Murder at the Cinema

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Note: this is a re-post from the Historic Uptown Theatre blog, a research project I developed between 2014 - 2017. More detailed information on the building's history can be found there.
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A bizarre botched robbery occurred at the Uptown Theatre in 1933. 21 year-old Ted Fisher had been fired from his usher post due to a gun being found in his locker, but was present one month later during a hold-up as he was in the office, mixing drinks with on-duty managers. After a struggle with the bandit, Fisher was shot and killed. 

What makes matters strange is that a holdup note was later found in his pocket that read, "Open that safe and take the cash from yesterday and today's receipts and come out the alley door, and lay it on the stone wall, and then walk up the alley to the railroad tracks, and then turn left. Don't look back or call for help, or you'll be shot. You are covered all the time." 

While it might seem that Fisher was in on the robbery, it does not explain why this note was not used. Perhaps Fisher arrived to rob the theater only to find himself beaten to the punch, but this is mere speculation.

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Information taken from unidentified newspaper clippings found in the Uptown Theatre office

B5 Junior Detectives

The summer of 1978 saw five female newspaper carriers sexually assaulted around St. Paul, Minnesota. The media dubbed the assailant the Strawberry Blonde based on his composite sketch, though KSTP-TV news tapes also used the term Mad Molester. After a sixth victim - the first not to have been a carrier - was attacked while waiting for a bus on July 19, a $1000 reward was offered for information despite police concern over reckless bounty hunters.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press & Dispatch newspaper, for which the carriers worked, was then accused of not treating the whole story properly. Their circulation department was claimed to have not provided their own news department with pertinent information out of fear that their carriers would quit - indeed, fourteen had left the job by the time a 13-year old managed to escape the criminal on July 22. One victim later sued the paper for this gross negligence, which was settled out of court.

On August 11, three unnamed teenagers living in the city's Lexington-Hamline area were reported to have formed what they called the B5 Junior Detectives. Named after their police precinct, the trio would stake out suspects and make sketches they could then compare to that of the police. While their parents had some initial worries, one of their mothers was a newspaper carrier herself and welcomed the initiative. And despite the possible monetary reward, the group said they had formed before they even knew about it.

Despite the B5 being optimistic over a lead on their prime suspect in the news report, I can find no evidence that the assailant was ever apprehended.

The KSTP-TV news report on the Junior Detectives can be watched HERE.

Weepy-Voiced Killer of Minnesota

Serial killer attacks during the summers of 1981 and 1982 haunted the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Three victims in total had their lives taken, though the police's first encounter with the murderer began six months earlier on the night of New Year's Eve 1980 in Preston, Wisconsin. Karen Sue Potack was badly beaten after leaving a party and, in what would become his modus operandi, the perpetrator called to report the attack and disclose the location in a high-pitched voice.

The first murder occurred on June 3, 1981. 18-year old Kimberly Compton was found at a highway construction site with sixty-one stab wounds. She was last seen at a bus depot where she had left her bags, with witnesses stating that she left with an unknown individual. The police again received a call from a frantic-sounding man who said, "God damn, will you find me...I just stabbed somebody with an ice pick. I can't stop myself. I keep killing somebody."

The outburst led to the nickname of the 'Weepy-Voiced Killer,' and curiously, "god damn" was left out of news reports quoting the call. He called again two days later claiming that he was going to turn himself in, but never did. This unsolved case stayed in the mind of the public, with actor George Kennedy even providing re-enacted scenes and composite drawings on his television program on May 3, 1982.

The second known murder happened over a year later on August 6, 1982. 40-year old Barbara Simons had met a man at the Hexagon Bar, later identified by a waitress as Paul Michael Stephani. He offered Simons a ride home, and she was later found in a wooded area off West River Road in Minneapolis stabbed over one hundred times. The Weepy-Voiced Killer called two days later, admitting to the murder and also tying himself to the Compton death.

The final attack took place ten days later on August 16, and initial news reports were confusing: it was first stated that 18-year old Mary Gross had been stabbed several times while hitchhiking in St. Paul, but this turned out to be a lie given to police by the victim herself. She was really Minneapolis prostitute Denise Williams who was wary of giving away her true identity, testifying that she had been arrested for prostitution more times and under more names than she could remember.

Williams had been picked up in the red light district by Stephani, who stabbed her fifteen times with a screwdriver. However, she managed to smash a glass bottle over his head and escape with the help of a random passerby. Stephani soon called for an ambulance, claiming that Williams had tried to rob him while he was having a seizure, but police quickly recognized his voice and made the arrest.

Stephani's court case focused largely on the study of aural similarities between his voice and what had been heard during the Weepy-Voiced Killer phone calls. The defense condemned this identification technique as quackery but kept Stephani himself from testifying and called no other witnesses. The trial ended with Stephani convicted of second degree assault on Denise Williams and the second degree murder of Barbara Simons. He was sentenced to forty years in prison.

Stephani was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and, given less than one year to live, decided to confess to murdering Kim Compton and also the heretofore unconnected Kathy Greening, who had been drowned in a bathtub in what police thought was a home invasion in 1982. He died on June 12, 1998 and would later be the focus on, among other things, an episode of A&E's Cold Case Files.
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Information taken from KSTP-TV news story transcriptions via the Minnesota Historical Society
Listen to the Weepy-Voiced Killer's 911 recordings HERE.

Stauffer Kidnapping Case of 1980

Ming Sen Shiue kidnapped Mary Stauffer and her eight year old daughter Elizabeth outside of a Roseville beauty salon on May 16, 1980. Six year-old Jason Wilkman was also soon kidnapped at Hazelnut Park in Arden Hills for witnessing Shiue stop his car to check on the two. The FBI helped Hennepin and Ramsey Counties search for seven weeks to no avail, until Mary herself called the Ramsey County sheriff on July 7. Strangeness abounded.

The motive for this kidnapping stemmed from back in 1967 when Mary Stauffer had been Ming Sen Shiue's tenth grade algebra teacher at Alexander Ramsey High School. Shiue claimed that Stauffer had given him a grade that he felt was undeserving and believed it caused him to lose a college scholarship. This, in turn, led to him being drafted to Vietnam where he became a prisoner of war (though this did not actually happen).

Mary Stauffer's father testified in the trial that a man had broken into his Duluth home in 1972 and held him at gunpoint before realizing that he had the wrong house. As it turns out, Mary was spending five years in the Philippines as a missionary. Shuie kept searching though, and when he heard that she was back in town, he tried to break into her family's apartment three times before the actual kidnapping.

Shiue kept the Stauffers locked in a closet with a crocheting hook and yarn and some crayons. Eventually, Shiue would bring them out for dinner and to play games like the family he desired. At one point he rented a winnebago and drove them all to Chicago and Madison on vacation. It was during this time when Mary yelled for help from the parked vehicle, and while a group of young boys came over to talk, they did not believe her story.

Back in his apartment, Shiue frequently took pictures and filmed himself raping Mary with the thought that these tapes could be used to embarrass her if she ever got away. These videos include Shiue mentioning that he did not appreciate the bad grade she once gave him, claiming that it ruined his life. However, it was also deemed in court that Shiue had developed an 'abnormal sex drive' and thought Mary was in love with him. Elizabeth even testified that Shiue had put a plastic bag over her head when Mary refused to kiss him.

Mary Stauffer was able to escape her confinement by removing a hinge pin from the closet. The Stauffers were recovered from an apartment in Roseville, though there was no sign of Wilkman. The perpetrator's van was then quickly discovered outside of a stereo shop in St. Paul and Shiue was arrested. He was deemed guilty and not insane on September 17, 1980.

But what of Jason Wilkman? He had originally been stuffed in the vehicle trunk, but the Stauffers said that he was removed soon after. They heard gunshots from afar, but Shiue claimed that he only fired his gun to scare him away. However, Shiue made a deal with law enforcement to reveal the location of where he left Jaon if they did not push for a first degree murder charge.

Jason's body was found on the Carlos Avery game refuge on October 27, 1980 with his skull broken and body covered with branches. Shiue was accused of second degree murder, with an admission of kidnapping but a not guilty plea for murder due to insanity. The trial took place during January and February 1981.

To build a case of insanity, the defense mentioned that Shiue had been traumatized after shooting and killing a burglar at his stereo shop in 1979. He had also received psychological help when he was fourteen years old after he tried to set an apartment building on fire. However, the prosecution believed that Shiue grabbing Jason during the kidnapping was because he knew what he was doing was wrong, thus he was aware of his own actions.

And then: February 8, 1981. Mary Stauffer was on the stand testifying that she did not hate Shiue because the Bible says to love your enemy. It is then that Shiue caught two guards by surprise and rushed to Mary, holding her hostage and slashing her face with a small knife. Officers were able to subdue him and the trial continued, though Mary (requiring sixty two stitches) was excused. The knife turned out to be hidden in Shiue's pants, and while he had been pat searched, he had not gone through a metal detector. The knife had been acquired from two fellow inmates after Shiue found himself in the middle of racially-charged fighting.

Ming Sen Shiue was found guilty on February 21, 1981. His sentence was to serve forty years for Jason Wilkman's death at the same time of a life sentence for the Stauffers' kidnapping, which was criticized for essentially letting him get away with murder. He apologized to the Stauffers in court thirty years later on April 19, 2010 during a trial to determine his freedom. He was denied his appeal.
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Information taken from KSTP-TV news story transcriptions via the Minnesota Historical Society
Further info: MPR 04.19.2010 & Stalking Mary by Eileen Bridgeman Biernat

From MN with Love: A Tale of Amateur Espionage

Alan van Norman was one hundred miles north of London in 1976 when the possibility of espionage first presented itself. The theology and biology student from Windom, Minnesota had recently taken a break from school to work overseas as a counselor for a Lutheran bible camp, and this is where a message wound up from East German chemist Jürgen Grafe. Grafe asked for assistance in sneaking himself and his family into West Germany, and though deeply unqualified, Alan expressed an interest.

Though he had to return to Minnesota in 1977, the bible retreat later contacted him and offered a plane ticket back to Europe to help. Alan was dead-set on offering his services, to which his father responded, "Well, if international espionage is his bag, let him get it out of his system." (People, 1978).

Things did not go as planned. Alan was able to get into East Germany and find the Grafes, who he hid in the trunk of his car before attempting to leave the country's border checkpoints. He was soon asked to step out of his vehicle and open the truck, as it turned out that scales detected extra weight in the trunk and the Germans actually had tapes of Grafe's escape plans. Alan was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and never again saw the family.

Alan spent his time in prison reading books, playing chess, and writing letters filled with humor to let his family know his mental state was still sound. He looked forward to interrogation sessions (better than a lonely prison cell), and did not bother to hide any details from his captors. He did, however, try to have fun with the ordeal, claiming that he was sent by Mr. Ed and that Japan and Canada planned to send Russia to Mars (L.A. Times, 1978).

The U.S. government soon became aware of Alan's plight and planned for a three-way prisoner exchange. Orchestrating this was Wolfgang Vogel, an East German lawyer whose previous prisoner swap in 1962 is portrayed in the 2015 Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies. This new deal also involved Israeli pilot Miron Mareus, who was shot down in Africa and held without charge, and Robert Thompson, a U.S. Air Force clerk convicted in 1965 for passing secrets to the Russians.

Thompson's story is fascinating in its own right - he was working at an air base in Berlin during 1957 when his commanding officer reprimanded him for coming to work unshaven and unkempt. After an alleged "twenty shots of cognac" (Spy Case, undated), he decided 'to hell with it' and walked into East Berlin in civilian clothing. He told Soviet officers that he wanted to defect, but was sent back after they determined that he would not make a very good spy. They did change their minds, however, and Thompson was recruited ten days later.

Thompson moved back to the U.S. in 1958 and continued to report to the Russians while also, in a peculiarly bold move, became so obsessed with the color red that it was all he would wear. He claimed he was actually a German citizen and that Robert Thompson was a cover name after being arrested, but later admitted that he only said this because he didn't think an American citizen would be exchanged in a spy-swap.

Thompson was flown to Berlin in May of 1978 in exchange for Van Norman while Mareus was also freed by the government of Mozambique. Alan arrived back in Minnesota on May 2nd and, when asked why he did what he did, responded, "My main thought was that these people need to get out, they need help. I'm free to do it. Why not?"

References

- Los Angeles Times (05.07.78)

- NY Times (04.23.78)
- People (05.22.78)
- Spy Case: Robert Glenn Thompson
- Washington Post (05.02.78)
- Wikipedia (Robert Thompson)

Forest Lake Film Ban of 1978

Larry Yust's 1969 film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery was made as part of the Encyclopedia Britannica's Short Story Showcase, a series of education films meant to be shown in school classrooms. It had an accompanying commentary film titled, A Discussion of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and proved to be quite popular - the Academic Film Archive even deemed it one of the two all-time bestselling educational films.

In 1972, these films were included in the curriculum of Independent School District No. 831 that consists of Forest Lake, Linwood, and Wyoming, Minnesota. However, during the 1977-78 school year, a group of parents became concerned with their use in senior high school American Literature courses. Objections focused on potential impacts on students' religious and family values.

A public meeting took place to discuss this matter on February 21, 1978. Both films were shown at the beginning to the audience of approximately fifty attendees, and teachers discussed how these films were effective teaching tools and that University of Maryland education professors had actually conducted a study that determined no negative effects from this material on students.

While no formal decision regarding the films was made at this time, three parents filed a formal Citizens' Request for Reconsideration of Instruction Materials. Their reasoning was that viewing the films might cause students to begin questioning their own family loyalties and religious beliefs. They also objected to the matter-of-fact way the films accentuated the "brutality and senselessness in our times," and their portrayal of a "vengeful God" rather than a "loving God."

A Challenge Committee held a public meeting on March 28, 1978, and recommended that the films not be used in junior high classes but could be used in high school, with information sheets being sent home with students for their parents to know their children could be excluded from viewing. Instead, the school board voted on April 17 to to reject these recommendations and remove the films entirely from the curriculum. No official reason was provided at the time.

Three students in the Forest Lake junior and senior high schools took this issue to the United States District Court - District of Minnesota. Their argument was that the movies were unconstitutionally excluded due to ideological content and should be reinstated. The court gave the school board an opportunity to present evidence to the contrary, but were instead provided with this statement:

The motion picture version of "The Lottery" and the trailer film discussing the short story graphically place an exaggerated and undue emphasis on violence and bloodshed which is not appropriate or suitable for showing in a high school classroom and which has the effect of distorting the short story and overshadowing its many otherwise valuable and educationally important themes.

This was not found to be a legitimate reason. 

After the 'Pratt v. Independent School District No. 831 - Forest Lake, Minnesota' hearing in 1981, the court determined that the board's objections had religious overtones and that the films had been banned due to ideological content, thus violating the First Amendment. Arguments that the films emphasized violence were found to not be supported by facts, as violence was only contained in the final few frames and was faithfully adapted. In addition, no curriculum review had ever previously been undertaken by the board due to violent content.

The case's sequence of events was found to be particularly damning - the school board's decision originally gave no reason for the ban, and only after the court asked for evidence did the board attempt to justify its actions with concerns over violence.

On Jan. 13, 1982, the films were ordered to be reinstated.

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The films in question:

The Lottery

A Discussion of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"

Reference:

Court records via Open Jurist

The Devil Went Down to Jordan

Jordan, Minnesota has the distinction of being one of only two American cities on Wikipedia's list of Satanic ritual abuse allegations. On September 26, 1983, Christine Brown accused her trailer park neighbor James J. Rud of molesting her daughter. Rud confessed, but also pointed a finger toward numerous other adults in the community for similar crimes. By June 24, 1984, thirty children had identified a total of twenty-four adults as perpetrators, one of which being Christine Brown herself.

These allegations drew a picture of secret Satanic sex rings consisting of child pornography, ritualistic animal sacrifice, and infanticide - one story described a baby being hung above a tub and drained of blood as a group of adults looked on. The first to stand trial were Robert and Lois Bentz, accused of molesting their own children along with several others. However, the children's testimonies quickly fell apart in court, with one Bentz son eventually testifying that they had not been molested at all.

Scott County attorney Kathleen Morris soon fell into public scrutiny, as her methods came to be viewed as a witch hunt. The Bentzes believed they had been initial targets due to their past public criticism of Morris, and both were found not guilty on September 19. The FBI then got involved over the infanticide claims, with the judge ordering Morris to hand over notes on the investigation.

The case was given to Minnesota attorney general Skip Humphrey, son of the late Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Children were then re-interviewed, revealing damning information on the initial investigation - kids had been interviewed dozens of times, often being coerced by police officers for information, and many were interviewed together to easily corroborate stories. The judge determined that due to this massive bungle, it was now impossible to fully investigate allegations and know who was actually guilty.

James Rud admitted to lying about the involvement of other adults in November 1984 and sex charges against the remaining adults were dropped. However, a number of the accused did confess to sexual abuse but received immunity in exchange for undergoing treatment. Parental rights were also taken away for six children involved in the case.

Reports of a Satanic sex ring were determined to be lies. The FBI was set to dredge the Minnesota River to investigate claims of dumping infant bodies, but never followed through.

A law was passed in 1986 that encouraged law enforcement to work with trained medical workers in child sex-abuse cases to avoid multiple interviews, and soon after the Midwest Children's Resource Center became one of the first children's advocacy centers that evaluates potentially abused children.

James Rud was convicted in 1985 and continues to serve a 40-year term.

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Additional References
Minnesota Townspeople Jolted by Sex Scandal with Children" (NY Times, 09.06.84)

"Divided by Multiple Charges of Child Abuse, a Minnesota Town Seethes with Anger" (People, 10.22.84)

"Man From 1980s Jordan Sex Scandal Up For Release" (Shakopee Valley News, 02.11.10)

Minnesota Murders of 1977

Glensheen Estate, 06.28.77

courtesy of Star Tribune

- Elisabeth Congdon & Velma Pietila -

Elisabeth Congdon was the daughter of mining entrepreneur Chester Adgate Congdon, famous for constructing the famous Glensheen Estate in Duluth, Minnesota. One of her two adopted daughters - Marjorie - was considered both a black sheep and sociopath, as she had been placed in numerous institutions throughout her life and was constantly borrowing money from her mother.

Elisabeth and her nurse Velma Pietila were found murdered in Glensheen Mansion on June 27, 1977. Elisabeth had been suffocated with a pillow, while Velma had been beaten with a candlestick. Both Marjorie and her second husband Roger Caldwell were considered suspects, as Marjorie was set to inherit $8 million dollars and had authorized Roger to receive $2.5 million of this only three days beforehand. Roger was convicted in 1978, though was released in 1983 after a plea deal that involved his confession to the murders. However, having never received his promised money from Marjorie, he committed suicide in 1988 and left a note claiming his innocence.

While never convicted for these particular murders, Marjorie is currently in prison for fraud. It was suspected that she had murdered her third husband and this man's first wife, though it was never proven. As for the Glensheen Manor, it is now a museum run by the University of Minnesota - Duluth. For years, tour guides were told not to mention the murders, but now can do so if asked.

- Susan Rosenthal -

Having recently married in the Fall of 1977, Susan Rosenthal and her husband Al moved into the neighborhood of New Hope, Minnesota. A mere three days later on October 3, Susan was stabbed ninety-seven times in her home while she was alone. Graffiti threats of 'maybe you' and 'you are next' were written on the exterior of neighbors' homes, sufficiently freaking out these people who had not even met this couple.

While this first led investigators to believe this was an anti-Semitic killing, it was soon discovered that the real culprit was June Mikulanec, an ex co-worker of Al Rosenthal. She had been delusionally in love with Al, going so far as to prepare dinners, waiting for him to appear, and buying an engagement ring and telling her friends it was from him. Once he married Susan, however, June blamed her for coming between them and murdered her out of jealousy.

Mikulanec went on to be defended by attorney Douglas Thomson (who, coincidentally, also represented Roger Caldwell), and in a particularly rare instance, was found not guilty by reasons of insanity. She can now be found as a subject in many law school thesis papers.

- Shirleen Howard -

On August 13, 1977, Shirleen Howard was shot in the back of the head while doing laundry in her basement. At the time, her husband Donald and their two daughters were shopping for wedding anniversary presents. Before this, there had not been a murder in Winona, Minnesota for almost twenty years.  

The next day, Charles Murphy called police and told them that his friend Donald had once attempted to pay him to kill his wife. Police also learned of Raymond Riniker, a former classmate of Donald whom he had also attempted to hire. Riniker testified that Donald had told him he had given a man named Bruce Webber two thousand dollars, an archery bow, and a gun to do the job. Police then monitored a phone conversation between Riniker and Howard where the latter revealed that Webber was supposed to make the death look like an accident and was "goddamn mad" it was so gruesome. Donald was arrested the next day. 

While awaiting trial, Howard busted a rusty lock on his jail window and escaped with the help of Nancy Brown, a former high school homecoming queen who had worked for him in his hardware store. Brown sent a letter to her husband declaring her belief in Donald's innocence, stating, "I know I love him and I need to be with him...the decision to go with Don is killing me but I feel I must go...I can't ever look back.'' Her husband and daughter quickly left town to avoid the press. Howard also wrote a letter to the Winona Daily News stating, "I am not guilty and I do mind taking someone else's punishment. The real killer is not even being pursued. I had hoped that the real villain would have come forward by now but I guess that's only in the movies.'' 

Howard and Brown were found in Louisiana two weeks later, with Brown serving six months for aiding in the escape. Howard maintained his innocence at the time, but finally admitted to his role in Shirleen's death in 1997.

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Additional References:
Elisabeth Congdon (Wikipedia)
Twists, turns never end for Congdon murder case figure (Minnpost, 05.08.08)

Guardianship June Mikulanec (public records, 11.02.84)

Obituary / Lawyer part of state’s most infamous trials (Pioneer Press, 05.04.07)

Admission of guilt 20 years later -- Donald Howard admits to role in wife's slaying (Post Bulletin, 08.12.97)
State Minnesota v. Donald Wayne Howard (public records, 08.31.82)