VA Charles William Fitzmaurice, LCOL, USMC, 48 Murdered 12 December 1964 in Springfield, VA

[Richard]

Charles William Fitzmaurice

Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Fitzmaurice, USMC, (September 29, 1916 - December 12, 1964) was a 48-year-old Marine who was murdered with a single shotgun blast to the midsection as he answered a knock at front door of his house at 8529 Parliament Drive in the Kings Park neighborhood of Springfield, Virginia on December 12, 1964.

The killer escaped into the heavy fog of the evening, and even though three other people were in the street at the time of the shooting, no one was seen running away, nor did a car drive off.

Col. Fitzmaurice was buried with full honors at the Arlington National Cemetery on December 16, 1964.

His murder remains unsolved.

LINKS:

Charles W. Fitzmaurice - Fractured Fairfax

 

[Richard]

Charles W Fitzmaurice
BIRTH 29 Sep 1916
Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 12 Dec 1964 (aged 48)
Springfield, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
BURIAL
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA
PLOT Section 37 Site 3529

Family Members
Spouse: Barbara Ann Fitzmaurice 1919–2000
Son: Sean Patrick Fitzmaurice 1957–1994

Gravesite Details:
Interment date 12-16-1964.
LT COL US Marine Corps.
Veteran Service Dates from 01-01-1940 to 05-05-1948.
Information extracted from the National Cemetery Administration's National Gravesite Locator. National Cemetery Administration

 

[Richard]

Bumping this thread up his murder remains unsolved.

 

[Zach Ford]

I've collected just about all of the newspaper articles I think are out there about this case and would be interested to hear from anyone who might have a family connection or other information about Lt. Col. Fitzmaurice. Long story short, the police wound up suspecting that the killer was someone from his Marine Corps career who held a grudge but in trying to read between the lines of the newspaper coverage it's not clear if they really had someone in mind or they were just guessing.

 

[Richard]

I do not have any more information than what I posted earlier on this case. But my gut feeling is also that the killer may have been someone who served in one of his UMC Commands.

LCOL Fitzmaurice was obviously specifically targeted and attacked in his own home. The assailant could have gotten the address from a phone directory or from any telephone operator back then. Since there was apparently no attempt to burglarize the home, or to rob LCOL Fitzmaurice, one can only conclude that murder was the only objective.

It would have been easy for the Marine Corps to provide a list of his duty station assignments. Some research might turn up any Marines who were given Non Judicial Punishment (NJP) or a court martial - either one convened by LCOL Fitzmauricae, or one on which he was the senior member.

 

[Zach Ford]

I do not have any more information than what I posted earlier on this case. But my gut feeling is also that the killer may have been someone who served in one of his UMC Commands.

LCOL Fitzmaurice was obviously specifically targeted and attacked in his own home. The assailant could have gotten the address from a phone directory or from any telephone operator back then. Since there was apparently no attempt to burglarize the home, or to rob LCOL Fitzmaurice, one can only conclude that murder was the only objective.

It would have been easy for the Marine Corps to provide a list of his duty station assignments. Some research might turn up any Marines who were given Non Judicial Punishment (NJP) or a court martial - either one convened by LCOL Fitzmauricae, or one on which he was the senior member.

The newspaper coverage definitely indicates the Marine Corps was thinking the same thing. Assuming they did a thorough investigation through his records, at this date I doubt we would find something they didn't, but who knows. His OMPF will be open to the public in 2026, so it would be intriguing to see what is in there.

 

[Richard]

The newspaper coverage definitely indicates the Marine Corps was thinking the same thing. Assuming they did a thorough investigation through his records, at this date I doubt we would find something they didn't, but who knows. His OMPF will be open to the public in 2026, so it would be intriguing to see what is in there.

His Official Marine Corps Personnel record might show where he served at various times, but one would still need to look at unit records (held at National Archives II in College Park, Maryland) to view rosters of who served in those commands. Of particular interest would be someone who was convicted in a court martial convened by, or presided over by LCOL Fitzmaurice.

Court Martial records are public court records which might also be searched. Anyone convicted in a General Court Martial of serious felonies and crimes might be given prison time in the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas. Perhaps a check of prisoners released within a year or two prior to the murder of LCOL Fitzmaurice might turn up a possible suspect.

 

[Zach Ford]

That's exactly what investigators looked into in '64 and, at least publicly, didn't come up with anything. Who knows what's in the case files, though. VA FOIA laws are too restrictive to get anything useful from police departments, unfortunately.

 

[Richard]

Bumping this cold case up. It has been over 60 Years since LCOL Charles William Fitzmaurice was murdered.

 

[Richard]

Charles Fitzmaurice murder, 1964​

LINK:

Charles Fitzmaurice murder, 1964

This is another write up I did on another site a while back. It’s an intriguing case, but I’m not sure how much more there is to be discovered about it unless his family has information…

dmvtruecrime.com