It
was Saturday around 6PM on Baker Blvd when the 36
year old steelworkers wife received the phone call.
The woman neighbor was calling to say that his 6
year old daughter was throwing stones at her 11
year old son. He later told the police that he
informed his wife "I'm going to put a stop to this"
and promptly headed across the street with the
baseball bat.
When
he arrived he was confronted by the woman's husband
and an argument ensued. The steelworker told
police, that the husband took a swing at him so he
hit him with the bat. The woman and her children
came to his aid, and the steelworker turned his
frustration on her.
Upon
hearing the commotion, one neighbor arrived to view
the incident, and one sent his 17 year old son as
he called the state police at the Red Lion
barracks. (In
1959 there was only reserve police in
Marlton)
The 17 year old neighbor was an Eagle Scout, and
was able to render first aid on the woman until the
arrival of the Marlton
First Aid Squad.
She was taken to Burlington Memorial Hospital in
Mount Holly, where she died two hours later of a
compound fracture of the skull.
Her
husband who was injured in the fight, was admitted
for scalp and leg cuts. The steelworker was taken
to the hospital for a cut forehead, put in the
county prison in Mt. Holly, and charged with murder
and atrocious assault and
battery.
he
summer of 1959 brought about a realization to the
residents of Marlton Hills, that even in their
sleepy development they were not immune to crime.
On Saturday June 27 1959 the residents were shocked
by a crime that would hit the front page of the
Courier Post on Monday, and change the lives of at
least two families forever.