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

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.

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)