May 17, 2022 • 36 mins
Karen delves into the police interviews of William Clarke and Mary Branch and finds marked discrepancies, an unnamed DC cop, as well as a direct link to another person of interest -- the only person left alive after the murders.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Only for the grace of God to make shore and
is somehow found by the Baltimore County Police. I would
say he's ruthless. It can become deadly. He's given certain circumstances.
He's got a family, he's got a girlfriend, he's got her.
There had to be a strong motivation. You pay me
(00:22):
up or else could be one of two things, total incompetence,
or there can be an element of corruption that will
not be disgusting. He absolutely became curious at the mention
of the Carborn Murphy. Welcome back to Shattered Souls the
car Barn Murders. I'm your host, Karen Smith. This is
(00:44):
episode nine. This podcast may contain graphic language and is
not suitable for children. Previously on the Carborn Murders. By
early nineteen seven, mc Emory County, Maryland State Attorney James
Pew and Capital Transit President John Hannah had lost faith
(01:06):
in the investigation and the detectives in charge. They attempted
to secure two well respected District of Columbia detectives to
take over the Carborn case, but their request was stonewalled
by DC Superintendent of Police Major Ernest Brown. Brown told
Pew and Hannah that he needed permission from DC Commissioner
(01:27):
Melvin Hazn prior to assigning his own investigators to the case.
Despite Commissioner Hazn's approval, Major Brown said that the two
requested detectives were too busy on a very secret and
very important case and couldn't investigate the Carborn murders. Using
information from d C jail inmate Horace Davis, detectives Volton
(01:51):
and Rogers went to Baltimore in January of nineteen thirty six,
a year after the murders, and met with Lillian Janny,
the wife of Violet Felon Robert Jenny. He was serving
eight years in the Maryland State Penitentiary for armed robbery.
Lillian told Volton and Rogers that Robert Jenny had bragged
(02:11):
to her about being involved in the Mary Baker murder case,
as well as another job in Chevy Chase where he
and several others had to shoot their way out and
he got a hundred dollars out of it. Lillian also
said that one morning in January of nineteen thirty five,
Jenny came home with wet pants and spent that whole
(02:32):
day sitting around staring at the walls. Bolton and Rogers
went to Jenny's place of employment and found the time
cards in his own writing that proved Jenny wasn't working.
On the night of the Carbarn murders, they drove Lillian
to the prison to meet with Jenny, using a strategy
to elicit information from him. It worked. Jenny turned pale
(02:55):
when my uncle's murder case was mentioned and he dropped
the name James move D. The I D Bureau had
nothing under that name. The detectives made arrangements with the
warden to intercept all of the mail coming into her
out of the prison from Robert Jenny, and of February six,
nineteen thirty six, correspondents to Lillian showed that Jenny was
(03:18):
desperately trying to get information about their conversation and why
the police were talking to his wife. From a photo array,
Lillian Janny made a connection between Robert Jenny and William Clark,
one of the initial suspects in my uncle's case. William
Clark waltzed into d C Police headquarters on the day
(03:39):
of the murders and inserted himself into the investigation. Lillian
Janny also identified another photo as being William Clark's friend
and alibi, James Weir. By January of nineteen thirty six,
William Clark was in the Maryland State Penitentiary with Robert Janny.
(04:00):
How did that happen? Fasten your seat belt. We're had
it up a very steep roller coaster and you've got
the front seat. Trust me, it's a long way to
the bottom. As I moved forward, this story tends to
get a bit complicated, so to start, here's some background.
William Franklin Clark was born on August twenty fourth, nineteen
(04:24):
o nine, in Saint Mary's County, Maryland, just minutes prior
to his twin brother, Joe. William Clark had two older sisters,
Deretha and Helen, and two younger brothers. His father was
a farmer, his mother was a homemaker. By the age
of seventeen, William Clark dropped out of school and married
(04:44):
Viola Ryder, who was four years his senior. By April
of nineteen thirty, they had three children, and his marriage
to Viola was rocky at best, and by the close
of nineteen thirty Clark had moved out and was living
with his girl friend Mary Branch. At fourteen, fifteen Gerard
(05:05):
Street in d C. Viola was unable to work and
raised three children by herself, so she moved in with
William Clark's parents. Child support payments and alimony were not forthcoming.
In nineteen thirty William Clark was charged with grand larceny,
(05:26):
but that case was dropped. Clark had been suspected in
a number of robberies around the district, but for one
reason or another, he was never charged. He was hired
onto the Capital Transit Company as a conductor in September
of nineteen thirty four, and he worked for about a
month at the Chevy Chase Lake Ticket office with James
(05:47):
Mitchell and Emory Smith, but his stint at Capital Transit
was cut short. On October fourteenth, nineteen thirty four, d
C detective Robert Barrett arrested William Clark al with his
friend James Weir, for an armed robbery. Clark spent some
time in jail, and it seemed like that jail time
was a pre detention hold for trial. There was no
(06:10):
further information about the disposition of that robbery case, but
by Christmas of Clark was out and living with Mary
Branch on Gerard Street. James Weir was back at his
place a block away on Harvard Street when William Clark
strolled into police headquarters in d C on the day
of the murders. He said he just happened to be
(06:30):
in the area and heard that the detectives wanted to
talk to him. William Clark was held in jail for
three days, but his interview took less than an hour,
which was impossible for me to reconcile. How did the
detective savvy the justification for such a long hold yet
conduct such a depthless interview. It didn't square nothing about
(06:55):
this case. Did. William Clark's girlfriend, Mary Match and his
buddy James Weir were also arrested. All three of them
were questioned about the Carborn case very superficially, and each
of them alibied the other, with no follow up investigation
relative to their claims about where they were that night.
(07:17):
There were no notes for James Weir's interview included in
the file that I received from Montgomery County. There was
just a vague reference to a missing report by Baltimore
Sergeant Stewart Deal, so I was left to work with
only the notes from William Clark and Mary Branch's interviews,
and I spent weeks pouring through these documents, disarticulating the
(07:38):
information and scrutinizing every single word, time well spent. In
the middle of my investigation into Clark, James Weir, and
Mary Branch, I came into a windfall of new case
materials from a source. I received a cardboard box in
the mail, and inside of it was a three in
(08:00):
stack of files that I had never seen before. Onion
skin papers with rusted paper clips holding the tattered edges,
more interviews, notes, letters, information from new witnesses, and completely
unfamiliar names. Included in these new files were the typed
(08:20):
reports by Baltimore Sergeant Stuart Deal, including the missing interview
with James Weir. There were also additional notes for William
Clark and Mary Branch with more detailed information about exactly
what they said during their interviews. I flipped the pages
to find James Weir's interview first, but the only information
(08:40):
about him was within these short sentences from the report
by Baltimore Sergeant Stewart Deal. James Weir fourteen eleven Harvard
Street arrested for investigation on January twenty, we are made
the same statement as Clark did in reference to his
whereabouts Sunday night and Monday morning. We questioned him in
ref prints to the murder and were unable to learn
(09:02):
anything at all from him. That's it. That's the whole
kitten caboodle on James Weir two sentences. Getting back to
William Clark and Mary Branch now that I had this
new paperwork, there were two different synopsis for each of
their interviews. The first were the handwritten notes from DC
(09:24):
Detective Frank Brass. The second was the type version of
those notes by Baltimore Sergeant Stewart Deal. I'm going to
start with William Clark's handwritten interview from Frank Brass, and
I'm going to read it verbatim so there's no misunderstanding
within the questions or answers. Interview of William F. Clark
a fourteen fifteen Girard Street. My full name is William
(09:49):
Franklin Clark. I'm twenty five years old and I live
at fourteen fifteen Girard Street. I live with Mrs Mary Branch,
the renter. It has two rooms, kitchen and bath. I've
in keeping company with Mrs Branch about five years. When
did you start working at Capital Transit September ninety How
long about a month? During your time there? What trick
(10:13):
were you on? Late straights? Any hours? Any time means
what hours work? From hours PM to one thirty six am?
Were you a conductor? Yes, you would be the one
who turns in money. Sure, yes, sir. Who did you
turn it into? Several men? A fellow named more Mr Mitchell,
(10:36):
Mr Gibbins. Did you ever work the five thirty am run? No, sir,
Sometimes I'd catch an early straight at seven am. Where
were you living then fourteen fifteen? Gerard? Did you have
a car back then? Yes, sir, Pontiac coach four? What
color was it? Black? What tags? DC? Tags? Do you
(10:58):
still own this car? I loaned it on the third
of this January to a friend as I didn't have
money to pay for tags. Who did you loan it too?
Mister Frank Sherman, fifty five oh one Arabia Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland.
Do you have anything to show that you did loan
this shereman? This car? Sure? I have three or four
(11:19):
witnesses and a man from General Motors, mister Bolton, whose
name was this car? Bought in my father John R.
Clark during your time at the car barn. Who were
the men you ran around with, Um, Hussburger and Standball.
Did you go to the race track with these fellows? Yes, sir.
Also Barnes. Do you know leadman? Yes, sir. Don't you
(11:42):
know a man named R. C. Childress? I can't say
I do. This man lives on twenty sixth Street, Northwest. No, sir,
When was the last time you were out to the
chevy Chase Carborn On Saturday? I went to mister Stevens
and talked to him. He referred me to mister Kelly,
attorney for the road for ad used to get my
job back. Then I went out to the Chevy Chase
(12:02):
barn to get my equipment together and talked to Mr
Gibbons in my father's car Afford sedan at a barn
man a little short, chunky fellow. I don't remember his name.
Where were you? Sunday? I slept late till twelve noon
and went to Mr James were fourteen eleven Harvard Street.
Jim asked me to wait. I waited after I left
(12:23):
and ate my dinner and went back about seven pm.
I told his sister I was going to a show?
What show? Gayety? Who was with you? James Weir, Mrs
Branch and myself? What time do you get out about eleven?
What time do you get home about? What time you
go to bed about twelve midnight? Did you go out
(12:46):
again that night? No, sir. Isn't it a fact that
you did go out again last night with two other fellows? No, sir,
I didn't leave the apartment until one fifteen today. Now
you've named several men out at the barn that you've
worked with than turn money in. Yes, sir. Do you
know a man named Gregory? Yes, sir, you failed to
(13:06):
name him? Yes, sir? How long have you known him
since I worked there? Did you ever talk to Mr Smith? No? Sir.
Isn't it a fact that Mr Smith, the so called
night watchman, is the same man that takes the cars
into the barn? I can't say. What was the name
of the motormen you worked the late shift with? Dyer?
(13:29):
Joe Dyer. Don't you usually wear dark clothes? No? Yeah,
except when I worked for the company, I wore their
uniform pants for a while. About December four, I saw
you standing in front of Milton Kronheim's Bond office, at
which time you wore a dark overcoat, a derby, a
dark suit. Your overcoat had a fur collar. No, I
(13:51):
gave it away when I was in jail. At this
time you were with James Weir. Yes, sir, he was
dressed in dark clothes. You say that you don't own
dark clothes. Yes, sir, I haven't worn it for about
a month. I took this suit on Saturday to Arkin's
Tailor's at eighth and f Street, Northwest. The suit still there,
three piece. When was the last time you saw were
(14:12):
in dark clothes? A few days ago? What Taylor does
he deal with? General Cleaning? Fourteen Street, about block northwest.
I got the clothes I now have on from the
cleaner Saturday afternoon at about seven. Who can verify that
James Weir and Mrs Branch James has a half interest
in the shingle shop thirteen seventeen f Street, Northwest, beauty parlor.
(14:36):
Which room did you sleep in last night? Back bedroom?
No use line about it. That is the entire handwritten
interview with William Clark, who was in custody for three
days for investigation. I'm estimating that interview took way less
than one hour. Baltimore Sergeant Stewart Deal's type written report
(14:57):
had a few more details here. It is William F. Clark,
aged fourteen fifteen, Gerard Street, Apartment twenty six. This man
was arrested and held for about three days for investigation
following is His statement states that he has been living
with Mary Branch at the above address for about five years,
and he went to work for the Capital Transit Company
(15:18):
September nineteen thirty four and worked for them for one
month when he was arrested on a robbery charge October fourteenth,
nineteen thirty four. Sometimes I would work a late straight
from five forty pm to one thirty six am as
a conductor. Yes, I would turn in at the cash window.
I've turned into Mr Moore, Mitchell and Gibbons who's the
day man? And at that time I was living at
(15:40):
the same address and had a nineteen thirty four Pontiac
Coach DC tags. I loaned this car out January third,
nineteen thirty five to Frank Sherman, one Arabia Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland.
I bought this car through the General Motors Finance Company, Washington,
d C. And I have witnesses that I've loaned the
car to Worman. I know Leadman because he broke me in,
(16:03):
but I can't say that I know Children's Friday, I
was over to see Mr Stevens and talked about getting
a job, and he referred me to Mr Kelly for
legal advice. And Saturday evening I went out to the
Chevy Chase carbarn and talked to Mr Gibbons and the
barn man. I don't know his name. Sunday, January twenty,
I slept pretty late until about noon. I got up
(16:23):
and went over to James Weir's home at fourteen eleven
Harvard Street, apartment number one, and went back home again.
At about seven pm, I went over to Weir's house
again and James, Mrs Branch and I went to the
Gayety Theater. She bought a ticket for me and he
bought his own ticket. We got home about eleven thirty
pm and ate some chicken and went to bed about
twelve midnight. No, I didn't go out anymore that night.
(16:47):
We asked him quite a few questions at this point,
and he finally said that he didn't leave the house
until about one fifteen pm. The next day, he denied
that he was out in a car with anyone that morning.
We're inclined to believe that Ark knows something about this job,
but so far we've been unable to get anything to
link him up. Clark could have been the fingerman on
(17:07):
this job. Statement continued, Yes, I know Gregory. I've known
him ever since I worked for the car company. I
don't think I knew Mr Smith. Joe Dyer is the
man I always worked late streets with. I haven't worn
dark clothes since I left the car company. I have
a blue suit, but it's too small for me. Didn't
I see you on December fifteenth wearing a dark suit
(17:29):
and overcoat. Yeah, I saw you two on that date,
but I didn't have on dark clothes. But James Weir
wears dark clothes. No, I haven't had any dark clothes
to wear. I've been wearing light clothes for some time.
I have my clothes cleaned at the General Cleaning Company
block of fourteen Street. We asked him if he was
sleeping with Mary Branch and his answer was, well, I
(17:51):
don't have to tell you. Just use your own mind.
I won't say yes or no. James Weir works at
the shingle shop thirteen seventeen, f Street, Nor West. He
has a half interest in that business. That woman gave
it to him. I don't know why, but she gave
it to him. Sergeant Deal's notes make it crystal clear
that the cops believed that William Clark could have been
(18:14):
the primary suspect on my uncle Emory's and James Mitchell's murders,
but they said they were unable to get anything to
link him up. From my perspective as a detective, they
didn't try very hard. In fact, they didn't try at all.
This was mind blowing information, and my job at that
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point became figuring out why the investigators not only suspected
William Clark, but why they held him for three days,
and why nothing was ever done to put his ass
behind bars. William Clark's girlfriend, Mary Branch, had a lot
more to say during her interview, and she poked some
pretty big holes in his alibi. Let me rephrase that
(18:57):
her statement obliterated his alibi. These are the verbatim handwritten
notes by d C Detective Frank Brass interview with Mary Branch,
January twenty second, nineteen thirty five. My name is Mary Branch.
Does mister Clark live with you. He did till about
two weeks ago when he moved his clothes. Saturday night,
(19:20):
he came out to fourteen fifteen Gerard Street about seven
p m. He brought a suit. He had a suit
cleaned and brought it here. A gray suit he had on,
and a light suit that's hanging in the closet. What
other colored suits has he His uniform he sold, and
a dark blue suit, but he sold it because it
was too small for him. What kind of overcoat? Does
(19:43):
he have a light gray topcoat and a heavy gray coat.
Does he not at this time have a dark suit
or overcoat? No, sir, I've never seen him in a
dark suit or overcoat. What time did he leave on Sunday? Home?
Practically all day? Got up about twelve noon and went
to James Weir on Harvard Street. Came back in about
(20:05):
half an hour and said a man was coming over
for dinner and wanted to know if I had enough
to eat. So he brought a man. Yes, blonde hair.
You've seen him on other occasions. Yes. He and Clark
sat there talking and the officer wanted a girlfriend to
play cards. Clark left to get a cigar after the
officer left. This was about eight thirty PM. About twenty
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minutes later he went to James Weirs and came back
and said that James wanted to go to the Gaiety
theater and asked me to go. We went in a
taxi to the theater. We got out about eleven thirty
and came home and James went home. We came in
my apartment and Clark played with the cat for about
an hour. We ate chicken and then went to bed.
Clark in the bedroom and I on the davenport. This
(20:50):
was about one thirty am. I saw him next about
seven thirty AM when I called him and he caught
up after breakfast. I gave him a dollar to get
a car pass. The supposed officer had on what kind
of clothes, a gray hat, blue suit, and I don't
know what kind of overcoat. Before I go any further,
there's a really important detail that I need to add here.
(21:14):
When I received the case file, it included copies of
these interviews, which were handwritten on line notebook paper. At
the bottom of Mary Branch's interview on the first page,
there was a deliberate accordion fold in the paper. This
wasn't just a crumpled corner or something that would be
expected from a really old file. This was deliberate, and
(21:35):
it obscured two questions and answers given by Mary Branch.
To make sure. I sent photos to a forensic document examiner,
and she confirmed that the copy I received had been
folded over on itself like an accordion. I have no
idea how or when this happened, but I had to
jump through a few hoops to get another copy sent
to me without that fold. And when I received that email,
(21:58):
it confirmed that you're jectory of my investigation, and it
revealed something extraordinary. Here's how it reads with the fold
in place. Question? So he brought a man. Answer, Yes,
blonde hair, innocuous enough. But here's how it reads without
(22:18):
that accordion fold. So he brought a man. Yes, sir,
he was an officer. His name was Creek or Greek,
and I believe he lives off Good Hope Road. How
about his age? About twenty nine or thirty? Tall? You say, yes,
blonde hair, an officer named Creek or Greek? What the
(22:42):
hell does that mean? Was that the reason why that
particular piece of Mary Branch's handwritten interview was hidden and
within the new paperwork, I received the type written report
by Sergeant Stewart deal revealed even more information. This was
exactly how it read. Mary Branch, aged thirty three, arrested
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January twenty second, fourteen fifteen, Gerard Street. Clark did live
with me, but he moved his clothes about two weeks ago.
And Saturday, about seven p m. Clark came to my
apartment and went to the market with me, and he
stopped at the cleaner's and got his suit. Yes, Clark
has a blue suit, but it's too small for him.
He has a light gray topcoat and an overcoat. I've
(23:24):
never seen him with a dark, heavy overcoat. The blue
uniform suit he has was sold to a carman, but
I just can't remember his name. Clark was at my
apartment all day on Sunday, January twenty and he slept
in my bedroom. He brought a man there for dinner.
He's a police officer. His name sounds something like Creek,
and he told me he lives on Good Hope Road.
(23:45):
I saw him in uniform on Thirteenth Street Southeast. He's
about twenty nine years old, tall and slender, has blonde hair.
He left about seven p m. And thanked me for
the meal. So about eight thirty p m. Clark went
out and got a cigar and got James Weir and
we went to the Gayety Theater, which let out about
eleven pm. We got a cab and went straight home,
and I played with the cat for about an hour,
(24:07):
and we went to bed. I called Clark Monday morning
and asked him if he wanted some breakfast, and he
said no. Then I went to work. I paid his
way to the Gaiety and for the taxi. I've loaned
him money and helped to pay on that car, and
I've even helped to feed him. Of course, he's been
good to me. He's been in trouble for failing to
pay alimony. The officer that was at my house on
(24:28):
Sunday wore a blue suit, gray hat, but I can't
remember the kind of Overcody war. At the bottom of
Mary Branch's type written interview, there was a notation Benny Johnson,
four hundred block Newton Street is Clark's cousin. A police
officer came to Mary Branch's apartment on the night before
(24:51):
the murders. She confirmed it in Deal's notes. Who was
this officer named Creek or Greek at thirteen Street, Southea East.
Did anyone bother two? I d this officer? Why was
he at clark in Branch's apartment the night before the
Carbarn murders just to have dinner? Why would William Clark
bring a police officer home for dinner? He'd been arrested
(25:12):
for an armed robbery just a couple of months prior.
What the hell was this all about? Bookmark that thought,
that's a wormhole. We can't go down just quite yet.
Let me break down these statements just a little further
and put everything into a timeline so that you have
the big picture. This does get a little sticky, and
there are lots of details to take in, but I'm
(25:34):
going to break it all up into bite size pieces
as best I can. Saturday, January nineteenth, two days before
the murders. That afternoon, William Clark went to the Chevy
Chase Lake Ticket office to get his change carrier from
Mr Gibbons. The daytime clerk Clark mentioned that he had
(25:54):
an appointment on Monday, January twenty one with Mr Stevens,
the Superintendent of Transportation, to try to get his job back.
I have a few investigative notes. First, Clark's comment about
his change carrier, I don't think it was his change carrier.
I believe it was the property of the Capital Transit Company.
And here's why. My grandfather worked for Capital Transit for
(26:18):
forty years, and he did an interview in nineteen ninety
for a retrospective book titled Bethesda, a Social History by
William Moffatt. During my grandfather's interview, he talked a little
bit about the Carborn case, but his focus was on
his time at Capital Transit and how the trolley system
operated back in the thirties and forties when he was
(26:39):
a conductor. My grandfather said that the only item he
kept from Capital Transit was his ticket punch, and he
had to buy that with his own money. Everything else
my grandfather used was the property of the company. So
William Clark's statement about the change carrier doesn't hold water
with me, and I seriously doubt that William Clark would
have spent his own money on one when the company
(27:01):
provided everything a conductor would need, including a change carrier. Second,
William Clark went back to the Chevy Chase late ticket
office again on Saturday night. Yeah, he went there twice
that day. A man named Butler reported that he wondered
why Clark didn't get his change carrier during the day,
and one of the other conductors asked him why he
(27:22):
didn't get it during his earlier visit. Clark said that
Mr Gibbons didn't know where it was. Why would William
Clark make two trips across town for something as innocuous
as a change carrier two days before a robbery and
double murder. Third, if William Clark had an appointment on Monday,
January one with Mr Stevens to get his job back,
(27:45):
why didn't he keep his appointment instead of going to
police headquarters to front run street talk. He was desperate
enough to pay two visits to Chevy Chase on Saturday
to get a change carrier, so why not keep his
appointment with Mr Stevens on Monday to get his job back.
During his half past interview, William Clark admitted to knowing
(28:06):
James Mitchell, but he denied knowing my uncle Emory. When
Clark went to the chevy Chase office on Saturday, he
said he spoke with quote a barnman, a little short,
chunky fellow. I don't remember his name sound familiar. The
only short Chunky barn Man at chevy Chase Lake was
(28:27):
my uncle Emory. William Clark denied knowing my uncle, but
that statement tells me that he did. There were enormous
discrepancies between the statements and timeline given by Mary Branch
and William Clark, and those inconsistencies became my focus for weeks.
William Clark said that he got up around noon on Sunday.
(28:47):
He went to James Weir's house and waited. He went
back to Weirs at seven pm and told James Weir's
sister that he was going to a show at the
Gaiety Theater. He went to the Gaiety with Branch and
Weir and got out at eleven, got home at eleven
thirty and went to bed at midnight. He said he
didn't leave the apartment until one fifteen on Monday afternoon.
(29:08):
Mary Branch said they got up at noon on Sunday.
That's where the similarities stop. She said that Clark went
to James Weir's place and came back telling Mary that
an officer was coming over for dinner and wanted to
make sure there was enough to eat. The police officer
wanted a girlfriend to play cards. This was about eight
thirty p m. Twenty minutes later, Clark went to James
(29:30):
Weir's house and said that James wanted to go to
the Gaiety Theater. They took a taxi to the theater,
which Mary paid for along with William Clark's ticket. They
got out at eleven thirty and went home, and James
Weir went back to his apartment. She said that Clark
played with the cat for about an hour. They ate
chicken and went to bed about one thirty in the morning.
Clark slept in the bedroom and Mary slept on the davenport.
(29:52):
She next saw him around seven thirty when she called
him and he got up and she gave him a
dollar to get a car pass. Now there's a lot
to break down, trust me, but it's not that complex
once you understand some basic facts. Let's start with the
first part of their alibi, the Gaiety Theater. It was
located at five thirteen ninth Street, Northwest. The Gaiety was
(30:15):
a burlesque house, and according to newspaper ads from Sunday January,
the matinee show featured the Dashing Debs and Joan Collette,
but there's no mention of an evening show. It was
a Sunday, and there may not have been a nighttime show,
but let's give them the benefit of the doubt and
(30:35):
say there was a show that night. The shows ran
from eight thirty to eleven. The theater was located about
a fifteen minute drive from Clark and Mary Branch's apartment
on Gerard Street, at a ten to fifteen minute wait
for the taxi and a slow drive through the mush
of traffic in the snow that night, and they would
have arrived no earlier than nine thirty. According to Mary
(30:57):
Branch's alleged timeline of Clark returning from Weir's house at
eight fifty. There's a one and a half to two
hour discrepancy between their statements about what time they left,
a one and a half hour discrepancy about what time
they went to bed. There's no mention from Clark about
dinner with a police officer, a taxi ride to the show,
playing with the cat when he got home, or the
(31:19):
car pass given to him by Mary. Most importantly, Clark
said he slept in the bedroom. Mary said he slept
in the bedroom, and she slept on the Davenport. That's
a sofa. The apartment had two rooms and they slept
apart that night, so Mary Branch couldn't give Clark an
(31:39):
alibi passed one thirty in the morning because she wasn't
even in the same room. James Weir went home after
the show, so he couldn't aliby either one of them.
To put a cap on this, I'm going to air
out the failures of the detectives on some of the
follow up questions and just simple gumshoe detective work that
should have been done. Where were the ticket stubs from
(32:02):
the theater? How much were they Where did they sit?
Who was on stage? Did they get drinks? What did
they have? Who was the cab driver? What taxi company
was it? Does he remember that run from Gerard Street
to the theater? Could he describe the passengers? Is there
any record of that trip? How much did the taxi cost?
(32:22):
Who saw them at the theater? Did the usher or
ticket window clerks see them that night? What were they wearing?
How crowded was the theater? What cabby took them back home?
Is there any record of that trip? You don't have
to be a season detective to see the problems here.
These are logical follow up questions that any investigator would
have asked. Alibi defenses are used all the time. Is
(32:45):
it really enough to say I wasn't there, I was
here without anyone trying to disprove it? In this case?
For these three, apparently it was. The notes in Sergeant
Stewart Deal's report said that they thought William Clark could
have been involved in this case. It actually said he
could have been the fingerman for this case, meeting the gunman,
(33:07):
but they couldn't get anything to link him up. Why
was that those simple questions and follow ups could have
either substantiated their trip to the Gaiety theater or blown
that story apart. That still wouldn't account for the hours
between one thirty and seven thirty in the morning, since
Clark and Mary Branch slept separately, and Clark said he
(33:28):
didn't leave the apartment until one fifteen on Monday afternoon,
how convenient. A little more digging into their alibi of
one another could have shown that Branch couldn't ALIPI Clark
and were couldn't alibi either one of them. But there
were no follow up questions, no repudiation of their claims.
No confirmation of their attendance at the Gaiety Theater. Why
(33:52):
were the leads on these three people dropped quicker than
a flaming turd? In the years since the murders, Him Clark,
Mary Branch and James Weir were never formally re interviewed.
The investigators had gone all the way to Philadelphia to
chase down Tony the Stinger, co Gino and Bill Cleary.
(34:13):
They grilled Arthur Waugh and Harry Simon and followed up
on Simon's alibi at the Baltimore rooming House. They found
out about Walter Oliver and his admission through Horace Davis,
and they went all the way to Seat Pleasant to
follow up on the nineteen thirty three robbery of the Bootlegger.
Just to verify that Horace Davis wasn't crazy, They did
(34:33):
an eleven day stakeout on Lawrence Pettit and George Bruffey
and their plans to knock off the main office barn
in Georgetown. They intercepted mail from Robert Jenny and linked
Janny directly to William Clark and James Weir through Lillian
and Nobody thought to just bring them back in for
a subsequent statement and crush their alibi defense. What the
(34:54):
hell made these three so special? What made their story
so easily believed? And not worth you have that kind
of follow up? Come on and guess what. The roller
coaster r on hasn't even crusted the first hill yet.
I warned you it's a long drop to the bottom.
In December of nine, about a month before the murders,
(35:17):
William Clark was out of jail from the robbery accusation
and back on Gerard Street with Mary Branch. Around Christmas,
William Clark, Mary Branch, and James Weir took a trip
across town. It wasn't for a holiday party. William Clark
wanted to sell his Capital Transit Company uniform, the same
(35:37):
guy who said he wanted his job back right before
the murders. The three of them went out Rhode Island
Avenue all the way to Edgewood. Clark picked up a
good friend of his from the Jesse Theater at around
ten o'clock at night and took him to his house
on ev Art Street. His friend went inside and gave
Clark the cash for his uniform. Who was this mystery
(35:58):
friend who bought William Clark's Capital transit uniform. It's a
name you've heard several times before, and a man whose
motives I've questioned from the very beginning. A man who
said he slept through the entire murder, Francis Gregory. If
you have information about the car Barn murders, go to
(36:20):
the Shattered Souls Facebook page and leave me a message.
Opening music by Sam Johnson at Sam Johnson live dot com.
Shattered Souls is produced by Karen Smith and Angel Heart
Productions
Only for the grace of God to make shore and
is somehow found by the Baltimore County Police. I would
say he's ruthless. It can become deadly. He's given certain circumstances.
He's got a family, he's got a girlfriend, he's got her.
There had to be a strong motivation. You pay me
(00:22):
up or else could be one of two things, total incompetence,
or there can be an element of corruption that will
not be disgusting. He absolutely became curious at the mention
of the Carborn Murphy. Welcome back to Shattered Souls the
car Barn Murders. I'm your host, Karen Smith. This is
(00:44):
episode nine. This podcast may contain graphic language and is
not suitable for children. Previously on the Carborn Murders. By
early nineteen seven, mc Emory County, Maryland State Attorney James
Pew and Capital Transit President John Hannah had lost faith
(01:06):
in the investigation and the detectives in charge. They attempted
to secure two well respected District of Columbia detectives to
take over the Carborn case, but their request was stonewalled
by DC Superintendent of Police Major Ernest Brown. Brown told
Pew and Hannah that he needed permission from DC Commissioner
(01:27):
Melvin Hazn prior to assigning his own investigators to the case.
Despite Commissioner Hazn's approval, Major Brown said that the two
requested detectives were too busy on a very secret and
very important case and couldn't investigate the Carborn murders. Using
information from d C jail inmate Horace Davis, detectives Volton
(01:51):
and Rogers went to Baltimore in January of nineteen thirty six,
a year after the murders, and met with Lillian Janny,
the wife of Violet Felon Robert Jenny. He was serving
eight years in the Maryland State Penitentiary for armed robbery.
Lillian told Volton and Rogers that Robert Jenny had bragged
(02:11):
to her about being involved in the Mary Baker murder case,
as well as another job in Chevy Chase where he
and several others had to shoot their way out and
he got a hundred dollars out of it. Lillian also
said that one morning in January of nineteen thirty five,
Jenny came home with wet pants and spent that whole
(02:32):
day sitting around staring at the walls. Bolton and Rogers
went to Jenny's place of employment and found the time
cards in his own writing that proved Jenny wasn't working.
On the night of the Carbarn murders, they drove Lillian
to the prison to meet with Jenny, using a strategy
to elicit information from him. It worked. Jenny turned pale
(02:55):
when my uncle's murder case was mentioned and he dropped
the name James move D. The I D Bureau had
nothing under that name. The detectives made arrangements with the
warden to intercept all of the mail coming into her
out of the prison from Robert Jenny, and of February six,
nineteen thirty six, correspondents to Lillian showed that Jenny was
(03:18):
desperately trying to get information about their conversation and why
the police were talking to his wife. From a photo array,
Lillian Janny made a connection between Robert Jenny and William Clark,
one of the initial suspects in my uncle's case. William
Clark waltzed into d C Police headquarters on the day
(03:39):
of the murders and inserted himself into the investigation. Lillian
Janny also identified another photo as being William Clark's friend
and alibi, James Weir. By January of nineteen thirty six,
William Clark was in the Maryland State Penitentiary with Robert Janny.
(04:00):
How did that happen? Fasten your seat belt. We're had
it up a very steep roller coaster and you've got
the front seat. Trust me, it's a long way to
the bottom. As I moved forward, this story tends to
get a bit complicated, so to start, here's some background.
William Franklin Clark was born on August twenty fourth, nineteen
(04:24):
o nine, in Saint Mary's County, Maryland, just minutes prior
to his twin brother, Joe. William Clark had two older sisters,
Deretha and Helen, and two younger brothers. His father was
a farmer, his mother was a homemaker. By the age
of seventeen, William Clark dropped out of school and married
(04:44):
Viola Ryder, who was four years his senior. By April
of nineteen thirty, they had three children, and his marriage
to Viola was rocky at best, and by the close
of nineteen thirty Clark had moved out and was living
with his girl friend Mary Branch. At fourteen, fifteen Gerard
(05:05):
Street in d C. Viola was unable to work and
raised three children by herself, so she moved in with
William Clark's parents. Child support payments and alimony were not forthcoming.
In nineteen thirty William Clark was charged with grand larceny,
(05:26):
but that case was dropped. Clark had been suspected in
a number of robberies around the district, but for one
reason or another, he was never charged. He was hired
onto the Capital Transit Company as a conductor in September
of nineteen thirty four, and he worked for about a
month at the Chevy Chase Lake Ticket office with James
(05:47):
Mitchell and Emory Smith, but his stint at Capital Transit
was cut short. On October fourteenth, nineteen thirty four, d
C detective Robert Barrett arrested William Clark al with his
friend James Weir, for an armed robbery. Clark spent some
time in jail, and it seemed like that jail time
was a pre detention hold for trial. There was no
(06:10):
further information about the disposition of that robbery case, but
by Christmas of Clark was out and living with Mary
Branch on Gerard Street. James Weir was back at his
place a block away on Harvard Street when William Clark
strolled into police headquarters in d C on the day
of the murders. He said he just happened to be
(06:30):
in the area and heard that the detectives wanted to
talk to him. William Clark was held in jail for
three days, but his interview took less than an hour,
which was impossible for me to reconcile. How did the
detective savvy the justification for such a long hold yet
conduct such a depthless interview. It didn't square nothing about
(06:55):
this case. Did. William Clark's girlfriend, Mary Match and his
buddy James Weir were also arrested. All three of them
were questioned about the Carborn case very superficially, and each
of them alibied the other, with no follow up investigation
relative to their claims about where they were that night.
(07:17):
There were no notes for James Weir's interview included in
the file that I received from Montgomery County. There was
just a vague reference to a missing report by Baltimore
Sergeant Stewart Deal, so I was left to work with
only the notes from William Clark and Mary Branch's interviews,
and I spent weeks pouring through these documents, disarticulating the
(07:38):
information and scrutinizing every single word, time well spent. In
the middle of my investigation into Clark, James Weir, and
Mary Branch, I came into a windfall of new case
materials from a source. I received a cardboard box in
the mail, and inside of it was a three in
(08:00):
stack of files that I had never seen before. Onion
skin papers with rusted paper clips holding the tattered edges,
more interviews, notes, letters, information from new witnesses, and completely
unfamiliar names. Included in these new files were the typed
(08:20):
reports by Baltimore Sergeant Stuart Deal, including the missing interview
with James Weir. There were also additional notes for William
Clark and Mary Branch with more detailed information about exactly
what they said during their interviews. I flipped the pages
to find James Weir's interview first, but the only information
(08:40):
about him was within these short sentences from the report
by Baltimore Sergeant Stewart Deal. James Weir fourteen eleven Harvard
Street arrested for investigation on January twenty, we are made
the same statement as Clark did in reference to his
whereabouts Sunday night and Monday morning. We questioned him in
ref prints to the murder and were unable to learn
(09:02):
anything at all from him. That's it. That's the whole
kitten caboodle on James Weir two sentences. Getting back to
William Clark and Mary Branch now that I had this
new paperwork, there were two different synopsis for each of
their interviews. The first were the handwritten notes from DC
(09:24):
Detective Frank Brass. The second was the type version of
those notes by Baltimore Sergeant Stewart Deal. I'm going to
start with William Clark's handwritten interview from Frank Brass, and
I'm going to read it verbatim so there's no misunderstanding
within the questions or answers. Interview of William F. Clark
a fourteen fifteen Girard Street. My full name is William
(09:49):
Franklin Clark. I'm twenty five years old and I live
at fourteen fifteen Girard Street. I live with Mrs Mary Branch,
the renter. It has two rooms, kitchen and bath. I've
in keeping company with Mrs Branch about five years. When
did you start working at Capital Transit September ninety How
long about a month? During your time there? What trick
(10:13):
were you on? Late straights? Any hours? Any time means
what hours work? From hours PM to one thirty six am?
Were you a conductor? Yes, you would be the one
who turns in money. Sure, yes, sir. Who did you
turn it into? Several men? A fellow named more Mr Mitchell,
(10:36):
Mr Gibbins. Did you ever work the five thirty am run? No, sir,
Sometimes I'd catch an early straight at seven am. Where
were you living then fourteen fifteen? Gerard? Did you have
a car back then? Yes, sir, Pontiac coach four? What
color was it? Black? What tags? DC? Tags? Do you
(10:58):
still own this car? I loaned it on the third
of this January to a friend as I didn't have
money to pay for tags. Who did you loan it too?
Mister Frank Sherman, fifty five oh one Arabia Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland.
Do you have anything to show that you did loan
this shereman? This car? Sure? I have three or four
(11:19):
witnesses and a man from General Motors, mister Bolton, whose
name was this car? Bought in my father John R.
Clark during your time at the car barn. Who were
the men you ran around with, Um, Hussburger and Standball.
Did you go to the race track with these fellows? Yes, sir.
Also Barnes. Do you know leadman? Yes, sir. Don't you
(11:42):
know a man named R. C. Childress? I can't say
I do. This man lives on twenty sixth Street, Northwest. No, sir,
When was the last time you were out to the
chevy Chase Carborn On Saturday? I went to mister Stevens
and talked to him. He referred me to mister Kelly,
attorney for the road for ad used to get my
job back. Then I went out to the Chevy Chase
(12:02):
barn to get my equipment together and talked to Mr
Gibbons in my father's car Afford sedan at a barn
man a little short, chunky fellow. I don't remember his name.
Where were you? Sunday? I slept late till twelve noon
and went to Mr James were fourteen eleven Harvard Street.
Jim asked me to wait. I waited after I left
(12:23):
and ate my dinner and went back about seven pm.
I told his sister I was going to a show?
What show? Gayety? Who was with you? James Weir, Mrs
Branch and myself? What time do you get out about eleven?
What time do you get home about? What time you
go to bed about twelve midnight? Did you go out
(12:46):
again that night? No, sir. Isn't it a fact that
you did go out again last night with two other fellows? No, sir,
I didn't leave the apartment until one fifteen today. Now
you've named several men out at the barn that you've
worked with than turn money in. Yes, sir. Do you
know a man named Gregory? Yes, sir, you failed to
(13:06):
name him? Yes, sir? How long have you known him
since I worked there? Did you ever talk to Mr Smith? No? Sir.
Isn't it a fact that Mr Smith, the so called
night watchman, is the same man that takes the cars
into the barn? I can't say. What was the name
of the motormen you worked the late shift with? Dyer?
(13:29):
Joe Dyer. Don't you usually wear dark clothes? No? Yeah,
except when I worked for the company, I wore their
uniform pants for a while. About December four, I saw
you standing in front of Milton Kronheim's Bond office, at
which time you wore a dark overcoat, a derby, a
dark suit. Your overcoat had a fur collar. No, I
(13:51):
gave it away when I was in jail. At this
time you were with James Weir. Yes, sir, he was
dressed in dark clothes. You say that you don't own
dark clothes. Yes, sir, I haven't worn it for about
a month. I took this suit on Saturday to Arkin's
Tailor's at eighth and f Street, Northwest. The suit still there,
three piece. When was the last time you saw were
(14:12):
in dark clothes? A few days ago? What Taylor does
he deal with? General Cleaning? Fourteen Street, about block northwest.
I got the clothes I now have on from the
cleaner Saturday afternoon at about seven. Who can verify that
James Weir and Mrs Branch James has a half interest
in the shingle shop thirteen seventeen f Street, Northwest, beauty parlor.
(14:36):
Which room did you sleep in last night? Back bedroom?
No use line about it. That is the entire handwritten
interview with William Clark, who was in custody for three
days for investigation. I'm estimating that interview took way less
than one hour. Baltimore Sergeant Stewart Deal's type written report
(14:57):
had a few more details here. It is William F. Clark,
aged fourteen fifteen, Gerard Street, Apartment twenty six. This man
was arrested and held for about three days for investigation
following is His statement states that he has been living
with Mary Branch at the above address for about five years,
and he went to work for the Capital Transit Company
(15:18):
September nineteen thirty four and worked for them for one
month when he was arrested on a robbery charge October fourteenth,
nineteen thirty four. Sometimes I would work a late straight
from five forty pm to one thirty six am as
a conductor. Yes, I would turn in at the cash window.
I've turned into Mr Moore, Mitchell and Gibbons who's the
day man? And at that time I was living at
(15:40):
the same address and had a nineteen thirty four Pontiac
Coach DC tags. I loaned this car out January third,
nineteen thirty five to Frank Sherman, one Arabia Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland.
I bought this car through the General Motors Finance Company, Washington,
d C. And I have witnesses that I've loaned the
car to Worman. I know Leadman because he broke me in,
(16:03):
but I can't say that I know Children's Friday, I
was over to see Mr Stevens and talked about getting
a job, and he referred me to Mr Kelly for
legal advice. And Saturday evening I went out to the
Chevy Chase carbarn and talked to Mr Gibbons and the
barn man. I don't know his name. Sunday, January twenty,
I slept pretty late until about noon. I got up
(16:23):
and went over to James Weir's home at fourteen eleven
Harvard Street, apartment number one, and went back home again.
At about seven pm, I went over to Weir's house
again and James, Mrs Branch and I went to the
Gayety Theater. She bought a ticket for me and he
bought his own ticket. We got home about eleven thirty
pm and ate some chicken and went to bed about
twelve midnight. No, I didn't go out anymore that night.
(16:47):
We asked him quite a few questions at this point,
and he finally said that he didn't leave the house
until about one fifteen pm. The next day, he denied
that he was out in a car with anyone that morning.
We're inclined to believe that Ark knows something about this job,
but so far we've been unable to get anything to
link him up. Clark could have been the fingerman on
(17:07):
this job. Statement continued, Yes, I know Gregory. I've known
him ever since I worked for the car company. I
don't think I knew Mr Smith. Joe Dyer is the
man I always worked late streets with. I haven't worn
dark clothes since I left the car company. I have
a blue suit, but it's too small for me. Didn't
I see you on December fifteenth wearing a dark suit
(17:29):
and overcoat. Yeah, I saw you two on that date,
but I didn't have on dark clothes. But James Weir
wears dark clothes. No, I haven't had any dark clothes
to wear. I've been wearing light clothes for some time.
I have my clothes cleaned at the General Cleaning Company
block of fourteen Street. We asked him if he was
sleeping with Mary Branch and his answer was, well, I
(17:51):
don't have to tell you. Just use your own mind.
I won't say yes or no. James Weir works at
the shingle shop thirteen seventeen, f Street, Nor West. He
has a half interest in that business. That woman gave
it to him. I don't know why, but she gave
it to him. Sergeant Deal's notes make it crystal clear
that the cops believed that William Clark could have been
(18:14):
the primary suspect on my uncle Emory's and James Mitchell's murders,
but they said they were unable to get anything to
link him up. From my perspective as a detective, they
didn't try very hard. In fact, they didn't try at all.
This was mind blowing information, and my job at that
(18:35):
point became figuring out why the investigators not only suspected
William Clark, but why they held him for three days,
and why nothing was ever done to put his ass
behind bars. William Clark's girlfriend, Mary Branch, had a lot
more to say during her interview, and she poked some
pretty big holes in his alibi. Let me rephrase that
(18:57):
her statement obliterated his alibi. These are the verbatim handwritten
notes by d C Detective Frank Brass interview with Mary Branch,
January twenty second, nineteen thirty five. My name is Mary Branch.
Does mister Clark live with you. He did till about
two weeks ago when he moved his clothes. Saturday night,
(19:20):
he came out to fourteen fifteen Gerard Street about seven
p m. He brought a suit. He had a suit
cleaned and brought it here. A gray suit he had on,
and a light suit that's hanging in the closet. What
other colored suits has he His uniform he sold, and
a dark blue suit, but he sold it because it
was too small for him. What kind of overcoat? Does
(19:43):
he have a light gray topcoat and a heavy gray coat.
Does he not at this time have a dark suit
or overcoat? No, sir, I've never seen him in a
dark suit or overcoat. What time did he leave on Sunday? Home?
Practically all day? Got up about twelve noon and went
to James Weir on Harvard Street. Came back in about
(20:05):
half an hour and said a man was coming over
for dinner and wanted to know if I had enough
to eat. So he brought a man. Yes, blonde hair.
You've seen him on other occasions. Yes. He and Clark
sat there talking and the officer wanted a girlfriend to
play cards. Clark left to get a cigar after the
officer left. This was about eight thirty PM. About twenty
(20:29):
minutes later he went to James Weirs and came back
and said that James wanted to go to the Gaiety
theater and asked me to go. We went in a
taxi to the theater. We got out about eleven thirty
and came home and James went home. We came in
my apartment and Clark played with the cat for about
an hour. We ate chicken and then went to bed.
Clark in the bedroom and I on the davenport. This
(20:50):
was about one thirty am. I saw him next about
seven thirty AM when I called him and he caught
up after breakfast. I gave him a dollar to get
a car pass. The supposed officer had on what kind
of clothes, a gray hat, blue suit, and I don't
know what kind of overcoat. Before I go any further,
there's a really important detail that I need to add here.
(21:14):
When I received the case file, it included copies of
these interviews, which were handwritten on line notebook paper. At
the bottom of Mary Branch's interview on the first page,
there was a deliberate accordion fold in the paper. This
wasn't just a crumpled corner or something that would be
expected from a really old file. This was deliberate, and
(21:35):
it obscured two questions and answers given by Mary Branch.
To make sure. I sent photos to a forensic document examiner,
and she confirmed that the copy I received had been
folded over on itself like an accordion. I have no
idea how or when this happened, but I had to
jump through a few hoops to get another copy sent
to me without that fold. And when I received that email,
(21:58):
it confirmed that you're jectory of my investigation, and it
revealed something extraordinary. Here's how it reads with the fold
in place. Question? So he brought a man. Answer, Yes,
blonde hair, innocuous enough. But here's how it reads without
(22:18):
that accordion fold. So he brought a man. Yes, sir,
he was an officer. His name was Creek or Greek,
and I believe he lives off Good Hope Road. How
about his age? About twenty nine or thirty? Tall? You say, yes,
blonde hair, an officer named Creek or Greek? What the
(22:42):
hell does that mean? Was that the reason why that
particular piece of Mary Branch's handwritten interview was hidden and
within the new paperwork, I received the type written report
by Sergeant Stewart deal revealed even more information. This was
exactly how it read. Mary Branch, aged thirty three, arrested
(23:03):
January twenty second, fourteen fifteen, Gerard Street. Clark did live
with me, but he moved his clothes about two weeks ago.
And Saturday, about seven p m. Clark came to my
apartment and went to the market with me, and he
stopped at the cleaner's and got his suit. Yes, Clark
has a blue suit, but it's too small for him.
He has a light gray topcoat and an overcoat. I've
(23:24):
never seen him with a dark, heavy overcoat. The blue
uniform suit he has was sold to a carman, but
I just can't remember his name. Clark was at my
apartment all day on Sunday, January twenty and he slept
in my bedroom. He brought a man there for dinner.
He's a police officer. His name sounds something like Creek,
and he told me he lives on Good Hope Road.
(23:45):
I saw him in uniform on Thirteenth Street Southeast. He's
about twenty nine years old, tall and slender, has blonde hair.
He left about seven p m. And thanked me for
the meal. So about eight thirty p m. Clark went
out and got a cigar and got James Weir and
we went to the Gayety Theater, which let out about
eleven pm. We got a cab and went straight home,
and I played with the cat for about an hour,
(24:07):
and we went to bed. I called Clark Monday morning
and asked him if he wanted some breakfast, and he
said no. Then I went to work. I paid his
way to the Gaiety and for the taxi. I've loaned
him money and helped to pay on that car, and
I've even helped to feed him. Of course, he's been
good to me. He's been in trouble for failing to
pay alimony. The officer that was at my house on
(24:28):
Sunday wore a blue suit, gray hat, but I can't
remember the kind of Overcody war. At the bottom of
Mary Branch's type written interview, there was a notation Benny Johnson,
four hundred block Newton Street is Clark's cousin. A police
officer came to Mary Branch's apartment on the night before
(24:51):
the murders. She confirmed it in Deal's notes. Who was
this officer named Creek or Greek at thirteen Street, Southea East.
Did anyone bother two? I d this officer? Why was
he at clark in Branch's apartment the night before the
Carbarn murders just to have dinner? Why would William Clark
bring a police officer home for dinner? He'd been arrested
(25:12):
for an armed robbery just a couple of months prior.
What the hell was this all about? Bookmark that thought,
that's a wormhole. We can't go down just quite yet.
Let me break down these statements just a little further
and put everything into a timeline so that you have
the big picture. This does get a little sticky, and
there are lots of details to take in, but I'm
(25:34):
going to break it all up into bite size pieces
as best I can. Saturday, January nineteenth, two days before
the murders. That afternoon, William Clark went to the Chevy
Chase Lake Ticket office to get his change carrier from
Mr Gibbons. The daytime clerk Clark mentioned that he had
(25:54):
an appointment on Monday, January twenty one with Mr Stevens,
the Superintendent of Transportation, to try to get his job back.
I have a few investigative notes. First, Clark's comment about
his change carrier, I don't think it was his change carrier.
I believe it was the property of the Capital Transit Company.
And here's why. My grandfather worked for Capital Transit for
(26:18):
forty years, and he did an interview in nineteen ninety
for a retrospective book titled Bethesda, a Social History by
William Moffatt. During my grandfather's interview, he talked a little
bit about the Carborn case, but his focus was on
his time at Capital Transit and how the trolley system
operated back in the thirties and forties when he was
(26:39):
a conductor. My grandfather said that the only item he
kept from Capital Transit was his ticket punch, and he
had to buy that with his own money. Everything else
my grandfather used was the property of the company. So
William Clark's statement about the change carrier doesn't hold water
with me, and I seriously doubt that William Clark would
have spent his own money on one when the company
(27:01):
provided everything a conductor would need, including a change carrier. Second,
William Clark went back to the Chevy Chase late ticket
office again on Saturday night. Yeah, he went there twice
that day. A man named Butler reported that he wondered
why Clark didn't get his change carrier during the day,
and one of the other conductors asked him why he
(27:22):
didn't get it during his earlier visit. Clark said that
Mr Gibbons didn't know where it was. Why would William
Clark make two trips across town for something as innocuous
as a change carrier two days before a robbery and
double murder. Third, if William Clark had an appointment on Monday,
January one with Mr Stevens to get his job back,
(27:45):
why didn't he keep his appointment instead of going to
police headquarters to front run street talk. He was desperate
enough to pay two visits to Chevy Chase on Saturday
to get a change carrier, so why not keep his
appointment with Mr Stevens on Monday to get his job back.
During his half past interview, William Clark admitted to knowing
(28:06):
James Mitchell, but he denied knowing my uncle Emory. When
Clark went to the chevy Chase office on Saturday, he
said he spoke with quote a barnman, a little short,
chunky fellow. I don't remember his name sound familiar. The
only short Chunky barn Man at chevy Chase Lake was
(28:27):
my uncle Emory. William Clark denied knowing my uncle, but
that statement tells me that he did. There were enormous
discrepancies between the statements and timeline given by Mary Branch
and William Clark, and those inconsistencies became my focus for weeks.
William Clark said that he got up around noon on Sunday.
(28:47):
He went to James Weir's house and waited. He went
back to Weirs at seven pm and told James Weir's
sister that he was going to a show at the
Gaiety Theater. He went to the Gaiety with Branch and
Weir and got out at eleven, got home at eleven
thirty and went to bed at midnight. He said he
didn't leave the apartment until one fifteen on Monday afternoon.
(29:08):
Mary Branch said they got up at noon on Sunday.
That's where the similarities stop. She said that Clark went
to James Weir's place and came back telling Mary that
an officer was coming over for dinner and wanted to
make sure there was enough to eat. The police officer
wanted a girlfriend to play cards. This was about eight
thirty p m. Twenty minutes later, Clark went to James
(29:30):
Weir's house and said that James wanted to go to
the Gaiety Theater. They took a taxi to the theater,
which Mary paid for along with William Clark's ticket. They
got out at eleven thirty and went home, and James
Weir went back to his apartment. She said that Clark
played with the cat for about an hour. They ate
chicken and went to bed about one thirty in the morning.
Clark slept in the bedroom and Mary slept on the davenport.
(29:52):
She next saw him around seven thirty when she called
him and he got up and she gave him a
dollar to get a car pass. Now there's a lot
to break down, trust me, but it's not that complex
once you understand some basic facts. Let's start with the
first part of their alibi, the Gaiety Theater. It was
located at five thirteen ninth Street, Northwest. The Gaiety was
(30:15):
a burlesque house, and according to newspaper ads from Sunday January,
the matinee show featured the Dashing Debs and Joan Collette,
but there's no mention of an evening show. It was
a Sunday, and there may not have been a nighttime show,
but let's give them the benefit of the doubt and
(30:35):
say there was a show that night. The shows ran
from eight thirty to eleven. The theater was located about
a fifteen minute drive from Clark and Mary Branch's apartment
on Gerard Street, at a ten to fifteen minute wait
for the taxi and a slow drive through the mush
of traffic in the snow that night, and they would
have arrived no earlier than nine thirty. According to Mary
(30:57):
Branch's alleged timeline of Clark returning from Weir's house at
eight fifty. There's a one and a half to two
hour discrepancy between their statements about what time they left,
a one and a half hour discrepancy about what time
they went to bed. There's no mention from Clark about
dinner with a police officer, a taxi ride to the show,
playing with the cat when he got home, or the
(31:19):
car pass given to him by Mary. Most importantly, Clark
said he slept in the bedroom. Mary said he slept
in the bedroom, and she slept on the Davenport. That's
a sofa. The apartment had two rooms and they slept
apart that night, so Mary Branch couldn't give Clark an
(31:39):
alibi passed one thirty in the morning because she wasn't
even in the same room. James Weir went home after
the show, so he couldn't aliby either one of them.
To put a cap on this, I'm going to air
out the failures of the detectives on some of the
follow up questions and just simple gumshoe detective work that
should have been done. Where were the ticket stubs from
(32:02):
the theater? How much were they Where did they sit?
Who was on stage? Did they get drinks? What did
they have? Who was the cab driver? What taxi company
was it? Does he remember that run from Gerard Street
to the theater? Could he describe the passengers? Is there
any record of that trip? How much did the taxi cost?
(32:22):
Who saw them at the theater? Did the usher or
ticket window clerks see them that night? What were they wearing?
How crowded was the theater? What cabby took them back home?
Is there any record of that trip? You don't have
to be a season detective to see the problems here.
These are logical follow up questions that any investigator would
have asked. Alibi defenses are used all the time. Is
(32:45):
it really enough to say I wasn't there, I was
here without anyone trying to disprove it? In this case?
For these three, apparently it was. The notes in Sergeant
Stewart Deal's report said that they thought William Clark could
have been involved in this case. It actually said he
could have been the fingerman for this case, meeting the gunman,
(33:07):
but they couldn't get anything to link him up. Why
was that those simple questions and follow ups could have
either substantiated their trip to the Gaiety theater or blown
that story apart. That still wouldn't account for the hours
between one thirty and seven thirty in the morning, since
Clark and Mary Branch slept separately, and Clark said he
(33:28):
didn't leave the apartment until one fifteen on Monday afternoon,
how convenient. A little more digging into their alibi of
one another could have shown that Branch couldn't ALIPI Clark
and were couldn't alibi either one of them. But there
were no follow up questions, no repudiation of their claims.
No confirmation of their attendance at the Gaiety Theater. Why
(33:52):
were the leads on these three people dropped quicker than
a flaming turd? In the years since the murders, Him Clark,
Mary Branch and James Weir were never formally re interviewed.
The investigators had gone all the way to Philadelphia to
chase down Tony the Stinger, co Gino and Bill Cleary.
(34:13):
They grilled Arthur Waugh and Harry Simon and followed up
on Simon's alibi at the Baltimore rooming House. They found
out about Walter Oliver and his admission through Horace Davis,
and they went all the way to Seat Pleasant to
follow up on the nineteen thirty three robbery of the Bootlegger.
Just to verify that Horace Davis wasn't crazy, They did
(34:33):
an eleven day stakeout on Lawrence Pettit and George Bruffey
and their plans to knock off the main office barn
in Georgetown. They intercepted mail from Robert Jenny and linked
Janny directly to William Clark and James Weir through Lillian
and Nobody thought to just bring them back in for
a subsequent statement and crush their alibi defense. What the
(34:54):
hell made these three so special? What made their story
so easily believed? And not worth you have that kind
of follow up? Come on and guess what. The roller
coaster r on hasn't even crusted the first hill yet.
I warned you it's a long drop to the bottom.
In December of nine, about a month before the murders,
(35:17):
William Clark was out of jail from the robbery accusation
and back on Gerard Street with Mary Branch. Around Christmas,
William Clark, Mary Branch, and James Weir took a trip
across town. It wasn't for a holiday party. William Clark
wanted to sell his Capital Transit Company uniform, the same
(35:37):
guy who said he wanted his job back right before
the murders. The three of them went out Rhode Island
Avenue all the way to Edgewood. Clark picked up a
good friend of his from the Jesse Theater at around
ten o'clock at night and took him to his house
on ev Art Street. His friend went inside and gave
Clark the cash for his uniform. Who was this mystery
(35:58):
friend who bought William Clark's Capital transit uniform. It's a
name you've heard several times before, and a man whose
motives I've questioned from the very beginning. A man who
said he slept through the entire murder, Francis Gregory. If
you have information about the car Barn murders, go to
(36:20):
the Shattered Souls Facebook page and leave me a message.
Opening music by Sam Johnson at Sam Johnson live dot com.
Shattered Souls is produced by Karen Smith and Angel Heart
Productions
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