MN Great Western John Doe, 60-65 years old, murdered 7 September 1934, Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minnesota

[Richard]

On 14 September 1934, the body of a man was found inside a box car of the Great Western Railroad in Red Wing, Minnesota.

It was believed that he was a "Knight of the Road", that is a hobo who traveled by jumping on freight trains.

Death was determined to have been murder by strangulation.

He has remained unidentified for over 90 years.

He was buried in the Goodhue County Alms house cemetery near Red Wing.

 

[lolz]

On 14 September 1934, the body of a man was found inside a box car of the Great Western Railroad in Red Wing, Minnesota.

It was believed that he was a "Knight of the Road", that is a hobo who traveled by jumping on freight trains.

Death was determined to have been murder by strangulation.

He has remained unidentified for over 90 years.

He was buried in the Goodhue County Alms house cemetery near Red Wing.

Heres a link to his find a grave
John Doe (unknown-1934) - Find a Grave Memorial

 

[Richard]

Heres a link to his find a grave
John Doe (unknown-1934) - Find a Grave

The link has a photo of his hand written death certificate as well as a brief obituary.

 

[lolz]

The link has a photo of his hand written death certificate as well as a brief obituary.

I couldn't read it, the photo was too small, tried to enlarge it but that didn't work

 

[cenazoic]

Can’t find the newspaper referenced in the findagrave linked (Red Wing Republican, 15 Sept 1934), but here’s a bit from the Rochester Post-Bulletin, same date:

 

[lolz]

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-winona-daily-news-frederick-schaffer/109676317/
Coincidentally a man named Frederick Schaffer was found along the train tracks a few days prior, he also had a gash on the back of his head. Chance these incidents may be connected, although he probably took his own life?

 

[Richard]

I couldn't read it, the photo was too small, tried to enlarge it but that didn't work

I had trouble reading it as it appears in the first screen. But if you click on the photo, it might appear in a more clear image that can be enlarged.

 

[lolz]

I had trouble reading it as it appears in the first screen. But if you click on the photo, it might appear in a more clear image that can be enlarged.

When I clicked on it and opened the actual image it went blurry on me, I will see if I can find it somewhere on the ancestry sites and upload it here.

Update. Couldn't find it. But did find a death record on family search suggesting that he was born in 1874 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CYTV-C8PZ?lang=en

Looks like there is another John Doe found in the same area but this time in 1947. Doe was born in about 1887 and died at about the age of 60. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDXQ-X8C?lang=en

 

[Richard]

Binding his hands with wire, strangling him, and fracturing the back of his skull with a club makes this case look like a definite murder.

It is most likely he was killed in Red Wing near the train yard.

Probably a case in the jurisdiction of the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office.

Could DNA testing lead to his identification?

 

[Richard]

Bumping this thread up. I wonder if there were other similar unsolved murders from this time frame?

This cold case is not included on the Minnesota clearinghouse website.

 

[Richard]

Frederick Schaffer Obituary - Part 2 - Sep. 12, 1934 - Winona Daily News
Coincidentally a man named Frederick Schaffer was found along the train tracks a few days prior, he also had a gash on the back of his head. Chance these incidents may be connected, although he probably took his own life?

Frederick Charles Schaffer (1897-1934) was a WW One US Army veteran. He was married and had worked as a book keeper and had owned a clothes cleaning business.

His body was found near Railroad tracks in Red Wing, Minnesota about the same time that the unknown John Doe was found. The authorities, however, estimated that the two died about 5 days apart and that the manner of Death was different.

Fred Schaffer had been reported missing, and his family quickly identified and claimed his body. His death was ruled accidental.

 

[lolz]

Bumping this thread up. I wonder if there were other similar unsolved murders from this time frame?

This cold case is not included on the Minnesota clearinghouse website.

I have found some on familysearch that the individuals died in Hennepin, which is 54 miles from red wing. I have yet to find any info on them.

John or Unknown Doe
Died 30th July 1932 aged about 60 Hennepin
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CB48-D72M?lang=en

John Doe, No. 37
Died 5 November 1931 Hennepin, aged 45
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:C6F7-4MPZ?lang=en

John Doe, #72
Died 30th November 1940, Hennepin
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HR2G-5RPZ?lang=en

John Doe, #63
Died 30th October 1937, Hennepin
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZHMP-J5PZ?lang=en

If any new info is found, feel free to make a new thread

 

[Richard]

I have found some on familysearch that the individuals died in Hennepin, which is 54 miles from red wing. I have yet to find any info on them.

John or Unknown Doe
Died 30th July 1932 aged about 60 Hennepin
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CB48-D72M?lang=en

John Doe, No. 37
Died 5 November 1931 Hennepin, aged 45
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:C6F7-4MPZ?lang=en

John Doe, #72
Died 30th November 1940, Hennepin
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HR2G-5RPZ?lang=en

John Doe, #63
Died 30th October 1937, Hennepin
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZHMP-J5PZ?lang=en

If any new info is found, feel free to make a new thread

None of these cases are included on the Minnesota Clearinghouse of Missing and Unidentified Persons. Probably the best sources of information on them would be old newspaper microfilm archives.

 

[lolz]

Sarasota Herald-Tribune · ‎11 Dec 1950
Found this article, a man named Frank Yaegar confessed to committing the murder. After scrolling through the newspaper archives, quite a few articles on Frank but no id on the John doe.

 

[Richard]

View attachment 600169
Sarasota Herald-Tribune · ‎11 Dec 1950
Found this article, a man named Frank Yaegar confessed to committing the murder. After scrolling through the newspaper archives, quite a few articles on Frank but no id on the John doe.

Great research. What became of Frank Yeager, and did he give more details?

 

[lolz]

Great research. What became of Frank Yeager, and did he give more details?

Haven't looked this far yet, will have to look further. Found this article on google news archives-free, so I wonder if any more info is on the paid newspapers.com?

Heres another news article
St. Petersburg Times