The Cleveland Torso Murderer

 The Cleveland Torso Murderer

The Kingsbury Run Torso Murderer, also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, was an unidentified serial killer who was active in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, in the 1930s. The killings were characterized by the dismemberment of twelve known victims and the disposal of their remains in the impoverished neighborhood of Kingsbury Run. Most victims came from an area east of Kingsbury Run called "The Roaring Third" or "Hobo Jungle", known for its bars, gambling dens, brothels, and vagrants. Despite an investigation of the murders, which at one time was led by famed lawman Eliot Ness, then Cleveland's Public Safety Director, the murderer was never apprehended. (The Cleveland Torso Murderer is not to be confused with Richard Cottingham, a.k.a. The Torso Killer or the Times Square Torso Ripper.)

Murders

The official number of murders attributed to the Cleveland Torso Murderer is twelve, although recent research has shown there could have been as many as twenty. The twelve known victims were killed between 1935 and 1938. Some investigators, including lead detective Peter Merylo, believe that there may have been thirteen or more victims in the Cleveland, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh areas between the 1920s and 1950s. Two strong candidates for addition to the initial list of those killed are the unknown victim nicknamed the "Lady of the Lake," found on September 5, 1934, and Robert Robertson, found on July 22, 1950.

The victims of the Torso Murderer were usually drifters whose identities were never determined, although there were a few exceptions. Victims numbers 2, 3, and 8 were identified as Edward Andrassy, Florence Polillo, and possibly Rose Wallace, respectively. Edward Andrassy and Florence Polillo were both identified by their fingerprints, while Rose Wallace was tentatively identified via her dental records. The victims appeared to be lower class individuals — easy prey in Depression-era Cleveland. Many were known as "working poor", who had nowhere else to live but the ramshackle Depression-era shanty towns or "Hoovervilles" in the area known as the Cleveland Flats.

The Torso Murderer always beheaded and often dismembered their victims, occasionally severing the victim's torso in half or severing their appendages In many cases the cause of death was the decapitation or dismemberment itself. Most of the male victims were castrated. Some victims showed evidence of chemical treatment being applied to their bodies, which caused the skin to become red, tough, and leathery. Many of the victims were found after a considerable period of time following their deaths, occasionally in excess of a year. In an era when forensic science was largely in its infancy, these factors further complicated identification, especially since the heads were often undiscovered.

During the time of the "official" murders, Eliot Ness held the position of Public Safety Director of Cleveland, a position with authority over the police department and ancillary services, including the fire department. While Ness had little to do with the investigation, his posthumous reputation as leader of The Untouchables has made him an irresistible character in modern "torso murder" lore. Ness did contribute to the arrest and interrogation of one of the prime suspects, Dr. Francis E. Sweeney. In addition, he personally conducted raids into hobo shanties and eventually burned down Kingsbury Run, from which the killer took their victims. His reasoning for burning down the shanty towns was to catalog fingerprints to easily identify any new victims, and stated that it was also done to get possible victims out of the area in an attempt to stop the murders. Four days after the shantytown burning, on August 22, 1938, Ness launched an equally draconian operation of questionable legality, where he personally dispatched six two-man search teams on a large area of Cleveland, stretching from the Cuyahoga River to E. 55th Street to Prospect Avenue under the guise of conducting city fire inspections. This area of the city had long been supposed as the location of the Torso Murderer's "laboratory." Among the detectives dispatched and charged to look for signs of the Torso Murderer's activity in the area were Detectives Orley May, Emil Musil, Peter Merylo, and Martin Zalewski- men who had worked the case from the beginning and must have felt the frustrations of the case most strongly. While the search never turned up any new or incriminating information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the Torso Murderer, the systemic search did serve to focus renewed public attention on the terrible living conditions in the downtown Cleveland area. The teams uncovered hundreds of families living in appalling fire traps without toilets or running water. The interests of social reform, did ultimately come to light even if those of law enforcement did not.

At one point in time, the killer taunted Ness by placing the remains of two victims in full view of his office in city hall.

Victims

Most researchers consider there to be 12 victims, although some have counted as many as 20. New evidence suggests a woman dubbed "The Lady of the Lake" could be included. There was a second victim who was also considered to be a victim of the Torso Killer in 1950 named Robert Robertson due to the fact that his head was also cut off. Only two victims were positively identified; the other ten were six John Does and four Jane Does.

1st victim found second victim to be killed was Edward Andrasy. His body was found September 23, 1935 on the base of Jackass Hill where East 49th Street dead-ends into Kingsbury Run. Andrasy's head was discovered buried near the rest of his body. His body was found to be emasculated and only wearing socks. The autopsy report stated that his head was decapitated in the mid-cervical region with a fracture of the mid-cervical vertebrae. The corner also noted that Andrasy had rope burn around his writs. The cause of Andrasy's death was decapitation; hemorrhage and shock. Edward Andrasy's death was ruled a homicide. He was estimated to have been dead for Two to three days

The second victim to be found first victim to be killed was John Doe number 1 he was found September 23, 1935 at Jackass Hill area of Kingsbury Run (The body was found by James Wagner and Peter Kostera) Male body was never identified. Emasculated and decapitated, head recovered. The skin was treated with a chemical agent that caused it to become reddish and leathery. He had been dead Initial estimates were seven to ten days. It was later revised to three to four weeks.

Third victim to be found third to be killed Florence Genevieve Polillo (aliases: Sawdey, Saudey, Ghent, Martin, Gallagher, Davis, Clara Dunn, Clara Martin) she was found both on January 26/February 7, 1936 Between 2315 and 2325 East 20th Street in downtown Cleveland and 1419 Orange Avenue Florence Polillo's body was discovered at 2315 to 2325 East 2oth Street in Cleveland, Ohio. Florence was found dismembered and had been wrapped with paper and packed into half-bushel baskets, however, her head was never discovered. Florence was approximately 43 years old and weighed about 150 pounds. The autopsy report states that her cause of death was a slit throat, but it was questioned if it was a homicide because the head was never discovered. It was estimated that she had been dead for Two to four days.

The fourth victim found fifth to be killed John Doe II "The Tattooed Man” he was found June 5, 1935 in Kingsbury Run John Doe II also known as "The Tattooed Man" body was discovered in front of the Nickel Plate Railroad Police building, while his head was discovered near the East 55th Street Bridge. John Doe II had 6 tattoos hence the name "Tattooed man". The autopsy report stated that the body was drained of blood as well as his head was severed while the victim was alive. He was dead for Two days.

The fifth victim to be found fourth to be killed was John Doe Number 3 who was found on July 22, 1936 in Big Creek area of Brooklyn, west of Cleveland. The victim was dismembered while still alive. His head was recovered. This unidentified male body was the only known West Side victim. He was dead for around 4 months.

The sixth victim to be found 7th to be murdered was John Doe IV he was found on September 10th, 1936 near a Creek in Kingsbury Run. Two halves of a male torso and lower legs were found. The coroner notes the body was severed between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae as well as between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae. The head was never found nor the body identified. The victim's kidneys and stomach were cut and he was emasculated as well. The Coroner declared the probable cause death was decapitation. He was dead for 2 days.

The 7th victim to be found 8th to be murdered was possible Jane doe number 1 she was found February 23rd, 1937 at Euclid Beach on the Lake Erie shore. The unidentified female body was found at the same spot as the 1934 noncanonical victim nicknamed "The Lady of the Lake" (see below). The head was never found. (Seen as arguably the first victim) The upper extremities are disarticulated at the level of the glenoid fossa, better known as the socket of the shoulder joint. The neck and head are disarticulated between the seventh cervical and first thoracic vertebrae. Multiple hesitation knife marks at the surface of the skin are present. There was considerable water and gravel found in both pleural cavities. Though previously listed anatomical discoveries and diagnoses are made, the probable cause of death is officially undetermined via the coroner's case file. She was dead for 3-4 days.

The 8th victim to be found 6th to be killed wasjane doe 2 she was found June 6th, 1937 Beneath the Lorain-Carnegie bridge Only black victim (Thought to be Rose Wallace, but never truly identified). The body was decapitated and missing a rib. The head was recovered. (From the head, they found distinct dental work was done with her teeth, but were still never able to positively ID her). She was dead for a whole year.

The 9th victim found 9th victim murdered was John Doe number 5 he was found July 6, 1937 he was Pulled out of Cuyahoga River in the Cleveland Flats Body of this male was recovered but the head was never found. The unidentified man had his abdomen gutted, and his heart ripped out. He was dead for 2-3 days.

The 10th victims found 12th victim murdered was Jane doe number 3 she was found April 8, 1938 in Cuyahoga River in the Cleveland Flats On April 8 only the victim's lower leg was recovered. On May 2 a human thigh was discovered floating in the river to the east of the West 3rd Street bridge. A police search under the bridge found a burlap sack containing the victim's headless torso cut in two halves, another thigh and a left foot. The head and the rest of the body were never found. Only victim to have drugs (morphine) in her system. The amount of morphine was estimated at 0.002 gm. per 100 gm. sample. She had been dead 3-5 days.

The 11th victim found 11th victim killed she was found on august 16, 1938 on East 9th Street Lakeshore Dump (The dead body was found 800 feet east On Shore Drive, of east 9th Street) she was Decapitated. Head recovered. Head disarticulated at the level of the third intervertebral disc. Autopsy was performed by S.R. Gerber, M.D., Coroner of Cuyahoga County. Lead Detective Peter Merylo would later, in his memoirs, dismiss Jane Doe IV as a victim of the Torso Murderer due to evidence of embalming found on the remains. No other canonical victims' remains had shown traces of embalming. She had been dead 4-6 months.

The 12th and final victim to be found 10th victim to be killed was John Doe VI he was found august 16, 1938. East 9th Street Lakeshore Dump (exact location is 900 feet East of E. 9th Street and 50 feet South of Lake Road) John Doe VI's body was discovered on the lakefront in plain view of Safety Director Eliot Ness's office with Jane Doe IV. It was previously mentioned that the head of John Doe VI was discovered in a can, however, there has been no evidence or reports on it. Similar to the other victims, the head was severed from the body and the victim today still remains unidentified. The head was disarticulated at the level of the third inter-vertebral disc. and had knife marks on the dorsum of the second and third cervical vertebrae. Extremities at all the major joints were all disarticulated as well. The coroner ruled the cause of death as undetermined though he noted it was probably a homicide he had been dead for 7-9 months. Edward Andrassy was buried in St Mary Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio; Florence Polillo is buried in Pennsylvania Five of the John/Jane Does ("Lady of the Lake"; and victims John Doe #1; John Doe #2; John Doe #4; Jane Doe #1) were buried in Potter's Field Section of Highland Park Cemetery, Highland Park, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

Possible victims

Several noncanonical victims are commonly discussed in connection with the Torso Murderer. The first was nicknamed the "Lady of the Lake" and was found near Euclid Beach on the Lake Erie shore on September 5, 1934. Only parts of her were found and matched with parts found at another shore in Perry. She had an abdominal scar from a likely uterus removal which was common and made it more difficult to identify her. After she was found people began reporting see body parts in the water, including a group of fisherman who believed to have seen the head. She was found virtually the same spot as canonical victim number 7. Some researchers of the Torso Murderer's victims count the "Lady of the Lake" as victim number 1, or "Victim Zero". Like the Lady of the Lake, a year later John Doe I had perhaps a substance on his skin (though his skin abnormalities could possibly be due to burning) when his body was found, however at the time the similarities were not connected. The chemical was believed to have been a substance using lime chloride. It is supposed that the killer meant to use a quickening lime to decompose the bodies quicker but mistakenly used lime that would preserve bodies instead.

The headless body of an unidentified male was found in a boxcar in New Castle, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 1936. Three headless victims were found in boxcars near McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, on May 3, 1940. All bore similar injuries to those inflicted by the Cleveland killer. Dismembered bodies were also found in the swamps near New Castle between the years 1921 and 1934 and between 1939 and 1942. In September 1940 an article in the New Castle News refers to the killer as "The Murder Swamp Killer". The almost identical similarities between the victims in New Castle to those in Cleveland, Ohio, coupled with the similarities between New Castle's Murder Swamp and Cleveland's Kingsbury Run, both of which were directly connected by a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line, were enough to convince Cleveland Detective Peter Merylo that the New Castle murders were the work of the "Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run". Merylo was convinced the connection was the railroad that ran twice a day between the two cities; he often rode the rails undercover looking for clues to the killer's identity.

On July 22, 1950, the body of 41-year-old Robert Robertson was found at a business at 2138 Davenport Avenue in Cleveland. Police believed he had been dead six to eight weeks and appeared to have been intentionally decapitated. His death appeared to fit the profile of other victims: He was estranged from his family, had an arrest record and a drinking problem, and was on the fringes of society. Despite widespread newspaper coverage linking the murder to the crimes in the 1930s, detectives investigating Robertson's death treated it as an isolated crime.

In 1939 the "Torso Killer" claimed to have killed a victim in Los Angeles, California. An investigation uncovered animal bones. In addition to the murders in Cleveland it is also suspected that there are connected murders before and after in Sandusky and Youngstown, as well as New Castle(PA), and Selkirk(NY). If they are connected this would raise the body count, and raise more questions about travel ability. It would also create a longer timeline of murders and victims over the span of the years. In a time where most major travel was still by railway, and Cleveland being a major hub between some of these cities, it would be much more difficult to find viable suspects.

Elliot Ness who became famous for being part of the untouchables and who took down Al Capone due to tax evasion. was also Safety Director at the of the murders that occurred in the Cleveland area from 1935 to 1938; though he had oversight of the police department, he was only peripherally involved in the investigation. Ness interrogated one of the prime suspects of the murders, Dr. Francis E. Sweeney, using a polygraph test. At one point in time, two bodies of the victims of the serial killer were placed within view of his office window.

Eliot Ness officially took charge of the so-called Torso Murderer case on 12 September 1936 as public concern, press scrutiny, and political pressure grew

Eliot Ness and a group of thirty-five police officers and detectives, raided the hobo jungles of the Run. Eleven squad cars, two police vans and three fire trucks descend on the largest cluster of makeshift shacks where the Cuyahoga River twists behind Public Square. Ness’s raiders worked their way south through the Run eventually gathering up sixty-three men. At dawn, police and fireman searched the deserted shanties for clues. Then, on orders from Safety Director Ness, the shacks were set on fire and burned to the ground.

The press severely criticized Ness for his actions. The public was afraid and frustrated. Critics said the raid would do nothing to solve the murders. They were right, but for whatever reason, they did stop.

Another interesting point to note was that In 1947—the same year Ness unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Cleveland—a woman, later identified as Elizabeth Short, was found murdered in Leimert Park in Los Angeles. Short was cut in half, her intestines were removed, and she was drained of her blood—all similar hallmarks to the Torso Murders. She became known as the Black Dahlia, and her murder has one more thing in common with the Torso Murders: It remains unsolved.

Suspects

Authorities interrogated around 9,100 people during the investigation to find the Torso Murderer. Though the case became the biggest police investigation in Cleveland history, and many were investigated, there were only two main suspects of the Torso Murders: Frank Dolezal and Francis E. Sweeney.

County Sheriff Martin O’Donnell arrested fifty-two-year-old Bohemian brick layer Frank Dolezal for the murder of Flo Polillo. Dolezal had lived with her for a while, and subsequent investigation revealed he had been acquainted with Edward Andrassy and Rose Wallace.

His “confession” turned out to be a bewildering blend of incoherent ramblings and neat, precise details, almost as if he had been coached. Before he could go to trial, Dolezal was found dead in his cell. The five foot eight Dolezal had hanged himself from a hook only five feet seven inches off the floor. Gerber’s autopsy revealed six broken ribs, all of which had been obtained while in the Sheriff’s custody. To this day no one thinks Frank Dolezal was the torso killer. The question is: why did Sheriff O’Donnell?

Most investigators consider the last canonical murder to have been in 1938. One suspected individual was Dr. Francis E. Sweeney. Born May 5, 1894, Sweeney was a veteran of World War I who was part of a medical unit that conducted amputations in the field; after the war, Sweeney became an alcoholic due to pathological anxiety and depression derived from his wartime experiences. Sweeney was later personally interviewed by Eliot Ness, who oversaw the official investigation into the killings in his capacity as Cleveland's Safety Director. Before the interrogation, Sweeney was detained and he was found to be so intoxicated that he was held in a hotel room for 3 days until he sobered up. During this interrogation, Sweeney is said to have "failed to pass" two very early polygraph machine tests. Both tests were administered by polygraph expert Leonarde Keeler, who told Ness he had his man. Ness apparently felt there was little chance of obtaining a successful prosecution of the doctor, especially as he was the first cousin of one of Ness's political opponents, Congressman Martin L. Sweeney, who had hounded Ness publicly about his failure to catch the killer. After Sweeney committed himself, there were no more leads or connections that police could assign to him as a possible suspect. From his hospital confinement, Sweeney sent threatening postcards and harassed Ness and his family into the 1950s and the postcards only stopped arriving after his death. Sweeney died in a veterans' hospital in Dayton on July 9, 1964. Sweeney was a viable suspect but the evidence was circumstantial and would have no bearing. He had a doctors office on the street where a man named Emil Fronek said a doctor tried to drug him in 1934. His story was discounted as he could not relocate the building with police the next day. Upon finding a victim with drugs in her system and looking through buildings it was found that Sweeney did have an office next to a coroner, in the area where Fronek had suggested he had been drugged. He would practice in their morgue and that would then create a clean and easy place to kill victims and not leave a mess due to the building being used to hold the dead anyways. Then the taunting postcards would make sense since only Ness knew what was going on, and irony that the last bodies were placed so he could see them from home and for the killer to prove they would not be caught.

In 1997, another theory postulated that there may have been no single Butcher of Kingsbury Run because the murders could have been committed by different people. This was based on the assumption that the autopsy results were inconclusive. First, Cuyahoga County Coroner Arthur J. Pearce may have been inconsistent in his analysis as to whether the cuts on the bodies were expert or slapdash. Second, his successor, Samuel Gerber, who began to enjoy press attention from his involvement in such cases as the Sam Sheppard murder trial, garnered a reputation for sensational theories. Therefore, the only thing known for certain was that all the murder victims were dismembered. Elliot Ness was said to have taken the identity of the killer's name to his grave.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Torso_Murderer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Ness

https://www.clevelandpolicemuseum.org/collections/torso-murders/

https://historyofyesterday.com/eliot-ness-pursuit-of-the-cleveland-torso-murderer-162c16469e32

https://www.ranker.com/list/cleveland-torso-murderer-facts/amandasedlakhevener

https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/The_Mad_Butcher_of_Kingsbury_Run

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/632096/cleveland-torso-murderer-unsolved-serial-killer