A relative of mine was killed in the 1930s as part of a crime spree--he and another man were killed in separate incidents.
Several people were involved-including two girls and two 17 year old boys. I need to look up the girls' ages using other records as some newspapers indicate they were minors and other renderings indicate they were over age.
The girls were "friends" of the boys but were not actually an active part of the murders.
Question--should I mention all their names in a blog post? The information is easily obtainable in online newspapers and probably court records.
How would you feel if you discovered Grandma was involved in some activity of this type?
4 comments:
If it was public record or reported in the newspaper, I wouldn't have a problem with reporting it, especially since it has been 80 plus years.
I have "brick walls" that I wouldn't care what they did, if I could just FIND them!! No matter what a person did, it is part of their history, their story, so I would say go ahead and mention all the names.
I have looked up the history of the two girls who were involved in the thrill murder of your relative. The girls were listed in the newspapers as cousins and because what they were part of was an offense to the public, they then became part of the public record forever. Both girls went on to be incarcerated at the State Industrial School in Beloit, KS for an indefinite term but according to one source, "every girl so committed to the institution was required to remain until she reached the age of twenty-one." If these girls did stay in this institution until the age of 21 -- they only spent 7 years for their part in the thrill murder. As for your question about mentioning their names in a blog, both females most likely are now dead and it wouldn't matter. As for me not mentioning their names, this blog is yours and if you eventually determine not to mention names, you won't have to edit my post! Also, as for finding out about Grandma being involved in this sort of activity, I have not found anything on the old gal but have found plenty on the men. For instance, one relative stormed into a bank with his shotgun and killed the banker because, "He was a crook and deserved killing." Also granny's sisters happened to be ladies of the evening and others were arrested for other sorts of questionable behaviors.
I'm inclined to mention the individuals involved by name-largely because of the time involved and the fact that the information was in the newspapers (several as Jill likely found out) at the time so it's already "public."
There is a slight possibility that one of the girls are alive, although if memory serves one of them does appear in a death index as having died several years ago.
The references to their involvement in the killings would not be difficult to find using any one of a number of online newspaper sites.
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