July 12, 2022 • 41 mins
Karen wraps up this part of the Car Barn Murders series with her assessment of accomplices Walter Oliver and Robert Janney along with a breakdown of the statement of Francis Gregory. Please go to the Shattered Souls Facebook page for insider details and to render your verdicts on the case. Stay tuned for future episodes and a few surprises! Thank you for listening!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome back to Shattered Souls the Carborn Murders. I'm your host,
Karen Smith. This is episode seventeen. This podcast contains graphic
language and is not suitable for children. Here we are
episode seventeen, the end of the road for this part
of the car Barn Murder series. I left off last
(00:28):
week by offering my opinion and evidence that Captain Bolton's
confidential informants were James Weir and his sister Niva Berardinelli.
I believe they're the ones that gave the details about
the planning of the Carborn murders in nineteen forty, and
then James Weir came forward again in nineteen fifty four.
I've also placed the information about my primary suspect, William
(00:50):
Clark into your hands, along with the requirements to make
a finding of guilty or not guilty regarding the robbery
and murders of Emery Smith and James Mitchell. If you'd
like to participate in that, you can render your verdict
on the Shattered Soul's Facebook page. I've set up a
poll and I would truly appreciate your objective consideration. That
(01:12):
said William Clark didn't act alone. I believe his accomplices
were Walter Oliver and Robert Janny, and that Francis Gregory
was an unwitting accessory. Before the fact, I had a
lot of information to work with regarding William Clark, since
he was interviewed by the detectives along with his girlfriend
Mary Branch. Neither Walter Oliver nor Robert Janny were interviewed
(01:34):
about their possible involvement, So any information I have was
provided through letters third parties, official documents in the file
and in newspaper reports and ancestral records. Even though I
don't have Oliver and Janny's own words regarding the Carborn case,
and I need to rely on what they confess to
other people, the information is still compelling. Let me begin
(01:57):
with Walter Oliver. He was born Washington, d C. In
nineteen o five. He lived in Prince George's County, Maryland
as a child, and his father, Walter Oliver, Sr. Was
an electrician. His mother, Minnie, was a homemaker. The Olivers
owned their home by nineteen ten, and they had a servant,
so apparently they were pretty well off financially. By nineteen twenty,
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the family moved southeast of d C into Suitland, Maryland,
near Washington National Cemetery, and Oliver's father was employed at
the Navy yard just across the eleventh Street bridge. Walter
Oliver was arrested for grand larceny in nineteen twenty four
when he was nineteen. There's no further information on the
disposition of that case, and Walter Oliver falls off the
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radar as far as official records between nineteen twenty four
and nineteen forty and there are no prison records publicly
available for the state of Maryland or d C. Jail
informant Horace Davis said that he and Oliver were in
prison together in nineteen thirty two. Davis also admitted that
the two of them robbed a bootlegger in nineteen thirty
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three that was verified by Volton. Davis said that he
was picked up at Tenthane Street by Walter Oliver in
August of nineteen thirty five, so those years are partially
accounted for. To dig a little deeper, I contacted the
Maryland and Washington d C archives and they searched for
any court documents for Walter C. Oliver. There were none.
(03:26):
I was told by the researcher in Maryland that although
they have documents that go all the way back to
the founding of our nation. There was nothing under Walter
Oliver's name or any record of the court document written
by the U. S District Attorney when the case was
filed against Oliver in nineteen thirty eight. The archives said
that was pretty unusual, but there was nothing in the
(03:46):
historical documents to be found. Because of that, I had
to rely on the information from Horace Davis, who signed
a sworn affidavit about his August nineteen thirty five encounter
with Walter Oliver. Now, there's a big difference between a
witness statement and a sworn affidavit. Both are legal documents,
but in an affidavit, you're making a sworn statement regarding
(04:09):
the truthfulness of your testimony in front of witnesses, and
you can be subject to perjury if your information is
found to be untrue. Witness statements aren't taken under oath
and they're not subject to perjury. Now here's an interesting fact.
Horace Davis's sworn affidavit was signed by two witnesses. DC
(04:30):
Police detectives Floyd Trustcott and Earl Hartman. Remember those names.
Trust Scott and Hartman were the District detectives that Superintendent
of Police Ernest Brown said, we're too busy in nineteen
thirty seven to work on the Carborn case. But less
than one year later they were witnesses to Horace Davis's
(04:53):
sworn affidavit at the U. S District Attorney's office on
that official court document. Of all of the detectives in
the district, why would Ernest Brown choose Trustcott and Hartman.
I know exactly why that happened, and the reasons are
pretty transparent and frankly, pretty infuriating. Captain Earl Hartman was
(05:18):
in charge of the special investigation Squad, the spying Gestapo
that ran d C detectives Richard McCarty and future corrupt
Chief of Police Robert Barrett back to patrol. Horace Davis
provided credible evidence on the Carborn case, and the District
police needed their own insiders Confederate investigators present at Davis's
(05:40):
interview to front run that information and bring it back
to Superintendent Ernest Brown. Brown chose Trustcott and Hartman for
a reason, rather than using Frank Brass, Richard McCarty, or
Robert Barrett. The three detectives actually assigned to the Carborn case.
Why because the murders had been hushed up for three
(06:03):
years by ninety eight when Horace Davis signed that sworn affidavit,
and it was incumbent upon Superintendent Brown to keep it
that way lest he incur the wrath of DC Commission
President Melvin Hazen and his cousin and co conspirator on
the Carborn case, Jonas Willard Greene. Superintendent Brown could trust
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Trustcott and Hartman to torpedo Horace Davis's information and ensure
the case against Walter Oliver and others, meaning William Clark
went nowhere, which was exactly what happened. By having district
police ringers Trustcott and Hartman at Horace Davis's interview, any
information Horace Davis provided could be invalidated, Walter Oliver's case
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would stall, and then it would be summarily buried. The
reason that no documents exist in the court archives is
because that paperwork, with the exception of one single piece
of paper preserved in the Montgomery County case file, was
destroyed a long time ago. No paperwork, no case. To
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refresh your memory and go a little further with what
I could find out, Horace Davis said that he and
Walter Oliver had been friends since nineteen twenty, when they
were in the Maryland Training School for Boys together. I
verified that information in the census records. They did go
to the training school together, along with another man named
Gilbert Foreman. He was the husband of Nolia Foreman, a
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friend of Robert Chenny's, whom he wrote to from prison
in nineteen thirty six. That connects Walter Oliver with Robert
Channy via their mutual friend Gilbert Foreman. Horace Davis also
stated that he and Walter Oliver were in the Maryland
House of Corrections together in nineteen thirty two. There were
no details about Walter Oliver's charges or why he was incarcerated.
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Horace Davis was in jail at that point for the
robbery and of auction of a taxi driver. Both Oliver
and Davis were on probation in August of nineteen thirty
five when they met again. In Davis's sworn affidavit, he
said that Walter Oliver picked him up and offered to
drive him home. On the way, Oliver confessed to pulling
(08:17):
the carborn job. When Horace Davis asked Oliver if he
really was the one who did it. Oliver said hell yes,
and said he was with a couple of fellows. He
confessed that they killed the man in the creek my
uncle Emory, because he recognized one of us, and that
he might as well have killed a hundred after already
killing one, meaning James Mitchell. Oliver also said they went
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northbound on Connecticut Avenue from the ticket office. Horace Davis
told detectives Volton and Rogers that he was telling the truth,
and to prove it, Davis admitted to the other robbery
from nineteen thirty three that he committed with Walter Oliver.
The detectives followed up and found that claim to be true.
The gun that Oliver gave to Davis for that robbery
(09:03):
was at thirty two caliber semi automatic, the same caliber
and type used in the Carborn murders. Volton and Rogers
also went to Walter Oliver's wife's house and found seven
cars in the yard. The hub coop described by Horace
Davis had stolen plates, and a couple of the cars
weren't registered at all. A few days after Volton got
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the information as to where Walter Oliver was living, his
electrical shop and apartment burned to the ground in the
middle of the night. Oliver had opened that electrical shop
shortly after the robbery and murders. Fulton and Rogers also
found out that Walter Oliver ran a speakeasy with his
cousin Douglas and his wife, Mildred Oliver. Mildred was seen
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in the fall of nineteen thirty four loitering at Dan's
hotdog stand during the time when William Clark worked at
chevy Chase Lake. Horace Davis also gave the detectives Robert
Jenny's name and said that he was a good friend
of Walter Oliver's. By nineteen forty, Walter Oliver opened another
electrical shop in Capital Heights and he was living with
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his wife. On his World War Two draft card, Oliver
stated that he was doing work for the University of Maryland,
and by nineteen fifty, according to the census, Oliver was
back in prison at the Maryland State Penitentiary in Baltimore
for unknown charges. Walter Oliver's confession to Horace Davis is
really compelling since it aligns with all of the known circumstances.
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The fact that the State of Maryland started a case
against Oliver, even though it was buried, is also critical.
The details that Horace Davis gave in his sworn affidavit
are details that only a suspect would know, and in
return for his statement, Davis requested to be transferred from
the d C Jail to a designated penitentiary to serve
(10:52):
out as sentence. Davis was fearful of retaliation after he
spoke with Bolton and Rogers, and as with nearly all informants,
advis asked for a quid pro quo. But what he
didn't ask for is more important. Davis didn't ask for
a reduced sentence or early parole. He just asked to
be transferred to another penitentiary for his own safety. I
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don't find that unreasonable. Horace Davis was certainly no choir boy,
but he didn't seem to have any ulterior motive to
provide the information about Walter Oliver. At a finish Walter
Oliver's connection to the Carborn murders, I uncovered fourteen direct links.
Number one Oliver's confession to Horace Davis that heat pulled
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the Carborn job. Number two Oliver's statement that there were
two other men involved. Number three Oliver's admission that the
man in the creek, Emery Smith, recognized one of them,
which is why he was killed. Number four Oliver's further
admission that they had already killed one, so they may
as well have killed a hundred. Number five Oliver's thirty
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two caliber semi automatic that he gave to Davis when
they committed the robbery in nineteen three. Number six Oliver's
statement about going northbound on Connecticut Avenue rather than south
back through Chevy Chase. Number seven Oliver's purchase of his
electrical shop right after the robbery and murders. Number eight.
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That electrical shop suspiciously set a fire a year later,
right after Detective Volton asked the Capitol Heights town officer
about Oliver. Number nine Oliver's collection of cars, including one
with a stolen plate that was registered to a known
owner of a stolen auto parts business. Number ten Oliver's
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name on the registration of the hop Coope, which was
described by Horace Davis as the vehicle used to pick
him up. Number eleven Oliver's known friendship with Robert Jenny.
Number twelve Mildred Oliver, the part owner of the speakeasy
being seen at Dan's hotdog stand when William Clarke worked
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at chevy Chase Lake, Number than Oliver's affiliation with that
speakeasy on Eas Street that he ran with his cousin
Douglas and Mildred and number fourteen. The State of Maryland
started a case against Walter Oliver and others in ninety
eight that went nowhere are Walter Oliver's confession and those
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links enough to find him guilty as an accomplice? Well,
I'll leave that up to you. That brings me to
the second accomplice, Robert Jenny. He was born on November
nine to Charles and Josephine Janny. All of Robert's siblings
died at a young age, and after his father died,
Josephine didn't have the means to care for only child Robert,
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and he was sent to live with two wealthy family
friends until he turned eighteen. Jenny then moved with Josephine
to an apartment on New York Avenue Northwest, a rough
and tumble area of d C. Jenny possessed a pretty
decent skill set, and he listed his occupation as a
steam fitter in the April nineteen thirty census but on
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May twelfth, nineteen thirty, Janny was arrested for reckless driving
when he chased a woman down during the ongoing investigation
of the Mary Baker murder case. Janny was named as
a suspect in the Baker homicide, and he gave an
alibi of being in New York City, which was found
to be true through a pawn ticket found in his room.
Detectives also found a thirty two caliber semi automatic pistol
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in his room after his arrest, a newspaper article quoted
a d C detective who said that Robert Janny had
spent two terms in the district reformatory for stealing cars
in the years prior, along with a violation of the
Man Act human trafficking in nineteen twenty eight. The woman
that Robert Janny chased down was the wife of a
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prominent district pharmacist, and just two months later, Janny would
be arrested for a violation of the Harrison Narcotics Act.
That was in July of nineteen thirty. Both Janni and
his mother, Josephine, were bus did as the main DC
distributors in an East Coast heroin trafficking ring that extended
all the way to New York. Jenny had heroine in
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his pocket when federal agents took him into custody. Jenny
pleaded guilty to possession but not guilty to distribution. Bail
bondsman Max Weinstein put up fifteen hundred dollars for Josephine
and five thousand dollars for Jenny to get them out
of the DC jail pending trial. Max Weinstein was no
angel either, and he was known to stuff large amounts
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of cash up the chimney flu of his palatial house.
Jenny and Josephine's accomplice in that drug ring, a man
named Jack Callahan, got a five year sentence, but the
outcome for Jenny and Josephine was never reported and it's unknown.
Josephine died in nineteen thirty three and Jenny was out
of jail by the middle of nineteen thirty two. On
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July nine, thirty two, Jenny was arrested for d uy
and reckless driving. Andy managed to break out of jail
and he was recaptured a few hours later. By January
of nineteen thirty five, the time of the Carborn murders,
Robert Janny was living in Baltimore, and he worked as
a night watchman for the Baltimore sales Brook Company. Time
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cards in his own handwriting showed that he wasn't working
on Sunday, January twenty or Monday, January twenty first, nineteen
thirty five, the night of the murders. By October of
nineteen thirty five, Janny was arrested again, this time for
aggravated battery when he broke his wife Lillian's nose. While
he did three months for that. He was charged with
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armed robbery and got an eight year prison sentence. Robert
Janny was in the Maryland State Penitentiary with William Clark
after he was sentenced for the attempted murder of Mary Branch.
Detectives Volton and Rogers learned about Robert Janny through Horace Davis,
who said that Janny was a good friend of Walter Oliver's.
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The detectives met with his wife, Lillian, and she picked
out photographs of both William Clark and James Weir and
said that she had been introduced to them by Janny.
Lillian also told the detectives that in May of nineteen
thirty five, Robert Jenny confessed to her that he had
gotten mixed up on a job in Chevy Chase with
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a woman and three other men and they had to
shoot their way out. Lillian also said that one morning
in January of nineteen thirty five, around the time of
the murders, Jenny came home with his pants soaking wet
up to the knees. He sat around all day acting
really nervous and jumped when an insurance salesman knocked on
the door. Volton and Rogers had Lilian meet with Janny
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in prison, and they gave her a preplanned story that
a man had been arrested for the Carborn case and
he had talked to the police. Robert Jenny flipped a
nutty turned sheet white and asked if it was James Moody.
There was no police file under that name, and I
believe that James Moody was actually the male confidential informant
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James Weir. Robert Janny's World War two draft card indicated
that he was still in prison in March of nineteen
forty two and elisted his daughter Josephine as his personal contact.
In nineteen forty three, Janny was out of prison and
he was working as a deck engineer on the S
S William Paca bound from New Orleans to Surinam, South America.
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He continued that work into the nineteen fifties on the
S S Anniston City, going back and forth from New
York to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Was that the only
work he could get, or was Janny purposefully staying away
from the d C area. I don't know, and I
don't have any further information. Robert Jenny's rap sheet was
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long stolen cars, narcotics, trafficking, human trafficking, aggravated battery, reckless driving,
d u Y, armed robbery, and escape. I can safely
say that Robert Jenny was a dangerous multiple felon with
very little to lose. Robert Jenny was the load star
between the suspects he knew, William Clark, James Weir, and
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Walter Oliver. Lillian said that he came home one morning
in January of ninety five with wet pants. Emery Smith
had been dragged into Rock Creek by two men. One
was likely William Clark, the other Robert Jenny. That also
tells me that Walter Oliver might have been the getaway driver,
since Oliver said that they killed the men in the
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creek because he recognized one of us. He did William Clark.
Jenny told Lillian that they had to shoot their way out,
which would mean James Mitchell inside the ticket office, and
Jenny also said that he got some one hundred dollars
out of it. Jenny also said that the Chevy Chase
murders involved a woman and three other men. The female informant,
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who I believe was Niva Berardinelli, said that there was
a plan meeting at Green's beauty salon and that Jonas
Willard Green, William Clark, Duffy, the mechanic, a man named White,
and a woman named Emmanuel were present. That would be
a woman and three other men if Janny was one
of the men at the meeting. Jenny's information about the
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gender and number of people involved at that beauty salon
meeting was spot on with the female informants information, Lillian
Janny cooperated with Boulton and Rogers by visiting with Jenny
in prison. Lillian also received letters from Jenny asking her
who was after her, why she wouldn't tell Janny what
she had told the detectives, and she wrote a hurried
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letter to Bolton saying that Janny was going to write
to the place where she worked, and if he did,
you know what that means. Lillian was clearly frightened of somebody,
and Lillian Janny disappeared in nineteen thirty six. To sum
it all up, this is the laundry list for Robert
Jenny as the second accomplice. Number one. Jenny had a
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history of stealing cars, and I believe the green Buick
that was stolen from fifteenth and Irving Street was used
in the crime. Number two. He had access to a
thirty two caliber semi automatic, since one was found in
his room in nineteen thirty The disposition of that gun
is unknown. Number three he wasn't working on the night
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of the murders. Number four. He came home with wet
pants and acted really nervous all day around the time
of the car Barn murders Number five. In May of nineteen,
he confessed to being involved in the Chevy Chase job
to Lillian and said he got one hundred dollars out
of it. Coincidentally, that confession was during the same time
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that William Clarke tried to kill Mary Branch and that
story hit the papers. Number six, he told Lillian that
they had to shoot their way out. Number seven he
said the I'm involved a woman and three other men,
information that aligned with Volton's female informant. Number eight Jenny
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had a violent history and a rap sheet that was
pages long. His mother was dead and his daughter had
been placed into an orphanage. Robert Jenny had nothing to lose.
And number nine, Robert Jenny was in prison with William Clark,
which would have given both of them the opportunity to
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collude and make sure that anyone on the outside kept
their mouths shut, including Lillian and Mary Branch. I think
the evidence against Robert Jenny speaks for itself, but again
I will leave that decision up to you. And finally
we come to Francis Gregory. I gave you the verbatim
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statement from Gregory's interview in episode eleven. In that interview,
he talks about times running trolleys to the main office barn,
another motorman taking office. Galosha is lying down on the
bench in the trainman's room, and it ends with Gregory
saying that he believed William Clark was in on the
Carborn job. I took Francis Gregory's own words, and I
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pitied them against what several other witnesses said. The times
involved his actions, the evidence described from the scene, and
what we now know about his friendship with William Clark
and Mary Branch. In addition, I also found out during
my investigation that the key found in my uncle Emory's
pocket didn't go to the front door of the ticket office,
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meaning that Francis Gregory was the only person present who
could have possibly unlocked that door. Focusing on the night
of the murders, let me start with Francis Gregory's clothes
the biggest clue, and break down the various statements by
both Francis Gregory and the other witnesses. John Stout remember him.
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He was the evening accounting clerk. He made the following
state meant at about three o'clock, I left the room
where Mitchell and I had been attending to the business
of the company, went in through the back conductor's room
out to the porch where I got another bag for
the money. On my way back through the conductor's room,
I stopped to speak to Emery Smith. I saw a
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man one of the employees, laying on two benches which
were put together to make a bed like place to
lay down on. I asked Smith who he was, and
he said he thought it was a man named Gregory.
The man had all of his clothes on, including his shoes.
I feel positive that this man did have his shoes
on at the time. I'm willing to take an oath
to the fact that he did have his shoes on
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when I saw him lying on this bench at about
three o'clock that morning. Gregory also had an overcoat pulled
over him. Parker Hannah, the conductor who arrived first at
the ticket office, said this. After Jones and Abersold came
back from the firehouse, the three of us went into
the trainman's room in the back part of the ticket office,
where another employee was lying on a wood bench. This
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man was named Gregory. He had his shoes and coat off,
and I'm positive he was asleep. When Jones told him
that Mitchell had been murdered, Gregory jumped up and ran
outside in his stocking feet in the snow. Jones ran
after him and caught him about fifty or seventy five
ft away. He was then brought back into the ticket office.
The door leading to the trainman's room was unlocked. The
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door leading to the locker room, which adjoins the trainman's room,
the door leading from the trainman's room to the back porch,
the windows to the locker room on the north side
of the building were all unlocked. Gregory's coat was on
the table in the middle of the trainman's room. There
were fresh mud tracks on the window sill inside the
locker room. The outside screen of these windows were freshly broken,
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and there were one man's tracks fresh in the snow
outside this window. Gregory had black low shoes. Lynwood Jones,
the second man on the scene, said this. We returned
to the barn and Abersol went through to the back
office and found the back door was unlocked, and I
saw Gregory asleep on the bench. I had to shake
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him pretty hard to wake him up, and I told
him that mister Mitchell had been murdered, and he didn't
believe me, and he became very nervous, and he put
on his coat and went out. And later on Gregory
said it was strange that he had not heard a
shooting and wondered why they didn't see him. At this time,
Gregory had his coat off, his shirt out of his trousers,
and I believe his shoes off, and we have Francis
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Gregory's own words. At this time, mister Mitchell and Stout
were in the cage, and I went into the trainman's
room and took a leak, and I took my coat
and laid it on the bench and laid down. This
was about one forty a m. And I heard the
crew that's due in at one fifty four. They usually
get in a little ahead of time because they don't
have so many to haul at that hour. They were
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in about ten minutes. And when they started out, the
motorman Batton is his name, and the conductor's name is
John's Blonde. Batton told me I'd better pull off my
overshoes because in the morning my feet wouldn't be worth
a damn. And he asked me if I wanted him
to pull them off for me, so he pulled them
off before he left the room. I went to sleep,
and sometime during the night I woke up. I was
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hot because Mr Smith had fixed the fire. And at
this time I opened two windows on the Columbia Country
club side. I think these windows have screens on the outside.
I'll tell you. When I think about this murder, I
think that they forced Mr Smith to get Mitchell to
open the door. But of course that don't sound right either,
because it looked like that Mr Mitchell was shot while
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he was sitting in his chair. I've come out from
the trainman's room early in the morning and found Mr
Mitchell asleep in his chair. In fact, I thought he
was asleep. Okay, I won't make you figure it all out,
so here's a breakdown of those statements. Francis Gregory said
that he put the coat down on the bench to
go to sleep at one forty. He woke up when
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the next trolley crew came in at one Batton pulled
off his galoshes around two o'clock, leaving his low cut
black shoes still on his feet. He said that at
some point Emory Smith fixed the fire. He got hot
as a result and opened two windows on the south
side of the office. At three o'clock in the morning,
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John Stout met with Emory Smith in the trainman's room
and they saw Francis Gregory on the bench. John Stout
would take an oath that Gregory had his shoes on
and that his coat was pulled over him like a blanket.
John Stout also said that Emory Smith had knocked on
the front door for James Mitchell to let him into
the office between two o'clock and two thirty. Parker Hannah
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said that at five fifteen, Gregory's coat was on the
table in the middle of the room, his shoes were off,
and he ran out into the snow in his socks.
Lynwood Jones said that he had to shake Gregory to
wake him up, and Gregory became nervous, put on his
coat and went out. After Jones told him about Mitchell,
he said he believed Gregory's shoes were off, his coat
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was off, and his shirt was untucked from his pants.
Here's a crucial fact. On January one, NT at three
o'clock in the morning, it was twenty four degrees fahrenheit outside.
That's according to official historical weather data from the National
(29:24):
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration based on aerial photographs of the
ticket office. The fireplace was located on the south wall
of the building, inside the trainman's room, right near the
area where Francis Gregory had set up that bench to
go to sleep. Gregory said that my uncle Emory had
fixed the fire at some point, and he got hot,
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so we opened two windows in twenty four degree weather.
John Stout said that Gregory had his overcoat pulled over
him like a blanket at three o'clock. Why open two
windows to allow that frigid air into the building instead
of just taking your overcoat off your body or moving
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the bench further away from the fireplace. Francis Gregory's coat
was on the table at five fifteen, according to Parker Hannah.
He was also in his socks by that time and
his shirt was untucked. According to Lynwood Jones, Voulton and
Rogers also interviewed three other transit workers from Chevy Chase Lake,
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and all three of them said that Francis Gregory was
a light sleeper, But Lynwood Jones said he had to
shake Gregory pretty hard to wake him up. Now here's
another issue. My great aunt Edith, Emery's widow, was questioned
by the detectives to see if she could offer any help.
Aunt Edith inadvertently gave them some information that also discredits
(30:51):
Francis gregory story. This is what she said now, in
reference to his methods of working, he told me that
after he would finish his work, he would get into
a car and take a nap, and he would always
try to finish before the lights went off. Mister Smith
told me he didn't have to take care of the
furnace anymore, and he even remarked about the fire being out.
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Some mornings, his car was locked and as lunch was
inside of the car and he never touched it. His
flashlight has not been found, and the key used to
punch the TimeClock card is still missing. First, the power
station would shut off at two o'clock in the morning,
and that included the lights at the car barn. Emery
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Smith's flashlight was missing. According to Parker Hannah, three or
four of the trolley cars lights were on, but none
of them had been pulled out of the barn into
the circle out front. Emory Smith no longer had to
take care of the furnace, and the fire was out
on some mornings. Aunt Edith also said that Emory tried
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to get his work done before two o'clock and he
would take a nap in one of the trolley cars.
James Mitchell led him into the office via the front
door between two o'clock and two thirty. According to John Stout,
Emery Smith was with John Stout in the trainman's room
at three o'clock. Stout made no mention about my great
(32:14):
uncle fixing the fire, but he did say that the
locker room door was kept shut to keep the cold
air out. Uncle Emery punched his TimeClock card at four three.
He was at the barn when he did that. The
shooting happened between four thirty and four thirty five, according
to Charles Smallwood and Earnest Carter, the two witnesses, Francis
(32:37):
Gregory laid down to sleep at a round two o'clock
after the last trolley crew left the office. He was
in the trainman's room when Emery Smith was in the
office after Mitchell let him in. Gregory either didn't hear
or didn't acknowledge John Stout and Emory Smith at three o'clock.
(32:58):
There's no mention about what time Emory Smith supposedly fixed
the fire, but Gregory was in that room on the bench,
but he made no mention of Emory Smith being in
there with him at any point. Emory Smith left the
office at around three o'clock and Mitchell locked that front
door behind him. Emery went to the barn to ready
(33:19):
the trolleys, punched his TimeClock card and, according to Aunt Edith,
take a quick nap, as was his habit when his
work was done. Now, by that time the lights in
the barn were off via the power station, so we
probably had his flashlight with him and he switched on
the trolley car headlights to provide more light in the barn.
(33:40):
His flashlight was still missing by January when Aunt Edith
was interviewed. So when exactly did Emory Smith fix the fire?
Francis Gregory asserted that he was so hot that he
had to open two windows in twenty four degree weather.
He laid down on that bench to sleep, with his
coat on the bench underneath his body. At one forty
(34:04):
he got cold, not hot, and he used his coat
as a blanket by three o'clock. Gregory's shoes were on
his feet at three o'clock, but they were off by
five fifteen. The window on the north side was unlocked,
with muddy shoeprints on the window sill and one man's
tracks outside in the snow. The detectives also found handprints
(34:27):
on a rock near the miniature golf course, showing that
someone had stopped and sat down during his interview, Francis
Gregory said that he and the officer found footprints on
the wall beside the office that morning. Now, unraveling Francis
Gregory's motives and actions was pretty baffling, and it took
(34:48):
me a long time to untangle. In my estimation, Francis
Gregory was complicit before the fact, but not by his
own design. William Clark told Francis Gregory to make sure
that the front door was unlocked that night. Francis Gregory
(35:08):
didn't have any idea about the robbery plan, but he
did that as a favor for his friend. Francis Gregory
was young, naive, and gullible. He was an easy mark
for a master manipulator like William Clark. I believe that
William Clark conned Francis Gregory by telling him that he
(35:29):
got his job back and he would be in early
Monday morning to collect his equipment, just like Clark told
several others during his two trips to the office on Saturday.
James Mitchell wouldn't open that front door for anyone but
my uncle Emory and the conductors listed on the board.
James Mitchell knew their voices. William Clark told Gregory to
(35:52):
leave the front door unlocked because Clark knew that Mitchell
wouldn't unlock it for him. Francis Gregory bought William Lark's
explanation about returning to work on Monday morning, and Gregory
unbolted the front door without any foreknowledge of what was
to come next. Francis Gregory probably was asleep on the
(36:13):
bench by four thirty, but he woke up when he
heard the voices and four gunshots in the next room.
That explains why Gregory said he wondered why he didn't
hear a shooting and why they didn't see him. First
of all, who's they? That implies more than one suspect,
and how did he know there was a shooting? If
(36:34):
he slept through the whole thing From his position on
that bench, he could hear the two employees entered the
office at one four after he laid down at one
forty to go to sleep. So there's no doubt in
my mind that he heard the gunshots, the chaos and
multiple voices in that money cage during the robbery and
(36:55):
murder of James Mitchell. Why didn't William Clark, Robert Jenny
and Walter Oliver see Francis Gregory, because Gregory panicked and
he ran out of the back door, leaving it unlocked.
And Gregory was the one who waited in the snow
on that rock, leaving his handprints behind until he heard
or saw Clark, Jenny, and Oliver leave. That's why Gregory
(37:20):
was the sole survivor. He ran and hid instead of
meeting his own demise inside that office, He re entered
through the north window, leaving his muddy shoeprints on the
wall and the window sill. The reason for his own
observation of seeing the footprints on the wall beside the office,
they were the scuff marks that he left behind he
(37:44):
took off his cold wet shoes, which was why he
ran outside in his socks when he was shaken awake
and informed of Mitchell's murder later that morning. Since Gregory
had left shoeprints in the snow out that back door
when he ran to hide shoe pray that would have
been found by the police, he ran out of that
same door in front of Parker, Hannah, Lynwood Jones, and
(38:07):
Robert Abersold to cover up the previous shoeprints he left behind,
which would have instantly negated his story about sleeping through
the murder. He was the only person left alive, and
he had to convince everyone that he slept through the crime.
His shirt was untucked from his pants, which likely happened
when he came back inside through that window. There's one
(38:31):
more thing. Parker Hannah reported that Gregory's car was not
parked outside. He rode in on the trolley. Francis Gregory
had no ride home. No trolleys were going to leave
the barn until five thirty. He was stuck alone in
the office with a dead man on the floor. He
(38:52):
had few options. He had nowhere to go. His only
alternative was to fake being asleep when Arker Hannah and
the others arrived. Do I believe that Francis Gregory knew
the whole plan? Absolutely not. Do I believe that he
knew and did a lot more than he admitted. Yeah.
(39:13):
I also believe that he was petrified of William Clark
as well he should have been, and he tried to
help the detectives by dropping William Clark's name as a suspect.
During his interview. He had to unload that part of
his conscience without implicating himself as an accessory before the fact,
unwitting or not, I don't believe that Francis Gregory would
(39:36):
have ever hurt anyone for any reason. His only fault
was trusting William Clark, a con artist who he thought
was a friend. Francis Gregory left the transit company and
he opened his own construction business, Effie Gregory and Sons
in ninety His business was awarded several million dollar contracts
(39:59):
through the distract over the next few decades for road
improvements and new pipelines. Francis Gregory died in just a
couple of weeks, shy of his seventy six birthday. He
was never reinterviewed. That brings me to the end of
this part of the Carborn Murder series. But I'll be
(40:21):
back with more information and a few surprises, So be
sure to stay tuned and head to the Shattered Soul's
Facebook page to get updates, links, behind the scenes information,
and to ask me any questions. This journey ain't over, folks,
and I'd like to give special thanks to everyone, especially
my wife, who have given me support and encouragement as
(40:45):
the case moved along, and for following my investigation every
step of the way and to the family members of
any of the people involved. You always have an open
invitation to do an interview and give your thoughts about
your relative or a future episode. You know where to
find me, Shattered Souls. The Carborn Murders is produced by
(41:06):
Karen Smith and Angel Hart Productions. M
Welcome back to Shattered Souls the Carborn Murders. I'm your host,
Karen Smith. This is episode seventeen. This podcast contains graphic
language and is not suitable for children. Here we are
episode seventeen, the end of the road for this part
of the car Barn Murder series. I left off last
(00:28):
week by offering my opinion and evidence that Captain Bolton's
confidential informants were James Weir and his sister Niva Berardinelli.
I believe they're the ones that gave the details about
the planning of the Carborn murders in nineteen forty, and
then James Weir came forward again in nineteen fifty four.
I've also placed the information about my primary suspect, William
(00:50):
Clark into your hands, along with the requirements to make
a finding of guilty or not guilty regarding the robbery
and murders of Emery Smith and James Mitchell. If you'd
like to participate in that, you can render your verdict
on the Shattered Soul's Facebook page. I've set up a
poll and I would truly appreciate your objective consideration. That
(01:12):
said William Clark didn't act alone. I believe his accomplices
were Walter Oliver and Robert Janny, and that Francis Gregory
was an unwitting accessory. Before the fact, I had a
lot of information to work with regarding William Clark, since
he was interviewed by the detectives along with his girlfriend
Mary Branch. Neither Walter Oliver nor Robert Janny were interviewed
(01:34):
about their possible involvement, So any information I have was
provided through letters third parties, official documents in the file
and in newspaper reports and ancestral records. Even though I
don't have Oliver and Janny's own words regarding the Carborn case,
and I need to rely on what they confess to
other people, the information is still compelling. Let me begin
(01:57):
with Walter Oliver. He was born Washington, d C. In
nineteen o five. He lived in Prince George's County, Maryland
as a child, and his father, Walter Oliver, Sr. Was
an electrician. His mother, Minnie, was a homemaker. The Olivers
owned their home by nineteen ten, and they had a servant,
so apparently they were pretty well off financially. By nineteen twenty,
(02:18):
the family moved southeast of d C into Suitland, Maryland,
near Washington National Cemetery, and Oliver's father was employed at
the Navy yard just across the eleventh Street bridge. Walter
Oliver was arrested for grand larceny in nineteen twenty four
when he was nineteen. There's no further information on the
disposition of that case, and Walter Oliver falls off the
(02:41):
radar as far as official records between nineteen twenty four
and nineteen forty and there are no prison records publicly
available for the state of Maryland or d C. Jail
informant Horace Davis said that he and Oliver were in
prison together in nineteen thirty two. Davis also admitted that
the two of them robbed a bootlegger in nineteen thirty
(03:01):
three that was verified by Volton. Davis said that he
was picked up at Tenthane Street by Walter Oliver in
August of nineteen thirty five, so those years are partially
accounted for. To dig a little deeper, I contacted the
Maryland and Washington d C archives and they searched for
any court documents for Walter C. Oliver. There were none.
(03:26):
I was told by the researcher in Maryland that although
they have documents that go all the way back to
the founding of our nation. There was nothing under Walter
Oliver's name or any record of the court document written
by the U. S District Attorney when the case was
filed against Oliver in nineteen thirty eight. The archives said
that was pretty unusual, but there was nothing in the
(03:46):
historical documents to be found. Because of that, I had
to rely on the information from Horace Davis, who signed
a sworn affidavit about his August nineteen thirty five encounter
with Walter Oliver. Now, there's a big difference between a
witness statement and a sworn affidavit. Both are legal documents,
but in an affidavit, you're making a sworn statement regarding
(04:09):
the truthfulness of your testimony in front of witnesses, and
you can be subject to perjury if your information is
found to be untrue. Witness statements aren't taken under oath
and they're not subject to perjury. Now here's an interesting fact.
Horace Davis's sworn affidavit was signed by two witnesses. DC
(04:30):
Police detectives Floyd Trustcott and Earl Hartman. Remember those names.
Trust Scott and Hartman were the District detectives that Superintendent
of Police Ernest Brown said, we're too busy in nineteen
thirty seven to work on the Carborn case. But less
than one year later they were witnesses to Horace Davis's
(04:53):
sworn affidavit at the U. S District Attorney's office on
that official court document. Of all of the detectives in
the district, why would Ernest Brown choose Trustcott and Hartman.
I know exactly why that happened, and the reasons are
pretty transparent and frankly, pretty infuriating. Captain Earl Hartman was
(05:18):
in charge of the special investigation Squad, the spying Gestapo
that ran d C detectives Richard McCarty and future corrupt
Chief of Police Robert Barrett back to patrol. Horace Davis
provided credible evidence on the Carborn case, and the District
police needed their own insiders Confederate investigators present at Davis's
(05:40):
interview to front run that information and bring it back
to Superintendent Ernest Brown. Brown chose Trustcott and Hartman for
a reason, rather than using Frank Brass, Richard McCarty, or
Robert Barrett. The three detectives actually assigned to the Carborn case.
Why because the murders had been hushed up for three
(06:03):
years by ninety eight when Horace Davis signed that sworn affidavit,
and it was incumbent upon Superintendent Brown to keep it
that way lest he incur the wrath of DC Commission
President Melvin Hazen and his cousin and co conspirator on
the Carborn case, Jonas Willard Greene. Superintendent Brown could trust
(06:25):
Trustcott and Hartman to torpedo Horace Davis's information and ensure
the case against Walter Oliver and others, meaning William Clark
went nowhere, which was exactly what happened. By having district
police ringers Trustcott and Hartman at Horace Davis's interview, any
information Horace Davis provided could be invalidated, Walter Oliver's case
(06:48):
would stall, and then it would be summarily buried. The
reason that no documents exist in the court archives is
because that paperwork, with the exception of one single piece
of paper preserved in the Montgomery County case file, was
destroyed a long time ago. No paperwork, no case. To
(07:10):
refresh your memory and go a little further with what
I could find out, Horace Davis said that he and
Walter Oliver had been friends since nineteen twenty, when they
were in the Maryland Training School for Boys together. I
verified that information in the census records. They did go
to the training school together, along with another man named
Gilbert Foreman. He was the husband of Nolia Foreman, a
(07:34):
friend of Robert Chenny's, whom he wrote to from prison
in nineteen thirty six. That connects Walter Oliver with Robert
Channy via their mutual friend Gilbert Foreman. Horace Davis also
stated that he and Walter Oliver were in the Maryland
House of Corrections together in nineteen thirty two. There were
no details about Walter Oliver's charges or why he was incarcerated.
(07:56):
Horace Davis was in jail at that point for the
robbery and of auction of a taxi driver. Both Oliver
and Davis were on probation in August of nineteen thirty
five when they met again. In Davis's sworn affidavit, he
said that Walter Oliver picked him up and offered to
drive him home. On the way, Oliver confessed to pulling
(08:17):
the carborn job. When Horace Davis asked Oliver if he
really was the one who did it. Oliver said hell yes,
and said he was with a couple of fellows. He
confessed that they killed the man in the creek my
uncle Emory, because he recognized one of us, and that
he might as well have killed a hundred after already
killing one, meaning James Mitchell. Oliver also said they went
(08:40):
northbound on Connecticut Avenue from the ticket office. Horace Davis
told detectives Volton and Rogers that he was telling the truth,
and to prove it, Davis admitted to the other robbery
from nineteen thirty three that he committed with Walter Oliver.
The detectives followed up and found that claim to be true.
The gun that Oliver gave to Davis for that robbery
(09:03):
was at thirty two caliber semi automatic, the same caliber
and type used in the Carborn murders. Volton and Rogers
also went to Walter Oliver's wife's house and found seven
cars in the yard. The hub coop described by Horace
Davis had stolen plates, and a couple of the cars
weren't registered at all. A few days after Volton got
(09:25):
the information as to where Walter Oliver was living, his
electrical shop and apartment burned to the ground in the
middle of the night. Oliver had opened that electrical shop
shortly after the robbery and murders. Fulton and Rogers also
found out that Walter Oliver ran a speakeasy with his
cousin Douglas and his wife, Mildred Oliver. Mildred was seen
(09:47):
in the fall of nineteen thirty four loitering at Dan's
hotdog stand during the time when William Clark worked at
chevy Chase Lake. Horace Davis also gave the detectives Robert
Jenny's name and said that he was a good friend
of Walter Oliver's. By nineteen forty, Walter Oliver opened another
electrical shop in Capital Heights and he was living with
(10:09):
his wife. On his World War Two draft card, Oliver
stated that he was doing work for the University of Maryland,
and by nineteen fifty, according to the census, Oliver was
back in prison at the Maryland State Penitentiary in Baltimore
for unknown charges. Walter Oliver's confession to Horace Davis is
really compelling since it aligns with all of the known circumstances.
(10:32):
The fact that the State of Maryland started a case
against Oliver, even though it was buried, is also critical.
The details that Horace Davis gave in his sworn affidavit
are details that only a suspect would know, and in
return for his statement, Davis requested to be transferred from
the d C Jail to a designated penitentiary to serve
(10:52):
out as sentence. Davis was fearful of retaliation after he
spoke with Bolton and Rogers, and as with nearly all informants,
advis asked for a quid pro quo. But what he
didn't ask for is more important. Davis didn't ask for
a reduced sentence or early parole. He just asked to
be transferred to another penitentiary for his own safety. I
(11:13):
don't find that unreasonable. Horace Davis was certainly no choir boy,
but he didn't seem to have any ulterior motive to
provide the information about Walter Oliver. At a finish Walter
Oliver's connection to the Carborn murders, I uncovered fourteen direct links.
Number one Oliver's confession to Horace Davis that heat pulled
(11:33):
the Carborn job. Number two Oliver's statement that there were
two other men involved. Number three Oliver's admission that the
man in the creek, Emery Smith, recognized one of them,
which is why he was killed. Number four Oliver's further
admission that they had already killed one, so they may
as well have killed a hundred. Number five Oliver's thirty
(11:55):
two caliber semi automatic that he gave to Davis when
they committed the robbery in nineteen three. Number six Oliver's
statement about going northbound on Connecticut Avenue rather than south
back through Chevy Chase. Number seven Oliver's purchase of his
electrical shop right after the robbery and murders. Number eight.
(12:16):
That electrical shop suspiciously set a fire a year later,
right after Detective Volton asked the Capitol Heights town officer
about Oliver. Number nine Oliver's collection of cars, including one
with a stolen plate that was registered to a known
owner of a stolen auto parts business. Number ten Oliver's
(12:37):
name on the registration of the hop Coope, which was
described by Horace Davis as the vehicle used to pick
him up. Number eleven Oliver's known friendship with Robert Jenny.
Number twelve Mildred Oliver, the part owner of the speakeasy
being seen at Dan's hotdog stand when William Clarke worked
(12:57):
at chevy Chase Lake, Number than Oliver's affiliation with that
speakeasy on Eas Street that he ran with his cousin
Douglas and Mildred and number fourteen. The State of Maryland
started a case against Walter Oliver and others in ninety
eight that went nowhere are Walter Oliver's confession and those
(13:19):
links enough to find him guilty as an accomplice? Well,
I'll leave that up to you. That brings me to
the second accomplice, Robert Jenny. He was born on November
nine to Charles and Josephine Janny. All of Robert's siblings
died at a young age, and after his father died,
Josephine didn't have the means to care for only child Robert,
(13:42):
and he was sent to live with two wealthy family
friends until he turned eighteen. Jenny then moved with Josephine
to an apartment on New York Avenue Northwest, a rough
and tumble area of d C. Jenny possessed a pretty
decent skill set, and he listed his occupation as a
steam fitter in the April nineteen thirty census but on
(14:02):
May twelfth, nineteen thirty, Janny was arrested for reckless driving
when he chased a woman down during the ongoing investigation
of the Mary Baker murder case. Janny was named as
a suspect in the Baker homicide, and he gave an
alibi of being in New York City, which was found
to be true through a pawn ticket found in his room.
Detectives also found a thirty two caliber semi automatic pistol
(14:26):
in his room after his arrest, a newspaper article quoted
a d C detective who said that Robert Janny had
spent two terms in the district reformatory for stealing cars
in the years prior, along with a violation of the
Man Act human trafficking in nineteen twenty eight. The woman
that Robert Janny chased down was the wife of a
(14:47):
prominent district pharmacist, and just two months later, Janny would
be arrested for a violation of the Harrison Narcotics Act.
That was in July of nineteen thirty. Both Janni and
his mother, Josephine, were bus did as the main DC
distributors in an East Coast heroin trafficking ring that extended
all the way to New York. Jenny had heroine in
(15:08):
his pocket when federal agents took him into custody. Jenny
pleaded guilty to possession but not guilty to distribution. Bail
bondsman Max Weinstein put up fifteen hundred dollars for Josephine
and five thousand dollars for Jenny to get them out
of the DC jail pending trial. Max Weinstein was no
angel either, and he was known to stuff large amounts
(15:31):
of cash up the chimney flu of his palatial house.
Jenny and Josephine's accomplice in that drug ring, a man
named Jack Callahan, got a five year sentence, but the
outcome for Jenny and Josephine was never reported and it's unknown.
Josephine died in nineteen thirty three and Jenny was out
of jail by the middle of nineteen thirty two. On
(15:54):
July nine, thirty two, Jenny was arrested for d uy
and reckless driving. Andy managed to break out of jail
and he was recaptured a few hours later. By January
of nineteen thirty five, the time of the Carborn murders,
Robert Janny was living in Baltimore, and he worked as
a night watchman for the Baltimore sales Brook Company. Time
(16:15):
cards in his own handwriting showed that he wasn't working
on Sunday, January twenty or Monday, January twenty first, nineteen
thirty five, the night of the murders. By October of
nineteen thirty five, Janny was arrested again, this time for
aggravated battery when he broke his wife Lillian's nose. While
he did three months for that. He was charged with
(16:37):
armed robbery and got an eight year prison sentence. Robert
Janny was in the Maryland State Penitentiary with William Clark
after he was sentenced for the attempted murder of Mary Branch.
Detectives Volton and Rogers learned about Robert Janny through Horace Davis,
who said that Janny was a good friend of Walter Oliver's.
(16:57):
The detectives met with his wife, Lillian, and she picked
out photographs of both William Clark and James Weir and
said that she had been introduced to them by Janny.
Lillian also told the detectives that in May of nineteen
thirty five, Robert Jenny confessed to her that he had
gotten mixed up on a job in Chevy Chase with
(17:17):
a woman and three other men and they had to
shoot their way out. Lillian also said that one morning
in January of nineteen thirty five, around the time of
the murders, Jenny came home with his pants soaking wet
up to the knees. He sat around all day acting
really nervous and jumped when an insurance salesman knocked on
the door. Volton and Rogers had Lilian meet with Janny
(17:40):
in prison, and they gave her a preplanned story that
a man had been arrested for the Carborn case and
he had talked to the police. Robert Jenny flipped a
nutty turned sheet white and asked if it was James Moody.
There was no police file under that name, and I
believe that James Moody was actually the male confidential informant
(18:00):
James Weir. Robert Janny's World War two draft card indicated
that he was still in prison in March of nineteen
forty two and elisted his daughter Josephine as his personal contact.
In nineteen forty three, Janny was out of prison and
he was working as a deck engineer on the S
S William Paca bound from New Orleans to Surinam, South America.
(18:24):
He continued that work into the nineteen fifties on the
S S Anniston City, going back and forth from New
York to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Was that the only
work he could get, or was Janny purposefully staying away
from the d C area. I don't know, and I
don't have any further information. Robert Jenny's rap sheet was
(18:47):
long stolen cars, narcotics, trafficking, human trafficking, aggravated battery, reckless driving,
d u Y, armed robbery, and escape. I can safely
say that Robert Jenny was a dangerous multiple felon with
very little to lose. Robert Jenny was the load star
between the suspects he knew, William Clark, James Weir, and
(19:11):
Walter Oliver. Lillian said that he came home one morning
in January of ninety five with wet pants. Emery Smith
had been dragged into Rock Creek by two men. One
was likely William Clark, the other Robert Jenny. That also
tells me that Walter Oliver might have been the getaway driver,
since Oliver said that they killed the men in the
(19:33):
creek because he recognized one of us. He did William Clark.
Jenny told Lillian that they had to shoot their way out,
which would mean James Mitchell inside the ticket office, and
Jenny also said that he got some one hundred dollars
out of it. Jenny also said that the Chevy Chase
murders involved a woman and three other men. The female informant,
(19:56):
who I believe was Niva Berardinelli, said that there was
a plan meeting at Green's beauty salon and that Jonas
Willard Green, William Clark, Duffy, the mechanic, a man named White,
and a woman named Emmanuel were present. That would be
a woman and three other men if Janny was one
of the men at the meeting. Jenny's information about the
(20:18):
gender and number of people involved at that beauty salon
meeting was spot on with the female informants information, Lillian
Janny cooperated with Boulton and Rogers by visiting with Jenny
in prison. Lillian also received letters from Jenny asking her
who was after her, why she wouldn't tell Janny what
she had told the detectives, and she wrote a hurried
(20:39):
letter to Bolton saying that Janny was going to write
to the place where she worked, and if he did,
you know what that means. Lillian was clearly frightened of somebody,
and Lillian Janny disappeared in nineteen thirty six. To sum
it all up, this is the laundry list for Robert
Jenny as the second accomplice. Number one. Jenny had a
(21:04):
history of stealing cars, and I believe the green Buick
that was stolen from fifteenth and Irving Street was used
in the crime. Number two. He had access to a
thirty two caliber semi automatic, since one was found in
his room in nineteen thirty The disposition of that gun
is unknown. Number three he wasn't working on the night
(21:24):
of the murders. Number four. He came home with wet
pants and acted really nervous all day around the time
of the car Barn murders Number five. In May of nineteen,
he confessed to being involved in the Chevy Chase job
to Lillian and said he got one hundred dollars out
of it. Coincidentally, that confession was during the same time
(21:47):
that William Clarke tried to kill Mary Branch and that
story hit the papers. Number six, he told Lillian that
they had to shoot their way out. Number seven he
said the I'm involved a woman and three other men,
information that aligned with Volton's female informant. Number eight Jenny
(22:08):
had a violent history and a rap sheet that was
pages long. His mother was dead and his daughter had
been placed into an orphanage. Robert Jenny had nothing to lose.
And number nine, Robert Jenny was in prison with William Clark,
which would have given both of them the opportunity to
(22:28):
collude and make sure that anyone on the outside kept
their mouths shut, including Lillian and Mary Branch. I think
the evidence against Robert Jenny speaks for itself, but again
I will leave that decision up to you. And finally
we come to Francis Gregory. I gave you the verbatim
(22:48):
statement from Gregory's interview in episode eleven. In that interview,
he talks about times running trolleys to the main office barn,
another motorman taking office. Galosha is lying down on the
bench in the trainman's room, and it ends with Gregory
saying that he believed William Clark was in on the
Carborn job. I took Francis Gregory's own words, and I
(23:11):
pitied them against what several other witnesses said. The times
involved his actions, the evidence described from the scene, and
what we now know about his friendship with William Clark
and Mary Branch. In addition, I also found out during
my investigation that the key found in my uncle Emory's
pocket didn't go to the front door of the ticket office,
(23:33):
meaning that Francis Gregory was the only person present who
could have possibly unlocked that door. Focusing on the night
of the murders, let me start with Francis Gregory's clothes
the biggest clue, and break down the various statements by
both Francis Gregory and the other witnesses. John Stout remember him.
(23:56):
He was the evening accounting clerk. He made the following
state meant at about three o'clock, I left the room
where Mitchell and I had been attending to the business
of the company, went in through the back conductor's room
out to the porch where I got another bag for
the money. On my way back through the conductor's room,
I stopped to speak to Emery Smith. I saw a
(24:18):
man one of the employees, laying on two benches which
were put together to make a bed like place to
lay down on. I asked Smith who he was, and
he said he thought it was a man named Gregory.
The man had all of his clothes on, including his shoes.
I feel positive that this man did have his shoes
on at the time. I'm willing to take an oath
to the fact that he did have his shoes on
(24:38):
when I saw him lying on this bench at about
three o'clock that morning. Gregory also had an overcoat pulled
over him. Parker Hannah, the conductor who arrived first at
the ticket office, said this. After Jones and Abersold came
back from the firehouse, the three of us went into
the trainman's room in the back part of the ticket office,
where another employee was lying on a wood bench. This
(25:01):
man was named Gregory. He had his shoes and coat off,
and I'm positive he was asleep. When Jones told him
that Mitchell had been murdered, Gregory jumped up and ran
outside in his stocking feet in the snow. Jones ran
after him and caught him about fifty or seventy five
ft away. He was then brought back into the ticket office.
The door leading to the trainman's room was unlocked. The
(25:23):
door leading to the locker room, which adjoins the trainman's room,
the door leading from the trainman's room to the back porch,
the windows to the locker room on the north side
of the building were all unlocked. Gregory's coat was on
the table in the middle of the trainman's room. There
were fresh mud tracks on the window sill inside the
locker room. The outside screen of these windows were freshly broken,
(25:44):
and there were one man's tracks fresh in the snow
outside this window. Gregory had black low shoes. Lynwood Jones,
the second man on the scene, said this. We returned
to the barn and Abersol went through to the back
office and found the back door was unlocked, and I
saw Gregory asleep on the bench. I had to shake
(26:05):
him pretty hard to wake him up, and I told
him that mister Mitchell had been murdered, and he didn't
believe me, and he became very nervous, and he put
on his coat and went out. And later on Gregory
said it was strange that he had not heard a
shooting and wondered why they didn't see him. At this time,
Gregory had his coat off, his shirt out of his trousers,
and I believe his shoes off, and we have Francis
(26:28):
Gregory's own words. At this time, mister Mitchell and Stout
were in the cage, and I went into the trainman's
room and took a leak, and I took my coat
and laid it on the bench and laid down. This
was about one forty a m. And I heard the
crew that's due in at one fifty four. They usually
get in a little ahead of time because they don't
have so many to haul at that hour. They were
(26:49):
in about ten minutes. And when they started out, the
motorman Batton is his name, and the conductor's name is
John's Blonde. Batton told me I'd better pull off my
overshoes because in the morning my feet wouldn't be worth
a damn. And he asked me if I wanted him
to pull them off for me, so he pulled them
off before he left the room. I went to sleep,
and sometime during the night I woke up. I was
(27:10):
hot because Mr Smith had fixed the fire. And at
this time I opened two windows on the Columbia Country
club side. I think these windows have screens on the outside.
I'll tell you. When I think about this murder, I
think that they forced Mr Smith to get Mitchell to
open the door. But of course that don't sound right either,
because it looked like that Mr Mitchell was shot while
(27:31):
he was sitting in his chair. I've come out from
the trainman's room early in the morning and found Mr
Mitchell asleep in his chair. In fact, I thought he
was asleep. Okay, I won't make you figure it all out,
so here's a breakdown of those statements. Francis Gregory said
that he put the coat down on the bench to
go to sleep at one forty. He woke up when
(27:54):
the next trolley crew came in at one Batton pulled
off his galoshes around two o'clock, leaving his low cut
black shoes still on his feet. He said that at
some point Emory Smith fixed the fire. He got hot
as a result and opened two windows on the south
side of the office. At three o'clock in the morning,
(28:16):
John Stout met with Emory Smith in the trainman's room
and they saw Francis Gregory on the bench. John Stout
would take an oath that Gregory had his shoes on
and that his coat was pulled over him like a blanket.
John Stout also said that Emory Smith had knocked on
the front door for James Mitchell to let him into
the office between two o'clock and two thirty. Parker Hannah
(28:40):
said that at five fifteen, Gregory's coat was on the
table in the middle of the room, his shoes were off,
and he ran out into the snow in his socks.
Lynwood Jones said that he had to shake Gregory to
wake him up, and Gregory became nervous, put on his
coat and went out. After Jones told him about Mitchell,
he said he believed Gregory's shoes were off, his coat
(29:03):
was off, and his shirt was untucked from his pants.
Here's a crucial fact. On January one, NT at three
o'clock in the morning, it was twenty four degrees fahrenheit outside.
That's according to official historical weather data from the National
(29:24):
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration based on aerial photographs of the
ticket office. The fireplace was located on the south wall
of the building, inside the trainman's room, right near the
area where Francis Gregory had set up that bench to
go to sleep. Gregory said that my uncle Emory had
fixed the fire at some point, and he got hot,
(29:46):
so we opened two windows in twenty four degree weather.
John Stout said that Gregory had his overcoat pulled over
him like a blanket at three o'clock. Why open two
windows to allow that frigid air into the building instead
of just taking your overcoat off your body or moving
(30:06):
the bench further away from the fireplace. Francis Gregory's coat
was on the table at five fifteen, according to Parker Hannah.
He was also in his socks by that time and
his shirt was untucked. According to Lynwood Jones, Voulton and
Rogers also interviewed three other transit workers from Chevy Chase Lake,
(30:26):
and all three of them said that Francis Gregory was
a light sleeper, But Lynwood Jones said he had to
shake Gregory pretty hard to wake him up. Now here's
another issue. My great aunt Edith, Emery's widow, was questioned
by the detectives to see if she could offer any help.
Aunt Edith inadvertently gave them some information that also discredits
(30:51):
Francis gregory story. This is what she said now, in
reference to his methods of working, he told me that
after he would finish his work, he would get into
a car and take a nap, and he would always
try to finish before the lights went off. Mister Smith
told me he didn't have to take care of the
furnace anymore, and he even remarked about the fire being out.
(31:11):
Some mornings, his car was locked and as lunch was
inside of the car and he never touched it. His
flashlight has not been found, and the key used to
punch the TimeClock card is still missing. First, the power
station would shut off at two o'clock in the morning,
and that included the lights at the car barn. Emery
(31:33):
Smith's flashlight was missing. According to Parker Hannah, three or
four of the trolley cars lights were on, but none
of them had been pulled out of the barn into
the circle out front. Emory Smith no longer had to
take care of the furnace, and the fire was out
on some mornings. Aunt Edith also said that Emory tried
(31:53):
to get his work done before two o'clock and he
would take a nap in one of the trolley cars.
James Mitchell led him into the office via the front
door between two o'clock and two thirty. According to John Stout,
Emery Smith was with John Stout in the trainman's room
at three o'clock. Stout made no mention about my great
(32:14):
uncle fixing the fire, but he did say that the
locker room door was kept shut to keep the cold
air out. Uncle Emery punched his TimeClock card at four three.
He was at the barn when he did that. The
shooting happened between four thirty and four thirty five, according
to Charles Smallwood and Earnest Carter, the two witnesses, Francis
(32:37):
Gregory laid down to sleep at a round two o'clock
after the last trolley crew left the office. He was
in the trainman's room when Emery Smith was in the
office after Mitchell let him in. Gregory either didn't hear
or didn't acknowledge John Stout and Emory Smith at three o'clock.
(32:58):
There's no mention about what time Emory Smith supposedly fixed
the fire, but Gregory was in that room on the bench,
but he made no mention of Emory Smith being in
there with him at any point. Emory Smith left the
office at around three o'clock and Mitchell locked that front
door behind him. Emery went to the barn to ready
(33:19):
the trolleys, punched his TimeClock card and, according to Aunt Edith,
take a quick nap, as was his habit when his
work was done. Now, by that time the lights in
the barn were off via the power station, so we
probably had his flashlight with him and he switched on
the trolley car headlights to provide more light in the barn.
(33:40):
His flashlight was still missing by January when Aunt Edith
was interviewed. So when exactly did Emory Smith fix the fire?
Francis Gregory asserted that he was so hot that he
had to open two windows in twenty four degree weather.
He laid down on that bench to sleep, with his
coat on the bench underneath his body. At one forty
(34:04):
he got cold, not hot, and he used his coat
as a blanket by three o'clock. Gregory's shoes were on
his feet at three o'clock, but they were off by
five fifteen. The window on the north side was unlocked,
with muddy shoeprints on the window sill and one man's
tracks outside in the snow. The detectives also found handprints
(34:27):
on a rock near the miniature golf course, showing that
someone had stopped and sat down during his interview, Francis
Gregory said that he and the officer found footprints on
the wall beside the office that morning. Now, unraveling Francis
Gregory's motives and actions was pretty baffling, and it took
(34:48):
me a long time to untangle. In my estimation, Francis
Gregory was complicit before the fact, but not by his
own design. William Clark told Francis Gregory to make sure
that the front door was unlocked that night. Francis Gregory
(35:08):
didn't have any idea about the robbery plan, but he
did that as a favor for his friend. Francis Gregory
was young, naive, and gullible. He was an easy mark
for a master manipulator like William Clark. I believe that
William Clark conned Francis Gregory by telling him that he
(35:29):
got his job back and he would be in early
Monday morning to collect his equipment, just like Clark told
several others during his two trips to the office on Saturday.
James Mitchell wouldn't open that front door for anyone but
my uncle Emory and the conductors listed on the board.
James Mitchell knew their voices. William Clark told Gregory to
(35:52):
leave the front door unlocked because Clark knew that Mitchell
wouldn't unlock it for him. Francis Gregory bought William Lark's
explanation about returning to work on Monday morning, and Gregory
unbolted the front door without any foreknowledge of what was
to come next. Francis Gregory probably was asleep on the
(36:13):
bench by four thirty, but he woke up when he
heard the voices and four gunshots in the next room.
That explains why Gregory said he wondered why he didn't
hear a shooting and why they didn't see him. First
of all, who's they? That implies more than one suspect,
and how did he know there was a shooting? If
(36:34):
he slept through the whole thing From his position on
that bench, he could hear the two employees entered the
office at one four after he laid down at one
forty to go to sleep. So there's no doubt in
my mind that he heard the gunshots, the chaos and
multiple voices in that money cage during the robbery and
(36:55):
murder of James Mitchell. Why didn't William Clark, Robert Jenny
and Walter Oliver see Francis Gregory, because Gregory panicked and
he ran out of the back door, leaving it unlocked.
And Gregory was the one who waited in the snow
on that rock, leaving his handprints behind until he heard
or saw Clark, Jenny, and Oliver leave. That's why Gregory
(37:20):
was the sole survivor. He ran and hid instead of
meeting his own demise inside that office, He re entered
through the north window, leaving his muddy shoeprints on the
wall and the window sill. The reason for his own
observation of seeing the footprints on the wall beside the office,
they were the scuff marks that he left behind he
(37:44):
took off his cold wet shoes, which was why he
ran outside in his socks when he was shaken awake
and informed of Mitchell's murder later that morning. Since Gregory
had left shoeprints in the snow out that back door
when he ran to hide shoe pray that would have
been found by the police, he ran out of that
same door in front of Parker, Hannah, Lynwood Jones, and
(38:07):
Robert Abersold to cover up the previous shoeprints he left behind,
which would have instantly negated his story about sleeping through
the murder. He was the only person left alive, and
he had to convince everyone that he slept through the crime.
His shirt was untucked from his pants, which likely happened
when he came back inside through that window. There's one
(38:31):
more thing. Parker Hannah reported that Gregory's car was not
parked outside. He rode in on the trolley. Francis Gregory
had no ride home. No trolleys were going to leave
the barn until five thirty. He was stuck alone in
the office with a dead man on the floor. He
(38:52):
had few options. He had nowhere to go. His only
alternative was to fake being asleep when Arker Hannah and
the others arrived. Do I believe that Francis Gregory knew
the whole plan? Absolutely not. Do I believe that he
knew and did a lot more than he admitted. Yeah.
(39:13):
I also believe that he was petrified of William Clark
as well he should have been, and he tried to
help the detectives by dropping William Clark's name as a suspect.
During his interview. He had to unload that part of
his conscience without implicating himself as an accessory before the fact,
unwitting or not, I don't believe that Francis Gregory would
(39:36):
have ever hurt anyone for any reason. His only fault
was trusting William Clark, a con artist who he thought
was a friend. Francis Gregory left the transit company and
he opened his own construction business, Effie Gregory and Sons
in ninety His business was awarded several million dollar contracts
(39:59):
through the distract over the next few decades for road
improvements and new pipelines. Francis Gregory died in just a
couple of weeks, shy of his seventy six birthday. He
was never reinterviewed. That brings me to the end of
this part of the Carborn Murder series. But I'll be
(40:21):
back with more information and a few surprises, So be
sure to stay tuned and head to the Shattered Soul's
Facebook page to get updates, links, behind the scenes information,
and to ask me any questions. This journey ain't over, folks,
and I'd like to give special thanks to everyone, especially
my wife, who have given me support and encouragement as
(40:45):
the case moved along, and for following my investigation every
step of the way and to the family members of
any of the people involved. You always have an open
invitation to do an interview and give your thoughts about
your relative or a future episode. You know where to
find me, Shattered Souls. The Carborn Murders is produced by
(41:06):
Karen Smith and Angel Hart Productions. M
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