That's a lot of raisins

Nothing ruins a night out like coming home to discover your home has been burgled. Such was the situation, on November 15, 1919, for Clara and Albert Yost.

Missing from their Lockport, Illinois home was a small sum of cash, a suitcase containing old clothing and some groceries, including salt, sugar, potatoes and 25 pounds of raisins. 

That's a lot of raisins.

Why would anyone, other than a commercial baker, have 25 pounds of dried fruit on hand. 

Could it have something to do with the passage of The Volstead Act on October 28, 1919?

Prohibition, soon to be the 18th Amendment to our Constitution, had been proposed before Congress on December 17, 1917 and was due to go into effect on January 17, 1920. President Wilson vetoed the Volstead Act but the US Senate voted 65 to 20 to override his veto.

The Volstead Act, known more formally as The National Prohibition Act, defined the laws prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within the United States and its territories. 

Illinois was soon to be "a dry state." 

The consumption of alcohol wouldn't be illegal but once your stash ran out, you'd be unable to legally buy any more. 

However, the Volstead Act did allow individuals to make wine and cider, up to 200 gallons, but not beer in their homes.

Not that we know the Yosts were planning to manufacture cider for personal consumption but it certainly seems possible. However, it's immaterial. No matter what was stolen, they were victims of a crime.

Following a Thanksgiving dinner shared with friends, the Yosts consulted a spirit board about a great many things. Someone in the group suggested they ask Ouija about the burglary. 

With no major breaks in the case, after leaving it in the hands of the police for 12 days, why not turn to a Ouija for clues?

 

 

The planchette hesitated initially but soon the Yosts had their answer. 

F-R-A-N-K-W-A-L-T-E-R.

This was unbelievable. Frank Walter was a friend and neighbor.

 

Mr. Yost asked Ouija if Frank had acted alone. N-O

Was Frank's wife Lydia with him? Y-E-S

This was hardly proof-positive so nobody contacted the police but the planchette had most assuredly driven a wedge between the two families.

News of what was revealed by Ouija began circulating in Lockport but the Walter family remained unaware of the rumors. 

For Lydia, the first sign of trouble in the friendship came weeks later when she decided to run for the position of Oracle in the Royal Neighbors of America. 

The RNA, founded in 1895 as a Ladies Auxiliary of the Modern Woodmen of America, is still in existence.

Members, then and now, devote themselves to goods works and female empowerment. 

"Royal" symbolizes the nobility of their work and "Neighbors" signifies neighbors helping neighbors. These days, the organization specializes in Scholarships, Insurance and Annuities.

Their logo, unchanged since 1894, is a flower with 5 petals. Each petal stands for individual qualities the members hope to embrace - Faith, Endurance, Courage, Modesty, Unselfishness. The center spot represents Morality.

Lydia expected her friend and lodge sister Clara Yost to support her fully in the upcoming election but what she got instead was a worthy opponent .... in and out of the organization. 

Clara won the election and Lydia soon heard the rumors being circulated about her and Frank. Lydia was outraged and demanded a public apology. 

"Apologize for what?" was Clara's position. It was the Ouija Board and not the Yosts that called Frank and Lydia Walter thieves. There would be no apology.

Lydia wouldn't let it go. Not that she wasn't open to the idea of the supernatural or alternative thinking; Lydia herself was a member of a local Spiritualist Society but she felt she was the victim of slander. 

Rather than wait for an apology that was never coming, Lydia Walter hired an attorney and sued her former friend for slander and defamation. 

She was seeking $10,000 in damages. That's $130,140.00, in today's money.

The lawsuit, announced in early 1920, wouldn't be put before the judge and jury until April 1921.

Lydia's lawyer, State Representative and fellow Lockport resident, William R. McCabe, threatened to call Ouija as a witness and potential jurors were asked if they believed in messages received through this medium. 

Judge De Selm, 1914

Circuit Court Judge Arthur W. De Selm ruled that belief or disbelief in Ouija wasn't a factor in the men's ability to serve as jurors.

 After all the testimony was heard, Judge De Selm's instructions to the jury included the following directive, "If there was malice behind Ouija's declarations, the defendant must be found guilty. But, if Ouija manifestly was in a jocular humor and merely jesting, the defendant must be found not guilty."

Over the course of two hours, the jury cast three ballots. The first being 9 to 3 in favor of the defendant, the second 11 to 1 and the third unanimous for her. 

The trial was over and Clara Yost was deemed not responsible for Ouija's actions.

Lydia Walter announced her intention to appeal the verdict. 

On April 29, 1921, Judge De Selm granted Lydia Walter's request for a new trial. 

Unfortunately, I've been unable to find out if she went ahead with the second trial or let the matter drop. Perhaps there was an apology?

In 1936, after years of investigating corruption within the state, Lydia's attorney William R. McCabe (1884-1958) left politics and his law practice behind him when he purchased The Joliet Spectator, a weekly newspaper. 

McCabe's editorial stance made him more than a few enemies.

In fact, on April 16 1938, Deputy Sheriff Leahm Kelly assaulted McCabe on the street in protest of an article McCabe published calling for his removal from office. 

One day earlier, bricks had been thrown through the Spectator's front windows. Leahm Kelly denied there was a connection. 

A much more serious and anonymous attack occurred on April 7, 1947 when McCabe was severely beaten and left for dead. He never fully recovered.

McCabe's partner in publishing (each owing 48 shares of the newspaper) was a woman 25 years his junior - Amelia "Molly" Zelko. 

Molly's long association with McCabe began in 1927 when she was 17 years old and she was hired on as McCabe's secretary. 

In 1936, Molly followed him into the newspaper business. Molly was, by all accounts, a tenacious reporter/editor who, just like her mentor McCabe, took a hard stance on corruption and made enemies.

Molly mysteriously disappeared the night of September 25, 1957. 

Popular opinion holds that Molly had been targeted by mobster Sam Giancana.

Rather then take you down the very deep Molly Zelko rabbit hole myself, I  strongly recommend the 8 part "Who Killed Molly Zelko?" podcast series, co-produced by the Joliet Area Historical Museum and Joliet Public Library.

Here's a link - https://www.thespectatorpodcast.com/podcast

We can never know how seriously either the Yosts or the Walters took their consultations with the spirit world. Occultism was very popular in the early 1920s. 

Was it, for any of them, merely a lark or did they legitimately have questions for loved ones on the other side? It's impossible to know.

Lydia Walter may have begun dabbling in spiritualism as a way to communicate with her brother Otto E. Lundstrom who had been shot to death by his morphine-addled wife Alberta Lundstrom aka Vera Lee on January 17, 1909. 

Alberta's sentence for this crime was rather slight considering she'd killed a man - only 18 months, of which she served 16 months before being released. It was generally accepted that having kicked her drug habit, she could live a good life outside of prison walls. 

 Did Lydia consider turning to Ouija for answers in July 1922 when her 17 year old daughter Marie was "lured away" from home by a mysterious stranger?

The article to the left indicates "everything would be forgiven if Marie would come home." 

Sounds like an elopement.

Is their daughter, Marie Louise Walter, who so readily performed at social functions in and around Lockport, Illinois as early as 1914, and who delighted her mother's guests with "an impromptu program of instrumental and vocal music," the same Marie Walter who later partnered with Edw. F. Williams and Madeline Smith to form the Marie Walter Company, which was actively touring the country in the early 1920s?

I'll be honest in saying that I don't know. It's certainly plausible but I'm not sure.

This is another situation were I'll let the readers decide for themselves.

Here are a few pictures from the company's press kit.

 

Compare the woman in these photos with the one picture of the missing Marie Walter.

In photo 1, Marie would be the woman pictured twice and not sitting at the piano. I believe that woman is Madeline Smith.

Those two photos show Marie Walter and Edw. F Williams.

Whatever drama swirled around the Walter family in 1922 when Marie disappeared, there is a Michigan marriage certificate for Marie Walter and a Frank Schmidt, dated June 23, 1933, which states that they each had been married once before. 

Frank's age is listed as 56 and Marie is 29. 

The Schmidts were still together in 1940, according to that year's Census, and living in St. Louis, Missouri with their 7 year old daughter. Elaine.

Lydia Walter (44 years old during the trial) died on November 3, 1927, at the age of 50. Her husband Frank died on January 13, 1934, he was 74.

Clara Yost (35 years old during the trial) died in January 1959, she was 73. Albert lived the longest, dying on January 27, 1968 at the age of 92. 

Molly Zelko's body has never been found. 

It may interest you to know that on October 13, 1946, former Deputy Sheriff Leahm Kelly was gunned down in his driveway, in full view of his wife and 4 year old daughter. 

On April 2, 1947, Leahm's brother Dennis Kelly was ambushed and shot but survived. He wouldn't be so lucky 6 years later. 

On March 5, 1953, Dennis Kelly was taken out by 2 shotgun blasts to his body, followed by 2 shots to his head with a .45 caliber handgun.

Both brothers were described as "jukebox kingpins" and it was well-known that the mafia was trying to control the coin-op business in Illinois. At the time of his murder, Dennis was also a business agent of the Joliet local 714  AFL bartenders union.

All of this and more can be found in the "Who Killed Molly Zelko?" podcast. 

Here's that link again -  https://www.thespectatorpodcast.com/podcast

Were There Other Victims?

John Elgin Walrath -
photo from the
Sheboygan (WI) Press -
November 25, 1969

On Saturday afternoon, November 22, 1969, a strange man approached a group of young boys playing in a Chicago park and he lured them away to a secluded area across some railroad tracks.

What began as playful tickling took a strange turn when the man offered the boys $1.00 each to engage in more sexual acts.

9-year-old Steven Walker would later testify in court that all refused the offer and ran away. 6-year-old Timmy slipped on a rail and soon found himself in the man's car.

When Timmy failed to come home that evening, his mother Kathy began searching. She interviewed the neighbors and contacted the police to report her son missing. Information supplied by Steven was all it took for the FBI to be brought in.

Police in Illinois, Michigan and Indiana were issued an APB. They were looking for a blueish-green 1968 Chevrolet sedan being driven by a man, 30 to 35 years old.

Google Maps used to show the beginning
and the end of their wild ride

Twenty four hours later and 250 miles from Timmy's home, a group of deer hunters spotted a man dragging a young boy's limp body through the shallows of Lake Michigan at Little Point Sable, just west of Hart, Michigan.

They approached and became involved.

The boy was soaking wet but alive. 

When Timmy saw help had arrived he became hysterical. Timmy had only been "playing dead" and the strategy worked; Timmy had learned a lot in 24 hours.

Timmy told the hunters "He tried to drown me!" With that revelation now out in the open, John Elgin Walrath bolted.

Walrath had his own car parked not far from the lake and he headed right to it.

Just as quickly, four out of the five hunters were in hot pursuit - the deer could wait. Bob Koepler and Ron Evernham ran to Bob's truck and set up a road block. Paul Evernham and Raymond Diepan pushed through the dunes in their Jeep. A fifth man, Cal Steele, drove Timmy to the house of friend.

The hunters flagged down a passing motorist, Steve Juterbock, and asked him to call the police. As Juterbock told reporters, "It was a one-in-a-million chance that the hunters were there. The hunters were going back to get a jeep that was stuck. It was a good mile from anywhere that you could drive with a normal vehicle."

The roadblock did slow Walrath down. It was here that he exited his vehicle and Bob Koepler made an unsuccessful grab for him. Walrath pushed Koepler to the ground. Walrath jumped back in his car and swerved around the roadblock but not before Ronald Evernham smashed the windshield of Walrath's sedan with a large board.

When the Chevrolet sedan sped by Juterbock, he made note of the car's license plate. Koepler followed for several miles at speeds of nearly 100 MPH before losing him. Cal Steele told The Chicago Tribune, "Bob just about ruined his truck trying to batter him off the road."

Authorities credit the UPI with making the quick connection between this incident and the missing boy from one state over. 

Police ran the license plate and knew they were looking for 30-year-old John Elgin Walrath from Hammond, Indiana.

On Monday the 24th, Timmy was reunited with his mother Kathy and John Walrath, a bachelor who was employed as a 6th grade reading teacher at Wadsworth Elementary School in Griffith, Indiana was in custody.
An FBI agent overheard Walrath say "I knew I would be caught but I didn't think it would be so soon."

Kathy Bryant described this incident as "too good an object lessons for the girls." She had long told her three children not to talk to strangers but her warning hadn't been sufficient to save her son from being abducted. Kathy told daughters Pamela, aged 5, and Cheryl, aged 4, that a man nearly drowned Timmy and warned them "Don't ever leave our yard and never go with anybody, even if they offer you candy." Pamela put a hand over her mouth and said she understood.

Kathy told reporters "What a one-in-a-billion chance that those hunters came by. I just shake when I think about it."

photo from the LA Times -
November 25, 1969

On Tuesday the 25th, police revealed what they knew about Walrath's criminal past and what they'd found after searching his Hammond, Indiana apartment.

John Walrath moved from Syracuse, NY to Indiana in 1960 to study electrical engineering at Indiana Technical College. On February 4, 1961, 21-year-old John Elgin Walrath's was arrested and identified as the "screw driver burglar." Walrath would target completely darkened houses in the better areas of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He routinely struck between 7 and 10:30 PM. He stole money, trading stamp books and small valuables such as binoculars or radios.

Walrath committed between 27 and 40 thefts, depending upon which newspaper account you read, before his crime wave came to an end. According to the February 6, 1961 copy of The Commercial Mail (an Indiana newspaper), Walrath "told police he wanted to accumulate enough money to reach California after graduation to get away from his parents" who "were very strict." 

Although his punishment for being found guilty of first degree burglary was 10-20 years, Walrath was paroled from the Indiana State Reformatory on August 7, 1964. In 1965, he enrolled at the Fort Wayne Bible College. Walrath graduated in June of 1968 with a bachelor of science degree. Walrath had never made it to California or out of Indiana.

In 1968, Walrath was arrested in Fort Wayne for shoplifting.

Neither this arrest nor his previous conviction for burglary and the resulting prison term were included in Walrath's application to the Wadsworth Elementary School in Griffith, Indiana. Under previous work record was listed "Counselor to Juvenile Delinquents." School Superintendent Kenneth Manifold based his decision to employ Walrath on a "very impressive" record as a student teacher and a glowing recommendation.

The Fort Wayne Bible College would later be held accountable and put on probation because of their failure to disclose Walrath's prison record to the Griffith School District when recommending him for a job. Fort Wayne Bible officials indicated that they had known about his criminal past but thought he was rehabilitated. Dr. Jared F. Gerig, president of the college, said he didn't know state law required such notification.

John Walrath mailed a letter of resignation to Mr. Manifold just prior to his November 24, 1969 arrest for kidnapping Timmy Martin, citing a "nervous breakdown" as the cause for his leaving. He'd only been working there since September; this was his first job as a teacher. Colleagues described Walrath as normal and dedicated.

When police searched Walrath's apartment they found pornographic magazines and 200 pairs of boys' underwear. Neighbors described Walrath as a "loner" and "a nice fellow."

At Walrath's trial, defense attorney Gerald M. Werksman called upon a psychiatrist to explain away his client's actions.

photo from
The Times -
November 24, 1969

As reported in the October 14, 1970 edition of The Times,  Dr. Gordon Scher described Walrath as "a paranoid-schizophrenic type of individual" although it doesn't appear on the surface. Dr. Scher testified that Walrath had "a long history of various types of sexually devious behavior - including homosexuality with small children."

Dr. Scher believed the defendant should be placed in a mental hospital and that Walrath would find it "extremely difficult" to conform his actions to the law. Walrath's attorney didn't challenge the prosecution's case but pursued the "mental disease" defense.
The prosecution produced their own psychiatrist who provided the opinion that Walrath suffers from an abnormal sexual desire, but he had a "substantial capacity to control his actions."

The jury heard a recording of the victim's statement to police made on November 23, 1969 - the night of his rescue. Timmy told police after getting into the man's car he begged to be taken home. The man, now known to be Walrath, told Timmy "I'm taking you home" but he didn't. Instead, the two drove 250 miles over a 2 day period, stopping for gas twice, eating potato chips and sleeping in the car. Timmy also said that Walrath had exposed himself, that he had been "touched" by Walrath and spanked him for not complying with Walrath's request to do "something that's not nice."

The jury also heard from Steven Walker and the five men who rescued Timmy Martin from drowning.

photo from
 The Times -
November 24, 1969

The jury deliberated for 5 hours. Ultimately they rejected the insanity defense and on October 13, 1970, Walrath was pronounced guilty of kidnapping. Judge Abraham L. Marovitz  handed down a sentence of life in prison but also ordered Walrath be evaluated at a mental facility "for the purpose of determining how best to help you and protect the public." 

On February 19, 1970, following the recommendation of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, John Walrath's sentence was reduced to 35 years. The report issued by the Bureaus indicated Walrath would require a long time, if ever, to be cured. He would be eligible for parole in 11 to 13 years.

John Walrath was paroled in 1983 but in less than 7 years he would find himself back in prison and his parole revoked. It seems that John Walrath had been convicted of retail theft and resisting arrest in 1990 and failed to report this development to his parole officer, Mr. Terry Childers. Walrath was granted parole a second time on May 8, 1992.

According to 1994 court documents:

As a special condition of Walrath's parole, he was required to participate in a mental health treatment program as directed by his probation officer, Terry Childers. Childers first referred Walrath to the Midwest Family Resources Associates, Ltd., in Oak Park, Illinois, for an evaluation. Following a series of interviews, Midwest Family Resources informed Childers that Walrath had been reluctant to discuss his sexual history, and that a clinical polygraph examination and a penile plethysmograph to measure Walrath's patterns of sexual arousal would be necessary to complete the evaluation. Walrath agreed to continue counseling, but refused to undergo any invasive tests.

On July 25, 1992, Childers visited Walrath at his apartment to discuss his mental health evaluation. When the discussion turned to the proposed tests, Walrath became agitated. Childers felt it would be wise to end the interview, and left the apartment. He was met in the lobby by Walrath, who continued to argue about the evaluation. Walrath then climbed onto Childers' automobile, preventing him from leaving. After being told repeatedly to get off the car, Walrath finally did so, but then took his own car and followed Childers for more than a mile before returning home. Childers reported the incident to the United States Parole Commission (USPC). Although Childers did not recommend that a parole violator warrant issue, upon a review of Childers' report and the information from Midwest Family Resources, Senior Case Analyst Carol Wilson Muller caused a warrant to issue for Walrath's arrest. The allegations were that Walrath had violated the special conditions of his parole (Charge One), and that he had attempted to assault Childers (Charge Two). On September 4, 1992, Walrath was arrested at his home and taken to the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he remained until March 4, 1993. From March 4, 1993, until April 26, 1993, Walrath was held in custody at a halfway house.

Following his release from the halfway house, Walrath moved for voluntary dismissal of his habeas corpus petition, then filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to Bivens. The district court denied his request for injunctive relief against the United States on July 29, 1993.

According to 1995 court documents, Walrath was paroled a third time and his legal battles to avoid the evaluation of his mental health and suitability for parole using a penile plethysmograph continued.

Walrath would frequently agree to undergo the testing, as a way to avoid being returned to jail, but change his mind at the last minute and file additional motions with the court alleging that his First Amendment Rights were being violated. The courts ruled against him every time; the revocation of his parole was upheld. It was an endless cycle of paperwork.

The last decision I found in this matter was handed down on December 6, 1995.

I believe John Elgin Walrath died on December 10, 1997.

Did he ever submit to the penile plethysmograph testing and just what is that anyway?

I can't answer the first part of that question but here's a portion of what the (online) Skeptic's Dictionary has to say about the device and it's application:

Photo and description from the Skeptic's Dictionary

But why is the title of this post "Were There Other Victims?"

Following John Elgin Walrath's November 1969 arrest for kidnapping, police noticed a striking similarity to other disappearances that resulted in the deaths of the young male victims.

Here is a quick rundown on the crimes:

June 30, 1969 -
searching for the body of
David Hill -
 photo from
the Allen County
Public Library's
digital library

On Saturday, June 28, 1969, 8-year-old David Hill, of Fort Wayne, Indiana disappeared. David had been playing in a park near his home. His body was found on July 2, 1969, more than 30 miles away in Salamonie Reservoir. Cause of death was drowning and foul play was suspected.

photo from
The Times -
November 24, 1969

On Saturday, September 6, 1969, 6-year-old John Mazur, of Hammond, Indiana had vanished while playing in a park near his home. His nude body was found a few days later on a Lake Michigan beach at Beverly Shores, at least 25 miles from where he had disappeared. Cause of death was suffocation, possibly strangulation.


The only solid lead police had in John Mazur's disappearance was a report that John had been seen getting into a car with a white man. The car was described as a white, two-door Ford Torino. Nobody caught the license plate number.

photo from The Times -
September 16, 1969

Police worked hard to connect Walrath with these deaths but failed to do so. They knew he had ties to both Fort Wayne and Hammond but could not link him to the White Ford Torino or the victims.

Police would also liked to have closed the case on the rape and murder of 10-year-old Cynthia Warrick from New Haven, Indiana and briefly considered him as a prime suspect but there was even less to connect Walrath to that rape and murder.

These crimes remain unsolved.