The Harveys Lake Murder Mystery of 1913

 

To say that 1913 was a busy year for law enforcement in Luzerne County is an understatement. Records show that twenty murders occurred in the county that year, with an astounding 47 murders taking place in Luzerne County between January 1, 1903, and December 31, 1913. To their credit, authorities made arrests in all 47 cases, but not every arrest resulted in a conviction. Among the unsolved crimes of 1913 was the mysterious death of Alice Crispell, whose body was found in Harvey's Lake on the morning of July 7.

The morning sun was shining brightly as George Casterline, a baggage handler, was driving his wagon around Lake Road, making his Monday rounds at the hotels and summer resorts hugging the shores of Pennsylvania's second-largest natural lake. It was around 7:30 in the morning when he spotted something floating atop the water close to the shore. He made an investigation and discovered that it was the decomposed body of a young woman. Procuring a boat, Casterline brought the body to the Weckesser boathouse, where several lakeside residents immediately identified the body as that of Alice Crispell, the 18-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Crispell of Outlet, a tiny community along Harveys Lake.

With three hotels, two hundred cottages and nearly sixty boathouses, it wasn't long before word of the gruesome discovery reached every corner of the lake. One summer resident staying at the Worden Place cottage happened to be Sheriff Kniffen, who immediately took charge of the scene and ordered that the body be left untouched until the arrival of Coroner James F. Marley. The sheriff also notified the district attorney's office and the state police, and then began questioning the guests and local residents.

Sheriff Kniffen learned that Alice had left home a week earlier to visit her uncle, Edgar Crispell, in Huntsville. She returned home to Harveys Lake on the Tuesday evening of July 1. In Wednesday morning, she told her parents that she was planning to go to Wilkes-Barre to do some shopping before spending the night at the home of her sister Martha. That was the last time William and Lillian Crispell saw their daughter alive.

However, unbeknownst to her parents, Alice returned to the lake two days later on July 4, where she was seen at eight o'clock that evening at the Oneonta Hotel by another sister, Adelaide Ross. She was seen in the company of man unknown to Adelaide, whom she described as wearing a gray suit and a light-colored hat. This man, authorities learned from Mr. and Mrs. Crispell, was Herbert Johns, a 28-year-old miner from Wilkes-Barre who was said to be Alice's fiancee. Herbert visited the Crispell home every Sunday and was well-known around Harveys Lake.

 

The Coroner Arrives

When the fully-clothed body was found, Alice was wearing a watch on her wrist which Sheriff Kniffen noticed had stopped at 9:30. It was initially assumed that the hands of the watch had stopped when Alice had entered the water, but later developments would only deepen the mystery. Because of the state of decomposition, the sheriff couldn't tell if there were any marks of violence on the body. A short while later, Coroner Marley and undertaker Henry Mooney arrived at the boathouse, and the coroner ordered the body taken at once to the morgue for an autopsy before further decomposition destroyed whatever evidence might be found. He also noted something very peculiar; bodies usually don't float until they've been in the water for around seventy-two hours, when the gases produced by decomposition make the body buoyant in the water. Assuming that Alice had entered the water on the night of July 4, less than sixty hours had elapsed.

 
Herbert's Story

Herbert Johns appeared visibly shaken when he was informed of Alice's death on Monday, July 7, by newspaper reporters. He admitted that he had been with Alice on the Fourth of July, which fell on a Friday. Herbert's mother said that Alice and her son had eaten dinner at their Wyoming Avenue home earlier that evening, before going to a party at Harveys Lake, accompanied by Herbert's sister, Clara, Alice's sister, Martha, Harry Williams and William Eicher. He said that he decided to leave Alice at the hotel because he wasn't feeling well. She had insisted that he spend the night at the home of her grandmother, but he thought it better to return home and so he started for the trolley, which departed from Harveys Lake at 11:30. It was a little after midnight when he disembarked at Division Street in Dorrance. This story was confirmed by F.D. VanBuskirk, who had taken the same trolley and had seen Herbert sleeping in his seat.

 

Stella Oney, a neighbor of the Crispells, claimed to have seen Alice and Herbert on the night of the presumed murder. "I was coming home along the road near the Weckesser cottage about 11:30 on the Fourth of July night with my younger sister Susie and brother Jesse and his friend, William Walter, when we saw Alice and her friend sitting on the wall on the lake front near the Weckesser boathouse," said Stella. "I saw Alice several times during the day. She did not seem unhappy or troubled." This also tallies with statements made by four witnesses-- Edward and Lester Garnet, Alvah Soder, and George Ide-- who had seen the couple together at the Oneonta Hotel at around 11:00.

 

A Blood-Curdling Scream

If the story told by Herbert Johns is correct, then it would appear that his young bride-to-be went to her death just minutes after he had boarded the trolley. According to two witnesses, Mrs. Anna Weckesser and Mrs. S.T. Nicholson, a chilling scream was heard at around 11:30 that evening. It was the voice of a young female, who cried out something that (to Mrs. Weckesser) sounded like, "Oh, Charlie!" The women heard no further sounds, but, in the morning, they asked their friends and neighbors if there had been some sort of accident. Upon learning that no one else had heard the scream, the two women put the matter out of their minds, concluding that it must've been holiday guests carousing on the lake. 

However, an unnamed witness told authorities that he had also heard the mysterious cry on the night of July 4. Shortly after hearing the scream, he heard footsteps on the road near the Weckesser boathouse. It was a young man, wearing a gray suit and a light-colored hat. When he asked the stranger if he had heard the scream, the young man pulled the hat down over his eyes and kept on walking.

Herbert Johns Arrested

Herbert Johns was arrested on suspicion of murder on July 8. He spoke freely to County Detective James Holman and State Trooper Freeman after he was taken into custody, and told them that, while walking to the trolley, he, too, had passed a man in a gray flannel suit and Panama hat who was walking toward the Weckesser boathouse. He said that, after he hadn't heard from Alice in a few days, he wrote her a letter. Police later found this letter, which Herbert had written on Sunday. It read:

Dearest Alice,

I will now take the pleasure in you writing you a few lines, hoping it will find you in as good health as it leaves me. Well, how did you feel Saturday and Sunday? Gee, I felt on the bum. Who the devil said it was cool over at the lake? Why, it was much cooler in town than it was over there. Well, I suppose you won't be in town for some time. Are you going back to Trucksville to work again? If so, let me know in time so I won't get fooled over to the lake. Did you get to see Martha or Harry yet? I did not see them, but may see them tonight. I am going downtown tonight and I wish you were along. The sister and her fellow said that they were glad to see us on the Fourth. They said they had a pleasant time. Sister nearly fainted going over on the car... Did your sister get her picture taken to send to Howard? If Canny swam the lake I didn't see him since.

Holy gee, here it is Sunday again and all alone. I wish I was over there with you. I am lonesome as the devil, but I suppose it will not be long until we meet again. Say, did the folks say anything, or were they mad because I didn't go to the house? Did you get the firecrackers for the kids? Well, darling, I will bring this letter to a close. Hoping to hear from you soon, from a fellow who will never forget you, to the girl who has forgotten me.

The One-Armed Swimmer

Authorities believed that jealousy might've been the motive, and speculated that Herbert may have pushed Alice off the wall and into the lake, which was twelve feet deep in that spot. Rumor had it that Alice had a rival suitor named Harrison Cann-- the "Canny" mentioned by Herbert in his letter. It was said that the two men had reached a gentleman's agreement-- whichever man could swim across Harveys Lake first would win the right to pursue Alice Crispell's hand; the other would bow out gracefully. It was a particularly interesting competition between the two friends, considering that Harrison Cann only had one arm.

Assistant District Attorney Lenahan, who firmly believed that Herbert was guilty, was convinced that Cann would be able to provide damning evidence against him. Instead, authorities found that Cann's story only bolstered Herbert's claim of innocence. He said that the swimming competition was merely a friendly joke. "I am a friend of Herbert, and I believe he is innocent," he told detectives. "I am going to do all I can to help him prove his innocence."

Further damaging the case against Herbert was the statement made by the victim's mother. She told detectives she believed that her daughter was murdered, but not by Herbert Johns. "Herbert always behaved himself when he was at my house and I liked him, " said Mrs. Crispell. "Alice did not fall into the water," she added. "She was not the kind of girl to commit suicide and I must believe that someone killed her."

 

The Vertigo Theory

Meanwhile, the accused killer hired defense attorney Frank McGuigan as his legal counsel, and it was McGuinan who introduced an intriguing angle to the investigation which county detectives and the state police had overlooked in their zeal to pin Alice's death on Herbert Johns. According to McGuinan, Alice was known to suffer fainting spells. He believed that, after Herbert had taken his leave, Alice got up and attempted to catch up with Stella and Susie Oney, only to become dizzy along the way and stumble into the lake.

Though several of Alice's friends confirmed these spells of vertigo, her mother told reporters that Alice had no known health conditions, such as epilepsy, but admitted that she she frequently complained of "head pains".

Autopsy Reveals Mysterious Bite Marks

The autopsy was performed by Dr. J.P. Higgins, who determined that Alice's death had been caused by drowning. However, he found that Alice's right hand was bruised, while her left hand, which was covered with a glove, was not. Oddly, there appeared to be teeth marks on the right hand. Dr. Higgins also found injuries to both sides of the face, which he thought might also be teeth marks, or perhaps the result of falling onto sharp rocks. Coroner Marley and Dr. Higgins stated that they would visit the jail and make impressions of Herbert's teeth to see if they matched the teeth marks found on Alice's right wrist. But as to whether the girl's death pointed to murder, Coroner Marley and Dr. Higgins had their doubts. 

"Personally, I do not incline to the murder theory," stated the coroner.

 

Father Threatens to Shoot Alice

The inquest was to be held at the Oneonta Hotel on the night of Thursday, July 10, by Deputy Coroner William J. Butler, though shocking developments would take place earlier that day after it was revealed that Detective D.T. McKelvey had returned from the Johns residence with over 75 love letters Herbert and Alice had exchanged. The letters, especially those written by Johns, are so vile in the language used that the Record prints only extracts from them, wrote the Wilkes-Barre Record, while detectives who read the letters described the two lovers as "moral degenerates".

Aside from the raunchy details of their sex lives, the letters uncovered facts which pointed to a second possible suspect-- Alice's father. 

In one letter from April, Alice wrote that she was thinking about killing herself due to her mother's mistreatment, while in another letter Alice told Herbert that her father, who was a raging alcoholic, had threatened to kill her and had pointed a gun at her head. She also stated that her father had given her a "pair of black eyes". When questioned by Detective Holman about these accusations, William Crispell denied hitting Alice, but admitted that he had pointed a gun at her.

Despite these revelations, authorities were rapidly losing confidence in their murder case against Herbert Johns and leaning toward the accidental death theory. This was largely due to statements given by Sephaniah Reese, a car salesman from Plymouth, who had seen the Crispell and Johns party at the Oneonta Hotel on the night of July 4. At the hotel, he saw the group of friends drinking excessively, and later, on his way home, he had driven past a young couple walking along the road near the Weckesser boathouse at 11:25. According to Reese, the female was so drunk that she was barely able to walk. His description of the couple matched Alice and Herbert. Further down the road he also saw another drunken man passed out on a pile of logs.

Detectives and Coroner Exchange Insults

In light of the latest developments in the case, the coroner's jury exonerated Herbert Johns, clearing him of murder, but declaring that Alice had met her death as a result of murder by a person or persons unknown. As for the accused, there wasn't a shred of evidence linking him to his lover's death. Even the plan to make an impression of Herbert's teeth was abandoned, after dentists pointed out that the only way one could establish a link to the bite marks on the victim's body would be if the person who had done the biting possessed some sort of distinctive arrangement of teeth. Besides, Dr. Higgins wasn't one hundred percent certain that the marks had been bite marks in the first place.

Detective McKelvey, however, was incensed by the jury's verdict and stated that he would have Johns held for the grand jury. He stated that he would attempt to get a court order granting him permission to have Alice's remains disinterred from Lehman Cemetery, and he publicly attacked Coroner Marley, calling him a "boob" for being unable to determine the circumstances which had caused the victim's drowning. He also refused to accept the legitimacy of the inquest, as three Luzerne County deputy coroners had sat on the jury.

"The verdict is not legal," declared McKelvey. "It is not signed by Coroner Marley in the first place and it does not show the cause of death was drowning. I believe we established a prima facie case against Johns and that he should be held to await the action of the grand jury." 

District Attorney Bigelow, who was in charge of the county detective's office, agreed with McKelvey and stated that he would go before Alderman Brown to insist that Herbert Johns be held in jail. Coroner Marley, however, issued a sharp retort, telling reporters that the jury had no choice but to exonerate Johns because Detectives McKelvey and Holman were incompetent.

"I did not want to hold an autopsy in the first place because I believed the case was an accident," Coroner Marley told reporters. "The case has now developed into one grand farce because of the blundering work of the county detectives," continued the coroner, adding that detectives had failed to produce the evidence they claimed to have against the suspect. "They made a complete fizzle of the case from the start, and because of their mistakes they want to hold me responsible. I won't have it that way. The verdict was a just one, the only verdict that could possibly be returned in view of the evidence."

Swimming at Harveys Lake in 1926

 

The Second Autopsy

On Saturday, July 12, Judge Fuller ordered the exhumation of Alice Crispell's body. It was a historic decision, as it was the first time an exhumation had been granted since the formation of Luzerne County in 1786. 

The second autopsy was performed over the weekend, and, on Monday, Drs. Larkin  and Lehain of Brooklyn, and Drs. Wolfe and Higgins of Wilkes-Barre, announced that Alice Crispell's death was indeed caused by drowning, and it was conclusively proven by the condition on her lungs that death occurred after she had entered the water. Of course, this did not rule out the possibility that someone had pushed her into the water after a confrontation, as the marks on her body were indicative of a struggle. Yet it was impossible to determine how soon after these marks were made that Alice entered the water.

The once-abandoned suicide theory was now picking up steam, with Harrison Cann stating that it was his belief Alice had jumped into the lake after an argument with her father. "Bert told me a few weeks ago that Alice was afraid of her father and that she threatened to kill herself and I think that is just what she did," said Cann. He also thought the girl's dizzy spells could've led to her death. 

"Oh, yes, she did get spells, too. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I got two men to swear that Alice had a 'fit' or something in a Wilkes-Barre hotel and that they had to carry her to a room and they had a deuce of a time getting her through it... No, sir, they can't make me believe Bert Johns killed Alice Crispell. I know better. She either jumped into the water or fell in accidentally."

Herbert Johns Freed

The habeas corpus hearing was held before Judge Fuller on July 16, and Johns was granted his freedom. After his release from custody, Herbert told reporters that he was giving up booze for good. "No more gay parties and bright lights for me," he said. "This thing has been hard, but it's been a good lesson... Her death is as much a mystery to me as any one, but it came pretty close to making me pay an awful price. Yes, sir, I'm going to join a church and it's going to be real soon. That's all I have to say."

"There will be no further prosecution of that young man for the death of Alice Crispell," said District Attorney Bigelow after the hearing. "And neither will further consideration be given to suspicion resting on her father. The case ends with the girl's drowning as great a mystery as ever."

A few days later, William Crispell received a post card, mailed from New Rochelle, New York, upon which the author had written: Bert is innocent. I killed Alice because of her love for Johns. The postcard was signed either, "A.W." or "A.N." Though it looked like nothing more than a cruel joke, Crispell turned over the postcard to Detective Holman.

The strangest twist, however, came at the end of July, when a woman from Allegheny County named Alice Woodhare sent a letter to City Clerk Fred Gates claiming that Alice Crispell was her daughter. According to Mrs. Woodhare, her infant daughter had been stolen eighteen years earlier. It was a poorly-written letter, described as "hardly readable" and contained so many factual inconsistencies and wild accusations that Clerk Gates didn't bother replying to it.

 

The Aftermath

While the truth behind Alice Crispell's death may never be known, the man who was accused of her murder carried the stigma with him for the rest of his life. Herbert Johns never married, though its unclear whether this was out of his loyalty to Alice or as a result of a disfiguring injury he sustained in 1920, when an explosion at the Hudson Coal Company mine in Parsons left him severe burns on his hands and face. After retiring from the mines, he went to work for the Vulcan Iron Works. He lived a quiet, lonesome life until his death in the Wyoming Valley Homeopathic Hospital in 1947 at the age of 62 following a lengthy illness.

Unanswered Questions

Perhaps the reason why this case was never solved is because police and detectives based their entire investigation upon the assumption that Alice Crispell drowned shortly after 11:30 on the night of July 4. But what if this assumption was erroneous? 

Authorities reached this conclusion based on the fact that Herbert Johns, the last person to see her alive, left Alice at the lake at 11:30, and that two witnesses, Mrs. Anna Weckesser and Mrs. S.T. Nicholson, heard a woman's scream approximately ten minutes later. However, this assumption fails to take the following facts, all of which are indisputable, into consideration: Alice's watch was stopped at 9:30. Since bodies don't float until they've been in the water for around seventy-two hours, Alice's corpse seemed to defy the laws of science by floating a full twelve hours before it should have. Even though Harveys Lake would've been packed with several hundred people during the holiday weekend, the body wasn't discovered until 7:30 on the morning of July 7.

This might suggest that Alice was actually killed in a different location, at a different time-- possibly on a different day. It's an established fact that bodies decompose more slowly in the water, due to lower temperatures and an anaerobic environment that slows the activity tissue-feeding bacteria. Methane, ammonia and other gases are expelled by these bacteria, which cause the body to bloat. If Alice had been killed somewhere else, on a hot summer day, this would hasten the process of putrefaction. This means that she may have been drowned on the morning or early afternoon of July 5, and her body then concealed in a warm environment (such as a vacant cottage or boathouse) until 9:30 on the evening of July 6, when it was dumped in the water, thereby stopping her watch. It has also been determined that the Crispells didn't exactly keep a close eye on Alice, as she was known to leave home for several days at a time. 

These facts neither prove nor disprove murder, but they do add up to one whale of a mystery.

 

Sources:

Wilkes-Barre Evening News, July 7, 1913.
York Dispatch, July 8, 1913.
Harrisburg Telegraph, July 9, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Evening News, July 9, 1913.
Pittsburgh Press, July 9, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, July 10, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Semi-Weekly Record, July 11, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, July 11, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, July 12, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, July 14, 1913.
Pittston Gazette, July 14, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, July 17, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, July 26, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, July 31, 1913.
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, October 22, 1920.