WARNING: EXPLICIT MATERIAL

Silas Jayne

Birth Name:
Silas Carter Jayne
Birth Date:
July 3, 1907
Birth Place:
Cuba Township, Lake County, Illinois
Death Date:
July 13, 1987
Place of Death:
Elgin, Illinois
Age:
80
Cause of Death:
Leukemia
Cemetery Name:
Cremated
Claim to Fame:
Crime and their Victims
Notorious Chicago-based stable owner implicated in multiple disappearances and murders including the famous 1955 Peterson-Schuessler murder, involvement in the 1956 murder of the two Grimes sisters, and in the 1977 disappearance of heiress Helen Brach.

One thing that all of these murders have in common… Silas Jayne. Silas Jayne is suspected being directly responsible for or ordering the murders of:

— the 1955 disappearance and murder of John Schuessler, aged 13, his brother Anton Jr., aged 11, and their friend Robert Peterson, aged 14
— the 1977 disappearance and murder of Brach’s candy heiress Helen Brach
— the 1965 murder of Cheryl Lynn Rude of a car bombing
— the 1966 disappearance and murder of Ann Miller, 21, Patricia Blough, 19, and Renee Bruhl, 20 (these women may have been witnesses to the planting of the car bomb that killed 22-year-old Cheryl Lynn Rude)
— 1969 murder of Frank Michelle Jr. (Silas successfully claimed self-defense despite the fact that Michelle was shot nine times, and with three different weapons: an M1 carbine and .22- and .38-caliber pistols, and Silas reportedly boasted of crushing the man’s testicles, using vise-grip pliers)
— In 1973, Jayne went to prison for the murder of his half brother, George Jayne, who he had hired a hitman to kill George Jayne

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cremated

, ,

North America

Grave Location:

Ashes given to wife Dorothy Jayne

Photos:

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Stringbean Akeman

popular name: Stringbean Akeman

date_of_death: November 10, 1973

age: 58

cause_of_death: Homicide - gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: David "Stringbean" Akeman was an American singer-songwriter, musician, comedian, actor and semiprofessional baseball player best known for his role as a featured original cast member on the hit television show Hee Haw and as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Akeman was well-known for his "old-fashioned" banjo-picking style, careful mix of comedy and music, and his memorable stage wardrobe (which consisted of a long nightshirt tucked into a pair of short blue jeans belted around his knees — giving him the comical appearance of a very tall man with stubby legs). Akeman and his wife were shot and murdered by burglars in their rural Tennessee home near Ridgetop in 1973.

Anton Schuessler Sr.

popular name: Anton Schuessler Sr.

date_of_death: November 11, 1955

age: 42

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Anton Schuessler Sr. was the father of John Schuessler and Anton Schuessler Jr., and both of his sons were brutally raped and murdered with their friend Robert Peterson in 1955. The crime scene where the bodies where found was largely contaminated by investigators and photographers who destroyed important evidence. This murder case remained unsolved for 40 years until stable handyman Kenneth Hansen became a suspect (along with his boss Silas Jayne) thanks to evidence that was unearthed as a result of an investigation into another sensational cold case - the 1977 murder of candy-company heiress Helen Vorhees Brach.

Paul McGonagle

popular name: Paul McGonagle

date_of_death: November 30, 1974

age: 35

cause_of_death: Homicide - gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Paulie McGonagle was a Boston mobster and head of the Mullen Gang, a South Boston street gang involved in burglary, auto theft, and armed robbery. During the war against Donald Killeen and his brothers, McGonagle successfully led the Mullens in a string of shootings which finally ended with Killeen's murder in 1972. After a truce was arranged with Whitey Bulger and the remnants of the Killeen organization, McGonagle remained angry about Bulger's accidental murder of his fraternal twin brother, Donald McGonagle. Bulgar killed Paulie and consolidated and took command of the Mullen, Killeen and Winter Hill gangs.

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