The Boy Said 'Papa Shot'

The Cuba Triple Murder

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Episode 363 takes place in rural Ohio, when a woman, her daughter, and her daughter’s suitor are gunned down in front of three young children. The daughter’s ex-husband says he arrived at the scene just after the shots were fired, but in her dying breath his ex-mother-in-law claims he was the culprit. The kids can’t get their story straight, so it’s up to you to put it all together.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Paul Culer got Calm, Wilmington, Ohio. November twenty first, nineteen
twenty one. T Oliver Vandervort of Burtonville, Furbeyer and well
known Clinton County man, is being held in the County

(00:23):
jail here charged with having shot and killed his divorced wife,
Bertha Whitlow Vandervort, aged thirty, her mother, Missus Susan M. Whitlow,
wife of Jeff Whitlow, aged fifty seven, and Howard Bozier,
aged twenty four. The shooting occurred at the home of
Missus Whitlow near Cuba about midnight Saturday night, According to

(00:46):
Sheriff Will Kirk and Deputy Will Smith, who arrested Vandervort
brought to the jail here. Vandervort told the story that
he was walking to the home of his brother when
he heard a commotion in the home of his former
mother in law, and that he saw a man leap
from the door. He entered the house and found his
divorced wife and Bosier lying on the floor dead, and

(01:10):
found Missus Whitlow mortally wounded, lying on the kitchen floor.
He and his ten year old son, who was making
his home there summoned a physician. He told the officers.
Doctor A. P. Basinger of Blanchester responded to the call,
arriving on the scene just a few minutes before Sheriff
Kirk and Deputy Smith arrived. He called an ambulance and

(01:34):
Missus Whitlow was rushed to the hospital at Blanchester, where
she died within a short time. At the hospital, she
asked if she would live, and when told that she
probably would not, Missus Whitlow expressed her willingness to talk,
telling doctor Basinger that Vandervoort fired the shots. The killing
of the three took place on what is known as

(01:56):
the Everly Briggs Farm, one mile west of Cuba. Bertha
Whitlow Vandervoort was shot once through the heart and Howard
Bosier was shot once through the abdomen, and both were
evidently killed instantly. Missus Whitlow received the contents of two cartridges,
both taking effect just below the waist line. When first question,

(02:19):
Vanderwort's ten year old son corroborated his father's story about
the killing, saying that he saw a man leap from
the door following the shooting and that he met his
father in the road as he was running to a
neighboring farm house for help. But later in the day
the boys alleged to have told the officers that papas shot.

(02:41):
The lad also is said to have related to the
officers how his father had knocked on the door and
when his mother, with a babe in arms, opened the door,
he fired at her, killing her instantly. Bowser was shot. Later,
the boys alleged to have said and that it was
while he was gone for help that his grand was shocked.

(03:02):
Vandervoort and his wife are said to have been divorced twice,
and it is generally known that he resented her paying
attention to other men, even though she had been granted
a divorce and given custody of their three children. Rosier
was well known in Wilmington. He was a day laborer
and he had been working at odd jobs on farms.

(03:23):
It is known that the Vandervorts, who were divorced and
living apart, had been quarreling recently. They had been in
a conference with their attorneys Don and Cartwright for several
hours not long ago, and had been unable to settle
their difference. A story is told that both missus van
Dervoort and Bowsier were seen together for an hour or

(03:44):
more Saturday afternoon in the lobby of the post office,
engaged in conversation. There is a rumor in circulation today
that the shooting of the two women and the man
in the farmhouse may have been prompted by jealousy. In
the event, it has proved that Vandervoort is found guilty
of the deed. It is told that taunts from Wallace

(04:07):
while riding with Vandervoort brought the bullet from Vandervort's gun,
and the same teasing that another man was staying with
his former wife is alleged to have stirred the jealous
passion of the accused man. As the time of the
shooting in Wilmington and the murders near Cuba correspond correctly
with the theory that the man went directly from Wilmington

(04:30):
to the farm house. It developed yesterday morning that Vandervoort
and Rodney Wallace of Starbuck Town had driven through Wilmington
in an automobile earlier in the evening, and that they
had quarreled. Wallace, in reporting the incident of the officers yesterday,
stated that Vandervoort shot him through the shoulder. Both men

(04:51):
had been drinking, it is alleged, and it has thought
that this may have been the cause of the murder scene,
although the officers have been unable to land the two
cases together other than by the fact that Vandervoort is
alleged to have done the shooting in both instances. The
shooting of Rodney Wallace is said to have taken place

(05:12):
on South South Street, just south of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Wallace is not considered to be in a serious condition.

(05:45):
True crime Historian presents yesterday's news tales of classic scandals, scoundrels,
and scourges told from historic newspapers in the Golden Age
of yellow journalism. Episode three sixty three takes place in
rural Ohio when a woman, her daughter, and her daughter's

(06:05):
suitor are gunned down in front of three young children.
The daughter's ex husband and father of the children says
that he arrived at the scene just after the shots
were fired, but in her dying breath, his ex mother
in law claims he was the culprit. The kids can't
get their story straight, so it's up to you to

(06:26):
put it all together. I'm true crime historian Richard O. Jones,
and for your consternation and indignation, I give you the
boy said Papa's shot. The Cuba triple murder Thomas Oliver

(06:48):
van Dervort, held at the County Jail in connection with
the triangle murder at Cuba late Saturday night, was arranged
before Squire Stuart, local Magistrate at ten o'clock. This three
charges of first degree murder were read to Vandervoort, that
of shooting and killing his divorced wife, Missus Bertha Whitlow Vandervoort,

(07:10):
her mother, Missus Susan M. Whitlow, wife of Jeff Whitlow,
and Howard Bozier, a young man who is alleged was
calling on Missus Vandervoort and who it is asserted, was
the cause of much jealousy on the part of Vandervot.
A charge of shooting with intent to kill Rodney Wallace
earlier in the evening on South South Street was read

(07:33):
to the pale faced man, and he stoutly said not
guilty to all four charges. When ushered into the court
room a Squire Stuart, a score or more had gathered
to hear Vanderwort's plea. There was a hush over the room,
and as the man sank into a chair, he gave
the appearance of a prisoner weary from worry over the

(07:56):
case and from the lack of sleep. Van Dervort never
was rugged looking by nature, and as he faced the
magistrate this morning, deep wrinkles in his face, told a
story of sleepless hours in a solitary cell at the
County jail. Here. I would give my life this morning

(08:17):
if I only knew who did the shooting Saturday night,
said Van Dervort to Squire Stuart, as he gave the
impression of a willingness to repeat his story, which he
is alleged to have told Sheriff Kirk and Deputy will
Smith a number of different times, and each time with
a different version. It happens that at this time there

(08:40):
is no prisoner in the County Jail but Vandrvort, and
he is lonesome and seeks to talk with Sheriff Kirk
at every opportunity. He's told a variety of stories, as
many different tales, mister Kirk says, as he has taken
opportunities to talk, no one is permitted to enter the
cell or talk with the prisoner. He seems pretty blue,

(09:02):
to use the Sheriff's expression, but keeps presenting new angles
of the story in an effort to prove his innocence
of the charge. The house in which the triple murder
was committed stands on the Gumley Farm, formerly owned by
every Biggs, and is reached by going west out of
Cuba under the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on the Villa's

(09:24):
Chapel Clarksville Pike and turning to the left at the
first road. This road is about a mile long and
connects the Villa's Chapel Pike with the East Fork Road,
which follows the Creek from the Cuba Midland Wilmington Pike
at the top of the Roberts Hill to the intersection
with the Pansy Pike at the Covered Bridge. The house

(09:46):
in which the murders were committed is the second house
down the road leading off the Cuba Clarksville Pike. Robert,
the ten year old son of Van Dervoort and his
murdered wife, is said to have relayed to the officers
yesterday how his father the night of the shooting attempted
to lock the door to keep the lad from getting

(10:07):
out of the house. The locke failed to hold and
he ran to the home of Raymond Pope. He is
alleged to have told the officers. With Pope, he went
to another neighbor's house, where doctor Basinger of Blanchester was called.
On the way back to the Witlow house, the boy
said they met Vandervoort with the other two boys, Nicholas

(10:29):
aged two and John, aged six, and that Vandervoort tried
to persuade Robert to go with him to the house
of Vandervoort's brother near there. The lad claims that he refused,
but returned to the scene of the murder Presently. Vandervoort
brought the other two boys back and waited for the
physician to come. The boy asserted, yesterday C. B. Eichelberger

(10:53):
of Blanchester called to the home of the Whitlows the
night of the murder, picked up the automatic Colt pistol,
and examining it found three loaded cartridges in it. Five
Having been discharged and ejected from the chamber, mister Eichelberger said, quote,
I handed the gun to Coroner Kensal after I had

(11:14):
shown the coroner one just like it I had with me.
The pistol was a thirty two caliber in good condition,
it seemed to me. Judge Clevenger of the Common Police
Court today issued an order sending the three children of
Van der Voort and his murdered wife to the Clinton
County Children's Home. They have been into the charge of

(11:36):
their grandfather, Jeff Whitlow, of Burtonville, since the night of
the murder. Judge Clevenger issued a decree of divorce to
Missus Vandervoort about six weeks ago, and at that time
placed the children in the custody of their mother. Naturally,
when the present circumstances arose, the children were under the
jurisdiction of the Common Please Judge January seventeenth, nineteen twenty two.

(12:07):
The largest crowd in the history of any court hearing
ever held in Clinton County thronged the court room in
the lobbies of the courthouse this morning as the trial
of Thomas Oliver Vandervoort, charged with murder opened. Vandervort will
face the charge of murder of his twice divorced wife,

(12:28):
Missus Bertha W. Vandervoort, aged thirty and her mother, Missus
Susan Whitlow, aged fifty seven, and Howard Bozier, aged twenty four,
who is alleged to have been calling on Missus Vandervoort.
The shooting took place on the night of November nineteenth
at the home of Missus Whitlow and Missus Vandervoort, near Cuba,

(12:50):
who was also indicted for shooting with intent to kill
Rodney Wallace, a farmer and friend of Vandervoort, with whom
it is alleged he got an to an argument earlier
the same evening, both of the men being intoxicated when
brought to the jail here. Following his arrest, Van Dervort

(13:11):
is alleged to have told Sheriff Kirk and Deputy will
Smith the story that he was walking to the home
of his brother on the night of the shooting when
he heard a commotion in the home of his mother
in law, Missus Whitlow, and that he saw a man
leap from the house. He entered the house, according to
his story, where he found his former wife and Boseier

(13:34):
lying on the floor dead, and where he discovered Missus
Whitlow on the floor in another room. Mortally wounded. Missus
van Dervort. Post mortem examination showed was shot through the
heart and killed instantly. Bosier was shot through the abdomen.
Missus Whitlow, who is said to have made a dying

(13:55):
statement that Oliver did it, was rushed to a Blanchester
high hospital, where she died shortly afterward. The trial this
morning was late and getting under way. W. B. Rogers
of Smith Rogers and Smith and the former common please
Judge E. J. West are defending Van Dervoort, while Joe T.

(14:16):
Doan is Assistant County Prosecutor Gregory in the prosecution. The
entire afternoon was taken up in an effort to get
a jury, and it was expected that it would take
all day and probably longer, to select twelve persons who
have not already formed an opinion of the case, who
belonged to some religious sect that will permit them to

(14:36):
sit in a murder trial, and who believe in capital punishment.
The courtroom was crowded to capacity and people were standing
in the hallways in an effort to get a glimpse
at the courtroom scene. The crowds began to assemble early
this morning, and when the doors to the courtroom were opened,
there was a great rush of seats. Although court was

(15:00):
for noon today, a majority of the people remained, many
of them having brought their lunches so that they might
hold their places. January twenty third, nineteen twenty two, the
trial of t Oliver Vandervoort on the indictment charging him

(15:20):
with the first degree murder of Missus Susan M. Whitlow,
his former mother in law, was reconvened Monday morning at
nine o'clock before Common Please Judge Frank M. Clevenger and
the jury, the impaneling of which was concluded Friday, after
which the members of the jury were taken to the
murder scene. The State has elected to try Vandervoort on

(15:43):
the indictment charging murder of Missus Whitlow because of the
direct testimony it may introduce, rather than on either of
the indictments charging murder of his former wife, Bertha W.
Vandervoort and Howard Bozier. Judge Clevenger ordered the exclusion from
the court room of all witnesses already subpoened by the

(16:06):
state or defense. Jeff Whitlow, husband of the murdered woman,
was allowed to remain. The court room was crowded when
the trial was commenced, and it is evident that at
no time during the trial, which is expected to be
long and drawn out, will there be seating room for
any save the early arrivals. Joe T. Doane, former prosecuting

(16:31):
attorney and engaged to assist Prosecutor Gregory in the case,
made the opening statement for the state, quote, the state
will endeavor to prove all that I call to your
attention to in the review of the case. A Clinton
County home has been transformed into a slaughter house, and you,
the jury, are to decide from the testimony if Thomas

(16:54):
Oliver Vandervoort is the one guilty of the crime unquote.
He then read the indictment in full, charging that Missus
Whitlow had been shot twice in the breast and in
the stomach. He stated that ever since Bertha and Oliver
Vandervort were married, they had frequent trouble, and that there

(17:14):
had been much discord that Oliver drank to excess, and
that in January nineteen seventeen the wife secured a divorce.
They were remarried during the war, and Oliver was exempted
from service in the Army. On this account, the suit
for alimony was filed in January last year, agreement being

(17:35):
reached and the suit dismissed. That Another suit was filed
in September, and a divorce granted in October to Missus Vandervoort,
the grounds being extreme cruelty and gross neglect of duty.
From that time on, Oliver showed his dissatisfaction with matters
that he tried to find her and her mother at
the home of Jeff Whitlow in Burtonville two months before

(17:58):
the shooting. That Oliver exclaimed at that time, by God,
this will end in bloodshed. Yet on November nineteenth, nineteen
twenty one, the attorney stated Oliver was in Wilmington in
company of a friend, Rodney Wallace, and both drank liquor,
both being under the influence to some extent. Vandervort went

(18:19):
to the home of his brother in law, Will Cooper
and changed his clothes. Coming back to Wilmington, he joined
Wallace and they had an argument at the corner of
South and Truesdale Streets, Wallace being shot by the defendant,
but the wound did not prove serious. Vandervort then came
up town, the attorney declared, got in his automobile and

(18:43):
went out to Martinsville Road, abandoning his car, walking to
Morrisville about seven forty five, stopping at Botz's store for tobacco,
telling the clerk he was in trouble again and said
his machine was out of gasoline. He arranged with bots
to come the next morning and pull the car out,

(19:05):
and Van Dervort was to go over to Frank Hares
to stay all night if he were up. If he
was not, he was to go to his mother's. The
attorney went on to claim that Vandervort started in another
direction of Cuba, stopped at Oscar Brown and inquired for
a party, not being there, went to Ray Brown's and

(19:26):
asked for a party and didn't find him. Went to
Cuba and on to where the road turns in Gumy neighborhood,
then winds around to the scene of the shooting. Mister
Done stated that the state will show by evidence that
Vandervoort had been that way frequently in violation of a
court order which joined him from interfering with his former

(19:47):
wife and their three children Vandervort. Mister Done went on
approached the front door and knocked Missus Van Dervolt asked,
who's there? It's me. You know who it is? Was
the reply. Are you drunk? She asked. If you don't
open the door, I'll break it in was his response.

(20:08):
The door was then opened. The wife had little Nicholas,
aged three, in her arms. Howard Bosier was in the room,
Missus Whitlow was upstairs putting the other children to bed.
The prosecution then charged that Vandervort at once shot his
former wife using an automatic revolver. She fell dead. Missus Whitlow,

(20:33):
hearing the report, rushed downstairs. Then Bosier was shot, and
then Vandervoort stomped his wife in the face and likewise Bosier,
leaving heel prints on their faces. Then Missus Whitlow was shot.
She fell, arose and was shot again, either wound being

(20:54):
sufficient to cause death. The attorney claimed that Missus Whitlow
was grabbed by her hair, dragged over the floor of
the kitchen, and was then hurled near the door. The
children were screaming and the little boy Rodney, wanted to
go for help, but the father told him that if
anyone asked about the shooting to say that his father

(21:16):
wasn't there. The boy evaded the father and picked up
another gun off the floor. The lad went for help, and,
being frightened, fired into the ground. Yelling for help. He
went back and met his father and the other two children.
On the way to his brother's Ira Vandrvoort, they met
Pope and Rodney said, Papa, I wish you had been

(21:38):
there when it happened. Oliver made no explanation to Pope.
On the way back to the house, other neighbors came in.
Missus Whitlow was found on the floor, still alive and conscious.
Doctor Basinger of Blanchester arrived first of the physicians called
and talked to her. When she found she was about
to die, she told the star of the shooting. Little Nicholas,

(22:03):
sitting on his father's knee, said, oh, father, you shot mother,
grandmother and that other man. Vandervoort replied, oh no. The
child then kissed his father, who wept, but offered no
explanation and offered no help and showed no grief. Bodies
of Missus van Dervort and Bosier were taken to Blanchester.

(22:25):
Missus Whitlow was taking an ambulance to Blanchester hospital and
again said that Vandervoort did the shooting. She lived fifteen
minutes after arriving at the hospital and five minutes before
she expired. She said, so help me, God, Oliver Vandervoort
did this shooting.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
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(23:19):
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Speaker 1 (23:28):
Attorney W. B. Rogers, whose ability as a criminal lawyer
is statewide and the opening argument for the defense, expressed
himself as profoundly impressed with the seriousness of the present situation. Quote.
Ever since the tragedy, the defendant has been confined in
a cell and his opportunity to develop his defense has

(23:49):
been handicapped. I want to impress you, the jury, with
the importance of your position. This indictment has but one count,
murder and the first degree, but the court will tell
you that other crimes are also involved in the indictment.
First degree murder must be premeditated deliberated and malicious. He

(24:11):
explained second degree murder, manslaughter and assault and battery. The
state must prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt quote
the defense is ready to lay its cards on the table.
Face up. Our story dovetales in many incidents with the
story of the state. Oliver Vandervoort was one of nine children,

(24:33):
son of n. R. And Alice Vandervoort, a well known family.
He was the fifth child and a resident of this
county all his life. In his youth he contracted the
liquor habit, and due to this he associated with persons
of the lower strata and absorbed their manner of living.
He thus met Bertha Whitlow, a grass widow, and married her.

(24:57):
His life was a sea of turmoil woe from that
hour on. His wife did sue for divorce, but we
can show that the suit was not contested and was
by agreement. They were remarried, but it was a case
of too much mother in law, Missus Whitlow, was separated
from Jeff Whitlow, so she came to live in the

(25:18):
home and caused much discord. A second suit for divorce
was instituted, but withdrawn and by mutual consent, a divorce
was granted. Testimony will show that on the day of
the tragedy, Vandervoort bought furs on the corner of South
and Sugar Tree Streets. The day before, he had been
to his wife's home and arranged that she and the

(25:41):
children go to live at the home of Jeff Whitlow
in Burtonville. About three o'clock Saturday afternoon, his attention was
called to the fact that his wife's horse and buggy
was in town. She saw Bozier in the post office.
Bozier was a married man with a family. Vandervoort met

(26:02):
his former wife near the Hadley Grocery, went with her
into the store and gave her five dollar bill for groceries,
she buying three dollars worth and giving him the two
dollars change. Vandervort then met Wallace and they agreed to
buy some liquor and the prisoner furnishing the most of
the money. The liquor was obtained and they drank some

(26:24):
and divided the rest at the Pennsylvania Railroad toilet. The
testimony will probably divulge where the liquor was obtained. Vandervoort
then sold furs for one hundred and twenty one dollars,
getting a check for eighty the other forty one having
been advanced. Wallace kept hanging around and possibly other drinks

(26:45):
were taken. Vandrvoort only had one or two drinks until
he was crazy drunk, the liquor being ranked poison. His
concluding remarks were that the defense denies absolutely that this
defendant had anything whatsoever to do with the killing, and
hopes that the testimony may develop who the real murderer

(27:06):
may be. All witnesses present were sworn and the court
adjourned until one o'clock, when the taking of testimony would
be begun. Judge Clevenger cautioned the jurors to talk to
no one concerning the case. Great interests centered in the
Monday afternoon session in the determined effort to get the

(27:26):
statements made by the Vandrvoort children ruled out as incompetent.
When doctor Basinger, the first witness, was called, he started
to tell what the child Nicholas said, when he was
stopped by objections of the defense. Judge Clevenger ordered the
jury recessed until he could hear the testimony and have
authorities looked up. In the meantime, the witness was allowed

(27:50):
to proceed with the testimony. Doctor Basinger said that Nicholas
got on his father's lap and said, Papa, you shot Grandma,
didn't you. Vant said no, it was the other man.
Nicholas then said, yes, you shot mama and the other
man too. Then Nicholas kissed Vandervolt, who dropped his head

(28:12):
and wept. During the cross examination, he said that missus
Whitlow did not say who did the deed until he
inquired she was afraid she would die before reaching the hospital.
Missus Whitlow said in the house quote, the dirty brute
couldn't kill me by shooting twice, so he drug me
around the room unquote. Witness did not hear her say,

(28:35):
thank God, he will get what is coming to him now.
Missus Whitlow did not sign any statements. At this point,
Judge Clevenger announced that the authorities he had sawt had
been looked up, and he ordered the jury returned. He
ruled that only such testimony could be held competent that
repeated what the children had said, and Vandervort responded to

(28:59):
showing that he knew knew what they were saying. The
trial then proceeded. Doctor Basinger, recalled to the stand, told
the jury the conversation between the defendant and the little boy, Nicholas.
The defense's objection was overruled. Missus Whitlow said that the
defendant kicked and stamped the face and bodies of Bertha

(29:19):
Vandervoort and Howard Bozier. Missus Whitlow repeated in the ambulance
the accusation that Vandervoort did the shooting. Doctor Basinger said
that he took a revolver and shotgun along with him,
as he did not know what kind of case he
was getting into, as information was vague. Doctor Gibson arrived

(29:39):
about five minutes after he reached the house. Probably he
arrived about ten forty. He knew it wasn't yet eleven.
He entered by the kitchen. The light was on the
kitchen table. Missus Whitlow was lying on her back with
her feet toward the stove. He saw gon on the table,
probably the thirty two. No light in a front room.

(30:00):
There was a fire in the stove. Van Dervoort offered
no explanation. The witness said, this looks pretty tough, and
he kneeled by Missus Whitlow to make examination. He noticed
that Vandervot had been drinking when he took hold of him.
The conversations between the witness and Missus Whitlow, and the
replies of Robert and the defendant were gone into detail,

(30:24):
but no new facts were developed beyond those brought out
in the direct examination. Robert at no time accused his
father of committing the crime. Robert was fully dressed, and
so were the other children. Doctor and Missus Bryan came
shortly after the witness. Missus Whitlow had not disrobed for bed.

(30:46):
She said the shooting had occurred some time after nine
o'clock and that Bozier had come to see Bertha. The
witness found no gun on Bozier and saw no gun
in the front room. Bozier was lying on the right side,
with the left arm around the chair, which was knocked over.
His right arm was bent under him. The body of
Bertha Vandervort was lying almost flat on her back, feet

(31:09):
toward Bosier. The body of Bozer was between her and
the stairway. Two chairs were upside down, but no other
evidence of commotion. The window shades were drawn. The sheriff
arrived about two. The witness gave him the pistol picked
up in the kitchen. The sheriff was still in the
house when he left. Something had been put under the

(31:32):
head of Missus Whitlow, no covering over the body. He
saw no whiskey in the house, saw no noseglasses near
the body. Of birth of Vandervoort. January twenty fourth, nineteen
twenty two. Claude by Eichelberger of Blanchester was the next

(31:54):
witness for the state. He had been an undertaker for
fifteen years. Said he was was driving the ambulance from
the scene of the tragedy to Blanchester. When anchoring the
cot in the ambulance, he heard Missus Whitlow tell Doctor
Basinger that she was shot first in the front room,
fell got up, ran and was shot a second time,

(32:15):
fell to the floor in the kitchen. The road was rough,
and Missus Whitlow said, my god, I'll die before I
get there. And he heard Missus Whitlow say he did it,
and he knows he did it. This testimony was given
after a vigorous objection of the defense, which was overruled
by the court Raymond Pope, who lives near Cuba, testified

(32:40):
that on the night of the tragedy, he was sitting
in his house reading and about ten o'clock heard children yelling.
His wife said they were calling for help. He heard
three or four shots and children yelling for help again.
In a few minutes, Oliver Vandervoort and his three boys
came by. He told the witness he was going to
house to telephone, but turned back with Pope. One boy, Robert,

(33:04):
asked the father, why didn't you get here sooner Papa,
and Vandervort replied, I wished I had. Robert said, Stanley
Thompson was here last night. Maybe he was here tonight.
Vandervort said, maybe he's already been here and done the shooting.
Pope said he saw the bodies and then went to
the telephone, and when when he got back, the Brians

(33:26):
were there. Missus Whitlow wanted some relatives at Hyland called
Vandervort did not talk to the witness at all. Doctor
Basinger arrived in about half an hour. Pope built a fire.
The witness heard the conversation between Missus Whitlow and doctor
Basinger in the presence of the defendant. Missus Whitlow said

(33:47):
she was upstairs and that Oliver shot Bertha and Bozier
and then shot her and drug her by the hair.
Vandervort said nothing. Missus Whitlow did not tell about the
shooting until the doctor told her she would die, and
then she said she would tell the truth, so help
her God. The witness went into the front room for
quilts to cover the children. He had a light with them.

(34:10):
He described the position of the bodies as testified by
the previous witness. He saw the bodies later, after the
coroner came. He went into the front room toward Cuba
and saw gun. The sheriff was not there at the time.
He stayed at the house until six in the morning.
He heard Vandervort say, I knew Susan would blame it

(34:31):
on to me. When Missus Whitlow told doctor Basinger about
the shooting. He heard Vandervort tell the sheriff that old
woman always had it in for me. The witness lives
about a quarter of a mile from the Whitlow house.
January twenty fifth, nineteen twenty two. High points in the

(34:57):
hearing of the testimony Wednesday were pass evidence of the
quarrel and the shooting scrape indulged in by Rodney Wallace
and Vandervoort the night of the crime in Wilmington, and
the corroboration of Claude Eichelberger's testimony regarding a revolver found
at the scene of the tragedy by John Doffman, also
of Blanchester. A touch of pathos creeped into the hearing

(35:20):
this morning when Missus Laura Bryan, a near neighbor of
Missus van Dervoort and Missus Whitlow, told of going into
the room where the two dead bodies lay, and tenderly
taking away with her little Johnny, the six year old
son of the murdered woman, who was clinging to her body.
Large crowds again attended the Wednesday sessions, and early arrivals

(35:42):
were a little nonplussed when told of Judge Clevenger's order
that the courtroom was to be cleared at noon to
permit ventilation. This made a grand rush for seats when
the doors again opened after noon, and again all available
points of vantage were quickly taken and were left outside.
Raymond Pope, in cross examination, said that the children were yelling,

(36:07):
not crying. When the witness first heard commotion. The next
outcry was Within five minutes, shots were fired, and then
the second yelling occurred. Vandervoort appeared to be sober, but
his breath smelled of liquor. He sat in a chair
almost the entire time. Doctor Basinger searched Vandervot for a gun,

(36:27):
but found none. Mister Satchel, upon order of the doctor,
guarded the defendant with a forty five caliber automatic until
the sheriff came. January twenty fifth, nineteen twenty two, Minnie Miller,
who lives in Wilmington, testified that she was acquainted with

(36:49):
Oliver Vandervoort, had known him about a year and knew
his wife. She talked with Vandervot on the street shortly
after he secured his divorce last fall. Talked about Bertha
and where she had moved. Oliver said he hadn't been down,
but intended to go. The witness said, bet you and
Bertha get married again, and Vandervort said, well, I don't

(37:12):
know so much about that, but if I don't live
with her, nobody else will unquote. A motion to exclude
her testimony was overruled. Missus. Miller said that she lived
in Brown Highland and Adams Counties before living here, that
her husband has been dead nine years. She's talked about

(37:32):
this matter to several people and told the sheriff yesterday
that the conversation occurred in front of Moore's fruit store.
Vandervoort did not appear excited or disturbed. The witness asked
Vandervort if he had seen Albert Bernard. She didn't think
anything more about the conversation until after the shooting, which

(37:53):
was probably several weeks afterwards. She did not think she
heard Vandervort say, quote, under conditions, no one could live
with Bertha, not even I could unquote Missus elmer Rton
heard quarreling near the home of Charles Swain. Vandervort was
accusing Wallace of taking a part of something. She said

(38:17):
she's known both men for a number of years and
heard the report of a gun. Then saw Vandervort back
Wallace across the street. Vandervort's hand was extended, arm out stretched,
but it was too dark to see if he had
a gun in his hand. There was a machine near
the drive. She saw persons across the street. Vandervort got

(38:37):
in the machine and went toward town. She saw the
machine go as far as the railroad, and saw Wallace
walk as far as done street. She did not see
a whiskey bottle. The men quarreled in loud tones and
with much profanity. She heard the report of a gun,
but did not see the flash. The report was not
as loud as an automobile tire blowing out. The men

(39:00):
were close together when the gun was fired. She does
not know what they did across the street. She's known
Oliver Vandervoort all of his life, having lived two doors
from the family when Robert was a baby. Robert van Dervoort,
the eleven year old son of Thomas Oliver van Dervort,
created the most intense situation since the trial began. When

(39:24):
he was placed on the stand by the prosecution. He
told of members of his family, where he lived at
the time of the crime, et cetera. He said he
remembered the shooting. He heard noise at the front door
after he had gone to bed at six o'clock. His
grandma and his brothers were with him. Took off his
clothes and said it was after dark. Said he came

(39:45):
downstairs again because he heard some shots. He saw his
mother lying on the floor dead. His grandma was upstairs,
and when she came down he saw her shot. January
twent twenty sixth, nineteen twenty two, Rodney Wallace was sworn.

(40:07):
He had known Oliver Vandervoort six or seven years. He
saw him on the evening of November nineteenth, nineteen twenty one,
about four o'clock at Buster's Corner. He talked to him
there a little bit, then went back up town, came
back and saw Vandervoort about five o'clock. They stayed together,
then arranging to go to Sabina together. Oliver said he

(40:30):
had to go out to his brother in law's house
to change clothes. The witness went with him by the
Burtonville Road. Vandervort changed his clothes. They got back to town
probably between six and seven o'clock. The two men had
been drinking white mule whiskey. The witness said he did
not pay for the whiskey and had not been drinking

(40:51):
until this was purchased. He saw a court bottle and
drank out of it. He had the bottle on the
way out to change the clothes and back. He didn't
see Vandervort drink. They made the trip in Vandervort's automobile.
They stopped on South Street, beyond the street that goes
to the cemetery. Vandervoort ordered Wallace out of his machine

(41:13):
because of a fuss. Both men got out and were
still fussing. Vandervort shot the witness and the right shoulder.
The bullet passed entirely through the body. No hole had
been made in the underwear by the bullet. He saw
the bullet in his shoe the next morning. He identified
the bullet as being similar to one found in the shoe.

(41:37):
He found the bullet at his mother's house, put it
in his pocket, and gave it to his father. He
was drunk when he was shot and didn't remember anything
else that occurred with Vandervort. He went out South Street
to near Short Street and laid down by a tree
on South Street and remained there the biggest part of
the night. He went to sleep and woke before morning.

(41:59):
He had sobered up by that time. He found himself
soar all over. He went down to his brother's house
by going down Short Street and the B and O
railroad to Locust Street. He got there about four thirty
or five o'clock in the morning. He did not see
vandervod again that night. He then had medical attention when

(42:19):
doctor Yoakley attended to the wounds. Sheriff Kirk came to
the house. As the doctor left, the witness showed him
the hole in the coat where the bullet entered. The
wound was not serious. The witness removed the collar and
tie and showed the jury the scar and the neck
where the bullet entered and the point of exit. He

(42:39):
also showed the hole in the underwear where the bullet entered.
He could find no hole in the back of the
neck of the underwear. The witness said he was raised
in Sciota County and lived at Starbucktown about a year.
He is twenty eight years old. He knew Oliver Vandervoort
and his wife Bertha from when they lived in Antioch.

(43:00):
He knew Susan Whitlow, but didn't remember ever being in
their home any place. He was not in the habit
of getting drunk, but he had been drunk before. He
did not see Oliver drink. He got the quart bottle
out of Vandervoort's machine. There were furs in the machine
and also lying in the street. He spent most of

(43:21):
the afternoon in the Howard pool room. He did not
see Bertha Vandervoort the afternoon of the shooting any place.
He knows Boser saw him talking to Vandervort that day.
He thought Oliver and Bosier were to be good friends.
The liquor was on a seat under a robe. The
witness said he got in the machine and sat down
on a bottle. He was familiar with white Mule whiskey.

(43:44):
He had drunk it before. He took a drink right away,
just an ordinary size drink, good, big swallow. Oliver said
he didn't want any He had three or four drinks
on the way out to Cooper's. He didn't see Oliver
take a drink the whole time. The bottle was about
two thirds full when the auto arrived at Cooper's. He
drank two or three times on the way back. Oliver

(44:07):
did not complain. He did not put the bottle in
his pocket, and did not offer to get liquor for
Vandervort that afternoon, and did not put up part of
the money to purchase the liquor. He didn't see anyone
but himself take drinks out of the bottle, and doesn't
know how many drinks he took, but he left the
bottle in the machine and saw it no more. After

(44:27):
the shooting on South Street, he said Vandervoort was not sober,
but he didn't know whether you would call him drunk
or not. Didn't know whether he was under the influence
of liquor before starting out for Cooper's, and didn't know
whether Vandervoort was sober or not. He didn't act like
he was sober. There was only one shot fired, but

(44:48):
the witness didn't know what made him say, you missed me.
They were close together when he was shot, and he
didn't stagger. He did not know he had been shot.
He got on the railroad near the canning factory and
was near daylight, but he didn't remember whether he had
been raining. He had his overcoat on and the ground

(45:09):
was dry. He got off the track at Locust Street.
His brother lives in the first house beyond the railroad
on Locust Street, but his brother was not up. The
witness pounded on the door and the brother let him in.
He did not go to bed instead. He took off
his shoe as it hurt his foot. He found the
bullet inside of his sock. He had not felt the

(45:30):
bullet any place else on his body. He did not
wear supporters, but wore a Union suit. He put the
bullet in his pocket. His brother's wife was up and
he showed the bullet to her. Didn't remember whether the
brother was there at that time or not, but he
was sobering up by then. His brother went in after
the horse, and his father came in and drove him

(45:52):
directly home. They sent for doctor Yoakley, who came in
about an hour. He did not go to bed and
was not bleeding, but there was blood on his shirt.
He showed the bullet to doctor Yoakley and then gave
it to his father. He can't swear that the bullet
shown is the same one, but it looks like it.
He was pretty sore all that day, but not in

(46:13):
much pain. He stayed at home until about three in
the afternoon, and then he went to Blanchester. He knew
nothing of the killing until the sheriff told him. Jeff
Whitlow testified that he lives at Burtonville, where he moved
last fall from Morrisville. Susan Whitlow was his wife. Oliver
Whitlow married his daughter. His daughter lived at Morrisville, then

(46:38):
moved to Wilmington, and then went to live on Gumley's Place,
which is about a mile and a half below Cuba.
Bertha was divorced from Oliver at the time of the shooting.
Had been divorced but a few days he has a
relative in Springfield, his wife's brother. The wife went to
the funeral of this man's wife. Oliver Vandervoort went to

(46:58):
the home of the witness and Bonville while missus Whitlow
was away. Vandervort asked for Bertha, but she was not there.
Vandervort threw his coat on the floor and said, by God,
there will be some bloodshed about this. Yet he asked
the children to go with him. Just after this he
spoke like he was angry, but did not come in
the house. Whitlow said he first heard of the shooting

(47:22):
about three o'clock in the morning. Sheriff Kirk and Deputy
Sheriff Smith, Vanderbort and the three children came to the house.
Vandervort said, there's been a little shooting at our house.
The witness said, Oliver, have you been drinking? He answered yes,
a little Vandervort told about the shooting, but said nothing

(47:42):
about who did it. Oliver asked the witness to care
for the children, and the sheriff took the children on
the following Wednesday to the children's home. In cross examination,
Whitlow said he's not spoken to Robert about the shooting
since the night had happened. He told the lawyers from
the defense several days ago that Robert would tell the

(48:04):
truth from the witness stand if the witness were present,
because he would know there would be someone there to
protect him. Robert is nervous. He does not remember Robert
telling about the two men doing the shooting. Oliver did
not tell who did the shooting. He said he didn't
recall when Oliver got his coat he threw on the floor.
He said the conversation with Oliver and Burtonville was about

(48:27):
a week before the shooting. He said that Bertha was
going to move in with the witness the next week.
Will Kirk, the sheriff of Clinton County, testified he was
called to the scene of the shooting by telephone. The
call came near midnight, and he went at once. He
found doctor Basinger in the yard. The doctor handed the

(48:48):
witness a revolver, who put it in his pocket. That
revolver is in the office of the sheriff at present.
He went into the house, saw Missus Whitlow on the
floor and several people in the kitchen. Oliver Vandervort was
in the room, sitting in a chair. I reckon, you've
come after me, he said. He went into the sitting

(49:08):
room and saw the two dead bodies on the floor.
He heard Missus Whitlow say in the presence of the
defendant that had hurt her to move as they were
going to put her on the ambulance cot. He examined
the faces of Bertha and Bozier and found bruises on
both of them. He saw no other revolver at that time.

(49:29):
He went to the neighbors to telephone the coroner. He
went to Burtonville with Deputy Smith and left the children
at the home of Jeff Whitlow. Then he put Oliver
in jail and had to talk with him. Then he
asked the defendant what he knew about the shooting. Vanderwort
said he was going down to Iris to help him.
Set some traps. Heard the children cry. When near a bridge,

(49:53):
He looked over toward the house and saw two persons
coming out of the kitchen door and go down the pike.
In the house saw missus Whitlow on the floor. The
children were crying. He looked in the front room and
saw the bodies. He picked up his wife's head, but
she was too near dead to tell who did it.
He went to Susan Whitlow and asked her who did it,

(50:14):
and she said they did it. Go get him. He
looked all over the house but could find no one.
The sheriff said he learned of the shooting of Rodney
Wallace the next morning from Carrie Wallace, probably between seven
and eight o'clock. He went to the home of Rodney
Wallace as he had been shot, but did not see
the wound. He didn't recall seeing the doctor there. The

(50:37):
father of Rodney Wallace gave the sheriff a bullet. The
sheriff identified the bullet, which was admitted to evidence as
Exhibit three. He talked to Vandervoort again on arrival back
at the jail. Vandervoort said he was with Rodney Wallace
before going to Cuba. He said that Rodney wanted to
go to Sabinah, so they went to Cooper's to change clothes,

(50:59):
and Wallace got out of the notion to going to
Sabinah and got out of the machine near the railroad.
He said Wallace wanted to borrow a revolver from Vandervoort
that was at Cooper's, so he got the revolver and
gave it to Wallace, who tried to load it but
couldn't get it together. They stopped on South Street and
tried to help load it, and it went off, but

(51:19):
said Wallace said he was not hit. He thought either
Wallace had the gun or it was still in the machine.
The sheriff said he found the machine near Morrisville with
the revolver in it. Vandervoort remembered that he had abandoned
the machine near Morrisville. Vandervort said that Wallace suggested getting
whiskey that could be bought for three dollars a quart.

(51:41):
That Vandervort put up a dollar eighty in Wallace a
dollar twenty, and Wallace bought a court of whiskey, and
thus they both drank. Going out and coming back from
Cooper's Vandervort sent for Kirk and said he didn't tell
him right about the shooting out on South Street. He
said the Wallace wanted to go to s and got
a quart of whiskey. They went out to Cooper's and

(52:03):
while Vandervort changed his clothes, Wallace divided the whiskey into
two bottles. Wallace wouldn't drink from Vanderwort's bottle. Vandervort felt
like he was slipping pretty fast on South Street. Wallace
took hold of the steering wheel of the auto and
guided the machine to the curb. Both men got out.
Vandervort heard a noise behind him and looked around and

(52:26):
saw Cotton Wallace with a gun. Cotton said now I've
got you and shot. He missed Vandervoort and hit Rodney Wallace.
Vanderwort said he thought the Wallaces had framed up and
doped the whiskey. Vandervort told the witness that he threw
up in Cuba and felt better. The night of the tragedy,

(52:48):
he said he went two places to inquire for Robert Foreman.
He said he wanted to pull out his machine. He
talked to Oliver about the automatic pistol. Vandervort said he
had one, someone had stolen it from him. In cross examination,
Sheriff Kirk said he found Oliver's machine about noon Sunday.

(53:10):
There was a fox skin in the back, moth eaten.
He found the whiskey. The gun was under the cushion
on the right side near the back. The sheriff said
that Van Dervoord has at no time expressed sorrow about
the death of his wife and mother in law. He
did say he would like to send some flowers to
the funeral and asked if he could go. The state

(53:31):
rested its case with the understanding that Jeff Whitlow could
be called later to identify the revolver. The defense then
made the motion that all the evidence regarding the dying
declarations of Susan Whitlow be stricken from the records and
withdrawn from the jury. The motion was overruled and exceptions noted.

(53:57):
Raymond bab was the first witness called for the defense.
He testified he saw Vandervoort just across the road from
Thompson's tenant property. The machine was on the right hand
side from the hedge fence. A machine was in the
middle of the road headed toward Morrisville. Two fellas flagged
the witness down. One of them was Albert Hall. Vandervoort's

(54:21):
machine was in the ditch. The road was slick. Oliver
was in the machine to the right of the steering wheel.
The witness would say that he was drunk, he had
no chains, but helped him out over the ditch. The
witness left while Vandervort was still in the machine. That
was about seven or seven point thirty. There was no

(54:43):
cross examination. Faye Botts ran a store during the past
year at Morrisville. He had known Oliver Vandervoort all his life.
They went to school together. He saw him the night
of the tragedy at the store. The stores closed for
the night, but there was a knock on the side
door and someone called him by his nickname Tater. Vandervort

(55:05):
wanted a piece of tobacco. The witness got it for him.
Vandervort had a crazy look on his face. His mind
seemed to be at times blank, and sometimes seemed to
know what he was talking about. But he did not
smell liquor. Vanderwort said that damned old machine was in
the ditch. The defendant thought it was too late that

(55:25):
night to get it out and wanted help. The next morning,
he said he was going to Frank Harres to spend
the night. The clock struck eight just as Vandervort left.
Oliver said I'm in trouble again and then said my
damned old machine is in the ditch. The witness said,
what's the matter. Are you crazy? And Vanderwort said, I

(55:47):
don't know. It seems like sometimes my mind is a blank.
Vanderwort said, I've been drinking and I think somebody has
doped with my booze. Witness said he never told anybody
that Vandervort was drunk that night. On Friday afternoon, the
largest crowd that had been in attendance since the trial

(56:07):
opened was in the courtroom. Every inch of standing room
was taken. The first witness of the afternoon, Samuel L. Steele,
said that he saw Rodney Wallace on the Cuba Road
near Pertinville the night of the tragedy about seven o'clock
going south at ne Leyman Blanchester insurance man told of

(56:29):
making the trip to Whitlow Vandervoort home with the ambulance.
He said he heard Robert Vandervoort describe parties who did
the killing, but the court would not allow conversation to
be given out on grounds that it was not competent.
Defense took exceptions. William Wheeler, living near Cuba, said he
was coon hunting the night of the tragedy and he

(56:51):
heard a lot of shooting. Sounded like bang bang bang,
heard the passenger train going past, heard more than one
man hollering, thought it was bwelling crowd, and paid little
attention to it. Enjoy ad free listening at this safehouse.

(57:19):
Dubawadba dot Patreon dot com, slash True Crime Historian, January
twenty eighth, nineteen twenty two. What is probably the trump
card in the defense of Thomas Oliver Vandervort was played Saturday,

(57:41):
when the defendant was placed on the stand. With perfect calmness,
Vandervoort traced his steps on the day and night of
the tragedy. At no time was he nervous, and his
story came in a clear cut manner. He frankly admitted
that he was intoxicated on the day and night of
the crime, and when he was unable to give a

(58:04):
clear answer to a question, he frankly said so seldom
has a man charged with a triple murder been so
self possessed before a jury trying him for his life,
And when court adjourned at noon, the accused man had
not shown any nervousness for the first time since the
trial commenced. The defendant's mother was not in court, hence

(58:28):
was spared the ordeal of hearing her son's testimony. Oliver
van Dervoort said that he has four sisters and four brothers,
and he was the fifth child. His mother's maiden name
was Alice Devers, and his father had been dead a
year in July. He was born near Antioch and lived
in the county all of his life. When he married

(58:50):
Bertha Whitlow, she had been married before to Claude Goodwin.
She had no children at that time. They were married
the first time in nineteen oh eight, and then were divorced.
They had two children by this marriage. Robert was the firstborn,
and the second was Johnny. He didn't know for sure
when the first divorce was granted, but thinks it was

(59:11):
around nineteen seventeen. They remarried soon after that, probably in May.
Nicholas and another child that lived only a few hours
were born in the second marriage. Nicholas has just passed
three and Robert is about eleven. They were living at
Morrisville when the second divorce occurred. He thinks Bertha and

(59:32):
missus Whitlow moved near Cuba in September. A suit for
alimony was filed last winter, but the suit was withdrawn.
They lived together about a week after that. The defendant
said that he started to drink when he was about
eighteen years old and has used intoxicants ever since. He

(59:52):
was married when he was twenty one. Bertha was seventeen,
but said she was eighteen. He said that susan As
and Whitlow lived with them right smart of the time.
Jeff Whitlow lived in Morrisville when the defendant did. They
lived in Morrisville about a year on Ireland Place when
the first suit was instituted. They lived in Wilmington last

(01:00:14):
spring or winter. Mother was not a member of the
family at that time. He remember Saturday, November nineteenth, nineteen
twenty one, on the day before he went to his
wife's house, came past from iris was going to talk
to her about helping her move. He took tax out
of one carpet Bertha packed things in boxes. He put

(01:00:38):
them in the machine and took them to Burtonville. Missus
Whitlow was there. He knew that an injunction had been
issued by the court for the defendant not to interfere
with the care or custody of the children. He did
not discuss the children. On Friday, when Bertha went to Dalton's,
witnessed talked to Judge Clevenger. He was pretty strict and

(01:01:00):
told the defendant to observe the injunction. Bert Thorpe advised
the witness to see the judge. Bertha had told the
witness that she was going to work at Dalton's for
sixteen weeks and wouldn't be with the children the next Sunday.
He felt that if Bertha wasn't going to stay with
the children, he ought to be allowed to, so he

(01:01:21):
went to see Judge Clevenger. The judge advised the witness
to get an attorney and take the matter up in
regular form to have the decree modified regarding the children.
He talked with Jeff Whitlow about the matter in October.
He did not say there will be bloodshed over this. Yet.

(01:01:41):
Conversation was about Thompson and Bertha. Bertha did not go
to Springfield with Susan Whitlow, as she said she was
going to do first thing. About the middle of forenoon
to Jeff Whitlow's Bertha had left the children with Jeff.
The witness said he saw Thompson and Bertha in the
house together at night, with no lights on. Bertha said

(01:02:03):
they were not in bed together. The children's bed was
not must and neither was Susan's. Both beds were cold.
Thompson had run out the back door. The witness got
in the machine caught Thompson in a buggy near the
bridge and said he had been to the defendant's wife's
house and had been in bed with this woman. The

(01:02:24):
divorce had been granted at this time, but the defendant
didn't know it. He went back to the house, Bertha
and baby were gone. The witness said he was afraid
Bertha would take the children away, but Jeff said he
would take care of them. Jeff advised the witness to
stay away from the women or they would get him
into trouble. He started back to the house, found no

(01:02:47):
one there. Between the Ireland School and Cuba, he met
Bertha with the baby. The boys were with them in
the machine. Bertha said she didn't know what made her
do what she was doing. Bertha asked to be taken
back home, which was done. He stayed for dinner and
then took the boys back to Jeff Whitlow's let them

(01:03:08):
out at the top of the hill. Bertha went in
the machine with him, and the defendant took her back
to the home near Cuba. Bertha didn't want to go
down and see her father on account of what had happened.
He stayed at the house a short time, then took
Bertha to Burtonville to get a rig. The defendant said
he knows Minny Miller. He told her that he couldn't

(01:03:31):
get along with Bertha and didn't think anybody else could,
but he did not use the words missus. Miller testified
on Saturday, he came to Wilmington in the morning to
buy furs on Buster Corner. He saw Bertha on Sugar
Tree Street near the telephone pole. Her horse was scared,
so he went across and hitched the horse. Bertha said

(01:03:55):
the boys were all right. Bertha wanted him to get
a team to help with the moving. He said he
would if he could. They went to Hadley's grocery. Together,
Bertha bought groceries. The defendant gave her a five dollar
bill and told her to keep the change. He went
back to the machine near Busters. Bertha went up town.

(01:04:16):
He saw her in a buggy later before he saw
Red Wallace. He had not seen Bosier. He unhitched the
horse and held the horse while Bertha got the groceries.
She drove out South Street. He knew Howard Bowsier had
been with him Friday night in Howard's pool room. Went
to the picture show at Lamax. He took him the

(01:04:38):
Melbourne to get his coat and then to appoint in
Wilmington near the old Cemetery. It was about the middle
of the afternoon Saturday when Bertha left town. He saw
Bosier Saturday evening buying furs on the corner. He sold
them to Harry fint Fin gave a check for eight dollars.
He had given the defendant forty dollars cash earlier in

(01:05:00):
the day. He saw Red Wallace and Bozier both before
selling the furs. They came down the street together. Bozier
talked about fur buying business only short conversation. He did
not see Bozier alive again. He's known Wallace six or
seven years by the nickname Red. He talked to Wallace

(01:05:22):
about buying a quart of whiskey. The witness was called,
but only wanted a drink, not a quart. Wallace talked
to Jesse Dudley, who had a package wrapped in paper
under his arm. Wallace one that defendant to go in
with him on buying it and to go to Sabina together.
He finally consented. Jesse said that he had the whisky

(01:05:44):
with him or They all started to the Pennsylvania Depot toilet.
Red went up by turners and joined them in the toilet.
Dudley unwrapped the package and let them sample it. Dudley
finally agreed to take three dollars for the court if
he could have have a drink. The witness paid a
dollar eighty on the court and Red paid a dollar twenty.

(01:06:06):
Red was short of money. Red had on an overcoat
and took possession of the whiskey. He moved the machine
up in front of the furniture hospital. He saw Red
at Buster corner, said he was going up and treat
the barber at the pool room. Saw him next at
the pull room, saw him next when selling furze Defend.

(01:06:29):
He delivered furs. Defense had no supper except sandwiches. He
went out to Coopers to change clothes before going to
Sabina with Wallace. Red went to Cooper's with the defendant.
It was just about dark. Both drank liquor on the
way out to Cooper's. It was white corn whisky. He

(01:06:50):
was intoxicated when reaching Coopers and changed clothes in the barn.
He left the clothes in the barn because the family
had scarlet fever. He left Red in the machine. He
went in the house after a gun, saw his sister
and took the gun to the machine. Red wanted to
borrow a revolver. It was loaded. He gave the gun

(01:07:10):
to Wallace and started the machine back to Wilmington. He
took a drink in the lane. The whiskey was in
a different bottle. Red told two or three different tales
about the new bottle. He gave the defendant a square bottle,
said he had divided the whiskey into two bottles as
he had gotten out of the notion of going to Sabina.

(01:07:31):
He drank several times out of his bottle, but he
may have taken a drink out of Red's bottle too,
but he didn't think that Red took a drink out
of his bottle. The defendant was getting pretty drunk. He
stopped somewhere on South Street. Red wanted to stop and
tried the guide the machine to the ditch. He didn't
remember quarreling or shooting Wallace. He had no gun with

(01:07:52):
him except the one that he gave to Red. Defendant
testified that he cannot give any correct version of what
happened on Southead ste and he can't remember where he went.
He didn't remember coming up to town and didn't remember
going out Morrisville Road. He had a faint recollection of
seeing Bots at Morrisville, but didn't remember being in the
store and didn't know how he got to the store.

(01:08:14):
He didn't remember stopping at the homes of the Browns
and asking for mister Foreman. He didn't know when he
recovered from the drunk. I supposed it was before he
talked to the sheriff in jail, but he didn't remember
any conversation with Bots. He remembers being at Cuba, being
sick at the edge of Cuba, vomiting. Thinks he was
sitting down and commenced to come to his senses. Walked

(01:08:38):
into Cuba, thought it was Cuba. Either turned around or
thought the town was so he sat down and was
sick again and tried to figure out what had become
of his automobile. He heard chickens crow. He thought it
was morning, so he started for the home of his
brother Ira. He went there frequently. He didn't like to
go home or to Cooper's when he had been drinking.

(01:09:00):
Testified that he could remember what happened from this time on.
He went toward Clarksville, met an automobile coming toward Cuba.
It was running fast, and went to where the road
turns to the left. He heard the shots before crossing
the bridge. He couldn't tell where the shots were, but
they sounded a good piece away. When he was near
the bridge, near the house where his wife lived, he

(01:09:22):
heard a noise like children crying. Sounded like his children.
When he saw someone come from the house and pass
to the road, he couldn't say whether it was Robert
or not. He run up to the front door. The
screen was hooked. He run to the left hand kitchen door.
He saw Susan on the floor. She said, oh my God, Oliver,

(01:09:43):
is that you, Oh, go to them children. The children
were pulling at their mother. He lifted her head up
but guessed she was dead, though he thought her lips moved.
He asked if she had been shot, and she didn't reply.
He heard the children screaming and went back to the children.
He told Susan Bertha was all right, but Susan said, no,

(01:10:04):
she's dead. They did it. Go get them. He felt
the murderer might still be there, so he started upstairs,
but got scared. Finally he went up but found no one.
He asked Susan again, who did it? She said, oh,
they've killed my girl, the dirtys. The witness said he
was crying and exited. The defendant said that he missed Robert,

(01:10:26):
and Susan said that he had gone to the telephone.
So he went out to find Robert. Susan said to
take the other children with him. He said he was
so scared he didn't know whether the children were dressed
or not. He started toward where Pope lives, just this side.
He met Robert, who was scared and had run down
into the ditch. He said, oh, Papa, is that you.

(01:10:49):
Robert was crying and said grandma and mother, and a
man was shot. He said two men did it, but
he didn't know who they were. He said the one
man had on a funny belt. One man shot Grandma
in the kitchen. Robert said he ran out through the
kitchen door, said he had not called anyone, as frasiers
were not up. Robert wanted to go back home. Robert

(01:11:12):
was scared and fired off the gun accidentally. The shots
scattered the defendant, who took the gun from Robert and
put it in his pocket. Then he either put the
gun in the kitchen or it fell out of his pocket.
Pope came out of the house and Robert and the
defendant both tried to tell what had happened. Pope went
back to the house. Then Robert said, wish you'd gotten

(01:11:35):
there sooner, Papa. Robert told about Stanley Thompson being there
the night before and was expected that night. Robert said,
don't know who's been here tonight, Papa, Because Grandma had
his kids upstairs. Pope built a fire. Missus Whitlow was called.
Someone covered her up or put something under her head.

(01:11:56):
Pope went to the telephone for a doctor so the
defendant could day with the children. He kept the children
out of the room where the mother was. He rubbed
Susan's arm. Can't say how long Pope was gone. Brian
finally came. The defendant took care of the children. Pope
came back, and other people came, but he didn't know

(01:12:18):
who they were. The defendant saw mister Lehman in the
house and saw doctor Basinger come. The witness said he
was sitting near the door that went into the front room.
The doctor talked to missus Whitlow asked her who did
the shooting, and she couldn't answer until the doctor told
her that he saw no hope for Then she said

(01:12:39):
that young man there, Oliver did the shooting. The witness
sank into the chair. The accusation was such a shock.
As soon as he found his tongue, he said, for
God's sake, Susan, you're not going to lay this on me,
are you? You know I didn't do it. Robert said,
Papa didn't shoot you. You know he didn't. I saw
the man that shot you and it wasn't Papa. You lie,

(01:13:01):
you old fool you, and I wish you would die.
Nicky asked, did you shoot mama? And did you shoot grandma,
but did not accuse him of the shooting. Then someone
told him to keep quiet and sit down. Doctor Basinger
searched him but did not find a gun, so he
ordered the witness to sit down and had Sachell watch him.

(01:13:22):
Sachell had a gun in his hand, and the doctor
said shoot him if he tries to get away. They
remained this way until the sheriff came, not much talking
going on. Then the undertakers came. He saw mister Lehman
talking to Robert, the sheriff, and the deputy came in,
walked over and shook hands with him. He didn't remember, saying,

(01:13:44):
I suppose you have come after me. He told the
sheriff there had been a shooting scrape and that the
old lady laid it on him. Robert told the sheriff
that Papa didn't do the shooting and that there were
two men who did it, one of them dressed like
a soldier. The sheriff deputy didn't pay much attention to
the defendant. Missus Whitlow was taken to the ambulance. The

(01:14:06):
children asked their father to stay with them, and he
said he would if he could, but he might be
arrested and locked up. Robert asked to be taken to
his grandfather's. The sheriff took the witness and the children
to Jeff Whitlow's. He told the sheriff what he could
about how he got to the house and what he
knew about the shooting. He told Jeff Whitlow what happened.

(01:14:28):
Robert told Grandpa that it wasn't his father who did
the shooting, but that there were two strange men. The
sheriff said, Oliver, you'd better come on to town with us.
He asked Jeff Whitlow to take care of the children
for a few days. He kissed the boys and came
to Wilmington. He has not spoken to his children from

(01:14:48):
that time until he saw Robert in the courtroom, but
he had seen them from the jail window. It was
not daylight when he was put in the jail. The
sheriff first questioned him about the matter on Sunday morning,
and then questioned him several times during the day. Nobody
else was in the jail. Then he was asked the
direct question three times whether he killed each of the parties.

(01:15:12):
His answers were, I did not shoot Bertha Vandervoort. I
did not shoot Susan Whitlow. I did not shoot Howard Bosier.
He did not stamp their faces. Susan Whitlow treated the
defendant pretty mean and didn't like him, hadn't liked him
since the short time after the first marriage. He had
never had any trouble with Howard Bosier, but he did

(01:15:34):
know Boyseer was going to see Bertha. The defendant was
shown a cold automatic and denied ever owning a gun
like it. His brother Ira had one, which the defendant
borrowed last fall. After he had it two or three weeks,
It was stolen from under the cushion of the automobile.
He said the gun was stolen by Alva Wallace, the

(01:15:54):
youngest brother of Red. Red told the witness that Alva
had the gun. So they went to Alva, and Red
got the gun and gave it to the defendant and
put it in the machine. Red gave back the gun
he had borrowed. Both guns were in the machine. He
took them out to Cooper's and put them on the press.
On the Saturday before the shooting, he was going to

(01:16:17):
Iris and put the gun in the machine to take
it to him. He changed his mind about going to
Iris and left the machine in front of Murphy's Theater.
When they got back to Cooper's that night, the gun
was gone and he has not seen it since. March third,

(01:16:37):
nineteen twenty two, Thomas Oliver van Dervoort was sentenced to
life imprisonment in the Ohio Penitentiary by Judge Frank M.
Clevenger of the Common please Court. The final scene in
the greatest murder trial Clinton County has ever known was

(01:16:58):
brief in the extreme. At two twenty eight, Vandervoort was
brought into the court room. Exactly at two thirty, he
was led out of the court room. Attorney Rogers, speaking
for the defense and presenting the written motions for a
new trial, said he would not urge the matter at present.

(01:17:18):
Judge Clevenger asked if the prisoner or council had anything
to say. Both answered, we have nothing to say. Judge
Clevenger then said that he had no discretion in the matter,
that only one penalty was provided by law. He then
sentenced Vandervolt to the Ohio Penitentiary for the term of
his natural life and to pay the costs of prosecution.

(01:17:43):
The only ones in the court room when sentence were
pronounced were two of the prisoner's brothers, a news journal reporter,
and the attorneys in the case. The triple murder, which
took place on a lonely road near Cuba on the
night of November nineteenth, was one of the most tragic
affairs ever recorded in the annals of history in Clinton County.

(01:18:06):
Vandervort was indicted on three counts of first degree murder,
that of shooting his twice divorced wife, Bertha W. Vandervoort,
her mother, Missus Susan M. Whitlow, and Howard Bozier, a
friend of Missus van Dervoort, who was calling at the
Whitlow Vandervort residence. Throughout the preliminary proceedings leading up to

(01:18:28):
the trial and during the trial, Vandervort maintained his innocence,
claiming that he was walking down the road near his
divorced wife's residence the knight of the slaying, and that
he heard a commotion in the house. As he entered.
He declared he heard shots fired and saw a man
leap from the door. Going inside the house, he found

(01:18:49):
his wife and Bozier lying on the floor, dead and
his mother in law in a dying condition. The dying
statement of Missus Whitlow, who declared Oliver did it, and
the testimony on the stand by some of the witnesses
that Vandervoort's three year old boy had said that night
Papa shot were two of the strongest arguments used by

(01:19:11):
the state in weaving its case against Vandervoort. Conviction of
murder and the second degree in the sentence of life
following it carries with it an opportunity for pardon or
parole later that was the boy said Papa shot. The

(01:19:49):
Cuba triple murder called from the historic pages of the
Wilmington News Journal and other newspapers of the era. True
Crime Historian is a creat of popular media. Opening theme
by Nico Vitessi, incidental music by Chuck Wiggins and Dave SAMs,
some music and sound effects licensed from podcast music dot Com.

(01:20:12):
Closing theme by Dave SAMs and Rachel Shott, engineered by
David Hish at Third Street Music Media Management, and original
graphics for all new episodes by Sean R. Miller Jones.
And as for me, I'm killing it, I'm True Crime Historian.
Richard O. Jones signing off for now.