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.