Introduction
On September 11, 1969, Leroy Snyder, a 38-year-old junkyard laborer, was arrested and charged with the murder of Gertrude Friedman, 58, at 330 Kaighn Avenue, Camden, where she had lived and for over 40 years. Attacked in her combination apartment and linoleum shop, the victim had been beaten and raped before her throat was slashed. Held without bail on a murder charge, Snyder was still behind bars on July 2, 1970, when he was indicted for six more slayings in Camden, all committed between February and September 1969.
Snyder had previously spent nineteen of the previous 21 years in New Jersey state prisons for rape and armed robbery.
According to investigators, most of the victims—including five women and one man—were friends or acquaintances of Snyder. All were beaten or stabbed to death, and two of the female victims were raped. Confessing to all seven murders on July 10, Snyder claimed robbery as the motive in six of the crimes, but “couldn’t recall” his motivation for the seventh.
Under New Jersey law, Snyder’s plea of no defense on seven counts of homicide prevented the state from imposing a death penalty for his crimes. On July 16, 1970, he was sentenced to three consecutive life terms, requiring the prisoner to serve 43 years and six months before he is eligible for parole. Referring to a court-ordered psychiatric report, the presiding judge publicly described Snyder as a “malignant psychopath” and a “threat to society,” expressing the hope that he would never be released from jail.
Leroy Snyder died in prison October of 2001.
Next to nothing was written about Leroy Snyder’s background when his crimes were reported. He was born in Camden on February 13, 1931 to Rex W. Snyder and his wife, the former Anna Jackson. He was the fifth of at least seven children, coming after Clarence F. and Woodley R. Snyder, Julius Snyder and Margaret Snyder. A brother James R. Snyder, was born in 1932 and a sister, Florence, in 1936. The Snyders had come to Camden from Philadelphia, shortly after the birth of Woodley Snyder in 1926. The 1930 Census shows them at 919 South 9th Street. Also living with the family were Rex Snyder’s mother Jane and her second husband, Louis Frazier. The family broke apart in the late 1930s, the most likely scenario is that Anna Snyder had passed away, and Clarence F. Snyder does not appear to have survived the 1930s. The 1940 Census shows that Woodley R. Snyder was living at the New Jersey Home for Boys in Middlesex County. Julius, and James were living with grandparents Howard and Caroline Jackson are listed in the 1940 Census for Sleepy Hole, Virginia, which is now part of the city of Suffolk, Virginia. The Census indicates that the boys were living there as early as 1935. The 1940 Census also shows Rex Snyder was boarding at 904 Douglass Street in Camden, and grandmother Jane Frazier and her husband had moved to 736 Cherry Street. The Snyder daughters were raised elsewhere, Margaret by Chasten and Mary Howard, who lived for many years in Pennsauken, New Jersey. By 1942 Rex Snyder had moved to the 700 block of Mt. Vernon Street.
Woodley, Julius, Leroy and James Snyder were all back in Camden in the 1940s. Woodley R. Snyder had been getting trouble with the law since the age of nine. He was sent to Jamesburg in 1942 for breaking and entering. He escaped from the Boys Home in September of 1942 and was given a five year sentence for crimes during his month on the run. In 1953 he was sentenced to a 10-15 year prison term for beating an elderly woman during a robbery so badly that she was paralyzed. Julius Snyder had at least four brushes with the law between 1946 and 1963 on charges including gambling, embezzlement, burglary, and assault. Both brothers appear to have straightened as the years passed. Leroy and James Snyder, on the other hand, were a whole other matter.
In December of 1949 Leroy Snyder was arrested for assaulting a young woman and attempting to strangle her with a clothesline. After a too-short time in prison, he returned to Camden, and was sent back to jail for robbing and threatening to kill two young women. He was given four years imprisonment for this crime. Released from prison on June 23, 1955, he was arrested on July 26, 1955 for robbing a Philadelphia cab driver, and sentenced for assault and battery with intent to rob and was given a three to five year sentence. Released from jail in January of 1959, he was arrested in August for armed robbery and prison for ten years. Leroy Snyder was put back on the street in January of 1969 after serving nine years in prison. Within six weeks of his being put back on the street, he had murdered his first victim. Mrs. Lula Crawley was bound, gagged, and stabbed 13 times. Leroy Snyder murdered six more people over the next 8 months. His killing spree was stopped in September, shortly after the rape and murder of Mrs. Friedman.
James Snyder attended the Whittier School at South 8th and Chestnut Streets before going into the United States Army, most likely as a draftee, and served in Korea. He was stationed at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. and had been promoted to Corporal by May of 1952. He was arrested in Camden on May 10, 1952 for possession of a stolen car and was fined $200 and turned over to the Army at Fort Dix. His life appears to have gone completely off the rails after this. He was sent to prison at the Lorton Reformatory on larceny charges for crimes committed in Washington. Within two weeks of his release, he had robbed and assaulted a nurse, and killed a busboy with a hammer. His trial was delayed until 1959, and he was acquitted for reasons of insanity and confined to the federal mental institution at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington. Although he had been violent on several occasions, he was allowed street privileges from 9:00 A.M to 9:00 P.M. to work in a vocational program. In 1969 while at one of these programs, he attacked a hospital employee with a pipe, leaving his victim less one eye. The hospitals’ response was to cut his time allowed off-premises to 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
James Snyder escaped from St. Elizabeth’s in July of 1972 and made his way back to Camden. He connected with Mrs. Muskogee Edwards, who had taught him when he had been a student at the John G. Whittier School at South 8th Street and Chestnut Street. Mrs. Edwards hired him as a handyman to do repairs at her home on Kaighn Avenue. This was a fatal mistake, as James Snyder murdered her. He had already been caught and returned to St. Elizabeth’s when her body was discovered. James Snyder was not tried until 1975. He was convicted of first degree murder, but apparently never served time in New Jersey prisons, having been returned to federal custody. Criminally insane, James Snyder lived out his years at St. Elizabeth’s, passing away on July 16, 2013.
Cops Are Checking On Movements of Garrote Suspect
Camden Courier-Post —
LEROY SNYDER
Investigators of the murder of Richard H. Thompson, 36-year-old churchworker, today were checking the whereabouts and movements of a South Camden youth prior to and after the discovery of the crime.
Leroy Snyder, 18, of 736 Cherry street, arrested Thursday night for allegedly attempting to strangle a 16-year-old girl with a piece of clothesline, is under examination in the county jail by City Detectives Ellis and Simon and County Detective McLaughlin.
The probers said they were particularly interested in the piece of clothesline the girl said she wrested from Snyder’s grasp when he tossed it about her neck and pulled her to the sidewalk at Sixth and Walnut streets.
Detectives said the clothesline will be compared with a four-foot length clothesline found tightly knotted about Thompson’s neck when he was discovered Oct. 15 in a small areaway behind a row of garages at Fifth and Mickle streets.
Youth Held in Attempt To Strangle Girl, 16, Quizzed on Murder
Camden Courier-Post —
Police Grill Suspect About Garroting of Church Worker
A South Camden youth is under questioning today in the garrote slaying of Richard H. Thompson, 36-year-old churchworker, after his arrest Thursday night for attempting to strangle a girl with a length of clothesline.
Leroy Snyder, 18, of 736 Cherry street, was arrested on complaint of Gertrude Jones, 16, of 536 Liberty street.
The girl told police she was walking along Walnut street near Sixth about 11 p. m. when she was attacked by a youth who looped a piece of clothesline about her neck and tossed her to the ground.
The girl said she screamed and began to struggle. Her shouts were heard by a minister, the Rev. Isaac Foulkes, pastor of the New Union Baptist Church, 608 Walnut street, of which the girl is a member. The Rev. Mr. Foulkes was looking at books in the church and ran outside. Seeing him, the suspect fled.
District Detective John Opfer responded to the alarm and with the girl in his car began a tour of the neighborhood. About a block from the scene, Opfer said, the girl pointed to Snyder and he was arrested. At police headquarters Miss Jones identified Snyder as the one who attacked her.
Detective George Ellis and County Detective James McLaughlin, who are investigating the Thompson murder, were notified.
Ellis said Snyder would be questioned and the clothesline would be checked against the one found knotted tightly around Thompson’s neck when he was discovered Oct. 15 in an areaway behind a row of garages at Fifth and Mickle streets.
Two Brothers Held On Separate Charges
Camden Courier-Post —
Two South Camden brothers Monday were held without bail for grand jury action in separate cases heard by Municipal Judge Dzick.
LeRoy Snyder, 20, of 736 Cherry street, pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and threat to kill made by Mrs. Grace Henefer, 24, of 23 North Stinson street, Gloucester, and Miss Patricia Duddy, 19, of 808 Broadway. They identified Snyder as the man who robbed them of $11 after forcing his way into their automobile on Oct. 6.
Snyder’s brother, Julius, 23, of 737 Chestnut street, entered a guilty plea to a charge preferred by Miss Jacqueline Fisher, 753 Pine street, who testified she discovered Julius in her home when she entered 3 a. m., Sept. 2.
Youth Sentenced To 3 to 5 Years For Robbery of 2
Camden Courier-Post —
Leroy Snyder, 20, was sentenced to three to five years in state prison, after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of threat to kill and robbery before Judge Palese.
Police said that Snyder, on Oct. 6, approached a car in the 800 block, Broadway, about 3.30 a. m. Seated inside were Patricia A. Dudy, 19, of 808 Broadway, and Mrs. Grace Henefer, 24, of 23 North Stinson avenue, Gloucester.
Snyder opened the door of the car and sat down beside the girls.
“Give me your money, or I’ll blast you,” he told the girls.
The two young women began to pull bills from their handbags, and turned them over to the bandit. Snyder then forced them to drive the car to the vicinity of Seventh and Pine streets.
“Now give me the change in your purses,” he said. The girls complied. A total of $6.50 was taken from Miss Dudy and $4.50 from Mrs. Henefer. Snyder leaped from the vehicle and escaped on foot. He was captured a few days later and identified by the women as the thug who robbed them.
Police Move Fast to Nab Cab Bandit
Camden Courier-Post —
Prisoner Once Served 4 Years for Robbing 2 Young Women
By VERNETTE PRICE
A Camden man, released from Bordentown Reformatory a month ago after serving a sentence for armed robbery, was seized early today by Cinnaminson Township police charged with attempted holdup of a Philadelphia taxicab driver.
Under arrest is Leroy Snyder, 24, who said he lives in the 800 block of Center st. However, no such address is listed in the city directory.
Snyder is accused of assaulting John Cucinotta, 40, of 1029 Federal st., Philadelphia, a Yellow Cab driver, and attempting to rob him.
Admits Charge
The suspect, arrested about a mile from the scene by Police Chief Thomas Adams and Patrolman John Aydelotte, of Cinnaminson police, readily admitted the robbery attempt, Adams stated. Snyder was ordered held without bail pending a hearing before Municipal Judge Cecil A. Bowers, on charges of attempted holdup and assault and battery.
Cucinotta told Adams he picked up Snyder as a fare at 13th and Market sts., Philadelphia, shortly before midnight and was instructed to drive to an address in Pennsauken Township. When the cab reached Pennsauken, Cucinotta said he was told to keep driving, finally reaching a deserted area along Fork Landing rd., near Maple Shade.
Holdup
Hits Cabbie
Cucinotta said Snyder suddenly declared:
“This is it.”
With that remark, the suspect reportedly hit Cucinnotta on the head with a large piece of wood wrapped in a newspaper.
The blow dazed the cab driver. As he tussled with the passenger, the assailant suddenly jumped from the vehicle and fled on foot empty handed. Cucinotta ran to a nearby home and telephoned Chief Adams.
Police in Maple Shade, Moorestown and Palmyra were alerted and a search of the area started.
About an hour later, Adams said, he found Snyder walking on Church st. toward Moorestown. Questioned about the robbery attempt, the suspect confessed, the police chief said.
Cucinotta was taken to Zurbrugg Memorial Hospital, Riverside, for treatment of a head injury.
Snyder, Adams said, was released June 23 from Bordentown Reformatory, after serving four years of a three-to-five-year sentence for robbing two young women of $11 on Oct. 6, 1951.
The victims of that robbery were Patricia A. Dudy, then 19, of 808 Broadway, and Mrs. Grace Henefer, then 24, of 23 N. Stinson ave., Gloucester.
The two women were in a car in the 800 block of Broadway about 3.30 a. m. when Snyder opened the door and sat down beside them. He robbed them and escaped.
However, Snyder was arrested a few days later and identified by the victims.
Leroy Snyder Held
Camden Courier-Post —
Leroy Snyder, 28, of the 300 block Penn st., was held for the grand jury on charges of attempted armed robbery and threat to do bodily harm with a knife.
He was arrested early Saturday after a police chase near Armor Park, where Charles Kelly, 514 Edmond st., and Esther Edmonds, of 463 Carteret st., reported mugging attempts.
Woman Slain by Sadist In Her S. Camden Store
Camden Courier-Post —
Named: Mrs. Lula Crawley, James Crawley, William Evoy, Belton Kirkland, William Mears, Douglas Crawley, Baptist Temple, South 6th Street, Princess Avenue, and Stevens Street..
By HOAG LEVINS and CRAIG WATERS
Courier-Post Staff
A 45-year-old woman shopkeeper in Camden was sadistically stabbed to death yesterday in her South Camden used furniture store.
She was Mrs. Lula Crawley, 1444 Princess Ave., wife of the store’s owner, James, 65.
Police were unable immediately to discern a motive for the slaying.
Wyn A. Evoy, investigator for the Camden County Medical Examiner’s office, said the woman was found by a neighbor laying face down in a pool of blood, her hands bound behind her back with heavy twine. She also was gagged.
Stabbed 13 Times
She had been stabbed 13 times in the chest, neck and back, Evoy said.
He described the murder as “the work of a sick mind.”
The body was discovered shortly after 4 p.m.
A detail of more than 30 city and county authorities were combing the 1006 S. 6th St. store for clues yesterday and were questioning relatives and associates into the early morning.
Evoy said he found no evidence the woman had been molested sexually. An autopsy was being performed today.
Police Account
Police gave the following account:
Mrs. Crawley was operating the store this week because her husband was confined to a wheelchair after he fractured his leg in a fall on the ice in Philadelphia Monday.
Crawley told police he was at home and became worried when he didn’t hear from his wife by about 4 p.m.
He said the store’s telephone also has an extension in the couple’s home, and that the home phone began ringing continually in the early afternoon.
This was unusual, Crawley said, because his wife should have answered the phone in the store.
Store Found Locked
He asked a neighbor. Belton Kirkland, 59, of 1442 Princess Ave., to check the store.
Kirkland found the store locked and Crawley sent a friend of the family, William Mears of Stevens Street, to the shop with a key.
The two men discovered Mrs. Crawley’s body when they entered.
Police reports said the woman was found lying on the floor near a sofa, face down, with blood from her wounds pouring around and under the sofa.
She wore a dark sweater over a light blouse, and a dark tweed skirt.
Police said she was stabbed four times in the middle of her back, near her spine; once on the right side of her back; once in the lower back, near the abdomen; twice in the chest and five times in the neck and throat.
Evoy said any one of the 13 stab wounds could have killed her.
Crawley could offer no possible explanation for the slaying to police. He said the store had several employes but that there had been no trouble.
Mrs. Crawley was active in the Baptist Temple Church on Mount Vernon Street, and recently was appointed superintendent of children’s work for the Bethany Association, a Baptist organization.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by a son, Douglas, 26.
Woman Shopkeeper Slain in City
Camden Courier-Post —
By JIM SMITH
Courier-Post Staff
Camden police are looking for clues in connection with the murder of a woman shopkeeper whose Kaighns Avenue store was apparently burglarized yesterday.
The victim was identified as Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, about 58 years of age, of 330 Kaighns Ave., by Blair M. Murphy, chief investigator for the Camden County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to Murphy, the victim was found about 2 p.m. lying on her living room floor by Paul Pallas, 42, of 29 E. Main St., Maple Shade, who operates the Storm Window Service at 336 Kaighns Ave.
Pallas was called to the scene by an unidentified customer who got no response when he called at Mrs. Friedman’s store, Murphy added.
The two-story store front building housed the Friedmans’ combined residence and shop specializing in carpet and linoleum sales.
Mrs. Friedman’s husband Harold 59, who is employed by a Philadelphia bookbinding firm, wasn’t home at the time.
When Pallas discovered the body he called Miss Tillie Lewis of 344 Kaighns Ave., a neighbor and friend of Mrs. Friedman.
Miss Lewis called the police and Ptl. Lawrence Gasperone Sr. and Frank Piech were dispatched to the scene. They in turn called Murphy.
Murphy said that when he arrived:
“I found her lying on her back, her head on a pillow on the floor of the living room. Her neck had apparently been deeply slashed with a sharp instrument.
“This apparently happened a couple of hours prior to the time I arrived,” he continued. “Her dress and underclothing had been completely ripped off. The face was swollen and badly bruised, and it appeared that she had been sexually molested.”
Murphy said he had the body removed to the Camden County Morgue in Pennsauken where an autopsy was scheduled today.
Police said the house and store was ransacked and possibly burglarized.
Mrs. Friedman put up a violent struggle downstairs in the living room, police said. The upstairs of the home had been ransacked.
Deputy Police Chief Mario Ferrari linked the murder with those of four others in Camden during the past year. The deputy chief felt they were all similar in that all the victims were older women and that robbery was not necessarily the motive.
However, Ferrari said not all were sex murders.
Police suspect that robbery may not have been the motive of the most recent killing because of the nature of the objects missing.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Berschler Funeral Chapels, Route 38, Pennsauken.
Slain Shopkeeper Bled to Death
Camden Courier-Post —
Autopsy of Woman
A 58-year-old woman shopkeeper in Camden bled to death Monday after she was raped, beaten and slashed across the throat, an autopsy found yesterday.
“A penetrating wound of the neck” caused Mrs. Gertrude Friedman to bleed to death, according to Blair M. Murphy, chief investigator for the Camden County Medical Examiner’s Office.
She was found naked on the floor of her ransacked apartment at 330 Kaighns Ave. after a customer to her linoleum and carpet shop in the same building got no response, police said.
Mrs. Friedman’s clothing, ripped from her body, was nearby in the living room.
Police, saying robbery may not have been a motive in the apparent sex slaying, are trying now to link Mrs. Friedman’s murder to the murders of four other older women in Camden in the past year.
Police also have said the woman’s murder is apparently not related to the current racial unrest in the city.
Funeral services were held today. Mrs. Friedman was buried in Crescent Burial Park, Pennsauken.
She is survived by her husband, Harold, and a brother, Milton J. Hess of Ventnor City.
Woman Found Dead, Raped
Bucks County Courier-Times —
CAMDEN, N.J. (UPI) — The body of a 58-year-old woman, whose throat was slashed after she aparently [sic] was raped and beaten, was discovered Monday in her Camden apartment.
An investigator called it “the most gruesome scene I’ve ever witnessed.”
Police said Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, of 330 Kaighns Ave., probably was killed during a robbery attempt. She and her husband, Harold, lived behind a carpet and linoleum business operated by Mrs. Friedman.
The dead woman’s dress had been ripped of [sic] by her assailant, her undergarments were cut away and her body was found lying on the living room floor, her head propped up on a sofa pillow.
The body was found by police after a customer entered the business and found no one there. Police were then summoned to the scene at about 2 p.m.
Woman Slain In Her Store
Gettysburg Times —
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A 58-year-old woman storekeeper was found murdered here Monday, her throat slashed and apparently the victim of a robbery.
Police said the body of Mrs. Gertrude Friedman was discovered in the living room of her home behind a carpeting and linoleum store she had inherited from her parents.
Mrs. Friedman’s husband Harold, 59, was at work in a Philadelphia book-bindery when the murder was discovered, police said.
Mrs. Friedman’s clothing had been torn off and her body was found lying on the living room floor, her head propped up on a sofa pillow. The store and living quarters had been ransacked.
The murder was discovered by a neighboring storekeeper after an unidentified customer told him he had been in the Friedman store but no one appeared to be there.
The Friedman store is at 330 Kaighnes Ave.
Man Held in Slaying Of City Shopowner
Camden Courier-Post —
By TERRY BITMAN
Courier-Post Staff
A 38-year-old Camden junkyard worker was arrested and arraigned last night in connection with Monday’s brutal rape and slaying of a Kaighns Avenue shopkeeper.
Leroy Snyder, of the 700 block Cherry Street, was arrested in his home about 9 p.m. by city and county detectives and charged on three counts, two of them in connection with the murder of Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, 58, operator of a linoleum store at 330 Kaighns Ave.
Snyder, arraigned before Camden Municipal Court Judge Theodore Z. Davis, was charged with murder and larceny and possession of stolen property in connection with the slaying.
Recover Clothing
Det. Capt. Frank Senatore said the second charge stems from police recovery of clothing and jewelry which they believe belonged to Mrs. Friedman and her husband Harold. Capt. Senatore said the items were found in Snyder’s possession.
Snyder also was charged with assault with attempt to rape in connection with the attempted rape of a South Camden woman in her home on July 26.
The suspect was placed in the Camden County Jail with a preliminary hearing scheduled Monday.
LEROY SNYDER
Junkyard Worker Held In Murder of Shopowner
Police said the arrest came after three days of intensive investigation into the crime. They said the suspect offered no resistance to his arrest.
Mrs Friedman’s battered body was found early Monday afternoon on the living room floor of her apartment behind the shop by Paul Pallas of Maple Shade who operates the Storm Window Service at 336 Kaighns Ave.
An autopsy on Tuesday revealed Mrs. Freidman [sic] had been raped, beaten and slashed about the throat.
Blair M. Murphy, chief investigator for the Camden County Medical Examiners’ office said the victim died from “a penetrating wound of her neck.”
Police said she was found naked on the floor of her ransacked apartment after a customer went to the shop, got no response and summoned Pallas to the scene.
Freed Rapist Rearrested
Gettysburg Times —
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A man released earlier this year after serving part of a 10-year rape sentence was arrested Thursday night in the rape-slaying of a Camden woman.
Leroy Snyder, 38, of Camden was charged with homicide, possession of stolen goods and larceny in the attack Monday on Gertrude Friedman, 58.
He was also charged with attempted rape in an attack on a South Camden woman July 26. Hearings in both cases are set for Monday.
Mrs. Friedman was found with her head on a pillow on the floor of her apartment, her dress ripped off and her throat slashed. She lived with her husband, Harold, 59.
Snyder was released from Trenton State Prison after serving nine years for rape and robbery.
Man is accused in 6 killings
Delaware County Daily Times —
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Leroy Snyder, 38, who has been behind bars nine months on one murder charge, has been accused of killing six other persons last year.
Snyder, a laborer, was arrested last Sept. 11 on a charge of killing a 58-year-old woman.
He was arraigned Thursday on the charges of fatally stabbing or beating five other women and a man to death between February and August of 1969.
Emotionless Man Pleads No Defense To Killings
Camden Courier-Post —
By JOE HAPP
Courier-Post Staff
A Camden man, accused of murdering six women and a man in the city during an eight-month period last year, has entered pleas of no defense to all seven of the slaying.
Leroy Snyder, 38, of the 700 block of Cherry Street, an ex-junkyard laborer, entered the pleas yesterday before Superior Court Judge W. Orvyl Schalick. Indictments in six of the cases were handed up Wednesday by the Camden County grand jury.
Previously, Snyder had pleaded innocent to the murder of Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, 58, the operator of a linoleum store at 330 Kaighns Ave. on Sept. 11, 1969. At yesterday’s hearing that plea was changed to no defense.
Victims Listed
The other six victims were:
—Mrs. Lula Crawley, 45, who was stabbed 13 times on Feb. 14, 1969. Her body was found bound and gagged in her antique shop in the 100 block of S. 6th Street.
—Mrs. Mary Freeman, 56, whose body was found floating face down in a foot-and-a-half of water in a vacant house at 224 Berkley St. She had been stabbed to death.
—Mrs. Shirley Brittingham, 32, and Warern [sic] Wells, 22, whose badly decomposed bodies were found in the basement of an abandoned home at 825 Commerce St. on April 25, 1969. Both had been stabbed repeatedly.
—Mrs. Vera Stevens, 45, beaten to death. Her body was found in a vacant lot last April 29.
—Mrs. Lovie Williams, 52, of 612 West St., whose body was found beaten and slashed to death in her home May 19, 1969.
Man Files Plea Of No Defense To 7 Slayings
Continued From Page One
Under questioning by Judge Schalick and showing no emotion whatever, Snyder admitted murdering all seven of the victims and added that robbery had been his motive in all but one of the slaying.
Snyder told the court he killed Mrs. Stevens in a vacant lot between two buildings on Williams Street.
“I beat her on the head with a rock,” he said. “I knew her when I was very young; we were going together. Something happened and I just killed her.” He said he could not remember the reason.
Tells of Fear
Snyder said he stabbed Mrs. Brittingham out of “fear of identification” following a “misunderstanding.” The autopsy report on Mrs. Brittingham indicated she was six months pregnant at the time of her death.
Describing Wells as “an associate of mine,” Snyder told the judge, “I killed him for his paycheck.” He said they had been living together at 716 Walnut St., scene of the stabbing.
Asked by Judge Schalick why he killed Mrs. Freeman, Snyder replied, “She was a prostitute. I caught her with her hand in my pocket.”
Snyder also admitted killing Mrs. Williams, saying he had gone to her West Street home “with the intent to rob her.” He said he did not actually carry out a robbery but killed her out of fear of identification. He had known the victim for two months, he said.
Planned Robbery
Of the Friedman murder, for which he was originally arrested, Snyder said he had gone to her store intending to rob her. He said he had not known the woman personally prior to the slaying.
Snyder was not questioned in court about whether or not he had sexually molested any of the women, but autopsy reports indicated that Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Freeman had been raped.
Judge Schalick accepted all seven no defense pleas and instructed the county prosecutor’s office to begin preparing pre-sentence reports immediately. No date for sentencing was set.
Following the hearing, Camden County Prosecutor A. Donald Bigley said Snyder was a prime suspect in at least three additional unsolved murders in the city. He added, however, that at present there is not sufficient evidence against him to seek indictments.
Trial Postponed
Bigley said Snyder’s trial for the murder of Mrs. Friedman, originally scheduled for June, was postponed because of the possibility of gaining indictments in the other six cases. He said he had waived seeking the death penalty and decided to agree to a plea of no defense in the Friedman case because of what he said were slim chances of obtaining a death sentence.
According to Bigley, no one convicted of murder in New Jersey in the last ten years has been executed. “No one in the United States has been executed in the last year?” he added.
Under New Jersey law, the death sentence cannot be imposed on a self-confessed murderer. Snyder now faces a maximum penalty of seven consecutive life sentences.
Pleads Guilty In 7 Deaths
Gettysburg Times —
CAMDEN (AP) — A former junkyard worker who said robbery was his motive for seven murders during an eight months span has pleaded no defense to seven counts of murder against him.
Leroy Snyder, 31, admitted Thursday to Camden County Superior Court Judge W. Orvyl Schalick that he used a knife in most of the crimes.
The victims were six women and one man.
Snyder had been scheduled for trial last month for the rape, robbery and murder of Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, 58, who was found murdered in her ransacked apartment behind a linoleum store she operated. She had been stripped and an autopsy showed she had been raped and beaten.
Last week six additional murder charges were lodged against Snyder and he was indicted on them Wednesday. He entered no defense pleas to all seven of them Thursday. Schalick did not set any date for sentence.
Man Admits to Slaying of Seven
Corpus Christi Times —
No Defense Plea
CAMDEN, N.J. (UP) — A former junkyard worker entered pleas of no defense yesterday to charges of murdering six women and a man here between February and September of last year.
In each case Leroy Snyder, 31, told Superior Court Judge W. Orvyl Schalick that the motive was robbery. He said he had used a knife in most of the cases. Schalick did not set a date for sentencing.
Snyder had been scheduled for trial last month for the rape, robbery and murder of Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, 58.
Last week six additional murder charges were lodged against Snyder and he was indicted on them Wednesday.
Snyder, a short, stocky man appeared in court with two cigars sticking in his pocket, and very calmly answered questions by Schalick about details of each of the murders.
In two cases he said he killed his victims because of fear of identification. The one man he admitted killing was Warren Wells, 22, whom he said was “an associate of mine. He was living with me. I murdered him for his paycheck.”
He said he caught one of the women, Mrs. Mary Freeman, “in my pocket stealing.” Her body was found in a foot and a half of water in the basement of a vacant house.
The body of another victim, Mrs. Vera Stevens, 43, was found in a vacant lot last April 29.
“I knew her when we were very young,” he said. “We used to go together.” One of the women, Mrs. Shirley Brittingham, 32, was found dead with Wells, in a basement of an abandoned house on April 25. He said he killed the woman, who was pregnant, “because we had a misunderstanding.” He also said he feared identification.
The other victims were Mrs. Lovie Williams, 52, found beaten in a second floor apartment; and Mrs. Lula Crawley, 45, found stabbed 13 times, with her hands tied behind her back.
Murder Pleader Gets 3 Life Prison Terms
Simpson's Leader-Times, Kittanning, Pennsylvania —
From New Jersey Judge…
CAMDEN, N. J. (UPI) — A laborer who pleaded no contest to the murder of six women and a man in an eight-month period was sentenced Thursday to three consecutive life prison terms.
LeRoy Snyder, 38, said when he pleaded last week that robbery was the motive in all but one of the murders and the sentencing judge quoted a psychiatric report as calling Snyder a “malignant psychopath” and a “threat to society.”
Prosecutor A. Donald Bigley said Snyder must serve a minimum of 43½ years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Bigley had said Snyder was a prime suspect in three additional unsolved murders.
“You have shown no remorse. It is apparent that each of these violent acts was deliberately intended and you exercised care to destroy the evidence against you,” said Superior Court Judge W. Orvyl Schalick.
Snyder was awaiting trial on charges of raping and murdering Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, 58, when he was charged with the six other murders between February and September of last year.
Snyder received consecutive life sentences for the murder of Mrs. Friedman, whose nude body was found last Sept. 8 in the living room of her home, and for the slaying of Mrs. Lovie Williams, 52, found in her second-floor apartment here by her son, Kenneth, 12, when he returned from school May 19.
Her stomach had been slit open and she was badly beaten around the face.
The third term consisted of concurrent life sentences for the other five slayings, including that of Mrs. Shirley Brittingham, 32, who was six months pregnant when she was found brutally beaten and shot seven times.
Another victim was Warren Wells, 27, once Snyder’s roommate, who was discovered with his throat slashed, beaten and shot in the back six times.
Three Life Terms Given Slayer In Seven Deaths
Connellsville Daily Courier, Pennsylvania —
CAMDEN, N. J. (UPI) — A laborer who pleaded no contest to the murder of six women and a man in an eight-month period was sentenced Thursday to three consecutive life prison terms.
LeRoy Snyder, 38, said when he pleaded last week that robbery was the motive in all but one of the murders and the sentencing judge quoted a psychiatric report as calling Snyder a “malignant psychopath” and a “threat to society.”
Prosecutor A. Donald Bigley said Snyder must serve a minimum of 43½ years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Bigley had said Snyder was a prime suspect in three additional unsolved murders.
“You have shown no remorse. It is apparent that each of these violent acts was deliberately intended and you exercised care to destroy the evidence against you,” said Superior Court Judge W. Orvyl Schalick.
Snyder was awaiting trial on charges of raping and murdering Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, 58, when he was charged with the six other murders between February and September of last year.
Snyder received consecutive life sentences for the murder of Mrs. Friedman, whose nude body was found last Sept. 8 in the living room of her home, and for the slaying of Mrs. Lovie Williams, 52, found in her second-floor apartment here by her son, Kenneth, 12, when he returned from school May 19.
Her stomach had been slit open and she was badly beaten around the face.
The third term consisted of concurrent life sentences for the other five slayings, including that of Mrs. Shirley Brittingham, 32, who was six months pregnant when she was found brutally beaten and shot seven times.
Another victim was Warren Wells, 27, once Snyder’s roommate, who was discovered with his throat slashed, beaten and shot in the back six times.
Laborer faces 3 terms of life
Bucks County Courier-Times —
Murder of 7 people
CAMDEN N.J. (UPI) — A Camden laborer faces three consecutive life prison terms today following his sentencing Thursday; last week he pleaded no contest to the murder of six women and a man in an eight-month period.
Leroy Snyder, 38, said when he pleaded last week that robbery was the motive in all but one of the murders and the sentencing judge quoted a psychiatric report as calling Snyder a “malignant psychopath” and a threat to society.
Prosecutor A. Donald Bigley said Snyder must serve a minimum of 43½ years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Bigley had said Snyder was a prime suspect in three additional unsolved murders.
“You have shown no remorse. It is apparent that each of these violent acts was deliberately intended and you exercised care to destroy the evidence against you,” said Superior Court Judge W. Orvyl Schalick.
Snyder was awaiting trial on charges of raping and murdering Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, 58 when he was charged two weeks ago with the other six murders between February and September of last year.
Police said some of the victims had been raped, beaten, shot gunned and clubbed with bricks.
Bigley said no one in the county had been charged with so many murders since Army veteran Howard Unruh shot 13 persons to death in this city in 20 minutes on Sept. 6, 1949.
The Pursuit of a Murderer
Camden Courier-Post —
By Joe Happ and Joseph R. McCarthy
The announcement, when it came, burst in City Hall like a grenade. A Camden man — in jail nearly a year awaiting trial for murder — was being charged with six additional killings.
The disclosure was made July 2 by the Camden County Prosecutor’s office as a short, stocky man was being led from his sixth-floor jail cell to an arraignment before Camden Municipal Court Judge William M. Rosenblatt.
Until then it had been one of the best-kept secrets in the city in recent memory. The press corps, usually well informed in advance about all such goings-on was caught by surprise.
When the hour-long court procedure was over, newsmen, armed with little more than the name of the prisoner and a list of victims’ names, went to work.
The old newspaper clippings from which they frantically culled information had a grim tale to tell. Six women and a man had been beaten, slashed or shot to death between February and September 1969. The clippings suggested grotesque pictures of battered, butchered human beings.
The suspect was 38-year-old Leroy Snyder, an ex-convict who had spent most of his adult life in prison for acts of violence.
Fresh details fo [sic] the killings were scarce, as County Prosecutor A. Donald Bigley, not wanting to jeopardize his case, clamped down hard on information released to the press. The July 2 stories were mostly a rehash of the earlier murder stories.
The victims:
Mrs. Lula Crawley, bound, gagged and stabbed 13 times, was found Feb. 14, 1969 in a room behind her S. 6th Street antique shop.
Mrs. Mary Freeman, found stabbed to death April 12, 1969, floating in two feet of water in an abandoned house.
Mrs. Shirley Brittingham and Warren Wells, discovered April 25 in the basement of a vacant house. The woman, seven months pregnant, had been stabbed repeatedly and shot in the chest several times. The man had a shotgun wound three inches in diameter in his back, had been stabbed several times and beaten with a blunt instrument. Both bodies had lain there three weeks before being discovered and were badly decomposed and partially eaten by rats.
Mrs. Lovie Williams, found May 19 in her West Street apartment by her 12-year-old son. She had been slashed to death.
Mrs. Vera Stevens, beaten to death Aug. 9 on a vacant lot.
Mrs. Gertrude Friedman, raped, beaten and slashed about the throat Sept. 8 in her combination apartment-linoleum store on Kaighns Avenue.
In city hall, quick comparisons were made between this case and the Sept. 6, 1949 rampage in which a Bible-quoting war veteran, Howard Unruh, shot 13 persons to death in about 20 minutes.
“This one looks worse,” commented one veteran reporter as he scanned the year-old stories.
Following the arraignment, events in the case of Leroy Snyder moved quickly. In less than a week, indictments were handed up by the Camden County grand jury. The following day, Snyder’s signed confessions to all seven killings were presented in Superior Court along with his pleas of no defense.
A week later, he was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in the New Jersey State Prison at Trenton. Within the hour, Snyder was en route to Trenton.
The story of Leroy Snyder was ended. This week, however, the two men most responsible for the capture of Snyder revealed some of the details of the exhausting eight-month investigation which led to his arrest. It is a story laced with ironies and improbabilities.
“It was a real jig-saw puzzle,” said veteran city Det. Earl Smith, who along with Det. Nate Jones, logged more than 1,200 hours of overtime and traveled from New England to South Carolina, interviewing more than 150 persons and taking statements from about 75 material witnesses.
Before the case was solved, Jones would have trouble convincing his wife that all the hours away from home were actually spent working. “Not only that, I developed a case of high blood pressure during the investigation,” he added.
Smith would only shrug when asked about the effects of the chase on his home life. He indicated that they were “about the same as Nate’s.”
The two detectives, relaxing in their office in City Hall, explained that the keys to cracking the case were the investigations of the Brittingham-Wells double murder and the rape-slaying of Mrs. Friedman.
“We didn’t turn up much on the other murders at all,” Smith said. “In fact, we weren’t even sure they were related until Shirley and Warren were found.”
At that point, Jones explained, police officials began to fear that a psychopath was loose in the city and ordered efforts in solving the case intensified.
Few clues had been left in the abandoned house where Shirley and Warren were found. “We even had trouble identifying them,” said Smith. “They were horribly decomposed and it looked like rats had eaten away most of their faces.”
Identification had to be made by the use of dental records and fingerprints. Even Mrs. Brittingham’s estranged husband was unable to make a positive identification, the detective said.
Frank Brittingham was located the day after the bodies were discovered. He was in a bar at Broadway and Division Streets where Shirley had worked as a barmaid. He could only tell police that he knew his wife was pregnant by a boyfriend whose name he gave the detectives.
A barmaid in the establishment told the three detectives she last saw Shirley leaving the bar with a man on April 5 (the day she died, according to the medical examiner). She also identified an egg-shaped gold locket found by police at the murder scene as one she sold to Shirley for $10.
Smith said Shirley’s boyfriend was located two days later living at the YMCA in New Brunswick. Police in that city had run a check and told Smith the man had registered in his own name but had listed a non-existent firm as his place of employment.
“We wanted to get more on him,” Smith said, “so we waited a while before picking him up.”
Meanwhile, the identity of the man seen leaving the bar with Shirley was learned after police had interviewed several persons in South Camden. They told police the man had gone to see his wife in Seaford, Del.
Smith and City Det. Isaiah Pitts went to Delaware and, after following the trail of the man’s family through several small towns, learned he had been there a few days before and continued south to visit his father in Traveler’s Rest, S.C.
Smith and Pitts returned to Camden and notified police in the small South Carolina town. A week later, the man was arrested as a material witness and was returned to Camden for interrogation.
He told police he had gone to Delaware in order to cash an Internal Revenue Service check and leave part of the money with his wife. His story checked out with what had been learned in Delaware, and he was released.
On July 19 police in Franklin Township, Sussex County, picked up Shirley’s boyfriend as a material witness. In Camden a lie detector test was administered. The man failed, Smith said.
“We asked him if he was withholding information about the murders,” the detective said. “He answered ‘No.’ The machine indicated he lied. We got the same response when we asked if he knew who killed Warren and Shirley.”
Police, however, had nothing to connect him with the murder and released him.
The probe into the death of Warren Wells was a painfully slow process, Smith said. “We knew absolutely nothing about the man when we started.”
An intensive interview campaign was launched in South Camden, but little was learned. On May 19, however, police learned that Wells’ brother-in-law, a suspect in the case, was living in the 400 block of Sycamore Street. Police placed the house under surveillance, but the suspect failed to show up.
Two women living in the house were unable to give any information about the suspect’s whereabouts. The women, both in their early 20’s accompanied the detectives to police headquarters and were arrested and charged with being under the influence of narcotics.
A separate inquiry into the suspect’s background revealed him to be wanted by the U.S. Army for desertion.
The search spread throughout Camden County and on June 12, nearly a month later, he was picked up by State Police from the Toms River barracks.
Brought back to Camden, the suspect failed a lie detector test, Smith said. Yet nothing was established to connect him directly with either murder and he was held pending the arrival of federal authorities.
The suspect’s wife was arrested a few days later while visiting him in Camden County jail. Smith said he recognized the woman from a police photo shown to him earlier by Williamstown police. He said a federal warrant had been issued for her arrest on a charge of mail theft. She was turned over to the U.S. Marshal’s office in Camden.
The search for information in South Camden continued. Detectives began to check through vacant houses in the area. They found a man crouching behind the heater in the basement of one abandoned house. He claimed to be an acquaintance of Wells. An identification check on the man revealed he was wanted on a charge of possession of stolen property. He was arrested.
Under interrogation, the man told detectives he did not know where Wells had been living before his death but said he knew several persons who might know.
One of his tips paid off. A woman living on Kaighns Avenue told detectives that Wells had been living in the 700 block of Walnut Street in the apartment of a man named Leroy Snyder.
Smith and Jones set up a stake-out at the apartment, but Snyder did not return home that night. The following day, the two detectives canvassed the neighborhood and learned that Snyder had a job in a junkyard on Division Street.
“We went to the junkyard and talked with Snyder,” Jones said. “He told us Wells had been living in his apartment since the latter part of March.”
Snyder told police that Wells received a phone call at the apartment on April 4. He said Wells appeared quite shaken by the call and left, saying he would return shortly. Snyder said that was the last he had seen of Warren Wells.
“Snyder even volunteered to come to police headquarters that night to give us a statement and deliver some clothes he said were left behind by Wells,” Smith said. Snyder dictated a four-page statement for police that night, but the information shed no further light on the killing.
“We had checked on Snyder’s background and knew about his prison record,” Smith said. “But we didn’t have enough evidence to hold him. Besides, he seemed to be cooperating with us.” Snyder was released.
That was on May 23. Four days earlier, Lovie Williams was found slashed to death. On Aug. 9, Vera Stevens, her head battered by a rock, was found. No leads were turned up in those investigations.
The Wells probe produced one more lead, however. Police learned that a man believed to operate a house of prostitution in North Camden had been a friend of Wells. Checking at the address, Smith was told the man had recently departed on a trip through New England and Canada.
Police in several states as well as Canada were notified and, on May 28, Wells’ friend was arrested by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police vice squad as he attempted to cross the border in a stolen car.
A joint investigation by the Mounties and police in Camden revealed the names of several women, allegedly involved in prostitution, who were in this country illegally. The women were later deported to Canada, Smith said.
The police investigation of the murders, now numbering six, continued until Sept. 8, when the nude, mutilated body of Gertrude Friedman was discovered in the living room of her apartment on Kaighns Avenue by a neighbor.
Police swarmed into the area that night and found with a woman who said she had seen a man leaving the Friedman apartment that afternoon. She told police he was carrying two suitcases and a brown paper bag filled with clothing.
A state police artist, Tpr. George Homa of the West Trenton barracks, was called in and drew a sketch based on the woman’s description.
Armed with copies of the sketch, police teams again hit the streets in the area around Kaighns Avenue.
A man, when shown the drawing, told police, “This looks like the guy who tried to rape a woman a few weeks ago on 4th Street.” He did not know the assailant’s name, but he gave police the woman’s name and address.
Smith and Jones checked it out.
The woman, who had not reported the incident because she feared reprisals, said the man depicted in the sketch had knocked on her apartment door one night a few weeks earlier saying he was looking for friends who lived in the apartment below hers. Then he forced his way in and tried to assault her, she said. She did not know his name.
The occupants of the downstairs apartment identified the drawing. They said it seemed to be Leroy Snyder.
“The first thing we did after hearing that, was to check on where Snyder was living,” Smith said. “We knew he had moved from the apartment on Walnut Street, but we didn’t know his new address. Later, we learned he was living in the 700 block of Cherry Street.”
A warrant was obtained and, on the evening of Sept. 11, Smith and Jones arrested Snyder at home.
“He was lying on the couch in the living room when we made the arrest,” Smith recalled. “He didn’t offer any resistance.”
Searching the house, detectives found the bags of clothing and other items taken from the Friedman apartment. Positive identification of the articles later was supplied by Mrs. Friedman’s husband.
“He was wearing Mr. Friedman’s wristwatch,” Smith added.
With Snyder in custody, charged with the murder of Mrs. Friedman, larceny, possession of stolen property and assault with intent to rape in the case of the woman on 4th Street, Smith and Jones began a detailed investigation into Snyder’s possible relationship with the other murders.
Since there was no trial, it will never be known just how much evidence the detectives had piled up against Snyder. But apparently, it was enough to convince Snyder and his attorney that a defense against the charges in court would have been futile. Snyder later signed confessions to all seven slayings, but the confessions alone would not be sufficient basis for sentencing.
The contents of those confessions have not been made public, but one unconfirmed report out of the prosecutor’s office had it that a stenographer became ill while transcribing Snyder’s detailed accounts of the killings.
The future holds nothing for Leroy Snyder except prison. Under present New Jersey parole laws, Snyder, with three consecutive life sentences facing him, will not even be eligible for parole for another 43½ years.
Prosecutor Bigley, who sought seven consecutive life sentences for Snyder, summed it up in the courtroom moments after sentence was passed: “There’s a good chance he’ll die in prison.”
Detective Nate Jones
Detective Earl Smith
The psychiatric section of the pre-sentencing report described Leroy Snyder as a “malignant sociopath and a threat to society.” Little is known about Snyder except that he has spent 19 of the past 21 years in prison for assorted acts of violence. His prison record began when he was 17.
Arrested June 1949 on charge of assault. Convicted, sentenced to two years in Annandale Reformatory. Released May 1951.
Arrested July 1951 on charges of attempted armed robbery and threats to kill. Convicted, sentenced to four years in Bordentown Reformatory. Released June 1955.
Arrested December 1955 on charges of assault and battery and assault with intent to rob. Convicted, sentenced to three to five years in New Jersey State Prison at Trenton. Released January 1959.
Arrested August 1959 for attempted armed robbery and threats to do bodily harm. Convicted, sentenced to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison. Paroled January 1969 after serving nine years.
Arrested September, 1969, for murder of Mrs. Gertrude Friedman.
New Jersey Department of Corrections
Leroy Snyder — NJ Department of Corrections offender record.
| SBI Number | 0000405418 |
|---|---|
| Sentenced as | Snyder, Leroy |
| Race | Black |
| Sex | Male |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Height | 5′7″ |
| Weight | 150 lbs. |
| Birth Date | February 13, 1931 |
| Admission Date | July 16, 1970 |
| Current Facility | Deceased |
| Projected Max Release Date | N/A |
| Projected Parole Eligibility Date | N/A |
Current Prison Sentence
| Offense | Offense Date | Sentence Date | County | Commitment Order | Mandatory Min. | Maximum Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 count: 2A:0020 Murder 1st Deg-Cutting | July 16, 1970 | July 16, 1970 | Camden | I-1270-69 | None | LIFE |
| 1 count: 2A:0020 Murder 1st Deg-Cutting | July 16, 1970 | July 16, 1970 | Camden | I-1271-69 | None | LIFE |
| 1 count: 2A:0020 Murder 1st Deg-Cutting | July 16, 1970 | July 16, 1970 | Camden | I-1272-69 | None | LIFE |
| 1 count: 2A:0020 Murder 1st Deg-Cutting | July 16, 1970 | July 16, 1970 | Camden | I-1273-69 | None | LIFE |
| 1 count: 2A:0020 Murder 1st Deg-Cutting | July 16, 1970 | July 16, 1970 | Camden | I-1274-69 | None | LIFE |
| 1 count: 2A:0020 Murder 1st Deg-Cutting | July 16, 1970 | July 16, 1970 | Camden | I-1275-69 | None | LIFE |
| 1 count: 2A:0020 Murder 1st Deg-Cutting | July 16, 1970 | July 16, 1970 | Camden | I-552-69 | None | LIFE |
Incarceration History
| Date In Custody | Date Out of Custody |
|---|---|
| July 16, 1970 | October 1, 2001 |
Aliases: None