
and returned to Philadelphia where he was tried, convicted and sen-
tenced to death. He was hanged on Oct, 16, 178k,

SCAFFOLD AND CHAIR by Teeters, Part Ie Page 6,
™.. HANG BY THE NECK...™ by Teeters, Pages 18-19,

FEE Ne nnn am rte

ee a ype

mate age who would be more likely to
notice a teen-age girl than an adult
would.

“G IVE me a picture of her,” he said
to Gourley, “and tell me what
clothes she was wearing.”

What clothes? They didn’t know.
And that was to become the first of the
puzzling and inexplicable facts to twist
this case into such a mystery.

“She was baby-sitting for me last
night when I went to the hospital,”
Mrs. Goetz said. “She and Sue were

26

44 TT
aa, Ad
Lace

Detectives Kohler, Irwin, Dane, try
to learn if Marty rode in this car

over, and Marty had a sweater and
dungarees on then.”

Mettozzi put the question to Sue, the
six-year-old, who had been sitting list-
lessly on a chair—a frightened, lone-
some little girl, Mrs. Goetz thought.

“She left her dungarees on the floor,”
She said. “I had to hang ’em up this
morning; I don’t know what she was
wearing.”

Gourley searched through the girl’s
closet. He had no idea what might be
missing, éxcept that obviously Marty
had not packed anything for a trip; she

¥

Curtis Lake is reached only on a-
. side road leading from a side road

had been wearing only what she might
have had on when she disappeared.
And she had not taken a coat.

“I’m sure she didn’t,” he told Met-
tozzi. “All her coats are here—every
one of them.”

Friday night and Saturday morning
had been unusually cold, with the
whistling wind biting and penetrating.
Where would Marty have gone without
a coat?

Mettozzi drove over to Highway No.
One, and to the Youth Center, where,

he knew, a teen-age dance was being

held. He’d done his best to reassure
Gourley and Mrs. Goetz, but he, too,
was worried.

Slowly he pushed his way through
the jitterbugging youths until he found
one who knew Marty Gibbons. Marty,
this girl said, was not there. Not Marty;
she didn’t go to dances.

Mettozzi found others who had
known the missing fifteen-year-old,
who had been in school with her or
knew her from riding on the school
— together. No, they hadn’t seen

er. ?

When a girl is missing, Mettozzi
knew, the first thing to do is to learn
her habits—where she might go, what
she might do, whom she might be with.
He questioned these kids closely about
Marty.

Her habits, he learned, were to Stay
at home, to help her mother with the
housework, to study, to Play with her
kid sister or her close friends, to baby-
sit for her neighbors. She liked to ride
horseback; before the family had
moved to Levittown, she’d told her
friends, she’d done a lot of riding at an
academy in Roxborough. Also she had
studied ballet and tap dancing and she
was teaching a few-of her friends to
tap.

But she didn’t go out. She had no
boy friend. She got along swell with
her folks. Marty Gibbons wouldn’t have
run away, or eloped, or gone off with
anyone. Not Marty.

From a phone, Mettozzi called the
home of Chief Franklin Kirby of the
Falls Township Police

“You just can’t put your finger on
anything,” he told Kirby “Maybe you'd
better come on out here.”

So Chief Kirby drove to Levittown,
too, and he and Mettozzi talked some
more to Gourley and to the neighbors.
And they got the same report the kids
had given—Marty Gibbons was a lovely
girl, hard-working, a good student, cute

Here Officers Custer, Gen and
Allen’ learned the tragic truth

didn’t date yet; she had no boy friend.
Never, the stepfather and the neigh-
bors said, would she have gone off
voluntarily.

SOMETIMES, Chief Kirby thought

bitterly, the bums are easier to trace
than the decent omes. You can always
canvass the taverms and the lovers’
lanes and the motels and shady hotels;
you can find other people in those

places and question tiem—frighten the

truth out of them if you have to.

But when a hame-loving, decent, a
God-fearing young kid like Marty Gib- #

bons disappears, what can you do?

They tried to trawe her last move- @

ments. 2
“She was baby-siittimg for me last

night while I went to the hospital to 4
see my husband,” Mfrs. Goetz repeated. J

“And she brought Sue with her. I got

home about half-past eight and she §
and Sue stayed around until half-past 4

nine and then they went home. I

watched them cross the street and go

into their house amd close the door.”

Dale Moody, the Gourley’s next-door |

neighbor, had seem her, ‘too,

She didn’t have a ovat on and I told

her to go on back im before she froze.” =
That, of course, had been before she

left the Goetz house. It was of no help. =

Apparently no one kad seen her after 4
9:30. ~S

The car was still there, in Capps’ car-- x

%

port—the roofed-ower space on one side

of the house which serves in lieu of a a

garage in Levittown homes.

Sue was asleep by that time, in Mrs. &

By

Goetz’ home, but they awakened her

and asked her if wthing had hap- -
pened during the night. 3
Her eyes big and lourning, Sue said,’

“My mouth itches. Can I have a glass ‘

of water?”

Mrs. Goetz brought her one and she}
drank it and said, im answer to their 2

questions, “Marty maxie me go right to
bed when we got home, and she came
in pretty soon and Iay down, too. I re-'9
member she got up once ‘but I fell
asleep again. Then im the morning when =
I woke up she wasn’t there and I was.
scared.” ,
Why frighten her further? The ¢
ficers let her go back to sleep. aval

and happy and thoroughly reliable. She _

“George Capps amd I were working 4
on her father’s car,” he said. “‘We drove <4
it up into Capps’ carport and she came &
out of the Goetzes—I guess she thought B
her father was hame. It was cold and 4

ae


“Where were you
night?” Taylor asked.

With the same sneering voice, Gon-
zales replied, “We were in church,
Copper. We always go to church on
Christmas night.” -

“You're lying, Gonzales.”

“That's what you Say, Copper. You
Prove it different. Me and my buddies
Say we were in church.” He addressed
the other youths. “Weren’t we in
church?”

“Sure,” they chorused.

} ‘One of the youths was small, with
Swarthy skin, dark hair and sideburns
well below his ears. Both he and Gon-
! zales seemed to answer the descriptions
{ Charlie Baker had given.
Could Charlie identify them?
“We got some more witnesses if you
j want,” Santiago went on. “About fif-
uf teen of us guys went to church. We’re
. all good boys out in this neighborhood.”
The sneering defiance grated like a
Scraper on Taylor. Price put a restrain-
ing hand on his partner’s arm. He said
to the youths: “We want your names
and addresses.”
“Sure. Why not?” Santiago asked.
“We're clean. You're looking for some-
’ body on a job Christmas night. Me and
my buddies were all in church. We got
nothing to be scared of.”

PRICE took down the names and ad-
dresses. They lived in the Norwalk

~ and East Los Angeles areas.
: As the detectives drove away, Taylor

at five Friday

® a Sai =

i,
ane

rate ewe ee
cae rea ead

Said bitterly: “That big, sneering one—
maybe Charlie Baker could identify
him. And the little one with the jacket.”
“Maybe, but Charlie isn’t sure. It
i was dark and he didn’t get much of a
| i } look. They have their alibi all set.”

ee"

=

“Church!” Taylor cried. “That’s as
phony as a three-dollar bill! What are
we going to do?” ‘

“One of them may have Charlie
Baker’s watch,” Price said. “That’s evi-
dence no alibi can fix. Somehow we’ve
( got to find out which one has it or what
t he did with it.” .
| “How are we going to find that out?”

=,

the photographer called, agreed to
Re Pose, and set a date. The photographer
15:5 showed up; Chief Stewart and.a re-
H il porter for the local newspaper were
i waiting. As a result the man soon was
{ committed to the Norristown State
Hospital.
| But the phone calls continued al-
though less frequently. And once or
{ twice the man identified himself as
i George to.the women he was annoying.

am
eee!

t 4 Then a new twist was tried. At 10:30
vos one night the phone rang in a Levit-
town house and the man who was call-
af ing asked to speak to the teen-age
3 daughter of the household. He’d had a
} hurry-up call to go out on a business
ry appointment, this man told the girl,and
, e his wife was not at home. Would she
if baby-sit for him? He’d be over in a
t half hour to pick her up, and his name
was George.
i Unsuspecting, the girl agreed. But
‘ her mother was not as gullible.
George had said he’d been given the
? girl’s name by a baby-sitting service
re operated in Levittown as a community
tt project. A fast call to this service re-
; vealed that no one had Phoned that
evening, nor the evening before.

The mother and the girl, home alone
that night, locked all their doors and
windows and turned out the lights.
Promptly at eleven an old, battered
car parked in front of their home, a
man with a young-looking silhouette in
the reflection of the Street-light, came
to the front door and knocked.

Frightened, the mother and the girl
huddled inside the house, trying to
keep quiet. Again the man knocked,
then louder, then louder still. A next-

sdoor neighbor, hearing the commotion
‘and knowing the man of the house was
not home, opened his own door.

As soon as the light from next door

“Maybe,” Price said slowly, “Binky
can help us. Let’s try him.”

Thus, again they looked up the
pasty-faced addict, arranging a round-
about meeting-place as they had before.
When they finally were parked on an
isolated side street Price turned around
in the car and faced Binky squarely.

“Binky,” he said, “we want you to
testify about what you heard those
punks say.”

The little man’s mouth flew open and
his eyes grew wide. With shaking
hands, he grasped the back of the seat
for support. He said in a moan, “You
ain’t going to ask me to tell that in
court?”

“It’s your duty. Punks like those have
to be put in jail. You read what they
did to that war veteran. That boy was
in Korea fighting for you, Binky. You
owe him—”

“I don’t care what I owe nobody! I
told you, but I ain’t going to court! I’d
be dead the next day!”

“He's right,” Taylor said. “We aren't
going to ask you to testify, Binky.”

The little man glared first at one of
them, then at the other, through watery
eyes.

“Then whadaya want from me?” he
asked suspiciously.

“Charlie’s watch,” Price said, “is the
one bit of evidence that could break
their alibi. We're going to ask a favor,
Binky.” i

“Look, can't you’ just leave me out of
this?”

“It won’t be hard,” Price told him. “I
want you to hang around where those
punks do. Mention that a friend of
yours wants to trade a gun for a watch.
That’s the one thing every punk wants
—a gun.” .

“They'll kill me!”

“They'll never know. You just see
which one is interested. Tell them this
friend wants a good watch and he’ll be
around to see them at noon tomorrow.”

Binky refused. “Run me in if you
want. I'll go nuts in stir without my
stuff, but you don't know what those
kids are like. They'll knife me.”

| "She'll Be All Right—We'll

struck him, the stranger whirled and
half ran down the walk, to his old car.
The starter whined; the car rattled into
action and sped away.

Was it a bona fide call? Had the
man’s purpose been legitimate and had
he, perhaps, obtained the girl’s name
from: the baby-sitting service a week
ago or more? No one knew.

Bor a few days later, when another

girl was asked over the Phone, at
ten o’clock at night, to baby-sit for a
man named George, she refused. And
so did a third girl, several] days after
that. Somehow, the stories reached the
police.

Then, not long before Marty Gibbons
disappeared, George made the first
phone call to the home of Mrs. Ben-
man.

He gave his name, George, and he
talked vaguely and ramblingly at first.
She cut him short, and he called back
the next day. This time he became a
bit more personal. Did she like night-
clubs, he asked. How tall was she; how
long was her hair? What was her

- Physical measurements? . . . She hung

up again.

When he called the third time and
asked her if she’d pose for Pictures, she
cut him off and notified the police.
Gino Mettozzi was sent out.

“Tll tell you what,” he said to Mrs.
Benman, “If he calls again tell him
to come over, and set a time. Then let
me know right away. We'll get that
guy.”

He phoned on a Wednesday after-
noon. Fifteen minutes later Mettozzi
was parking his private car several
houses down the street and slipping
into the Benman home. There Mrs.
Benman put him in the guest closet,
next to the front entrance, hiding-him

Finally, however, after much per-
suasion, he agreed to the proposition,
with reservations.

“If one:of them even looks funny at
me,” he said, “I’m headin’ for Canada
on the next plane.” _ :

Taylor and Price returned to Head-
quarters, where they went through the
files for the names of the quintet.

Joe Rosales, seventeen, had the long-
est record. He had been arrested sev-
eral times on suspicion of burglary, pos-
Session of narcotics and robbery.

Edmond Luevano, eighteen, had been
arrested on December 21, 1952, for as-
Sault with a deadly weapon and at other
times for a liquor-law violation and vio-
lation of curfew.

Santiago Gonzales, the 20-year-old
leader of the gang, had numerous petty
arrests and one charge of carrying a
deadly weapon, a three-foot length of
chain he was found with after a gang
Each time he had been released
in custody of his parents.

Carlos Giron, seventeen, and Henry
Mejia, eighteen, both were on the books
for malicious mischief and violation of
curfew and Giron for burglary.

The following morning, Taylor and
Price met Binky at the. pre-arranged
Place in Downey.

“Mejia’s got a watch,” Binky re-
Ported. “The little fellow. He said it
was a brand new one. I asked to see
it but he said a neighbor lady was keep-
ing it for him because it was ‘hot’.”

“Good work!” Price commended.

“What do I do now?” Binky asked.

“He wants to meet my friend with the .
gun.”

“Nothing,” Price told him. “Just for-
get you ever saw us. We'll take over
from here.”

PRICE reported to Sheriff Eugene Ww.
Biscailuz, Inspector Garner Brown
and Captain A. Vv. England. Squad cars:
were dispatched to the Norwalk and
East Los Angeles area. Within a half
hour all five youths were in custody,
Taylor and Price found the neighbor
of Mejia with whom he had left the

watch. They announced that it was the
one taken from Charlie Baker. They
also learned that Mejia was sometimes
known as “Bizco” or “Cockeyed”, al-
though he had nothing wrong with his
eyes.

The five gang members were ques-
tioned by Sheriff Biscailuz and Inspec-
tor Brown. The officers reported that
four of the members admitted the at-
tack but claimed it was the result of a
traffic argument. The four youths in-
sisted that Carlos Giron had not taken
Part in the attack and had asked his
buddies to stop beating the veteran be-
Cause he was physically handicapped,
the officials said. . ;

CHARLIE BAKER confronted the five
youths and _ allegedly identified

them as the persons who had beaten

him, taking his money and watch.

Inspector Brown announced that
Gonzales admitted taking the ten-dol-
lar Christmas present from Baker's
wallet and then flushing the wallet
down a toilet in a service-station rest-
room.

Gonzales, Rosales, Mejia and Lue-
vano were indicted by a grand jury on
December 29, 1953, on one count each
of robbery and one of assault to do great
bodily harm. Giron was turned over to
juvenile authorities for violation of pro-
bation; the others pleaded not guilty
on January 14, 1954, and as this issue
of OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES
goes to press further legal action against
them is pending.

And with their arrests the flaming
outbreak of juvenile gang action died
down. Los Angeles Police announced
that charges of second-degree murder
had been filed against three youths in
the death of William Cluff. And others
were held without bail to face prelim-
inary hearings on a charge of second-
degree murder for the death of Edmond
Pacheco. -

In this story the names of Salvadore
Martinis, Alfredo Manuel, Binky and
Ed are fictitious. 4

Find Her" (Continued from Page 27)

witha semi-transparent bamboo screen.

For more than an hour he waited.
The girls in her bridge club were due
and Mrs. Benman transferred him to
the den; he wasa friend of her husband,
she told the women.

A heavy fog settled down on the
streets and hills that night, and Met-
tozzi realized that George did not
intend to keep his appointment. The
trap had failed. Perhaps George was
only a_ telephone crank, a nuisance
rather than a menace. Perhaps, on the
other hand, he was too wary to show
up for a definite date—perhaps he
preferred to operate outside on a night
like this, with the fog to cover his move-
ments. Mettozzi wound up the evening
by chaperoning home the members of
the bridge club.

Once more, two days later, Mrs. Ben-
man suggested to her Phone-caller a
time, and she and Mettozzi waited for
George, with the little Benman girl, a
classmate of Sue Gourley, kept in her
room. But again George didn’t appear.

THEN, on Friday, Mettozzi received
another order from his station to

go to the Benman home. He found the

woman almost in tears, her face Pale.

“It was horrible!” she said. “It was
simply horrible! I’ve never heard any-
thing so foul in my life!”

She’d had another anonymous tele-
phone call—and this time it was not
from George. The voice that had
spoken to her over the Phone had not
been that of any man. It had been a
woman’s,

Where George had used innuendo,
this strange woman had been blunt.
Where George had made only -vague
suggestions, the woman had been out-
spoken and vile.

“I can’t tell you what she said,” Mrs.

Benman declared. “I couldn’t bring ie

myself to repeat it.”
is was something new te Mettozzi,
and a bit frightening, too.

“You be careful,” he told Mrs. Ben-
“Don’t ever agree to meet that
woman anywhere. If she calls again,
let me know right away.”

While he was speaking, the phone
rang. Mrs. Benman answered it and a
moment later, flushing, speechless, she
held out the phone to the patrolman.

It was a woman’s voice, he was posi-
tive, rough and coarse and yet feminine,
but the things she was suggesting hard=
ly could have come from & woman’s

ps. :

For a moment he listened; then he
handed the phone to Mrs. Benman ana
nodded his head vigorously.

She said into the phone, hesitantly,
“Yes,” and Mettozzi Snatched it back.

Again he gave it to her, shaking his
head, and she Said, “No.” Then he held
it at arm’s length, Cupping his hand over
the mouthpiece.

“Tell her to come on over now and—
have some coffee,” he whispered.

Mrs. Benman repeated the message.
Then her face flamed. She spluttered,
her hands shaking, her temper rising.

“You—you devil!” she cried into the
Phone. “You she-devil!” And- she
banged the phone down. j

But she didn’t come over, although
again Mettozzi waited for her.

Almost every day after that, this
woman telephoned. Once, after such a
phone call, neighbors reported seeing a

big, shiny, new Cadillac, a fur-coated . =

woman at the wheel, park not far from
the Benman home, Stay there for per-
haps fifteen minutes, then drive slowly

‘away. Again, soon after another calli,

Mrs. Benman herself saw an old car,
its license plate battered and bent so

sek

Lora
5ST ABS ee

Ze


able. She
oy friend.
ie -

a
S

thought
r to trace
n always
e lovers’
ly hotels;
in those
shten the
to

, decent,
arty Gib-
1 do?

st move-

me last
spital to
repeated.
ier. I got
and she
half-past
home. I
t and go
: door.”
1ext-door

working
We drove
she came
> thought
cold and
id I told
1e froze.”
efore she
‘no help.
her after

“\pps’ car-
1 one side
lieu of a

2, in Mrs.
sened her
iad hap-

Sue said,
‘e a glass

rt,

Chief of Police Kirby follows Trooper Dane along
the tire-tracks, arrow, made by a killer's car

They made a careful inspection of
the Gourley home. Floors were of as-
phalt tile, dark’ and waxed highly—
Marty had done her housework faith-
fully while her mother was in the hos-
pital. If any struggle had taken place
in here, if anything untoward had hap-
pened, scuff marks would show up.
Kirby and Mettozzi didn’t find any.

. They didn’t find a thing out of place

in that home.

They talked to the father, Gourley.

“Didn’t you notice if she was here
when you went to work this morning?”
Chief Kirby asked him. j

Hesitantly, Gourley said, “I—vwell, I
wasn’t here last night. I didn’t get
home.” : Gi

For a moment that little house was
completely quiet.

“You mean those two girls were here
alone?” Kirby asked.

THE stepfather nodded, as if he didn’t
want to speak out.

“Where were you?”

“I missed the bus,” Gourley said. “So
I stayed in Philadelphia.”

He’d been to the hospital visiting his
wife, he explained. She was in the Doc-
tors’ Hospital, at Seventeenth and
Summer Streets in Philadelphia. When
he’d left there, at 9:30, he had to walk
about a half mile and then take a sub-
way-elevated train and he’d missed the
last Levittown bus, which left at 11:10
p. m. from the Frankford section, far
to the north of the~center Philadelphia
hospital.

“Why didn’t you catch a train?”

“You have to go back to the city to
get the train. And then it doesn’t stop
until Trenton and you have a rough
time getting here from Trenton.”

That was true, Kirby knew. At that
hour of the night commuter trains
have stopped running and only through
service from -Philadelphia to Trenton
is available. Furthermore, the Trenton-
Levittown buses do not run after mid-
night. Except for private automobiles,
the community is isolated at that hour.

Yet Trenton is only six miles from
this part of Levittown. Surely a taxi or
something—

“I wish I’d been here!” Gourley said
fervently. “I wish to Heaven I'd been

here!” He was almost in tears.

Kirby put his hand on the man’s
shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mister Gourley.
Kids do funny things sometimes. She’ll
oe you try to get some sleep

iw.

They left him then, to take the few
other steps they could take. The
first was a call to the Philadelphia
police, and teletypes soon were clicking
in that big city 25 miles to the south.

The answer came back all too soon.
No one girl of Marty Gibbons’ age or
even vaguely answering to her descrip-
tion was in a Philadelphia hospital or
a Philadelphia jail cell—although no
one could conceive of Marty Gibbons
being in a cell—or anywhere else the
police could reach.

Nor could the Trenton police find her
when they received a similar call.

So Kirby and Mettozzi drove over to
the State Police Barracks on Highway
No. One.

Population-wise, Falls Township still
is relatively small. Before the coming
of Levittown and of another big hous-
ing development, Fairless Hills, the
township had only three police officers
and one squad car. When Marty dis-
appeared it had a dozen men on the
force (two more have been added since)
and four cars—but of course, it is not
a big-city department. Radio calls are
dispatched over the Trenton police sta-
tion, and no police teletype wires reach
the township station.

Thus, Chief Kirby and Officer Met-
tozzi went to the State Police Barracks
on Highway No. One at the edge of
Fairless Hills and Marty Gibbons’ de-
scription went clattering out from there
on a teletype circuit that links thirteen
states along the Eastern Seaboard.

She was five feet, ten inches tall, the
description said, with reddish-brown
hair and brown eyes and she had been
wearing a green sweater and blue dun-
garees—they listed the dungarees be-
cause no one knew what else she might
have had on and because Sue might
have made a mistake, hanging up an
old pair instead of those Marty had
worn when the half-sisters had seen
each other last.

Then the Falls Township officers re-
turned to their own station.

“I don’t like it,” Kirby said to the
patrolman when he had slumped into
a chair behind his desk.

Mettozzi slid a pencil up and down
in his fingers. “You know,” he stated,
“the Gourleys live in the same type
house as that Mrs. Benman and not

far away. Maybe somebody made a
mistake,” .

The same thought had been in the
back of Chief Kirby’s mind, and he,
too, voiced it’ reluctantly. “Then you

Evidence, ready to be shipped, which Sergeant
McCarr says points to the young man at right

think it may be that woman? Or
George?”

George! The shadowy, furtive men-
ace that had been only suggested so far,
but had been there nevertheless, a con-
stant threat. The frightening person
known only as a dark figure slinking
into the darker shadows of the street—
or as a voice using the name George.

HIS menace had begun some time
before. A woman reported someone
in her back yard, prowling around. An-
other woman told police about a man
trying to get into a window of her home
after dark. A third actually had seen
such a man at the back door, and called
police before he could break in. A
fourth had heard a heavy knock on the
door at five a. m., when her husband
obviously was not at home since his car
was not in plain sight in the carport,
where he always kept it. :

The stories had spread and for
awhile panic had gripped some of these
persons, all of whom were new to this
new community. The prowler reports
grew and many of them were mere
vague suspicions, many of them false
alarms. Police had taken a firm hold;
a -burglar actually was arrested in
the Levittown section of Tullytown
Borough and a youth was picked up for
a morals offense in Bristol Township.
Gradually the scare died down.

Then the phone calls began. During
the day, all of them, when housewives
would be the only persons to answer.
Some of them were vague, as if the
man calling just wanted to talk, ram-
bling along on any subject at all.
Others carried just a hint of sugges-
tiveness. In still others the caller stated
that he was a photographer for a na-
tional magazine and the magazine
wanted photographs of women with
long hair and he would like the house-
wives to pose for him.

Somehow, this last man’s story did
not quite ring true. None of the wo-
men believed him; they reported to the
police instead. Chief John Stewart of
Bristol Township, whose jurisdiction
includes the largest portion of Levit-
town, noticed that these women all
were local correspondents for a weekly
newspaper and that their names and
telephone numbers were listed in that

paper, to facilitate their news-gather- -

ing duties.

He got in touch with each of them
and set a trap. One of the women, when
(Continued on Page 46)

27


it was the
vr. They
ometimes
yed”, al-
: with his

ere ques-
d Inspec-
rted that
d the at-
esult of a
ouths in-
not taken
asked his
teran be-
dicapped,

d the five
identified
id beaten
atch.

ced that
» ten-dol-
1 Baker’s
he wallet
tion rest-

and Lue-
d jury on
yunt each
o do great
sd over to
on of pro-
Lot guilty
this issue
STORIES
om against

e flaming
stion died
nnounced
’e murder
youths in
ind others
-e prelim-
of second-
f |

Saivaaore
3inky and

in’t bring
» Mettozzi,

Mrs. Ben-
meet that
alls again,

the phone
d it anda
chless, she
trolman.

» was posi-
t feminine,
ting hard-
1 woman’s

d; then he
‘nman and

hesitantly,
1 it back.

haking his
en he held
; hand over

now and—

ered.

ie message.

aspluttered,

per rising.

ed into the
And _ she

r, although

ot lar from
‘re for per-
irive slowly
nother call,
4n’old car,

6 Rs.

ind bent so

it could not be recognized, idling by, a
younger, heavy woman driving.

Once the caller even made a date at
the shopping-center and Mettozzi kept
it. But he saw no one except house-
wives, their arms loaded with bundles,
leading their children by the hands.

For a few days the phone calls con-
tinued, from both the mysterious wom-~
an and the sinister George. Tele-
phones in Levittown are dial-operated
and the phone company was unable to
trace any of them.

Then they died down in frequency.
And then, on a Friday night, while a
storm blew toward Levittown only to
veer off and leave merely the wintry
winds and light snow as tokens—
fifteen-yéar-old Marty Gibbons left
her neighbor’s home and entered her
own, at 9:30, never to be seen again by
those who knew.and loved her.

THar was the background the officers
knew and feared as on the night
following the disappearance they sat in
the Falls Township police station,
baffied, almost afraid to voice their
thoughts.

“Well,” said Chief Kirby after a long,
long silence, “it’s late. Tomorrow we'll
search the whole area; there’s not much
else we can do tonight.”

There wasn’t much. Wait, perhaps,
for a phone call from Philadelphia or
Trenton or any of the many cities on
that thirteen-state hookup. And patrol
the streets and lanes and winding,
lonely back roads of Falls Township,
looking for a girl, or any trace of a girl.
Or a body.

They didn’t find it that night.

Sunday dawned still windy and still
cold but with the sun shining now.
Levittowners bundled off to church, ex-
cept on Timber Lane. There they
gathered in the Gourley home, the
neighbors of this distraught stepfather,
Bowen and Moody and Capps and
Schwartz, Allen, Hopkins.

Chief Kirby was there, too, with
Sergeant Julius Meszaros and Patrol-

men Gass and Custer and Mettozzi.

We re going to search this whole
area.” Kirby told the men, officers and
Neighbors alike. “Up and down both
sides of the Tullytown Road and the

Newportville Road and into Fallsing-
ton. We'll have to walk; you can miss
too much driving by. It'll be a cold,
nasty, unpleasant job but we can’t
afford to pass up a thing.”

Another angle had popped up to
worry Gourley and his friends and
neighbors. Sue, his six-year-old daugh-
ter, had a fever. Frightened, perhaps,
and lonesome, although a neighbor
thought she noticed a rash on the child’s
body. Gourley had lost one of his
stepdaughters—temporarily only, he
prayed—and he couldn’t take a chance
with Sue. A doctor was called.

Timber Lane is on the edge of Levit-
town. Directly behind the Gourley
house is a 50-foot stand of tall fir trees,
and behind this a construction com-
pany is strip-mining sand and gravel
out of the earth. It has dug an enor-
mous, shallow hole in the ground,
covering thousands of square yards,
with hillocks and ridges of dirt and
sand scattered here and there. An
immense, three-story-tall hopper stands
at the end of it and a steamshovel
reaches into the sky from the center of
the hole, its hungry bucket ever ready
to scoop other mouthsful from the
earth.

One of the neighbors, Capps, volun-
teered to go through this gravel pit,
while the rest trudged off, in various di-
rections.

“Don’t worry, Bill,” Capps called out
to Gourley from the center of the street
as they left. ‘“‘She’ll be all right; we'll
find her.”

But they didn’t. Up and down the
roads, back into the woods, poking into
frozen creeks and snow- covered
brambles, over the hummocks and
ridges of the gravel pits, they marched.
They didn’t find a thing. Noontime
came and went and they stopped for
coffee and sandwiches, then back they
trudged to their search. Gradually the
sun sank lower in the west and the bit-
ing edge of the wind died down and
shadows grew longer. Marty Gibbons
wasn’t anywhere around.

By the time darkness came they’d
covered everything within a mile of the
Gourley home, in vain, and Chief Kirby
called off the search. Marty Gibbons
just wasn’t there.

And the doctor had been out; Sue
Gourley had chicken-pox, he said. _

“Marty must have gone off volun-
tarily,” Sergeant Meszaros remarked
when the officers were back in their
station.

“Not her,’ Mettozzi insisted stub-
bornly. “Not from the way the people
talk about her.”

Still, Kirby reasoned, she might have.
A father wouldn’t necessarily know too
much about his daughter’s clothes; she
could have taken a coat or a heavy
sweater.

“Let’s see if we can’t find out more
about her,” he said.

i WAS 5:30 on Sunday evening then
put Chief Kirby phoned the home of
Stanley Beuchler, the assistant princi-
pal of Pennsbury High School, which
Marty attended. Beuchler in turn
phoned Marty’s home-room teacher
and soon the police had the names of
half a dozen girls who had been close
to Marty.

Closest of all had been Louise Ritchey
and she was questioned again. She
added a few more names to the list but
no new information. So did some of the
other girls.

Marty, the police were told for the
third time, had taken ballet lessons
and tap. Once a week half a dozen of
the Levittown girls would gather in her
home and she would teach them how
to tap-dance. Marty also liked to ride
and she’d patronized a stable in Tren-
ton once or twice and before that one
in Roxborough, a section of Philadel-
phia.

But she didn’t date. She had no dis-
gruntled boy friends. She wasn’t wild
or impetuous or quick-tempered or un-
happy at home. She wouldn’t have run
away.

If so—if she hadn’t run away—then
the worst must have happened.

Through the Trenton police, Chief
Kirby located the manager of the rid-
ing stable in Trenton and he went
down and got his records. Marty Gib-
bons hadn’t been there for weeks, he
told Kirby. .

This was late Sunday night and
Kirby couldn't follow up the possibility
in Roxborough; he didn’t know which

Walter Clark, who made up his
mind to kill, and at left, the
posse bringing him back. Pg. 20

stable in that community, nor whom to
call at that hour.

And another night passed in coldness
and in an impending sense of tragedy.
Where was Marty Gibbons?

All day Saturday and Sunday, no one
had telephoned the home of Mrs. Ben-
man, neither the woman nor George.

Did this mean anything? Had some-
one mistaken the Gourley home for
hers?—they were of the same type and
color and only a few streets apart. Was
Marty’s fate locked up in the strange,
evil, diseased mind of this woman—or

in the twisted brain of George who -

somehow might have been goaded into
action beyond his phone calls?
ao police were afraid to think of

ONDAY, January 25, was cloudy
and still cold. Chief Kirby called
his men together early.

“Today,” he said, “we’re going to take
all these gravel pits and woods and lanes
in the Township. Every one of them.
— got to be sure the girl isn’t around

ere.”

Underneath not just the ground be-
hind the Gourley home-but much of

this section of Bucks County, are.

valuable gravel deposits. A cement-
mixing firm had leased and bought
much of this land and dug its deposits
out and left the holes there and grad-

ually they have filled with water from

underground springs. Today they are
known as lakes. Van Sciver Lake, near
the Delaware River, is one. It’s large
and the land around it is flat and
barren. Another is Curtis Lake, nestled
in a clump of woods beside the marshal-
ling yards of the Pennsylvania Railroad
and reached only by a side road that
leads off a side road.

Patrolman Mettozzi drove along these
side roads and up to Curtis Lake. It was
frozen over; skaters had been there
Saturday and Sunday, and they had re-
ported nothing. Mettozzi turned into a
lane that was little more than two ruts,
bouncing along, heading back toward
the railroad embankment and away
= the ground the skaters would have
used.

He was hoping he’d find a spot where
he could turn around, without: getting

47

ee


The Cleanup Spot

_ SIGNING OFF—Mrs. Jean Chase,
charged with the murder of her husband,
radio announcer Roger Chase, was found
guilty by a Phoenix, Ariz., court. (Sign-
ing Off, January FRONT PAGE, 1954). The
jury, after a six-hour deliberation, re-
turned the verdict with a recommendation
for life’ imprisonment. Her husband’s

~ body was found lying along a desert high-

‘and Emmett Perkins,

- of grocer
small children (Horror Unlimited, Janu-

way. Death had been: caused by four
bullet wounds. At the trial, Mrs. Chase
denied any knowledge of the shooting.

HORROR UNLIMITED—Jack Santo
known as the
“Mountain Mob” in the Sierra Mountain
country of California, were given the
death “penalty for the, brutal slaying
Guard Young and _ three

ary FRONT PAGE, 1954). During the trial,

‘the crime was called one of the most

depraved ‘in California’s. history. When
the death sentence was announced, the
pair stood mute—each was already under
four different death: sentences for other
robbery killings.+ Harriet Henson, also
charged with first degree murder in the

Guard Young case, was given a life sen- .

“tence. Guard Young’s body was found

.

stuffed in the trunk of his automobile
after he had been missing for 14 hours,
Under him were the bodies of three small
children who had been in the car with him
when he was last seen. A fourth child
managed to live and give the police im-
portant clues which led to the arrest of

Perkins and Santo. According to the:

child’s description, all four were beaten to
death with a lead pipe, first Young and

then the children, and then stuffed into.

the car trunk. Missing was more than
$7,000 which Young had been carrying.

FLIRTING ON THE, OUTSIDE—
Ferman Espinosa, 33, the man who
chopped his 14-year-old ‘wife into small
pieces, put them into a trunk and threw
the lot into the Platte River (Those Flirty
‘Eyes, October FRONT PAGE, 1953), man-
aged a daring escape from the Colorado
State Prison at Cannon City, Colo.’ Es-
pinosa was at work at the prison’s rock.
pile. When lunch time came, he hid be-

-hind a pile of rocks while his companions

were marched away. Then’ he scrambled
over a ten-foot wire fence and enjoyed a
short period of freedom. , For several

hours he managed to elude bloodhounds -

and as many as 70 guards who searched
the area for him. Prison authorities said
that the chances for an escape such as his
were around 10,000’ to one.

LIFE FOR THE GHOULS—Harold

Burkhardt and Richard Nolan, 22,. ac-’

cused in the highway slaying of Her-
schell L. Sorrell, 31, were found guilty of
second degree murder (Ghouls Come in
Pairs, March FRONT PAGE, 1954). A Mid-
dletown, O., court sentenced them each to
life imprisonment. Although they were
originally indicted for first degree mur-
der, Assistant Prosecutor Herbert Walsh
recommended a reduction in the charges.

Sorrell, also from Middletown, was found
in a dying condition on the shoulder of a
highway—he had been beaten, robbed and
disrobed. ,

THEY DARED—A jury ‘composed
of nine men and three women convicted
George Lee Capps, of Levittown, Pa., of
murdering 15-year-old Marta Gibbons
(You Wouldn’t Dare, May FRONT PAGE,
1954). Capps, married and father -of a
child: born since the murder, admitted
shooting the girl after he had made love
to her in his automobile at a nearby lake

“George Lee Capps lost a dare.

resort, where the girl’s nearly nude body

‘was discovered. When the ‘court pro-

nounced the death sentence, his wife
broke into sobs and buried her head in

_her father’s shoulder. Defense attorneys
’ maintained that Capps was “under the

influence of beer and whisky” at the time
and thus did not know right from wrong.

SECRET OUT—Jonah Roberts,
charged with the slaying of his. wife,
Mary, was found guilty of murder in the
first degree (The Secret That Wouldn’t
Keep, November FRONT PAGE, 1952).
Judge J. Harold Flannery, of the Luzerne
County, Pa., Court, acting on the
recommendation of the jury handed
down a life sentence to be served at East-

ern. State Penitentiary at Philadelphia. -

Roberts, 47, was charged with shooting his
wife to death in an automobile, wounding
himself, and then trying to put blame on

two hitchhikers. Judge Flannery denied a

defense motion for a new trial.

|

who had I
law, Suckey’s mother. He said that Indian Bill
had never inherited anything in his life, and

ee

-

ee

ired by Jenkins’ mother-in-

that when he’d gone to the United States
Supreme Court with the case, he, Hurst, had
filed a pauper’s oath so that Jenkins wouldn't
have to. pay usual appeal fees.

His lawyers charged that Jury Foreman

Bill Seiz had made up his mind before ‘the
trial, saying, “If I’m picked on the jury, he'll
die ih the chair.’ They claimed the state of-
fered to recognize a plea of guilty to second-
degree murder before the trial.
- But higher courts turned down the appeals.
Federal circuit court and the United States
Supreme Court turned Indian Bill down. Law-
yers had exhausted every legal move.

The only hope was a last minute commuta-

© ‘tion. by the governor, but Governor Cherry
. refused to reduce the sentence to life im-
_ prisonment. »

Bill was scheduled to die on Friday, May 7.
He talked’‘and prayed with John Simmons,
Missionary ‘Baptist Chaplain, at the Tucker

.Prison Farm. .

“J am sorry Cleo is dead. I repent her death.
I am resigned to my fate,” he said. “I believe
I am guilty of something, but I don’t know
what. I do not remember killing anyone.”

On Thursday, his children and his wife,
Suckey, came to see him. :

The children told Bill that they loved him.
’ Suckey said she loved him, too. When they

left Bill sat down and remembered the old

happy days. Then he prayed and said he was

ready to die. -
His lawyers clung to hope until midnight

. Thursday, Governor Cherry had issued four

stays of execution. Now he remained silent,
Attorney Hurst shook his head just after mid-
night. “We've done everything we know to
do,” he said. “I still can’t see how Bill was
found guilty of first-degree murder, but he
was.”

They shaved the curly black hair from Bill’s
head and stripped his cotton robe. They pre-
pared his last meal—beef stew, fried fish, fried
chicken, french fried potatoes, pickled beets,
whole wheat bread, cornbread, egg custard.

_4A—But Bill left -the meal untouched.

Dawn was coming Friday. Outside, prison

| guards\with shotguns herded prisoners to the

fields.. But ‘the electric lights still burned in

_| the white-washed brick death house at Tucker

Prison Farm. ;
’ In his cell, Bill’s eyes swam in silent tears
when reporters asked him questions, shook his

- naked head and buried it in his hands. He

talked briefly to his friend Curt Copeland, 4
Hot Springs weekly newsman, and gaye him a
signed copy of a little Bible. He arranged

‘cards and Jetters from his family neatly in a

cigar box in his cell. He left his Bible open,
and ' walked unassisted the 27 steps from his
cell to the death chamber. «
They placed him ‘in the electrode-studded
chair at 6:53 A.M., one year, two months and
19 days after Cleo died. His face held’ the
impassive dignity of the Choctaws as they
placed the rubber mask over it. Quickly they
strapped. him, applying electrodes to his leg,
arm ‘and head. ‘

At 6:57 a.m., the executioner administered

“three 2,200-volt shocks, arching Bill's big

body against the restraining straps, Three min-
utes later, the prison physician examined him.
The second jolt was ordered. Two more shocks

* at 7:01 aa. At 7:03 Am., May 7, 1954, -he

was pronounced dead. Indian Bill was no more,

might have
they learne:
loss.

She had
from the F
and Ruby
used to sto
and have «

Berg suspe
veloped in
whenever !
Ruby she «
she mentio
friends.

Mr. Ber:
wife’s kille:
released ai
for any q
future.

"Tt looks
going to bi
green book
names we
brought ir

Some of
considered
were wor!
‘fidelity w
some: wer
to help fir

But all
Ruby in
a good-ti)
with, eas)
had killed

Out of
police we
bit of inf
who had :

“Ruby +
was scart
S’matter
who'd ne:
No. He v
her, was, h

went.”

“Did st

“Tf she
said.

There v
Golden w
Berg’s pe:
been livir
time she
moved in
was mur

The an
long in
few nam:
little grec
Jewel Bo
stayed w
Sixty-firs'
them had

“There
time,” M
told me
address, !

Mrs. |

Ruby di
that she
to be ric


14

The Cleanup Spot

| GEORGE CAPPS, 23, convicted of the
brutal slaying of Marta Gibbons, has gone

to his death in the electric chair in Belle-
fonte, Pa. (You Wouldn’t Dare, May
FRONT PAGE, 1954). The body of the
pretty 15-year-old high school girl was
found beaten and shot to death in a Levit-
town, Pa., lovers’ lane. Capps, who lived
across the street, was one of the members
of the searching party. He later admitted
that he’d driven Marta to a lovers’ lane,
raped her, then killed her when she threat-
ened to tell. Capps, who has been.a docile,
quiet prisoner,.ate a last supper of ordi-
nary prison fare, talked ‘briefly with a
chaplain, then walked calmly to the chair.
He was survived by a widow and a child
born after his arrest.

BRAZIL DAIL CARMIACHAEL, frail,
thin-faced, 29-year-old airman from Tam-
pa, Fla., who for more than two years got
away with the murder of Mrs. Mahala
Winterbauer, has been found guilty of
first-degree murder and sentenced to 99
years in the penitentiary (Case of. the
Make-Believe Orphan, November FRONT
PAGE, 1955). Mrs. Winterbauer, widow of

a Dallas, Tex., policeman, was found

beaten to death with a soft-drink bottle. .

Her car was missing, and neighbors told
of a young airman, a friend of her son,
whom she had befriended. For two years
Carmiachael evaded police and FBI
agents but was finally caught when ar-
rested on a minor charge and his finger-
prints. sent to the FBI for a routine check.
In a unique ‘development during the sum-
ming-up by the defense, one. defense at-
‘torney argued that Carmiachael be given
a 99-year prison sentence, the other held
out for a five-year suspended sentence.
The jurors took their cue from the less

optimistic attorney, and Carmiachael an-:

eee a

nounced that he was “satsfied” with 99
years in jail.,

JAMES RICHARDSON, 49-year-old
Kansas City paperhanger, has been sen-
tenced to life imprisonment for the mur-
der of Mrs. Muriel Brown (She Done Me

t¥2,)

: ‘ay’? peta ee

Dirty, November FRONT PAGE, 1955),
Richardson, who had been living at Mrs.

Brown’s house, confessed to battering her ©
. over the head with a window-sash follow-.

ing an argument over money. “I didn’t
know whether she was dead or not,” he
said, then he described how he dragged

her body into the basement and covered’.

it up with tarpaulins where it. was dis-
covered a few weeks later. Brought to
trial, Richardson was allowed to plead

guilty to second-degree murder, which *

carries a mimimum sentence of ten years.
Judge Willard Benton, who imposed sen-_

tence,~ stated: “After considering this”

man’s: record of three previous felony
convictions and his record as a heavy
drinker, I am giving him the maximum:
sentence.”

A JUDGE didn’t take much stock in
John Seimer’s promise to go to work and
pay back the money he stole from a Staten
Island, N.Y., bank, with the result that
Seimer. must serve a four to eight year
term in prison (The Hottest $80,000 on
the Staten Island Ferry, February FRONT
PAGE, 1955). Seimer, who fled from his
$65-a-week job as bank. clerk with
$80,000 in bank funds (he admitted to
$65,000), was found in a small town in
Ohio months later, jobless, and unable to
spend the money he had stolen for fear
he would give himself away. He was ac-
companied by’ his wife and children. After

he was‘caught, he was returned to Staten

Island and pleaded guilty to embezzle-
ment. Called up before Judge Matthew

Abruzzo, Seimer said, “I am _ deeply
ashamed of what I have done. I cannot
understand how I did it.” Then he ex-
plained that after he had embezzled the
money, he had fled because he did not
want to go to jail. He said he intended to

: go into business and pay back the money

in three or four years, After he paid it
back, he said, he intended to return and

» face the music. “Now I have heard every-
* thing,” Judge Abruzzo commented.

Seimer then pleaded for a suspended
sentence and promised that he would pay

back the missing-sum by deducting ten
* percent of his earnings until the payment

had been completed. Seimer’s attorney
pointed out’ that the defendant was the

4@ product of an unhappy home,’ and re-
“ferred to the economic struggle Seimer

endured to support his family on $65 a
week. “I can’t give leniency to this man,”
‘Abruzzo said, “He’s guilty as all heck.”
After pronouncing sentence,.Seimer was
led away, handcuffed. His pretty wife,
who gave birth to a baby only a month
ago, sat in the front row and wept. She
was allowed to visit him briefly before he
was sent to a federal house of detention.

PAUL T. PFEFFER will now have the
benefit of murderer John Roche’s testi-
mony when he goes to trial for man-
slaughter in connection with the fatal
beating of Edward Bates. Pfeffer, who had
been previously convicted of Bates’ mur-
der, (Hothead, December FRONT PAGE,
1953) was serving a prison term when
John Roche was tracked down, convicted

FREBY ret ‘Deron a
foosieans [GSC


gun. It was known that Marta had been killed |
by a .32 bullet and the-shells from the Capps
home were promptly dispatched to the police
laboratory for comparison with the shell
which had been found at the scene of the crime.
In the glove compartment of Capps’ car were
found a series of pornographic photos.

“Yes, I did go to the house,” George said.
“But I just wanted to show her what I’d.done
to fix her father’s car. I didn’t know her. I
mean I hardly knew her at all. I just showed
her what I’d done so she could tell her father
—that’s all. And then she went back into the
house. I didn’t touch her. I wouldn't
have... .” ’

But on Tuesday night, word came in that
the shells checked with the shell of the bullet
which had killed Marta Gibbons and the tire
tracks of the car he had been repairing matched
those found near Curtis Lake.

Then George Capps confessed. .

“I couldn’t help it,” he said and stared
blankly at Sergeant McCarr. “I just wanted
her—badly. I kept watching her. We have a
big picture window. and so do they. And I
used to watch her all the time and I couldn’t
help it. But I didn’t want this to happen. I
didn’t want to kill her. I just wanted her . ; .”

He stopped for a moment. “She thought I
wouldn’t dare,” he said finally, then he lowered
his eyes and in a barely audible voice, he went
on: “Afterwards .. . then she said she’d tell
Mabel. Mabel’s only a kid herself really and
she’s having a baby ... soon... and I didn’t
want Mabel to . . . she didn’t have to
know. .. .” He brought his hands up now
and covered his face with them. You wouldn’t
have known that he was crying except that
he had stopped speaking.

"THEN Capps was taken in a squad car out
to the quarry lake where he had raped, beat-
en and killed Marta Gibbons. Under the glare

of searchlights, he re-enacted what had hap- ,

pened four nights before. He kept repeating
that Marta shouldn’t have threatened to tell
his wife. “Then it wouldn’t have happened,”
he said again and again. “It shouldn’t have
happened.” He said that he had thrown the
gun out onto a sandbar, but a thorough search
failed to uncover it.

Afterwards, Capps asked to be allowed
to see a priest so that he might confess
his sins. He told the father that he was glad
that he had been found out. “I haven’t been
able to sleep,” he said, “since it happened. I

haven’t been able even to look at Mabel .. .
and I love Mabel... .”

After the priest left him, Capps was al-
lowed to see his wife. They were together for
an hour’s time.

When.Mabel Capps left the Buck’s County
Jail at Doylestown where her husband was
being held, she was in tears. “I don’t under-
stand it,” she told reporters, “but I’m going
to stand by him. He needs me now .. . more
than he ever has before. . . .”

It was that same night that William Gourley
told his wife what had really happened to
Marta, that she had not been killed in an ac-
cident, but had been raped and murdered. He
‘told her also that the killer had been found.
“It would never have happened if I had been
home,” Mrs. Gourley said. “Children should
never, never be left alone, and if they are
alone, they should bolt the door, not answer
to anyone, We thought George Capps was be-
ing neighborly when he offered to fix our car
for us. We should have known. We should
have been suspicious.”

On January 26, 1954, George Lee Capps was
formally charged with murder at a hearing be-
fore Justice of the Peace John Melvin of Falls
Township. He is being held without bail.

Kill

continued from page 27

Crazy for Girls—Girls—Girls

burn. Where we gonna get all that money?”

Wilburn frowned. He was trying hard to
look like his father when his father was wor-
ried about something. Out of the corner of
one. eye he stole a glance at. his younger
cousin, hoping he was duly impressed by this
grown-up attitude. He was.

“Can’t tell you right now,” Wilburn said,
slowly. “Got t’do some more thinking about
it.”

William, his curiosity thoroughly aroused,
was not to be put off so easily, Anxiety
showed in his smooth, round face. Money for
cowboy clothes . . . an automobile. He’d
never really expected to have that much money
in his whole lifetime. Not in a million years
of wet nursing a herd of stubborn scrawny,
mountain fed cattle. Or of scratching the rock
strewn fields to make a crop.

“Can we go over to Chattanooga when we
get all that money?” William persisted. “J
bet them city gals would really go for us if
we was all dressed up and had a car.”

Wilburn grinned sagely. “We might even
go up to Ohio. The gals are prettier up there.”

“Prettier’n they are in Chattanooga?”

Wilburn nodded. He’d been to Ohio once
when his family had gone there to visit rela-
tives. Since then he’d kept the. gullible Wil-
liam and the other mountain boys entranced
with tales about his imagined experiences with
sultry Buckeye lasses who had found his
rough, Tennessee: methods of making woo com-
pletely irresistible. P

William flushed sheepishly. “I never had
nothing to do with no real pretty girls,” he
confessed. “Are they as good looking as they
are in the movies? Them women in the
dance halls, I mean?”

Wilburn called upon all his vivid imagina-
tion to supply a ready answer. He’d painted

himself hundreds of mental pictures of what
the women would be like as he’d lain alone
in his crudely furnished attic room. Long,
slender-legged girls with painted eyes and full
lips, begging for him to come closer; -big-
bosomed women in flimsy black negligees.

“They're even better looking than them
dames in the picture shows,” he said. “They’re
real and they don’t wear so much clothes.”

Both of them laughed.

The air was beginning to get cooler now.
In silence, the two watched the sun melt be-
hind the hazy mountain peaks and wash the
green tree tips in blazing gold. Inside the
cabin a baby began to cry and there was the
banging of pots and pans as Wilburn’s mother
began preparing dinner.

“Wonder what the sunset looks like from
the other side of the mountains?” William
said, suddenly. “Does it look the same in
Ohio?”

ILBURN cleared his throat. Actually, he’d
never noticed. But he couldn’t let William
know that. William thought he knew every-
thing; he had to keep him believing that.
“It’s a little diffrent,” he said, lamely. “Not
much, but a little.” He stopped, abruptly. He
wanted to go on, to try and explain why it
would look different, but he couldn’t find the
words. He lapsed into silence again.
“Wilburn .. .”
“Veah ?”
“TI been thinking. Are them girls in Ohio
pretty as. Lois?”
“Ain’t nobody that pretty.”
“You ever—well, you know—have a real
time with her?”
Wilburn stirred uneasily and he fought hard
against the burn in his cheeks. “Naw. Y’ain’t
supposed to—not with your reg’lar girl. You

see, someday I’m aiming to marry that girl.”

“After we get all that money?”

“Mebbe.”

William looked disappointed. “Then we ain’t
going to Ohio?”

“Sure we are. We'll have a fling at’ them
big city girls. Then, mebbe I'll settle down
and marry Lois when we get back.”

Wilburn relaxed. He got up off the rough
stoop and brushed hard at the seat of his
wash-faded overalls. “I gotta be getting home.
Wanna walk to the road with me?”

They reached the gate just as an old model
automobile, nosed up over the steep hill.
Wheezing and bucking on the narrow, rain-
rutted road, the car slowed as it passed the
two boys. The big, elderly man behind the
wheel blew the horn and waved.

“Hi, fellas,” William Harrison Ferguson,
known as Bud to his friends, called out.

“Hi, Cousin Bud,” the two called back in
unison.

They watched the car jerk around a sharp
bend in the road and disappear.

“Pa says you can set your watch by the
time Cousin Bud goes to work every day,”
said William.

“He’s got a good job,” Wilburn explained.
“Night watchman at the county garage. Guess
he ain’t taking no chances on losing it by
being late.”

“Pa says Cousin Bud makes a lotta dough
down there.”

“He does,” Wilburn confirmed. He leaned
closer. “I sort’a figgered that’s where we could
get the money we need.” :

“Not a chance. Pa says Bud’s the tight-
fistedest fella in Bledsoe County. He wouldn’t
never let us have no money.”

“T wasn’t exactly figgering on asking him for
it,’ Wilburn replied, meaningly. He looked at

William and Wil
Then they both |!
“You shouldn’t
liam said, weakly
Wilburn shrugg
ever suspect us,” !
only way I know
we want. I’ve he
sometimes carries
lars around in hi:
William licked «
sand dollars!” he
“We wouldn't !
Wilburn babbled
bit. It’d be dark
William stuck o
it acress his lips.
were strangely mo
the sides of his
the money?”
“Wouldn’t be
leave right then
worked out. If :
“JJ don’t knc
let you know to
William walkec
trudged back to

MMEDIATEL
climbed up to
the worn catalog
he just lay ther:
mattress, staring
tures. The faces
the big hats, th:
the same—his!
Then he close:
ture how Lois w:
when she saw hi
and driving his
Lois was soft
glowed with a:
rouge unnecessar:
ready her body f
anhood. She hac
sent shivers racir
her hair was the
knew she liked
bragged to her tt
this lonely mow
with him. She !
like at first she
she hadn’t said st
the time came. \
and willing. He’
look at him invi
like the women
gether, they’d dr:
and nobody’d ev
He leaned ove
William, -he dec
painted women |
take Lois.
After a time he
The next day
1953. The sun
lands, especially
damp grayness :
when William |
Wilburn, his sch:
one arm, came
walking together
lead them to sc
and out of sight

“Let’s don’t
gested.
“Okay,” Willi

be’ going to sch
They found a


ee.

*: St care Bee, OER AEE te tua ee azarapn

MIX-UP FINALE—It’s going to be
life imprisonment for Orville T. Waldron
for the second degree murder of Lieu-

tenant Colonel William A. Covington; the

husband of Waldron’s former common- .

law wife, (The Not So Merry Mix-Up,
October Front PAGE, 1954.) Waldron ad-
mitted entering the bedroom where the
Covingtons. were sleeping but told the
court, “I do not remember the shooting.

I did not aim at anybody. I have no mem- °

ory.” But according to Florida. Judge

eee ee ee Te TERE
Vee SRT SS Nee te

Chillingworth, who sentenced him
to the maximum life imprisonment, it

was “cold blooded murder.” Under Flori-_

da ‘law, Waldron must spend at least-20.
years in prison. tis

THERE WAS’ NO MISTAKE about
the sentence—life imprisonment—for Ed-. -

ward Anderson, 18, and Robert Soldier,

17. (They Mistook Us For Men, Decem- ©

ber FRONT PAGE, 1954.) Indicted’ for. the
murder of George. W. Cain who was shot
o death while’ they held up an East St.
Louis, Mo., bei ™ boys entered a
plea of guilty while the jury was being
sworn in to try them. Soldier said. he
struck a customer who wasn’t “followi

orders,” ind Anderson confessed to shoot:

ing Cain when he tried to intercede. For

the $77 the hold up netted them, the |

youths will have to serve at least 20 years
before they become eligible for parole.

AFTER 30 DAYS of piychiatric ex:

amination, Mrs. Dora Liter, 50-year-old ¢

self-styled minister, has been declared
insane and will be committed to the Lima,
O., State Hospital. When the bady of her

“that God- had been notified.” The’ girl
had been dead three months, and although
police said they could get no coherent ac-
count from Mrs, Liter, she was neverthe-
less indicted for murder. The cause of.
death has still not been announced, ©

~ belief in the, testimony
tion's, witnesses,” said:

ae

_ The Cleanup Spo

_ IN HOUSTON, Tex, L, A. ‘Bratton,

~ 30-year-old acting market master, was

- found guilty of murder in the. killing of
- produce trucker Bennie Guajardo, 27, of
San Antonio. (Why Did Bennie Have To
Die, January rRont PAGE, 1954.) When
. the sentence of five years was announced,

- Bratton’s wife‘ and sister fainted-and his

attorneys immediately announced that
they would demand a new. trial on the
grounds that the state had failed to prove
its’ case. “The. evidence was. purely cir-
‘cumstantial . .. if we're overruled, we'll
appeal,” they said. Bratton ‘claimed that
he shot Guajardo in self ‘defense when
Guajardo and another man attacked him
with knives; — .. ae

A LIFE FOR: LIVELY—When the

body of 18-year-old Dorothy Poore was’

found stuffed in-the bottom drawer of a
dresser in a hotel room in Indianapolis,
Ind., suspicion: fell on Victor Lively, 25-
year-old diminutive salesman from Beau-
mont, Tex. (7 Know J’l] Burn, November.
FRONT PAGE, 1954.) Cab drivers and bell-
hops said he’d offered them money “to get

n a girl,”: but just before he confessed,
Lively made a vehement denial, said it
was some other guy. Brought to trial on
his own confession, Lively did another
about face, claimed he confessed because
‘he was “afraid of getting whipped by a

blackjack.” But the jury of 11 men and
one woman believed the state’s.contention

" that Lively strangled Dorothy: when -she

refused to submit to his advances, He
was found guilty and sentenced to life
imprisonment... ;. isp bite

MARINE’S INNOCENT—It-took the
a Francisco. jury 15 -hours, -but they;
knew what they wanted and. Ma

Hitzfeld were. declared not guilty in the

strong. arm .slaying .of - Frank Bernard, °

38, “brother-in-law. of former baseball
player Eddie Joost. (You: Be Agent X-9,
December Front PAGE, 1954.) From the

, first, the ‘Majority of the ‘nine-woman,

man jury were. in favor of ac-
quittal. “They could. not. place enough
i i of the protect

‘party, was indicted’ after

arine Pri- .
vates Henry Shirley and Sergeant Bobby .

‘. him +to.life imprisonment, am

Free: Marines Hitzfeld (r.) and Shirley.

‘After the verdict was announced, one

juror wiped tears from her eyes, while
another approached the boys as they
laughed, cried and slapped each other on
the back, and told them, “after this, stay

out of undesirable places,” Shirley and .
. Hitzfeld were charged after Bernard was

found robbed and beaten to death in a
parking lot outside a San Francisco tav-
em. Both Marines said they were with
Bernard: in the tavern, but maintained

_ that he had already been “slugged and

rolled.” He later died from his injuries,

DEATH FOR.A DARE—For the tnur-
der of pretty 15-year-old Marta Marie

Gibbons, George W. Capps, 22, has been

sentenced to die in the electric chair at

_Pennsylvania’s Rockville State Peniten-

tiary. (You. Wouldn’t Dare, May Front
PAGE, 1954). Capps stood quietly with. his
hands folded in front of him as Judge Ed-

‘win H. Satterthwaite handed down the’

sentence. His wife, who bore him a son
shortly after his arrest, was not present in
the court. .Marta’s partially clad body
was discovered in a gully near her Levit-
town,’ Pa., nome dis days after he
was reported missing. Capps, a neighbor
and one of the leaders of the searching
making an al-
leged confession to Levittown police. His-
court appointed attorney announced that
he will appeal the case to’ the state su-

~preme court.

THE FIRST TIME -the Fulton, Ga.,
jury couldn’t agree, and the trial: of
Emest E. Bishop for the murder of
Eugene ,D. Norton ended in’ a mistrial.
(Crazy Quver Women, Women,- Women,
February Front PAGE, 1954.) Brought
to trial a second time, Bishop waived a
jury trial, entered a ‘plea of not guilty
but was found guilty as charged by Judge
Eugene D: Hendrix, who then ‘sentenced

Menten

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FLA

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—

declared. “Chief, you’ve got to find her! Please, I beg you.”
“We'll find her.”
Though his tone was grim, Chief Kirby still hoped for
the best, as he detailed men to check all movies, dances or
any other places where Marta might have gone with friends.

counted, because she had expected that Gourley would’ be
home shortly.

Chief Kirby notified police of adjoining townships, who
made similar checkups, but with negative results. The hunt

Jersey state police were informed of the girl’s disappearance,
The description of Marta Gibbons that went out on the tele-
type to states along the Atlantic seaboard read: Height, 5
feet 4 inches; weight, 110 pounds; brown eyes and reddish
hair.

No one was sure of what clothing Marta had changed to,
but the green sweater she had on when babysitting was men-
tioned in the description as that was not in the house. Her
topcoat, however, was in the closet where she usually kept it.

“She couldn’t have expected to stay outdoors long,” de-
cided Chief Kirby, “or to go very far away—not in the
freezing weather we've been having. So we'll start our
search right from her home on Timber Lane.”

Starting at daybreak Sunday, Capps led searchers through
old gravel pits pockmarking the outskirts of the new sub-
division. Other neighbors scoured back lanes, clumps of
wood and brush, as well as frozen streams flowing into the
Delaware River,

All day, the searchers worked in relays, with Falls
Township patrol cars keeping contact with those far afield.
At dusk, the futile hunt was Postponed until the next day.
That evening Chief Kirby studied reports and mapped new
plans,

beating through the brush until we've searched all of it,”

Originally, investigators had jumped to the -conclusions
that Marta might have been a victim of the phantom prowler,
But two days of intensive questioning throughout the wide-
spread community had failed to produce any new reports of
the terrorist.

Most quiet of all had been the subdivision where Marta
lived. Nothing strange or suspicious had been noticed by any

While volunteer searchers were assembling near the girl’s
home for another all-day hunt Monday morning, Patrolman
Gino Mettozzi, driving one of Falls Township’s three patrol
cars, swung into a side road linking heavily traveled High-
way No. 1 with Route 13, both of which lead into Trenton.

This was just outside of Morrisville, on the Pennsylvania
side of the Delaware River, across from Trenton. Two lines

and a two-track fast freight line from the West, known as
the Trenton Cutoff.

Added to the network of highways and rail lines, an old
canal runs alongside the main tracks of the Pennsylvania
Railroad. Methodically, Mettozzi checked the frozen over
canal,

Next, he swung onto a side road, skirting an oval-shaped
pond in the V formed by railroad embankments. Known
locally as Curtis Lake, this was an abandoned gravel pit

all day Saturday and Sunday. Police had questioned them,

but they had seen no sign of Marta Gibbons.
Now, Mettozzi tooled his patrol [Continued on page 74]

66 A

Coroner Ferris, left, Police Chief Franklin Kirby, uni-
form, and another officer, confer at scene of slaying.

Left to right, Detective Irwin, Detective Chief Kohler
and Trooper Dane checking tread marks of killer’s car.

This is the home from which lovely Marta Gibbons was
abducted while her younger sister slept in nearby room.

fruitless
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4

w

In recent weeks, all Levittown had been stirred by rumors
of a phantom “peeping Tom” prowler who later. phoned
housewives to comment on the surveys he had made through
the bedroom windows of their ranch-type homes.

There had been reports of door-bell ringing and a figure
darting off into the dark; all similar enough to brand them
as evidence of the same marauder, rather than an epidemic
of molesters. Efforts to trap the prowler had failed, and he
appeared to be coming bolder.

But all had seemed serene when Mrs. Goetz had glanced
along the street as the two girls departed at about 9:30 the
night before. There was another reason why Mrs. Goetz
had felt no concern for the safety of the two girls. She men-
tioned it to Susan: :

“Marta expected your father home last night; but she
said she didn’t think he would be very late. Wasn’t he home
when you arrived there? Didn’t you see him this morning?”

Headshakes were Susan’s answers to both questions. So
Mrs. Goetz went over to the Gourley home to see if she
could find an explanation. Instead, the mystery deep-
ened.

Only Susan’s bed had been slept in. Apparently Marta had
gone out somewhere and her stepfather, William Gourley,
had not returned home at all. In Marta’s bedroom, Mrs. Goetz
found a pair of blue dungarees that the babysitter had been
wearing the night before, indicating that she had changed
before leaving the house.

But where could Marta have gone? Why had she left little
Sue alone?

There was no immediate answer to those questions. Be-
side the telephone, Mrs. Goetz saw a local number written

The stone-faced Slayer, right, is led from his prison cell by State Trooper
Andrew Kutney to undergo further questioning after confessing the killing.

on a pad. Mrs. Goetz called it, hoping it would solve the
riddle.

The woman who answered turned out to be another Levit-
town housewife who wanted Marta as a babysitter and had
given her the number so that she could call back and fix
the exact time. The woman had not heard from Marta since.

William Gourley worked for a Sansom Street jewelry
concern in Philadelphia, so the next step was to contact
him there or at Doctors’ Hospital, where his wife Mary

was recuperating from a heart attack. Reached by telephone,
Gourley was amazed to learn of Marta’s disappearance. He
said he would start for Levittown at once. ;

Another person who-might have heard from Marta was
her older sister, Mrs. Patricia Coffelt, who lived in Phila-
delphia. But a call there drew a blank. Mrs. Coffelt had

‘been expecting Marta to visit her shortly, bringing a girl
friend with her from Levittown. But there had been no

phone call or other word from Marta.

The afternoon of that bleak, chilly day of Saturday, Jan-
uary 23, 1954, was spent making inquiries among neighbors
and Marta’s school chums. William Gourley, arriving home
from Philadelphia, took charge of the search, but soon real-
ized that police aid was warranted.

The vast housing development of Levittown, in growing
to more than 25,000 in only a few years, had spread into
surrounding townships. The subdivision where Gourley lived
was located in Falls Township, so his call was put through
to Police Chief Franklin Kirby, who told him he would
come to Timber Lane and investigate the girl’s mysterious
disappearance.

Chief Kirby had been called in on some of the prowler
incidents, though most of them had been handled by Bristol
Township police, and had been fearful of more serious
depredations.

From Mrs. Goetz, Chief Kirby learned that a neighbor,
George Capps, had stopped at her home Friday evening to
speak to Marta about a repair job he was doing on her step-
father’s car. Capps, a 22-year-old veteran of the Korean cam-
paign, worked at a wire factory in Trenton and was glad to
pick up extra money as a mechanic because his wife was ex-
pecting a baby.

But Gourley’s car required some
new parts, and Capps had to haul
it into the carport adjoining his
house, He had wanted to let Marta
know so she could tell Gourley
when she saw him. Learning of this,
Kirby checked with Capps.

“J saw Marty go over to the
Goetzes,” explained Capps, “so I
stopped in there to tell her that her
father’s car needed a new bearing,
that was all. I was only there a few
minutes—”

“And that was the last time you
saw the girl?”

“No, After I’d moved the car into
my carport, she and little Sue came
past on the way home. I was still
working on the car, but pretty soon
I called it quits for the night.”

Chief Kirby then talked to Dale
Moody, another neighbor, who had
helped move Gourley’s car. Moody
had also seen Marta and little Sue
walking to their home while Capps
was working on the car. Later,
Moody had driven off in his own car
on an errand.

Gourley told police that the fact
his car was laid up partly accounted
for his failure to return to Levit-
town from Philadelphia as he had
planned.

“I missed the last bus,” he ex-
plained, “and decided to stay in the city.”

“What about a train?” queried Kirby. “Weren’t they still
running?”

“Only to Trenton,” returned Gourley, “and it would have
been too late to catch a bus from Trenton back here.”

Chief Kirby nodded understandingly. Commuting was
one of Levittown’s growing pains. But Gourley was con-
cerned with bigger problems.

“T hadn’t an idea anything would happen to Marta,” he

oe,

Slaying of the Laughing Baby
Sitter

[Continued from page 66]

car along a rutted road that skirts the far
shore of the lake. In summer, couples
used this as a lovers’ lane, but the skaters
had only driven on it a short distance be-
fore parking their cars. The road was visi-
ble from the lake and since the skaters
had noticed nothing there, a further search
seemed superfluous.

But Mettozzi, checking to the last de-
tail, kept on to the end of the road. There,
he spotted a girl’s loafer shoe on the bleak,
barren ground. Getting out of the car, the
patrolman soon found the mate to the shoe
—and more! He saw blurred tire tracks
veering from the ruts. As he followed
them, he noticed something fluttering
from a low tree branch that was hidden
from the lake.

The fluttering object was a girl’s bra
and from another branch dangled a pair
of pink panties. What captured Mettozzi’s
attention still more was a green sweater
lying on the brown-and-white back-
ground of frozen earth and sprinkled
snow.

Broken brush and scruff marks on the
ground showed where an object had been
dragged. That trail dwindled as Mattozzi
followed it to where it dead-ended in a
shallow gravel pit almost beneath the em-
bankment of the Trenton Cutoff.

A dead end indeed for the pitiful victim
whose frozen, bloodstained body had been
dragged to this hiding spot. Patrolman
Mettozzi had found missing Marta Gib-
bons. The girl’s body was lying on its face
and her slayer had evidently dragged her
through the brush feet first, for her only
remaining garments, a slip and green plaid
skirt, were twisted high above her arms
and shoulders.

Soon, the area was alive with investiga-
tors summoned by Mettozzi’s immediate
call to headquarters. Chief Kirby was ac-
companied by State Police Sgt. Adrian
McCarr and Cpl. Andrew J. Kutney, Chief
of County Detectives Fred Kohler arrived
from Doylestown, the county seat of
Bucks County. Also on the scene were
Coroner Russell J. T. Ferris and Dr. Wil-
liam Goldfarb, deputy coroner.

The girl’s head and body showed bruises
that could have resulted from a severe
beating. But the cause of her death ap-
parently was a bullet wound behind her
left ear. Her head was turned slightly
toward the left and when the body was
lifted, another wound was observed in her
right temple.

On the ground close by was a .32 caliber
shell ejected from an automatic. Police
looked for another in the brush but found
none. The tire marks first noted by Patrol-
man Mettozzi furnished another potential
lead, though as yet there was no posi-
tive proof that the slayer’s car had made
them. Various cars could have come along
this old road since the ground had frozen.

However, a moulage was taken of the
tire marks and though there was only
fragmentary traces of the tread, investiga-
tors agreed that matching them might be
possible, once a suspect’s car was found.

Meanwhile, the body of Marta Gibbons
was taken to the J. Allen Hooper Funeral
Home in Morrisville and there identified
by William Gourley. Shaken by the sight,
Gourley repeated, “What have they, done
to her! What have they done to her!”

George Capps stared in disbelief when

744° =A

he learned the news. All during the search,
he had kept reassuring Gourley that
Marta would be found unharmed. “Noth-
ing could have happened to her,” Capps
had repeated. “Nothing.” But now Capps
chided himself on his own negligence.

“Yd planned to keep working on Gour-
ley’s car until he arrived home,” Capps
told investigators, “but I decided we
would have more time to discuss the re-
pair job the next morning. Besides, I have
to grab what sleep I can in case I have
to rush my wife to the hospital.”

Chief Kirby and Sergeant McCarr
agreed that Marta could have left her
home, whether forcibly or voluntarily,
soon after Capps had finished working on
the car. Susan, when questioned, remem-
bered hearing voices while she was going
to sleep, but they could have come from
a TV show that Marta was watching.

“We may learn something more about
the time angle from the autopsy,” com-
mented Chief Kirby, “but how close it can
come, after two days and with the changes
in the temperature, is hard to tell.”

Dr. Frederick Phillips, who performed
the autopsy with Dr. Goldfarb, came up
with the finding that the victim had been
dead “more than 48 hours,” which set
the time of the murder prior to Saturday
morning. He stated that the dead girl had
first been clubbed then shot through the

Not Since the Days
of Infamous Jack-the-
Ripper Has There Been
Such Horror!

Be Sure to Read
THE NUDE GIRL WAS
SLASHED ‘Z” in March
STARTLING DETECTIVE
on sale January 7, 1971

head with a single bullet. The fact that
he had been unable to find the slug con-
firmed this.

“The bullet entered behind the left ear,”
the physician said, “severed the spinal
cord and came out the right temple be-
side the eye.”

That accounted for two wounds, yet
only a single cartridge on the ground.
It settled another question, too. In ex-
amining Marta’s green sweater, investiga-
tors had found powder burns on it, indi-
cating that another shot had been fired
into the victim’s body. But Dr. Phillips
had found no corresponding bullet wound.

Now, when the autopsy report was re-
layed to Sgt. Elmer Botliger, a state police
detective-chemist, he stated that the
powder burns could have resulted from
the gun having been wrapped in the
sweater to muffle the report. This would
support the theory that only one shot had
been fired.

“We've searched every square foot
where the body was found,” declared
Chief Kirby, “so we should have found
that bullet by this time. How far could
it have gone?”

“Not very far,” returned Dr. Phillips.
Bhs should find it very soon if you dig

or it.”

“Dig for it? Where?”

“Directly beneath where the victim’s
head was lying as the wounds indicate the
bullet was fired downward.”

The investigators had gathered patches
of bloodstained earth and snow and sent
them for analysis to Dr. Frank Zillessen,
director of laboratories at Jeanes Hospital
in Fox Chase, a suburb of Philadelphia.
The spot where Marta’s head had lain
was soon determined and the missing slug
was found buried a few inches in the soil,
as Dr. Phillips had predicted. The bullet
was in fair condition and was sent to the
Pennsylvania State Police crime labora-
tory, where Sgt. Edward H. Crowthers
made a miscroscopic study of its markings.

The job now was to track down the
callous sex slayer. The autopsy showed

definitely that Marta Gibbons had been
criminally assaulted prior to the murder.

The blow on the girl’s head had been
delivered with a blunt instrument, prob-
ably the gun butt. Her unconscious form
had been dragged through the brush and
there, she had been killed with a shot
from a muffled gun.

To find the murderer, however, meant
probing deeper into all the known facts
to find the answers to these questions:
Why had Marta left home without a coat?
Had she been forced to leave at gunpoint?
Or had she been lured away?

While Pennsylvania investigators
weighed these and other questions, a re-

uest for detailed information came from

e New Jersey state police, still seeking
leads on two unsolved slayings of the past
few years that bore a marked resemblance
to the present case.

One was death of Mary Louise Dreis-
bach, whose ravaged beaten body had
been found near the Atlantic City race-
track. The other was Patricia Bowen, who
had been slain on the grounds of the New
Jersey School for the Deaf, in Trenton,
where she had worked as a secretary.

While links were being sought to those
cases, Sergeant McCarr, Corporal Kutney
and other Pennsylvania State Police in-
vestigators concentrated on the Levittown
investigation. One thing was clear,
whether or not the slayer of Marta Gib-
bons turned out to be the much-wanted
“Peeping Tom,” he knew the area well.

Sergeant McCarr concentrated his in-
vestigation upon the area close to Marta’s
home. William Gourley, after he had
identified Marta’s body, had been ques-
tioned exhaustively by the police but had
been unable to provide a single detail
pointing to a likely slayer.

Similarly, Marta’s older sister, Patricia
Coffelt, questioned in Philadelphia, could
qnly say: “Why would anyone hurt
Marta? Everybody liked her.”

Investigators asked that same question
when they talked to girlfriends who had
gone horseback riding with Marta. They
learned that she had also gone in for tap
dancing, but none of the students in her
dancing class could recall her mentioning
anybody whom she feared.

The point that was reiterated most,
looming larger and larger the more Mc-
Carr studied it, was Marta’s reliability as
a babysitter. Every mother who had em-
ployed her insisted that Marta had never
left a child alone.

Why, then, had she left her own sister,
little Sue, alone in their own home? The
only explanation McCarr had was this:

“She might have gone over to a neigh-

‘bor’s or out to a car. She knew it was

getting colder and she would have put
~ a coat if she had expected to be out
ong.”

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someone had
have been 17
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must have |
car at least t
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But someth
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Chief Kirby
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Capps owns

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CAPPS, George, white, elec. PA® (Bucks) September 26, 1955

ap ecarrsaninn irene rumen mamenttt gs socnbtan tla Z
es —+ ig F’ 5 ; , i
4 M a , i

° i es eh ~ BY MARTIN DONOGHUE

if was 9 o’clock on Saturday morning when Mrs, Kay Goetz answered the door of her home
Hi on Timber Lane in the Thornridge section of Levittown, Pa. To her surprise, she saw 6-year
old Susan Gourley, who lived a short way down the street at No. 76. Mrs. Goetz became even
|| more perplexed when Susan told her:
“Marty has gone ayay somewhere. When I make up, I was all alone in the house. So I came
| : : over here.” - ng

¥ By Marty, Susan meant her half-sister, Marta Gibbons, a capable, dependable girl, who was
+ i - taking care of the Gourley home while her mother was in a Philadelphia hospital. It wasn’t |

like Marta, an honor student at Pennsbury High School, to go away without telling anyone.
_ Only the previous evening, Marta had been babysitting for Mrs. Goetz, who had left her

l 8-month old daughter, Barbara, at home while she had gone to Trenton, N. J., to see her hus-
| “ys band) who also was in a hospital. .
Marta had brought Susan with her and they had been watching a television show when.
: Mrs. Goetz returned. Soon after that, Mrs. Goetz had seen the sisters start off to their home. ©

Marta Gibbons, whom éveryone loved but one
man—the man who took her from her house,
assaulted. her, clubbed her brutally and

then fired a single bullet into her head.


For many nights the

killer-to-be watched the girl;
with her every move

there grew inside him a desire
to possess this

delectable teen-ager. His evil
obsession turned

the man into a beast and a

friend into a fiend!

Lovely Marta Gibbons,

below, awoke with the fear

that someone was

peering at her through window.
Her dream was to become

a living nightmare.

One moment the lovely teen-ager lay sleeping
peacefully, the next she was startled into wakeful-
ness. Something had disturbed Marta Gibbons’
slumber. And yet, as she sat up, young breasts
rising and falling against her nightgown, the girl
heard no sound but the thumping of her heart.

In the twin bed across the room, Marta’s sister,
Sue, slept quietly.

It was very dark in the bedroom, with the open
casement window a mere gray square against a
waning moon. Not even a wind disturbed the dra-
peries. But some subconscious instinct had warned
Marta of danger that lurked nearby. She was cer-
tain she had not been dreaming.

Close to panic, the frightened blonde slid from
bed and groped her way across the room. As
she did so, a door closed gently at the end of
the hall and she heard her parents’ faint conversa-
tion.

Relief flooded Marta; she would hurry and whisper to her
mother that there was a prowler outside her window. Then
the teen-ager remembered the doctor’s warning that her
mother should not be emotionally upset. After a moment’s
hesitation, Marta crept back to bed, comforted by the knowl-
edge that her parents were awake and that she had only
to call out to summon immediate help.

Before dozing off, the pretty blonde made up her mind to
look around outside the house in the morning for any trace
of footprints beneath her bedroom window.

The next day, however, Marta Gibbons was late for break-
fast and had to run to catch the bus for school. Besides, a
killing frost had obliterated any impressions that might have
been left by a prowler.

Marta Gibbons was a preity, vivacious, honey-haired girl
who appeared more mature than her 15 years. Her father,
a railroad employe, had been killed in 1941. Her mother,
Mary, had subsequently married an expert jeweler; he pro-
vided a comfortable home for his wife and his two step-
children at Timber Lane in Levittown, Pennsylvania, the
big, planned community two and a half miles beyond the
Fairless Works of the United States Steel Corporation.

The teen-ager was a sophomore at nearby Pennsbury High
School, popular with her classmates and active in school
affairs. But she didn’t have a steady admirer. She was
known in the community as a “good girl who didn’t run
around.”

Fond of children, a quality undoubtedly fostered by her
devotion to her young sister, Marta was in demand in the
neighborhood as a baby sitter. All of her spare time she
devoted to her mother, who was ill. The ailment was a matter
of great concern to the entire family.

Because of this, the teen-ager did not mention the dread-
ful fear she had experienced at being wakened by what she
felt sure was a potential housebreaker who had lurked out-
side her bedroom window.

All thoughts of the incident were driven from Marta’s
mind when, two days later, her mother was admitted to
Doctors Hospital in Philadelphia. Although dismayed by the
tragedy, the little family soon adjusted itself. Marta took over
the chores and kept things running smoothly. And she still
accepted some baby-sitting appointments to earn spending
money.

‘ On what was to be a fatal Friday, January 22, 1954, Marta’s
stepfather left the dwelling on Timber Lane in Levittown
to go to Philadelphia to visit his wife at the hospital. As for
Marta, she took her little sister, Sue, and went to a dwelling

BY ROLAND ADAMS

[I]: 5


I make enough money to
icious, destructive craving
at led me into this night-
ce in the first place. And
‘an jab that needle into my
r I need to, I can take the
the real world and what I
1s not to matter.
ny beautiful glow starts to
I let myself think of the
when I get the horrors.
lope, I’ve already sunk as
tl can. Unless by some
1 bring myself to undergo
‘ment and throw off the
ely, I'll have no future. ¢

: All names used in this
‘tious.

e fact that the teen-ager
y careful about locking
i always displayed a cau-
istworthiness far beyond

2e it seemed very unlikely,
of these reports, that the
ild have opened the door
and then gone out with
y explanation was offered
ither.
way she would have open-
Mr. Gourley said, “was
¢ resembled me somewhat
ought that it was me re-
the city without my key.”
hey hated to do it, Ser-
and Chief Kirby decided
du Sue Gourley. As gently
vey asked the tot to de-
ad occurred in the house
| her half-sister returned
trome’s house across the

camé home, Marta put
je related. “She tucked me
ae laid down on the other
she went out of the room
le. I’m not sure because I

) later when the door bell
it it might be Daddy. But
nan who talked to Marta
S car.”
vas George Capps. He had
ted that he called at the
e at about 10 on Friday,
irley described him as a
or. The distraught step-
1 out, in support of this
Capps had volunteered to
thout being asked. In ad-
the young vet insisted on
, the searchers in spite of
he could easily have beg-
) his wife’s condition?
have you known George
‘f Kirby asked. :
long,” the step-father ad-
aone of us in this section
anyone here too long. It’s
hity. Capps is a good man.
c of his own free will just
It it was the thing to do

for neighbors to help each other.”
George Capps, when questioned, told
the police he had gotten Bill/Nelson to
help him in pushing the Gourley car
to his garage. Then he had worked on
the car until about 10, at which time
he went over and spoke with Marty.
When he returned about five minutes
later his wife was asleep. He had made
some coffee and then read: the paper.
In a short time he too went to bed.
Mrs. Capps verified that her hus-
band had worked on the car until about
10 p.m. She heard him monkeying
around with the vehicle until she fell
asleep at about 10 o’clock. Capps and

‘his wife both stated that they. had

heard no unusual noises or seen any

suspicious strangers on the street that’

Friday night, January 22nd. |.
Nevertheless, the officers decided to
have a look at the tires on George
Capps’ 1940 Ford sedan. Whe treads
were strikingly similar to those found
at the scene of the crime. This in itself
was by no means incriminating, how-
ever. Many people drive with the same
type of tires and it takes an expert to

_identify a pair of tires from their tracks.

An examination of the Capps car dis-

closed no trace of blood anywhere in ,

the interior. This seemed to clear the
Korean War vet of any suspicion.

Remembering that the Gourleys had
only recently arrived from a section of
Philadelphia known as Oxford Village,
the police requested authorities of that
larger city to run a check on all those
known to Marta Gibbons. ‘ane

In the meantime the police went from
door to door questioning residents
throughout Levittown. They hoped to
come up with someone: who remem-
bered something, no matter how in-
consequential, that might put the sleuths
on the trail.

A deep and penetrating fear settled
on the Thornridge section. Housewives
barred their doors and guarded their
daughters. Detectives themselves had a
hard time gaining entry against: the
security of the women. Husbands would
not stay away from home for a night
any longer until this fiend was caught.

Mrs. Gourley, in the hospital re-
covering from an acute heart attack,
was not told the news immediately. It
was feared that the shock of learning
of the brutal death of her daughter
would worsen her condition. Finally,
after much evasion, the doctors eal-
ized that the sick woman would have
to be told something; though not the
bare truth that her daughfer had been
attacked and slain, of course. Marty’s
mother constantly asked about her
daughter and was growing suspicious
when her questions were answered
evasively, and the relatives exchanged
queer looks. pee!

Finally her doctors advised that: it
was best the patient be told something.
Under’ strong sedative Mrs. Gourley’s
oldest daughter informed her mother
that Marta was dead. The sick woman
was told that Marty had been run over
and killed in a hit-and-run accident. It
was the second: violent death the wom-
an had experienced‘and the news shock-

ed her deeply.
‘Two aspects: of the case continued
to puzzle the investjgators. 1: With
whom could the murdered girl have
gone out on that chill night? 2: Why
had ‘Marta Gibbons worn no coat in
spite of the freezing weather? A third
mysterious fact, which added to the
bafflement of the police came to light
when detectives talked to Mrs. Strome,
the neighbor. This woman stated that
while Marty had been in her home
on the night of the murder she had
been wearing a pair of blue jeans.
Yet the girl’s body had been found clad
in a plaid skirt. Why had she changed
her clothing?

Sergeant McCarr put forth a theory.
“The only reason I can think of,” the

' state’ policé sergeant stated, “is that

she planned to go out late in the eve-
ning with someone she knew very well.”

This supposition was contradicted on
two counts: first, that Marta Gibbons
had no boyfriends and would have been
reluctant to leave her young charge
alone for any reason. Second: she had
gone out without a coat which she
surely would have taken had she plan-
ned to be out long.

The. detectives reasoned that the
victim must have thought she would
only be out a very short time and there-

‘fore did not'take her coat. They be-

lieved that the killer could have lured
the pretty teen-ager away from the

‘house only on the pretense of a great

emergency. It narrowed the possible

suspects down to one of the neighbors.

The most likely of these was singled
out when the officers who had been
canvassing the neighborhood reported

- back.
Each and every one of the detectives |-

had come up with one startling bit of
information gleaned from the Thorn-
ridge residents. People in the area had
noticed a man, familiar to them all,
lurking about the Gourley home. House-
wives reported that the man would stand
outside Marty’s house for long periods
and gaze in through the picture win-
dow. That man was George Capps.

“Let’s have another look at that car,”
said Detective Kohler, “and run an
identification check on’ him.”

‘The second examination of Capps’
car failed to produce’ any trace-of blood
within or without. Technicians found
nothing in the seams of the upholstery
but traces of human vomit. In the light
of Mrs. Capps’ condition this was not
significant.

Nevertheless, the police conducted a
thorough search, with Capps’ permis-
sion, of his house. The only thing turn-
ed up were several shells of .32 calibre
bore. George Capps claimed that he no
longer had the gun to which the shells
belonged. It was an army souvenir
which he had lost upon his return
from Korea. ;

The investigators knew that George
Capps was originally from Virginia. In
1949 he had been drafted into the army
and had served with distinction in the
Korean conflict receiving a Purple Heart
for wounds inflicted late in 1951. While
at Fort Dix, New Jersey, awaiting his

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medical discharge Capps met, fell in
love with and married his wife in Tren-
ton. The young couple had moved in
with Mrs. Capps’ parents in the state
capital city before moving to Levit-
town over the river in Pennsylvania.
The tread of the tires on the vet’s car
were again compared with the casts
made at the scene of the crime. They
matched closely, but it was determined
that expert testimony was needed and a
specialist was sent for from Harrisburg.
The investigators went over what
they had. “What about George Capps?”
Chief Kirby started. “He’s got a lot
against him at this point. For one thing
he was seen lurking around the Gour-
ley home and peering into the window.”
“Yes, and another thing,” put in Ser-
geant McCarr, “his alibi can only be
substantiated until ten o’clock.”
“Another thing” offered Detective
Allen, “he was the one person who had
the best opportunity to lure the girl
away from the house. His wife being
pregnant offered the perfect emergency
for which Marta Gibbons’ help would
be needed. That might explain why she
had left the house without a coat. She

would have thought that she was just .

going next door to help Mrs. Capps.”

“Yes, and he admittedly is the last
one to have seen Marta Gibbons alive,”
Chief Kirby said. “You know, the more
I think about it the more likely it
seems that Capps is our man. The girl
would never have suspected that he had
anything but his wife on his mind at‘a
time like that. How easy it would have
been for him to lure her out of the

house. Wasn’t he a handsome young:

vet and an expectant father? Why, it
all seems so logical.”

The other officers agreed to the ex-
tent that George Capps was picked up
and brought to the state police bar-
racks for questioning. The suspect re-
fused to admit having anything to do
with the crime. To all appearances he
was the grieved and outraged unfortu-
nate who was being hounded by the
police.

“Why, I hardly knew the girl,” Capps
insisted. “Do you think I’d have time
to notice any girl, no matter how cute,
with my wife in her condition.”

“What about these thirty-two calibre
shells we found in your house?” the
State police sergeant asked.

“T told your men all about it before,”
the suspect said. “I got them for an
old gun I brought home from Korea. I
lost the gun, but the shells were still
around.” ..

“How do you account for the fact
that your tires are a pretty close match

to the tracks we found up near Curtis .

Lake?” Chief Kirby asked.

“I can’t explain it,” said Capps.
“There must be thousands of guys with
tires like mine. All I know is. that I’ve
never been there.”

Hour after hour the questioning con-
tinued. Capps insisted that he had gone
to the Gourley home because of a legiti-
mate reason. He repeatedly denied any
guilty knowledge of the crime. Police
noted that his face and arms were free
of any scratch marks. Capps explained
64

; ae aan

the deep cut he had on his head by
claiming he had gotten it crawling under
Gourley’s car.

At one point the questioning was in-
terrupted by a phone calJl. Sergeant Mc-
Carr answered it and in a few moments
returned and said to the suspect, “How
do you explain the fact that our tech-
nicians found traces of vomit in your
car?”

“That’s a darn silly question,” Capps
replied promptly. “You know my wife’s
pregnant.”

“Well,” said McCarr, “That phone.
_call'was from Coroner Phillips. He just
finished examining the body again and

he said that Marta Gibbons definitely
threw up just before she died, some-
where around ten-thirty that night.”
The suspect made no reply to that.
“Come on Capps,” the sergeant coax-
ed. “You know we can make tests to
determine whether it was your wife’s

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vomit we found in the car or not.”
Capps would say nothing more and
was held overnight in the police bar-
racks. On the following day the crimi-
nal identification report came through
on the suspect. At the age. of ten Capps
had been arrested in Virginia for bicycle
theft. Two years later he was arrested
for burglary and served time in a re-
formatory for it. Upon escaping he
stole another bike and was returned to
serve a longer term. In 1953 he was
arrested near Trenton for drunkenness
and disorderly conduct after ‘he had
cut a neighbor’s telephone wire and
T.V. lead-in. The final blemish on the
far-from-clean record was an arrest in
1953 on a charge of drunken driving.
Still the suspect said nothing. By that
evening a technician had arrived from
Harrisburg and completed his check on
Capps’ tires. The expert unhesitatingly
stated that it was George Capps’ 1941
Ford whose tire marks had been found
at the Curtis Lake murder scene.
Confronted with this damning evi-
dence the suspect asked to talk to a

priest. For more than a half hour Capps
and‘ the clergyman remained alone,
talking. Finally the suspect emerged and
said he was ready to confess.

George Capps admitted the brutal

attack and shooting of Marta Gibbons

on the night of January 22nd. Capps
Stated that he was attracted to Marta
almost from the first day he had ‘seen
her shortly after moving to Thornridge.
Gradually she became an obsession to
him. He took ;to hanging around her
house and peering in the picture win-
dow. He decided he had to have her.

On the night of the murder he found
out that she was alone in the house. He
went over with the excuse about her
father’s car to make sure she was still
alone. At about ten-fifteen’ p.m. he
went back, and acting very excited,
pretended that his wife was in an emer-
gency. He asked Marty to accompany
him to his house in his car. The teen-
ager had obviously removed her jeans
before and had slipped on the slip and
skirt to answer the door.

Capps said that Marta had become
suspicious when he turned off toward
Curtis Lake instead of going to his
house. She had asked a lot of questions

, and demanded to know where she was

being taken. Capps had not answered,
but just kept driving. When he got to
the lovers’ lane he stopped and grabbed
the girl in his arms. She had protested
and threatened to tell Mrs. Capps. Then
she began to scream. The two had strug-
gled and fought. While the killer was
attacking his victim he ripped off her
sweater and panties and flung them out
the window, not knowing they had
caught in the branches of a tree nearby.

Then, according to Capps, Marta
Gibbons managed to break away and
start running down the trail, At that
point, the suspect stated, he had shot
her. Evidence uncovered later contra-

-dicted this version. The police traced the

probable trajectory of the bullet and
found .it embedded some four inches
below the bloody spot where the girl
had fallen. According to the police the
killer had rendered the girl uncon-
scious with a vicious blow on the head
with his gun butt. Then while she lay
there, helpless, he had pressed the gun
close to her head and fired a shot
through her skull. After the killing he
dragged the girl’s body to the abandoned
gravel pit and threw it in.

‘When Capps stood trial he recanted
his confession and told a completely
different story. He said, at the trial, that
Marta Gibbons had gone with him
willingly and only afterward had she
threatened to expose him. He said that
then he lost his head -and shot her.
This story was completely discredited.

In a trial which took ten days George
Capps was found guilty and sentenced
to die in the electric chair. It was never
established that Capps had been the
obscene telephone caller. On Septem-
ber 26th, 1955, George Capps was elec-

‘trocuted in Rockview Prison at. Belle-

fonte, Pennsylvania. 4

Editor’s Note: The names Mrs. Strome
and Bill Nelson are fictitious.

LONI

PERSONAL ATTE
cation. Experienc
1929. No club in
cient, honest and :
lasts until suited.

MI:
P.O. Box 681

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FACE IN THE
BEDROOM WINDOW

G be

In confession made

by bareheaded murderer, r.,
seen in custody of

officer, the youth told how
__ he’d tricked the
unsuspecting blonde into
leaving her home,

above, for a ride that
“ended in death.

DARING DETECTIVE STORIES, NUMBER ONE, 1968,