Was it probable that Delbert Sizemore was responsible for the murder of John Myers in November 1947? There were reasons to doubt it.
Tuscarawas County law enforcement had, by the end of December 1947, a man they believed was responsible for the murder of John Myers outside a tavern in Zoar on November 19, 1947. That man was Delbert Sizemore, an Indiana born convicted armed robber and felon and repeated prison escapee. Sizemore allegedly agreed to be questioned by Tuscarawas County authorities and later allegedly offered to plead to the murder. There was, however, circumstantial evidence and eyewitness testimony that did not support Sizemore as the probable murderer.
None of the later reported witness or law enforcement statements mentioned the type or color of vehicle that Sizemore drove during his flight from Indiana to North Carolina. It is certainly possible that Sizemore may have stolen multiple vehicles during his trip, but that fact was not reported in connection with the Myers murder. If Sizemore had indeed stolen and driven a vehicle similar to the murderer’s, a green 1939 Buick or Oldsmobile with a yellow license plate, one would think it would have certainly been reported.
There was also the discrepancy in the number of possible assailants of John Myers and Bernard Christman. Myers apparently did not mention to the tavern guests and employees an occupied idling green sedan in the parking lot, so he may not have seen it when he arrived. Christman as well did not take note of the car on his arrival, perhaps because he was in a hurry in the first place. Christman stated that there was one masked assailant who assaulted him. Additionally William Maurer, who claimed to see Sizemore at the Zoar service station minutes before the murder, saw no others with Sizemore. Marshall Swank on the other hand, believed he saw two men in the vehicle during the chase.
Sizemore claimed at the time that he had passed through Tuscarawas County on his way to hide out at his brother’s home outside Asheville, North Carolina. One would think that Sizemore was in a hurry to reach what he felt was the safety of his brother’s home and would have taken a more direct route due south from Indiana to North Carolina. Instead, he wanted the authorities to believe that he had taken a route that was hours out of his way and that he happened to pass through Tuscarawas County during the time period when John Myers was murdered.
Sizemore had a long history of armed robberies, burglaries, and car thefts but at no point in his storied career was he ever accused of murder. What was Sizemore’s motive for killing John Myers and, potentially, killing Bernard Christman as well? No motive for the murder of John Myers by Delbert Sizemore was ever presented in the media accounts at the time. Was it a robbery gone wrong? Did Myers somehow resist the robbery and that led to his murder?
It was reported that Sizemore agreed to be sent to Tuscarawas County, Ohio to be questioned in the case. Later it was reported that he offered to plead in the case. Were these just ruses so that he would be moved to a potentially less secure, more rural jail where a man with his abilities could make yet another successful prison escape as opposed to a federal penitentiary? These are some of the reasons to consider that Sizemore’s guilt in the murder of John Myers might be questionable. We’ll explore the evidence that points to him as the murderer in the next post.
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© Noel B. Poirier, 2025
Tuscarawas County Stories 