THE MURDER OF VICTOR BRIGGS
PART 2
By: Donna Sullivan
SUSPECTS IDENTIFIED IN THE BRIGGS MURDER
A bus driver told the Sheriff that he had seen the Model T and could identify it, if he saw it again. So the Sheriff, Haupt and the bus driver rode around the area looking for the car. The bus driver spotted the car in a garage on a dairy farm along the Attica Hill Road.
No one was home, but the title showed the car belonged to a man named Kenneth Ratcliff of Attica. The tires matched the tracks found under the oak tree and an empty pack of cigarettes lay on the floor. They were split down the side.
Sheriff Cole’s deputy brought Ratcliff in for questioning. Ratcliff claimed he had been at his mother’s house, the night of the murder and was sick in bed. A local doctor confirmed that he had seen Ratcliff late on Tuesday; had given him medicine and advised him to stay in bed.
Although Ratcliff admitted ownership of the Model T, he claimed that neither he nor the vehicle had left Attica that night. As he was being questioned he smoked cigarette after cigarette. Sheriff Cole noticed he opened his packs from the end.
The Sheriff also checked records and found that Victor Briggs had a permit to carry the gun that was found in his sedan. On November 4, 1925, he was issued a license to carry a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson…his application stated, "Applicant desires such permit for the purpose of protection".
Sheriff Cole also knew that the victim had had some trouble in the past, when he had been shot at on his farm. The Sheriff also examined the will of Victor’s father, Joel Briggs. It was a four page document; it told that the son, Victor Briggs had received his part of the estate outright but the nephews’ portion were held in trust. Joel Briggs had made provisions for them to receive the entire estate at the age of thirty-five. But he later added that since they had shown no degree of care or ability, he was changing the trust to last all their lives. They would have no control over it.
The attorney that drew up the will was former Judge Burton E. Barry. He later became the executor of the estate when the named executor, another cousin Henry Briggs, refused.
At the reading of Joel Briggs’ will the nephews were angry. From that moment on they were unfriendly toward their uncle, Victor Briggs. The attorney told Sheriff Cole that the nephews gave him a lot of trouble, even threatened him.
One of the nephews, Clarence "Billy" Briggs, was a little guy, about five feet three inches tall. The other nephew Joel, who weighed about 180 pounds, once came into the attorney’s office and drew a gun on him.
The Sheriff received a letter from the Detroit City Police. Joel, the elder nephew had been at work in Detroit, the day of the murder. It was also learned that Billy Briggs had been in Lafayette on Tuesday, the day of the murder, but had returned to Detroit. Upon learning of the death of their uncle they were leaving Detroit to return for the funeral that was scheduled for that Saturday.
It was at this point that Cecil Haupt informed Sheriff Cole that he had known Billy for fifteen years. He also told him that Joel and Billy had come into his office about a year before, wearing guns, talking tough and threatening to kill Victor, and others. This upset the Sheriff, and Cecil explained that Billy was a sort of friend, and he had put it all down to "bluster" on Billy and Joel’s part. Sam said that since Joel was at work in Detroit at the time of the murders he was in the cleaer.
Sam asked Cecil if he knew anymore about Billy and Cecil told him he was having trouble with his wife in Danville, Illinois over his affair with a woman named Martha Brooks. She was Kenneth Ratcliff’s sister. Sam decided it was time to check on Ratcliff’s alibi again.
On South Perry Street they talked to the man who had formerly owned the land where Ratcliff’s car had been spotted. The man told the Sheriff that Ratcliff had started working for him about August 1st to help with the milking on the man’s dairy farm, and yes Ratcliff did own a 1924 Ford with a bad top. When the man was asked about the movements of Ratcliff on Tuesday and Wednesday night he told them that Ratcliff had arrived at his home at about six or six-thirty on Tuesday and ate supper then he didn’t see Ratcliff again until the next afternoon, Ratcliff said he had been sick. The farmers son told the Sheriff that he had worked with Ratcliff on Tuesday and had ridden home with him in the Model T and there was a little man, wearing a cap waiting for Ratcliff. He left the two men talking; Ratcliff came in later washed up and ate supper. Then he put on a clean shirt and left in his car. None of the family knew the man in the cap. Then Haupt said that Billy was a little man and the last time he saw him he was wearing the type of cap the family had described. They questions residents along Perry Street about the man that had been looking for Ratcliff and some of them identified Clarence "Billy" Briggs.
Back at his office Sheriff Cole instructed his deputy to bring Ratcliff in. The deputy returned empty handed the owner of the Model T and his car had disappeared.
Just after five o’clock on Saturday morning Sam was routed out of bed by two men, one an auctioneer and a stranger that introduced himself as Joel Briggs. Who said he had heard that the Sheriff wanted to talk to him. The Sheriff told Joel that he wanted to talk to him about his grandfathers will and the death of his uncle. After the auctioneer left the Sheriff’s office, Joel told the Sheriff that he had nothing to do with the murder he was at work in Detroit at the time. But he wasn’t sorry he was dead. Sheriff Cole asked Joel where his brother was: Joel told the Sheriff that Billy had stopped off in Danville to see his wife, but h e would be in the Sheriff’s office in the morning.
ARRESTS IN THE MURDER OF VICTOR BRIGGS
After Joel left the Sheriff called the Sheriff in Danville and told him to pick up Clarence "Billy" Briggs, at his home there in Danville and hold him. He told the Danville Sheriff he had a warrant for his arrest on the charge of murdering his uncle there in Williamsport.
When Billy was at the Vermilion County Jail he appeared a little nervous, but he was more than willing to talk about the case with the officers and newsmen. He told them he didn’t know how his uncle had died until his brother had picked up a Danville paper that morning when they had stopped to eat about ten miles north of Danville. He told officers that he could account for his whereabouts every day and night during the past week.
Just before noon the Sheriff and Cecil Haupt arrived at the Sheriff’s office in Danville. Joel Ratcliff had arrived before them and had brought a lawyer from Williamsport with him.
When Billy took a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket, Sheriff Cole and Cecil Haupt looked at each other, the package had been opened down the side. They asked Billy why he opened his cigarettes that way and Billy told them that was the way they do it in South America. When Billy got cocky Cecil Haupt told him he was in enough of a spot and didn’t realize it. Surprised Billy told the attorney that he thought he was his friend. Cecil told him that he had been but he had no time for murderers.
Back at the Williamsport Jail, they informed him of his rights and told him he could go to the funeral if he wanted to. Billy refused and told them to lock him up, he didn’t need an attorney either, that he wasn’t going to be there that long anyway.
That evening Billy agreed to talk to the Sheriff and Haupt and make a statement. The Sheriff called in someone to take it down, and Haupt, a notary, witnessed the signing of the statement.
Billy told them he left for Detroit on Tuesday, September the 25th and had stayed at his brother’s house until yesterday and hadn’t left the Detroit City limits at any time.
He also told them that he and his uncle never had any trouble with one another. He said he and his uncle visited each other and frequently took meals together. He had no reason to kill his uncle.
The Sheriff and Haupt both knew Billy was lying and figured at some point they would be able to ‘trip’ him. That evening Sheriff Cole asked Billy if he knew a woman named Martha Brooks and after a moments hesitation Billy said he did know her. Sheriff Cole asked him when he last saw her and Billy told him when he left Detroit she was visiting his brother’s house. Billy asked to speak to a man named Carl Mehaffey, who was a former officer. When Carl came to see Billy, he asked Carl about the new lie detector machine. Carl explained the machine to Billy and the Sheriff offered to set up a test for Billy, but Billy declined.
Neither Kenneth Ratcliff or his car had been found, the Sheriff told Cecil he wanted to find him so he could play him and Billy against one another, because all they had right now was circumstantial evidence and a lot of healthy suspicions. The Sheriff in Danville informed the Sheriff that no gun had been found at the home of Billy’s wife in Danville.
Cecil Haupt asked the Sheriff about the prints from shoes that the Sheriff had found. The Sheriff went to Billy’s cell. He was laying on the cell cot with his shoes off. When the Sheriff entered he picked up Billy’s shoes. The Sheriff took the shoes to where he had found the footprints and uncovered the prints. He placed the left shoe along side the print and pushed the shoe into the dirt. They were identical even down to the nail marks. Haupt was impressed and told the Sheriff he was sure Billy was the killer. The Sheriff said yes, but just one of them. He went to the second set of prints near the oak tree and compared the shoes to the smaller set of prints there. They matched again.
When they got back to the jail, in the presence of Ottinger, the Sheriff told Cecil that if they could find the woman Martha Brooks she could probably give them some information and tell them where her brother was hiding. Ottinger told them he knew her and she had been in his restaurant that morning.
The murder of Victor Briggs in October of 1928, had Warren County Sheriff, Sam Cole, deeply involved in a murder investigation. Sheriff Cole and Special Prosecutor for the investigation, Cecil Haupt, have gathered clues and suspicions as to who committed the murder. The prime suspects are a nephew of Victor Briggs, Clarence Briggs, also know as Billy, his friend Kenneth Ratcliff.
The Sheriff directed Deputy Ottinger to locate a woman named Martha Brooks. Martha had left Detroit. The deputy said he knew the woman and had seen her in a restaurant that morning.
The Deputy returned in about an hour with Martha Brooks, at first she didn’t want to cooperate with Sheriff Cole and Cecil Haupt in their questioning of her, but after she was told that since she was a known companion to Billy Briggs, she could be held as an accessory before and after the fact of the murder of Victor Briggs, she became frightened and began to talk.
She told the Sheriff and Cecil Haupt that she went to the home of Joel Briggs in Detroit on Thursday, before the murder. Billy was already there, but he left on Monday, October 1st, about nine o’clock in the morning. He said he was going to see someone that owed him money. She told the men that Billy always had a gun with him. He came back to Detroit on Wednesday evening about seven o’clock. He no longer had the gun, and he wouldn’t tell anyone where he had been. She said he didn’t leave the house again until Friday evening, when he and Joel left in the car to return to Williamsport. Billy never worked in Detroit while she was there. She said she did not know where her brother Kenneth Ratcliff was. The Sheriff told her not to leave the county and permitted her to leave the police station.
On Monday, Ratcliff was found asleep at this mother’s house in Attica. He was arrested, fingerprinted, mugged, and charged with the murder. At first Ratcliff was placed upstairs in the woman’s section of the jail to keep him away from Billy Briggs.
Sheriff Cole decided to set a trap for the killers. A telephone employee installed a Dictaphone in an empty cell behind the radiator and the other end of the wire was placed in the kitchen of the jail.
Billy was put in the cell next to the ‘bugged" cell. The next day Ratcliff was put in the cell that contained the "bug". A court reporter was put in the kitchen with headphones, she listened to Briggs and Ratcliff’s rasping voices I conversation for three weeks.
One day while being questioned by Sheriff Cole, Billy admitted he had fired his gun at his uncle, but claimed it was self-defense. After more interrogation Billy said he Ratcliff had driven to the oak tree where they parked the car. He said that Ratcliff had been with him at Victor Briggs’ home, but wouldn’t implicate him in the shooting. Clarence "Billy’ Briggs signed a confession in the presence of Special Prosecutor Cecil Haupt.
Billy and Kenneth Ratciff were both charged with the murder of Victor Briggs. They were arraigned on November 26, 1928. Kenneth Briggs pleaded not guilty and Billy stood mute.
Following a change of venue, Clarence "Billy" Briggs was tried in Benton County Circuit Court in Fowler, Indian on Valentines Day, 1929 after a sensational trail, where bullet shells, footprints, tire tracks, Dictaphone evidence and the will of the grandfather took the wind out of the defense. Clarence "Billy" Briggs changed his plea to guilty just as the prosecution led by Cecil Haupt rested their case.
Special Judge, Benjamin J. Care sentenced Billy to life imprisonment, in the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. Billy had Haupt to thank for his sentence; it was Cecil Haupt’s suggestion to the Judge that got him life imprisonment, instead of the electric chair. Billy left the court room with a smirking smile on his face.
The star witness for the defense against Kenneth Ratcliff was Clarence "Billy’ Briggs. Kenneth Ratcliff had steadfastly denied any part in the killing of Victor Briggs. Ratcliff’s trial began on March 18, 1929. Billy was brought back from prison to testify, this time he implicated his former companion.
After twelve hours of deliberation the jury found Kenneth Ratcliff guilty of aiding and abetting, encouraging the murder of Victor Briggs.
Early Wednesday morning, March 27th he was sentenced to life in prison in Michigan City. Why this long deliberation? Several of the jurors held out for the death penalty.
Billy’s brother, Archy Joel Briggs was never prosecuted. Billy and Ratcliff appealed for parole many times, but it was never granted. The parole appeals were vigorously opposed by Warren County residents.
The End
***
Whispering Willow
By: Willow
Blizzrd of 1967
This isn’t what I had intended t write about today but you know what the say about best laid plans…
In 1967 I lived in Hammond, Indiana in my first apartment. My husband at the time had just gotten out of the service. It was just he and I and our two-year-old son Tony. Jerry left for work at about 3:00 in the afternoon of January 25, 1967. For some reason he walked to work that morning, but now that I think about it I don’t know why, he hated to walk. And we lived about a mile or mile and half from where he worked. Whatever the reason our Ford was sitting in front of the house.
I didn’t see him again for two days. It started snowing that night, Jerry was supposed to be home by 11:00 but he didn’t. Our apartment was in the rear of my aunt and uncles apartment, and our landlord lived next door. My aunt knocked on my door and it was Jerry saying he couldn’t leave the plant, because of the weather.
It was still snowing when I woke up the next morning, and Jerry still wasn’t home. By about 4:00 the evening of January 26th, Dan Rather a local weatherman on WLS TV said that the weatherman said that the worse was almost over.
We got four inches of snow in an hour and when it finally stopped snowing we have 3 feet. The winds were so fierce that it piled snow in snowdrifts of 10 feet high.
There was a small store on the end of the block from where we lived, and when we started to run out of things I would walk to the store for my aunt and I. The roads were impassable for a week. The owner of the store decided he had the advantage and on the third day he was charging 2.00 or 3.00 dollars a gallon from $1.25 or $1,50. The next day he had to close his store, someone through a brick through his front window.
Two days after the snow stopped Jerry walked home. He set about digging out the car. He dug out the driver’s side, our neighbors were digging out their vehicles as well. When Jerry got in and turned the key, the car fired up immediately. The next day we bundled up Tony and he finally got the car out to the main road. We drove to Calumet City, Illinois, about ten miles, to my parent’s house.
We made it as far as the main road in near their house, which was Burnham Avenue, which is about 6 blocks from their house. Jerry carried Tony and we walked down the middle of the street. You could tell that there were cars lining the street, you would either see an antenna sticking out of the snow or the pile of snow would be curved.
My parents lived in a slab ranch style house. The snow was up to the front windows so there was no way that they could open the front door or the back door. So my dad opened the front windows and took out the screen. He took Tony from Jerry and handed him to my mother. Then Jerry jumped down into the living room and helped me in.
The next day I took pictures of the house. The snowdrifts from the roof hung over the side and nearly touched the drift below. A friend of my parents walked two blocks and finally dug us out. We couldn’t get the garage door open either so we couldn’t get to the snow shovel. It was an interesting time. It was a time that families spent time together. They had nothing better to do; there was no TV, no radio, and certainly no driving. We later found out that if we had gotten stopped we could have been arrested. The had declared a state of emergency and no one was suppose to be on the road except in an emergency.
Be Blessed
Willow
***
According To
Big Al...
"Listen to what I mean... not what I say."
SNOW
I feel better today, I look outside and I see it snowing. Snow is beautiful, it covers all the dirt in the world. I am tired of all the rain and ice that we have had in the past few weeks. Ice causes too many accidents – people sliding into ditches and having to get someone to tow them out. My neighbors totaled their pickup just before Christmas because of the ice. Wintertime should be allocated for snow. Children love snow – maybe I am still a child. One of the things that I really missed when I moved to Chicago was the clean fresh snow. It seems that the snow in the city was dirty. When it snowed in the city, it wasn't plowed. It became dirty slush. The main streets were salted not plowed. People in the city don't know how to handle snow nor know how to appreciate it. This isn't the case for the rural population. We are equipped to handle the snow – plow it. One of the most enjoyable times I can remember of living in the city was the blizzard of 1967. We had over 24" of snow fall in a short time and people were absolutely stymied. Because no one was prepared for this event, the majority of the people became unglued. I was at work at the time and stayed there for 3 days. There is no sense in fighting mother nature. The single biggest problem was abandoned cars. The streets couldn't be cleared for all the cars left on the streets under the snow. The majority of the people had no food supplies in their homes. The local stores quickly ran out of milk and bread and people felt like there world was coming to an end. Some of the local merchants were gouging there customers – something that was not soon forgotten by their patrons – many small timers ran out of business later because of their gouging tactics.
One of the things I missed most when I lived in California, was the lack of rain and snow. It was always the same. Sunshine and 70 or 80 degrees. It was real nice when I first arrived but after about 6 months, I longed for some changes. Call me nuts but you can have too much of a good thing.
Playing in the snow was a great thrill for me when I was a kid. Making a snow man – building snow forts – snowball fights – sliding down the hills on sleds – walking in the woods with the snow falling, were all great feelings for me. Of course you need to dress up for the occasion. Something the kids in the city never seem to be able to do. We even shoveled out the driveway so we could accumulate enough snow in a pile to excavate later for our own snow house.
The best part of the whole winter was sledding. We always, it seems lived on or near a steep hill with little or no traffic. A perfect situation for sledding. By myself. With my younger brother, with my sisters or sometimes with other girls and boys, sledding was a joyful time. One of the best Christmas presents that I can remember was a new 3 passenger sled. Previously we had only a short 2 passenger sled and whoever was sitting on the rear was pushed on the way down the hill. I can remember Grampa Duddenhoeffer making a sleigh for farm chores. It was an exact duplicate of an horse sleigh only about 4 feet long. He would pull us kids around in it when we were only a few years old. Later on when he moved to the city and sold his farm. He gave us kids the sleigh. It was nice, but too big and heavy for sledding, it would have been ideal for us if we had a pony to pull it, which of course we didn't have.
One of the very best times that I can remember was building our own tobaggon out of a couple of old skis. We nailed a 2x4 lengthwise to each ski and then nailed boards about 12 inches wide to secure the two skis together. It made a very nice tobaggon and would slide down a steep hill very nicely with one problem – you couldn't steer it. This only made for more excitement. One day my cousin and I took the homemade tobaggon out after a very windy night a proceeded down a very steep hill close to his house. He was in the front and I was on the rear and the wind had crusted the snow real good so we were going down the steep hill at a very high rate of speed. Before you knew it we were approaching a deep drop-off into a creek. There also was a barbed-wire fence alongside of the drop-off. I sensed what was coming and rolled off the back, my cousin stayed with the sled and laid down on his back and disappeared under the fence and into the snow on the other side off the drop-off. Let me tell you I was scared. I thought that my cousin's head was amputated. I got up running to see if I could find my cousin. After digging in the snow for a few minutes, I located him. Fortunately he was O K, but the front of his new coat was torn where the zipper was from the barbed-wire fence as he slid under it. We considered ourselves very lucky to get out of this situation with only a torn coat. If you think that this put a damper on our sledding for that day – you are right, besides my cousin had to figure out a way to explain how his new coat got damaged without telling the truth. I had no problem.
So get out and enjoy the snow. I think I will go for a walk in the woods.
Big Al
***
Maple Sweet Potatoes
6 medium-sized sweet potatoes
1 t. salt
½ c. maple syrup
1 c. apple cider (or apple juice)
1 T. butter
½ C. Water
Boil potatoes in jackets until nearly done. Peel, slice and put into baking pan. Let maple syrup, butter, salt, cider, and water come to a boil. Pour over potatoes and bake in a slow oven (about 350 degrees) for 1 hour or until potatoes are glazed and syrup of desired consistency. Serves 6.
***
~~Willow's Garden ~~
By: Willow
"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." Hippocrates
In this series of articles I have been talking about the benefits of teas. I’ll continue that series with some herbs that make excellent teas. I will also include at least one recipe for that tea.
ALFALFA is indigenous to Arabia and is a member of the legume family. It has small split leaves with purple flowers like clovers and usual spiral pods. The roots of the alfalfa reach deep into the soil for minerals.
The Arabian horse is among the most prized breeds in the world. It was through their horses that the Arabians first discovered the virtues of alfalfa. They saw that the alfalfa made their horses swift and strong so they began to take alfalfa themselves. Alfalfa became known as the Father of All Foods.
As a nutrient tonic; alfalfa contains eight essential amino acids, vitamins A, E, K, B and D. It also contains phosphorus; iron; chlorine; sodium; silicon; magnesium; and beta-carotene.
Alfalfa is a natural diuretic and laxative, that eases water retention and cleanses you system. It improves digestion and keeps your intestinal tract in fit condition. These values make alfalfa a very useful aid for weight loss.
The vitamin K in alfalfa is necessary for blood clotting, carbohydrate storage, liver vitality, and longevity. Vitamin K is a normally manufactured by your bodies intestinal floral as a by-product of digestion and stored in the body for use. Your body needs a small amount of vitamin K, and there is rarely a lack of it, except in certain circumstances such as a habitual use of aspirin, alcohol and drug abuse, which can destroy you vitamin K supply. Also lingering intestinal disorders like colitis hampers your body’s ability to make vitamin K and the friendly flora. Antibiotics also have been known to destroy vitamin K and the friendly flora of your body. In these cases alfalfa tea can be beneficial and give your body the tune-up it needs.
The beneficial parts of the alfalfa plant are the leaves for vitamin and protein. A word of caution, alfalfa is not recommended for people with autoimmune disorders.
ALFAFAL-MINT TEA
This is a superb brew for energy and stamina. The peppermint brings flavor and synergy to the tea. Use one teabag of alfalfa and one tea bag of peppermint and steep them together. Serve in a tall glass over ice.
A tea bag usually contains 1 ox of tea. For every ounce of tea use one cup of water. So this recipe would require two cups of water.
Be Blessed
~~Willow~~
***
CRYTOQUOTE
RVZTLFR
EXAMPLE
To solve the puzzle, one letter stands for another. As in the word "EXAMPLE" above "R" stands for "E". Sentence structure and grammar rules and sentence structure are another clue.
QSZBZKZJ X DXB VZZG XPYNHZ, SZ MZBZJXCCL VZZGZ ORTJ EXNVZ. -
CRJP HSZVWZJFNZCP
Last Weeks Answer
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are
looking at the stars. -- Oscar Wilde
Here's a tip on this weeks puzzle: Z = E
DISCLAIMER:
The Articles written here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of all the writers or the owners of this publication. The articles are the opinions of each individual writer. They are not meant to cast judgment or take away from anyone else's opinion. If you would like to have your open stated here, submit you article By e-mail alittlebit@willowenterprises.net,and state your own opinion. It will be printed according to content, language and availability of space. All articles must be signed by the writer.
Also, the staff of A Little Bit News Publ. does not claim to be experts in the topics they write about. No one claims to be in the medical field. The herbal and medical articles written here are what we personally have found to work for us. We write these articles for your information and to pique your curiosity. It is up to the individual to critique the information and decide what steps to take.
