William E. Kelly
Detective William E. Kelly
WILLIAM E. KELLY was born in 1915 to John and Mary Kelly of Camden NJ. The Kelly family had moved to New Jersey from Pennsylvania in the early 1910s. By 1930 John Kelly Sr. had been a Philadelphia policeman for many years, and in 1930 he worked as a truck driver. The family had by this time owned a home at 55 State Street in Camden NJ. The two oldest brothers, John Jr. and Cornelius were working as clerks in the transportation industry. Still at home besides Leo were brothers Leo and Jeremiah, and sisters Catherine and Julia Kelly. John Kelly Sr. passed away in 1931. Brother Leo later went to work for Campbell’s Soup.
On November 16, 1940 William Kelly joined the Camden Police Department, along with Joseph Caputi Jr., Joseph Carroll, Roland Comerford, Joseph Hooven, Julius Kaunacki, Frank Nelson, and Harry Tracy.
William Kelly enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor. He left Camden for basic training on January 27, 1942. His brothers Jeremiah and Leo also enlisted. Leo Kelly was killed in action while serving with the United States Navy aboard the battleship USS South Dakota on November 15, 1942.
Returning to Camden and police work after his wartime service, William Kelly married and started a family. The 1947 Camden City Directory shows him and his wife, Mary T. Kelly, at 362 Garden Avenue in East Camden. A son, William E. Kelly Jr., was born in 1951. The Kelly family remained at the Garden Avenue address into the 1970s.
On September 5, 1949, Detective Kelly took part in the arrest of Howard Unruh, who had gone on a shooting spree in Cramer Hill that had resulted in the death of 13 people.
William Kelly was still with the Camden Police Department in 1962. After retiring from the Camden Police department, William Kelly worked as an investigator with the Camden County Prosecutor’s office.
His son, William E. Kelly Jr., is a journalist and author of regional history books, as well as a history of golf. He has been involved in researching the assassination of President John F. Kennedy since the mid-1970s.
Camden High Girl Given Six Awards
Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger —
Student Honored as 147 Receive Diplomas—Dr. Wilson Speaks
Hazel Heminway, of 2911 Cramer Street, Camden, first honor student of the Camden High School senior class, received six awards, medals and prizes at the commencement exercises yesterday in the school auditorium, Park Boulevard and Baird Avenue. Diplomas were presented to 147 graduates by Samuel Fulton, president of the Board of Education.
Awards given to Miss Heminway were:
Clara S. Burrough Memorial Award, for excellence in character and scholarship and participation in school activities; the Rosa Goldstein Prize, for highest standing in science; Camden Bnai Brith Prize, for highest standing in mathematics; Thoirs Auxiliary Award, for American history and problems of democracy; Phi Beta Kappa Association of Philadelphia Award and High School Fathers’ Association Prize, for outstanding work in extracurricular activities other than athletics.
Dr. Lucy L. W. Wilson, who retired this week as principal of South Philadelphia High School for Girls, was the commencement speaker.
Other prizes and scholarships awarded were:
Rose prizes of $15 each, to winners of public speaking contest, Margaret Melson and Patrick Brady; Camden High School Alumni Scholarships, Alfred Pikus, to University of Pennsylvania; Mary Trench, to college of own choosing. Philomathean Society Prize for English composition, and the High School Classical Club Award for Latin, Constance DiGuiseppe.
Science Award, shared between Irving Ziedman and Hazel Heminway. Class of 1916 Prize, and the Lyola C. Pedrick Prize in drawing, Alfred DeMartin. Icima Club of Camden Alumni Association Prize for best work in physics, and Philadelphia Business College Scholarship, Warren Mitchell. Woman’s Club Prize for American history, and Camden Lions’ Club Prize for good school citizenship, James Hendricks. Bnai Brith Prize for mathematics, William Berry. Mary McClelland Brown Prize for French, shared by William Berry and Hazel Heminway.
Roanoke College scholarship, valued at $125, Edward Hagy; Washington and Lee University, valued at $100, Albert Maure; College of William and Mary, valued at $100, Sheeley Lashman; College of South Jersey, $100, Paul Springer; Steelman’s Business School, $250, Isabel Shetler; Banks Business College, $250, Doris Friedenberg; Taylor Business School, $250, Patrick Brady; Philadelphia Business College, $250, Warren Mitchell; Washington and Jefferson College, $750, William Hussong; New York University by N. Y. U. Alumni Club of Philadelphia, full tuition, David Reed, president of Student Government; Taylor University, $100, Michael Sullivan, and Brown Preparatory School, $250, Emilio Iannetta.
of Camden Woman’s Club, Ruth Adams and Martin Ravitch; class of 1923 prizes for greatest ability in athletics, William McLaughlin and Florence Bryen; Camden Woman’s Club prize in practical arts, Ruth Hart; Beethoven Club award, Clover Winter; Philadelphia Tribune prize, Iola Ames; High School Fathers Association prize, Stephen Schuster and Hazel Heminway.
The graduates are:
College Course
George J. Abrams; Gilbert F. Lackman; Robert H. Anderson; Louis S. Lawyer; J. Buren Barker; Harry R. Linthicum; William F. Bartell, 3d.; Daniel B. Lysak; Herman M. Bass; Samuel H. Maklin; Dorothy Beck; William E. McLaughlin; Harry R. Burris, Jr.; Dorothy Miller; Joseph N. Colangelo; Robert J. Moyer; William C. Daisey; C. Sylvia Narodetsky; William A. Davis, Jr.; F. Bradford Naylor; Dermot A. Dollar; Michael Pelechowicz; Eleanor B. Dreyer; Emma B. Pfeiffer; William A. Drummond; A. Charles Polato; Oliver Everett, Jr.; Joseph C. Ragone; John J. Finnegan; David H. Read; Doris L. Fox; Irving Robbins; Carmella P. Galloppi; Blanche E. Rowan; Chester O. Gallup; Morris Rozner; Irwin Ginsburg; Ann E. Schafer; Sydney A. Goldberg; Angelina D. Schiavo; Robert T. Greer; Stephen J. Schuster; Joseph R. Guarino; Joseph W. Seaton; Albert C. Hammond; Bessie Shaen; Hazel Hemingway; Isabel H. Shetler; Marie Hensgen; Stella Stein; William J. Husong; Michael J. Sullivan; Florence N. Joslin; Florence Szymanklewicz; Alfred C. Kaplan; Nathan L. Troub; William E. Kelly; Helen S. Tyler; Jack W. Kinsella; William G. Warner; Benjamin Klein; F. Milton Willett; Morris Kleitman; Russell G. Willis; Jack Korman; Cover R. Winter; Harry Kurtz; Walter A. Zackon; Irving Zeidman.
Technical Course
Christian R. Arllen; George W. Lodge; Charles F. Becker; Albert F. Maure; Charles S. Budd; Lloyd P. Mick; John A. DeJulis; J. Warren Mitchell; Edgar H. Fenton; George Mulford; George Foster; Frederick W. Niessner; Volney Gross; Martin Odlen; Edward M. Hagy; James C. Paera; Baleslaw M. Halicks; Edward C. Schumann; Samuel B. Hornberger; Paul LeB. Springer; Emilio A. Ianetta, Jr.; Herbert K. Townsend; Leon Kaufman; Charles F. Whittick; John T. Lawrence; E. Edward Lee.
Normal Course
Mola L. Amos; Rose A. Kutcher; Beatrice Barish; Viola Lalli; Dorothy E. Blossom; Ethel Landolt; Doris V. Broome; Sophie Lozek; Mary I. Chance; Mary E. Martin; Constance Di Giuseppe; Margaret Mears; Rita Glassman; Margaret Melson; Eleanor Goff; Eleanor M. Simpson; L. Vivian Heard; Evelyn H. Starkey; Betty Heil; Dorothea L. Stone; R. Grace Hosier; Marie E. Thompson; M. Evelyn Yeager.
General Course
Arlene Blomquist; Edna M. Leitch; Zurelda Briscoe; Louis Lichtman; Florence C. Bryen; Harold W. Meluski; Lawrence Bunker; Harriet Ness; Marg’t E. Condren; William H. O’Neill; Mildred Corson; Chas. Panden, Jr.; Alfred E. DeMartin; James Shanklin; Margaret Di Maio; Ruth E. Ship; Thomas P. Flaherty; Sue S. Stevenson; Virginia E. Gilbert; Caroline Stosny; James R. Hendricks; Anna E. Strang; Bertha V. Jones; Viola M. Swal; John J. Kissel; F. H. Vonderslice; Terry J. Kisselman; Frank E. Wick; Irene J. LaMarra.
Mrs. Kobus to Ask More Cops, Firemen for City Next Year
Camden Courier-Post —
New Appointment Return Forces to 1938 Status; Defense Increases Need
Mrs. Kobus to Ask More Cops, Firemen for City Next Year
Camden Courier-Post —
New Appointment Return Forces to 1938 Status; Defense Increases Need
Appointment of 22 patrolmen and 10 firemen by City Commissioner Mary W. Kobus during the past three months has brought the personnel of the public safety department to figures comparable to 1938.
That announcement was made yesterday by Commissioner Kobus, who expressed the hope the city could afford additional members of both departments in the near future “as a safety measure and because of the great national, State and local defense programs, in which we must participate.”
“Camden is rapidly taking its rightful place as one of the greatest industrial centers of the entire nation. Thousands have been added to the payrolls of our various great industrial plants. Houses are at a premium within the city, and it is natural for the public safety department to keep in step with the times,” the commissioner stated.
“We have hundreds of new traffic problems confronting us today, that never existed back in 1931, when the police department was manned by 247 regular members and 83 special policemen and investigators.
Comparable to 1938 Figures
“Today the personnel of the police department totals 194 men, with no special investigators. This is comparable to 1938, when we had a total of 192 members of the department. Since 1938, 12 policemen have died and eight others requested to be placed on pension, after long and honorable service to their city.
“No replacements were made until a civil service examination was held and a list of eligible men provided. I have appointed 22 policemen from that list and 10 men as members of the city fire department, which had nine vacancies due to deaths and retirement.
“I will ask that sufficient money be placed in my budget for next year to appoint a few additional policemen, due to the defense measures which have been set up, and in which the public safety department is expected to participate.”
All of the new police and fire appointees must serve for one year at a salary of $1500. The second year they receive $1560, with their salaries going to $1680 for the third year and $1800 for the fourth year.
Normally they would have received $2040 for the fifth year, when they become full-fledged members of the department, but a referendum approved by the voters at the last general election sets the salary of police and firemen at $2400 annually after 1943.
As it will be after that year the present appointees will reach the end of the five-year period during which they receive annual increments in their pay, it was indicated they would jump to $2400 after their fourth year in the two departments.
Appointments Listed
The new policemen appointed by Commissioner Kobus were:
Joseph Caputi, 332 Mt. Vernon street; Joseph M. Carroll, 427 Lansdowne avenue; Roland Comerford, 2931 Cramer street; Vincent Conley, 423 Beideman avenue; James Eskridge, 716 North Seventh street; Joseph Hooven, 501 Beideman avenue; Julius Kaunacki, 1183 Sheridan street; William E. Kelly, 55 State street; William F. Large, 729 Mickle street; William H. Neale, 773 Line street; Francis J. Nelson, 720 Penn street; John E. Opfer, 323 North Second street; Cecil H. Picou, 1127 Cooper street; Earl Quinton, 687 Jefferson avenue; Edw. W. Tatem, 565 Mt. Vernon street; Harry Tracy, 2003 Federal street; Harold I. Vecander, 1039 North Twenty-sixth street; John H. Watkins, 2902 Constitution road; Edward Watson, 1048 Haddon avenue; Donald R. Watson, 841 Lois avenue; George T. Weber, 1231 North Thirtieth street; Stanley Zuckowicz, 1157 Thurman street.
The new appointees to the fire department are:
Philip H. Farrow, 529 Newton avenue; Anthony W. Bretschneider, 1621 Louis street; John Gryckiewicz, 810 North Front street; Thomas Winstanley, 329 Bailey street; William Palese, 900 South Fourth street; Anthony Dzinski, 1230 Atlantic avenue; Joseph R. Guarino, 25 Morse street; Martin B. Nelson, 561 Spruce street; William Cleary, 614 Federal street; Otto Kaiser, 904 North Twenty-sixth street.
3rd Brother Goes Into Armed Service
Camden Courier-Post —
Leo Kelly, 22, of 55 State street, the third member of his family to enlist in the armed services, leaves today for the League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia, where he will enter training.
His brother, William, left Camden January 27 after enlisting in the Army Air Force and his other brother, Jerry, also has enlisted in the air corps but is awaiting orders to report for training.
Leon [sic] was a timekeeper at the Campbell Soup Company. On March 6 last year he was held up by a bandit, but saved his salary by hiding it under time-cards in his rear pocket.
Camden Sailor, 23, Slain Fighting Japs
Camden Courier-Post —
Leo J. Kelly Camden Catholic High Graduate and Musician
Mrs. Mary Kelly, a widow, of 55 State street, yesterday received word from the Navy Department her son, Leo J. Kelly, 23, had been killed in action against the Japanese somewhere in the Pacific. Mrs. Kelly has two other sons in the service.
Only the day before the Kelly family received a package from Leo. It contained gifts for his mother and sisters, and was mailed from Honolulu.
A graduate of Camden Catholic High school in 1938, Leo enlisted last February. He served a period of training at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and then shipped overseas as seaman second class.
The brothers in the service are former Policeman William E. Kelly, who is a gunnery instructor at the Pocatello, Idaho, Army Air base, and Jerry, a corporal in the Army Air Corps stationed at Chicago. William enlisted in January and Jerry last May.
Prior to his enlistment, Leo was employed as timekeeper at the Campbell Soup Co. On March 6, last year, he was held up by a bandit but saved his salary by hiding it under time cards in his rear pocket.
Besides his mother and brothers, Seaman Kelly is survived by two sisters, Miss Jane Kelly, superintendeht [sic] of night nurses at West Jersey hospital, and Miss Julia Kelly, a student nurse at West Jersey.
Mrs. Kelly was advised of her son’s death in a message from the captain of his ship.
Leo played semi-professional football in South Jersey and was well known as a musician. He played saxophone and bass horn, and at one time participated in programs heard over Philadelphia radio stations.
World War II Roll of Honor
World War II roll of honor — William E. Kelly
200 at Party Honor Air War Hero Kelly
Camden Courier-Post —
Brunner and Rhone Join in Tribute; Park May Bear His Name
Air war hero Staff Sgt. William “Bill” Kelly was honored last night by more than 200 friends and neighbors of the First ward and numerous city officials.
A party was held for “Bill” in the newly established headquarters of the First Ward Republican Club, 47 York street. Joseph Campbell, club president, was chairman of arrangements.
During the ceremonies the club went on record urging the city to purchase an unimproved area bounded by Main, York, Point and Front streets for the establishment of a soldiers’ memorial park to be known as Kelly Park.
The club pledged funds for the erection of a permanent soldiers’ honor roll and memorial would be raised by political clubs, both Democrat and Republican, of the ward. It was stated a petition urging the purchase of the ground by the city is now being circulated in the ward.
Among those who honored Kelly, holder of the Air Medal and Purple Heart, were Mayor Brunner, Commissioner Rhone, Freeholders Schneider and Quinlan, former City Prosecutor William Cahill and Charles Humes. A former city policeman, Kelly was a gunner on a Flying Fotress [sic] and participated in numerous bombing missions over Europe before being sent home after receiving his second wound.
A war bond was presented to Kelly, and his wife, Mary Theresa Kelly, received an ornamental pin. Freeholders Schneider and Quinlan presented the club with an American Flag.
Camden Courier-Post — September 5, 1949
Detective William Kelly (left) and Officer Charles S. Hance stand ready to fire during the September 5, 1949 standoff between city police and Howard Unruh, who barricaded himself inside his apartment at North 32nd Street and River Road in Cramer Hill after shooting 13 people to death. More than 50 Camden policemen took part in the arrest.
Life Hereabouts
Camden Courier-Post —
Reprinted From The Courier-Post, Sept. 7, 1949.
“KIDS…LITTLE KIDS…murdered in their own home.”
Tears were streaming down the face of a lovely little lady as she spoke those words.
In front of her, in the middle of the carpet, was a spot, sort of whitish, where someone had tried to remove the blood of a little boy…a little boy who was “going on three”…a little boy who never harmed no one…
Just down the block a bit, people were perring [sic] through a big plate glass window, looking at a “hobby horse” in a barber shop that is closed.
At the base of the standard which held the wooden horse in place was another blotch of blood…the blood of another little boy “just past six” who was having his hair cut in preparation for his first trip to school the next day….
In the back seat of an automobile parked a little farther away was another great stain…where another boy died.
And the killer says: “I’m glad I did it, but I’m sorry about the children.”
WE ARRIVED at the scene of the Mad Mission of Cramer Hill after all of the shooting was over. Walt Carley and Jake Weiner, Courier-Post scribes, had arrived with the cops. They witnessed the capture and went on to do a great job of reporting the terrible tragedy.
We walked along the street peering in windows where only minutes before, people were happy and gay—and now they were dead.
Two holes showed in the front screen of a home near the center of the block. Detectives Stanley Bobiak and William Deery, identification chief, approached and Bobiak looked into the home.
“Was anyone shot in here?” Bobiak queried through the window.
“My little boy was killed,” replied the tearful voice of a mother whose anguish was pitiful to see and hear.
This was a terrible thing that happened in Our Town.
HUMAN beings are a funny bunch. And cops are human beings. The shooting was over and there was this bluecoat and that bluecoat insisting that he was “first on the scene.” You could have had a couple of dozen “firsts” if you were interested in that. And all those who said they were first and were not given credit for it would have been sore.
But that was after the shooting was over. When the chips were down, when a maniac was shooting innocent men, women and children and was still on the loose with that big Luger, that is when the cops of Our Town proved they rank right up there with the best in the world.
Through the years, there has been many an occasion where we witnessed the bravery of Camden policemen.
This time we missed, but we know what happened from the lips of reliable newspapermen and other witnesses.
We know that Russ Maurer stepped out into the clear, while other cops covered him with their guns, to hurl tear gas into the home of the man who was bent on kill. Russ could have paid with his life, because the killer seldom missed. That was a brave act.
THERE were Charley Hance, Ev Joslin, Cecil Picou, Tommy Carr, Bill Moll, Sid Nelson, Barney Tracy, Bill Kelly, Marshall, Thompson, Vince Conley, Lennie Andruzza and dozens of others closing in on the killer, inch by inch.
Kelley and Tracy on a roof, moving in, Bill with a machinegun, Barney with gun in hand…exposed like the other cops for a quick shot that might mean death.
Picou and Bill Rogers…moving the wounded and the dead…with the killer still free…Johnny Ferry stepping into the clear to keep the slayer from shooting from the upper front windows of his home.
NO WORDS of ours can give comfort to those families which suffered so much with the loss of dear ones. We can only say that everyone we met throughout Our Town mourned with them.
But we can say a word about the police and the manner in which they tackled this job.
And out of all them there we will take Ev Joslin and say that Ev will never be outdone where courage is concerned. We have seen that courage through the years and we have heard many a cop say they will take Ev as their sidekick in a tough situation any day.
So the only way we can give Our Cops their proper due is to say that every one of them who participated in the Mad Mission of Cramer Hill was just as courageous, just as mindful of their sworn duty, just as concerned over the safety of others, forgetting themselves as the man we picked as a symbol of courage.
And whointhehell cares who got here first or who struck the killer?
Memory of Cop Traps Suspect In ’47 Holdup
Camden Courier-Post —
The photographic memory of a Camden patrolman resulted in the arrest of a man, sought since 1947 on a robbery indictment, it was disclosed Monday in municipal court.
Credited with the arrest of Robert Bailey, 49, of 236 Kaighn avenue, is Patrolman Joseph Carpenter, who, detectives said, recognized Bailey Thursday night.
Patrolman Carpenter, on duty with Patrolman Charles Richards, saw Bailey at Second and Sycamore streets, and asked him for identification.
When Bailey produced cards bearing the name of Charles Cornish, the two officers took him to city hall. As they entered the police station, Bailey bolted and ran north on Roosevelt plaza. Patrolman Richards brought him down with a flying tackle.
At his arraignment today before Municipal Judge Dzick on charges of assault and battery and resisting arrest, Detective Sgt. William Kelly testified Bailey was indicted by the 1947 May grand jury for robbing Clarence Watson, 69, of 2903 High street.
Watson, who operates an auto repair shop was struck with a pipe and robbed of $400 on Jan. 10 of 1947, Kelly testified.
Dzick held Bailey without bail for the grand jury.
Burglary Victims Recover $4360 In Stolen Goods
Camden Courier-Post —
Display at City Hall Rivals Oriental Bazaar In Variety Shown
Loot valued at $4360 by detectives was returned to its owners in detective headquarters in city hall Tuesday night.
Headquarters resembled an Oriental bazaar as the stolen articles were spread over seven tables, two large desks, and hung on clothing racks.
Detectives are holding George Wilmer, 30, of 521 Liberty street, a parolee, whom they suspect of being Camden’s daytime “phantom burglar” who has been plaguing the department for the last three months. To date police say they have charged Wilmer with 29 counts of breaking and entering and two counts of attempting to break and enter.
Captain of Detectives Thomas Murphy said that Tuesday night’s display was only a portion of the loot and that police believe Wilmer pawned a quantity of the goods in Philadelphia. They also suspect he sold some to secondhand and antique dealers, Murphy said.
The display that met the claimants when they went to headquarters looked like a mail order catalog come to life. There were women’s dresses, men’s suits and top coats, several types of radios, an oil space heater, binoculars, cameras; costume jewelry, empty wallets and even a clothes chest with the clothing still in it.
Missing from the collection were two parakeets which detectives returned to their owner Thursday because—unlike the other items—the birds had to be fed.
Assisting Capt. Murphy in the identification and return of the stolen items were: Detective Sergeants Earl Quinton, William Neal, William Kelly and Clifford Carr, and Detectives William O’Brien, John Huston, August Pfleiderer, George Ellis and Marshall Thompson.
Crowd Views Articles
According to Capt. Murphy the claimants, their addresses, the stolen objects and their estimated value are:
Mrs. Waid Young, 526 Washington street, electric sewing machine, woman’s jewelry, $358; Miss Catherine Sparks, 110 South Fourth street, table model radio, $19; Mrs. Ethel Kelly, 1068 Princess avenue, jewelry, $155; Mrs. Leo Jekel, 548 Haddon avenue, table model radio, portable typewriter, woman’s ring, $85; William Snyder, 1304 Park boulevard, table model radio, $55; Milfred Layser, 416 Chambers avenue, carpenter’s tools, a dress coat, $175; James Glennon, 802 Mt. Ephraim avenue, jewelry, $300; Mrs. Williams Cogswell, 914 Linden street, clothing and jewelry, $1242.50.
Mrs. Lena Bruns, 772 Line street, metal clothes chest with clothes, tool chest, jewelry, $125; Mrs. Anna Halliwell, 870 Haddon avenue, foreign money, no value given; Mrs. Martha Oehlert, 643 Mt. Vernon street, oil space heater, jewelry, $138; Mrs. William J. McCaffrey, 1030 Spruce street, antique clock, $400; Mrs. Lillian Simons, 412 Taylor avenue, clothing and jewelry, $20.
Veteran Boxers’ association, 868 Mt. Ephraim avenue, record player, amplifier and recorder, $100; John McNutt, 1620 Ferry avenue, jewelry and clothing, $300; Romeo Simonelli, 404 Haddon avenue, men’s and women’s clothing, $94; Mrs. Theresa Auletto, 929 South Third street, jewels, $405; Mrs. Vera Doughton, 1023 South Sixth street, table model radio, $16; Emidio Giorgi, 1353 Princess avenue, clarinet and man’s suit, $125.
Three Men Held Without Bail in Tavern Holdup
Camden Courier-Post —
Trio Nabbed at Shore Identified by Victim Of $2000 Theft Here
Three men suspected of the $2000 robbery of a Camden woman tavern owner last Friday were held without bail for further hearing by Judge Dzick today.
Dzick acted in compliance with a request by Detectives Marshall Thompson and George Ellis, who said the investigation was not complete. The three were arrested Sunday in Atlantic City.
Booked on charges of armed robbery were Stanley Slagle, 22, of 1408 Broadway; James J. Lenahan, 24, of 1734 Broadway, and Robert Sharp, 26, of 19 N. Johnson blvd., Gloucester.
Identified as Boxer
Slagle was identified as a middleweight boxer, who started to fight last fall and appeared twice at a Philadelphia club.
Arrested at 2 a. m. Sunday the men were returned to Camden, where they were identified by Miss Mary Lynch, 44, who operates Lynch’s Cafe at 3rd and Erie sts. Charles Clark, 33, of 538 N. Front st., a patron who was slugged on the head with a blackjack, was able to identify Lenahan and Sharp as participating in the daylight holdup, according to Detective Capt. Thomas Murphy.
Murphy said the men will be included in a police lineup Tuesday at 8 p. m. so that other victims of holdups in the area during the past year may view the suspects.
Atlantic City police said Patrolmen Adelmo Fidelli and Edward Shaw, acting on information from Camden detectives, nabbed Lenahan in the Nomad Club.
Fifteen minutes later, other officers took Sharp and Slagle into custody in the Jockey Club.
Shore police said they had been notified Camden authorities in a raid on an apartment in Camden had learned from a girl-friend of one of the men that she was to meet them in Atlantic City.
Some Money Recovered
Murphy said $600 of the stolen money was recovered on the men, in addition to $125 discovered in the apartment in the 1700 block on Broadway.
The detective captain said Detectives George Ellis and Marshall Thompson, who along with Detectives Harry Tracey and Sgt. William Kelly returned the suspects from the shore, had spent 43 hours without sleep on the trail of the bandits.
Murphy said the key to the capture was a license number obtained by Patrolman Oliver Morgan from an automobile seen near the scene of the holdup.
Car Was Stolen
The car, Murphy said, had been stolen from John J. Hegar, 640 Federal st., a certified public accountant, who was unaware of the theft until after the car was recovered Saturday on 7th st., between Liberty st. and Kaighn ave.
Later Saturday, Murphy related, Detective Harry Kyler and Detective Sgt. Vincent Conley obtained information linking Lenahan to the job and, still later, the apartment in Camden was raided.
Discovered in the apartment, Murphy said, were a .45-calibre automatic and the cash, found hidden under a chair cushion.
Murphy said Lenahan and Sharp, under questioning Sunday night in Camden, admitted their part in the holdup. Slagle, however, denied knowledge of the crime, Murphy added.
Discarded Weapons
Reconstructing the holdup and the trail of the gunmen, Murphy named Sharp as driver of the getaway car and said the men drove around the city and then later threw a shotgun and blackjack from the car.
The men went to Philadelphia, Murphy continued, where they purchased new clothes and wrist watches and other accessories and agreed to meet in Atlantic City.
Murphy said all have police records, Lenahan having been paroled in July from state prison after serving a term for grand larceny in Atlantic City. Sharp was released from state prison last year after serving a term for larceny of an automobile in Camden County and Slagle was released from the prison where he was sent for robbery, Murphy said.
Holdup suspects booked at police headquarters
Camden Courier-Post —
HOLDUP SUSPECTS are shown as they were booked Sunday on charges of armed robbery of a Camden tavern which netted $2000 Friday. Left to right are Stanley Slagle, 22; Detective Sgt. Vincent Conley; James Lenahan, 24; Detectives Marshall Thompson and George Ellis, and Robert Sharp, 26. Desk Sgt. John V. Wilkie records the information.
—Courier-Post Photo
Yes, this is Howard…
Camden Courier-Post —
‘Yes, this is Howard....it looks like a pretty good score.’
PHILIP W. BUXTON has since died but he was a Courier-Post reporter who pulled a brilliant journalist coup by calling the Unruh house during the police seige [sic] and actually talking to Unruh. Or did he talk with Unruh? Here’s the story.
Buxton’s story appeared on page one that evening. He said the call was made shortly after 10 a.m. “...while Unruh, gun in hand was still exchanging shots with a cordon of police.”
“Hello” said a strong clear voice. “Is this Howard?” I asked. “Yes, this is Howard. What’s the last name of the party you want?”
He asked again for the last name and Buxton said Unruh. Unruh wanted to know what the man wanted and who he was. Buxton said he was a friend and wanted to know what Unruh was doing. “Well, they haven’t done anything to me yet but I’m doing plenty to them.”
Buxton asked how many people were killed and Unruh supposedly answered that he hadn’t counted, “but it looks like a pretty good score.”
Unruh also said he didn’t know why he was killing people and finally said, “I’ll have to talk with you later. A couple of friends are coming to get me.”
The story was sensational and Buxton appeared that night for an interview on NBC radio.
Rumors soon spread that Buxton had actually been talking to a cop. In 1964 William E. Kelly, a detective on the scene, made a sworn affidavit on what occurred that day and one of his memories concerned the famous telephone call.
Kelly said he and other officers went up into the Unruh apartment right after the killer surrendered. “While doing this I heard the phone ring, and Officer Martin “Sid” Nelson answered the phone. I did not pay any attention to the conversation, but after we had hung up we went down to the celler [sic] and I asked him who was on the phone. He said, ‘Some reporter that thought that I was the guy that did the killing—this guy Unruh.’ Later we both had a lot of fun when we read of the reporter calling the killer.”
Sid Nelson and Buxton are both dead today so the case must rest with Kelly’s memory and Bill Kelly is sure that the reporter did not speak with Unruh.