Murder of Doris E. Baker

 

Doris E. Baker was a mother of two and wife of Leo Baker. She owned Floor Covering Store, Inc. with her husband in Barre, Vermont. On Wednesday, February 19, 1958, at 4:40 John A. Corrigan, a customer, came into the Baker's store in order to pick up his linoleum order. He at first saw nobody, but then spotted 45-year-old Doris E. Baker lying sprawled behind the counter. 

She had been beaten with a hammer and then her throat was sliced and other parts of her were also cut. It could have also been a sexual assault. It was believed that it was either done by a sexual deviant and or a robbery gone wrong.

$50 was stolen from the store which would be equal to $425.06 in today's money. But her purse which had $150 in it was left untouched at the scene. Later there was a bloodstained $10 bill found and it could be possible that it was part of the money that was stolen.

There have been many suspects involved in this case. One suspect was Parran Youngblood a deaf/mute man who was seen in Barre that day. He was later shot and killed in Georgia in 1958 for supposedly kidnapping a 7-year-old child. There was no solid evidence that it was him. There were other suspects also, but none were found to be prosecuted with the murder of Mrs. Baker.

As a result of Doris's death, many of the residents in Barre became paranoid and scared. Several stores commented that they had sold out or almost sold out on-chain latch door locks and other kinds of door locks. Many residents even were scared to even let political door-to-door campaign members enter their house thinking that it may be the murderer.


SOURCES:

Vermont

The Burlington Free Press Feb. 22, 1958

The Burlington Free Press Feb. 25, 1958 

Bennington Banner April 2, 1958

The Burlington Free Press April 9, 1958

Bennington Banner August 30, 1958

Murder of Emma Bell

Sylvester Bell was from Canada but would settle with his first wife in Fairfax, Vermont. They would have several children together, but he would treat his wife cruelly. One day he locked her in a room in an attempt to kill her. Their son would break into the room and fight his father and pushed him on the bed which collapsed underneath him causing him unable to move and saving his wife from his wrath. He would be acquitted of the attempted murder. They would divorce.

 He would soon move on to his next wife and would marry Emma Locke in 1887. Just like his first wife he would treat Emma in the same awful way. This would cause Emma to return to her home and stay away from him.

On December 26, 1889, 29-year-old Emma would return to their home to gather her things with constable Hull. Sylvester would tell him "I want Emma to live with me." He would then "help" Emma get her things all while trying to act pleasant and asking her to come back to live in their home. 

Emma would walk past Sylvester and go upstairs. He would refuse to bring down her sewing machine. So constable Hull and Emma would bring it down. She would then go to a trunk and he would help her bring that down. He would then ask her to open the chest because he had something of his inside. This was when she noticed her rings missing from it. She asked him where they were and he claimed he didn't take them out. He would bring a paper out of his pocket with the rings inside and gave them to her anyway. She would put the rings on her fingers. 

Emma would go back upstairs to gather more things and he would follow her up. Constable Hull would stay downstairs but rushed upstairs when he heard a gunshot. Sylvester was standing there composed with a sixshooter and Emma was standing there with blood on her face. 

Hull would arrest Bell and take him downstairs. The doctor would be called and when he arrived Emma was lying face down on the floor still alive. She had been shot in the head. In her arms, she was tightly holding some of her son's toys. She would be unconscious, but alive for the next 28 minutes before dying. While the doctor was working on Emma Sylvester told him he shot her. He would ask if she would live. 

The doctor would find that the bullet had gone all the way through her brain. 

Sylvester would claim that he saw that Emma had found his gun and had it under her arm. He claimed he told her that she better behave. She was bent over when he went to grab for the gun and it went off when he grabbed it. He claimed he didn't mean to kill her. 

This was not believed as he had a history of domestic assault. He had also attempted to kill his first wife. So his story of an accidental shooting was not ringing right. He had also mentioned that she wanted to live alone and wanted $500 from him and he wouldn't do it because it would cause him to go to the poorhouse, but would rather be there than for her to be dead. At the trial he would claim there was no motive for the murder, The jury did not believe him and found him guilty. 

On Jan. 1, 1892, Sylvester would be set to hang. At 1:15 a crowd began to form in the neighborhood of the state prison, but only a few would see the execution. At 1:44 he would be taken from his cell and where he was having an earnest conversation with Chaplin Wassel.

At the gallows, Chaplin would give him a prayer. He stood up there pale and trembling for his fate. He would be allowed to speak for 34 minutes talking about his life and how he was innocent. He would stand bravely over the trap and say, " Gentlemen I am dying as a man; goodbye.". In 14 minutes he would be pronounced dead. 

In several articles Sylvester's name was Stephen. 

SOURCES:

Executed Today

St. Albans Daily Messenger September 13, 1890

Argos and Patriot September 17, 1890

St. Albans Daily Messenger September 18, 1890

Vermont Pheonix Jan. 1, 1892

The Burlington Free Press Jan. 2, 1892

UNIDENTIFIED: 1930's death of a Unknown mother and two children

 

Reconstruction of Jane Doe and the Younger John Doe

On May 15, 1935, a woman named Grace Dague and her daughter Inez Perry Masterson were looking for flowers in the forest in East Middlebury, Vermont. Off of a remote road leading to the Brookins/Blackmer hunting came the two stumbled upon the skeletal remains of three murder victims.

The bodies were of a woman 34 to 45-years-old and two children one being 13 to 15-years old the other 9 to 11-years-old. At the time it couldn't be determined the genders of the children. and it's still unknown. Later DNA suggested the older child and woman were mother and child making it possible that she was mother to the two children.

Each had been shot in the head likely with a Colt Automatic which fired .38 caliber bullets. It's likely the three were sleeping when they were killed. As they seemed to have been in pajamas as pearl buttons used on them were found with the bodies and feathers from a pillow (likely from being used to shoot through to muffle the sound).

It's believed they had been there up to 1932 as one of the legs of one of the victims was covered by a tree root and a hunter, Edward Munso, stated he was hunting in the area and smelled a terrible odor in November of 1932, but didn't investigate it. The family may not have been local and may have been from anywhere.

The bodies were found with green and buff-colored canvas awning with pullies attached. It is believed to have been used to help drop off the bodies where they were found. It was described as 20 feet big and was the type used on Yatches or porches at the time. The awning was believed to have been manufactured and sold outside of Vermont.

They tried to have Orthodontists from all over to look at the teeth of the Doe's to see if they could recognize them. Jane Doe and the older John Doe had dental work done on their teeth. This did not lead to an identification.

Jane Doe was a white female between 34 to 45-years-old. She was around 5'2" and weigh undetermined. She likely had dark hair. She also had molted teeth and a number of fillings.

Doe 1 is white between 13 and 15-years-old. He was around 4'11" at the time. The Doe had Tooth-straightening devices on teeth, described as gold bands, or brackets encircling the teeth in the upper jaw. They were done in a ribbon arch appliance.

Doe 2 was white between 9 and 11-years-old. He was around 4'4" at the time.

Does 1 and 2 are believed and often talked about as if they are male, but their gender is still undetermined.

SOURCES:
Doe Network (Jane Doe)
Doe Network( JohnDoe 1)
Doe Network (John Doe 2)
NamUs (Jane Doe)
NamUs (Doe 1)
NamUs (Doe 2)
Rutland Daily Herald May 21, 1935
The Burlington Free Press May 22, 1935 (part 1)
The Burlington Free Press May 22, 1935 (part 2)
Salt Lake Telegram May 25, 1935
Rutland Daily Herald May 29, 1935
Rutland Daily Herald June 6, 1935