A new husband and hardworking immigrant, John Constantino vanished on a quiet February night in 1929—only to be found days later, murdered and frozen near a schoolhouse, his killing still a mystery nearly a century later.
Giovanni “John” Constantino (1903–1929) was born in Gioiosa Marea, Sicily, to Filippo Constantino and Rosa Ramona. Seeking a new life in the United States, he immigrated in August 1920 aboard the SS Mexico, a vessel of the Ward Line. John initially intended to settle at his married sister’s home in Warren, Ohio, but later moved to Youngstown, where he worked as a laborer. In early 1928, he relocated with his sister’s family to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and secured employment at the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company in Dover, where his brother-in-law also worked.
John quickly assimilated into the local Italian immigrant community, attended St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, and in October 1928 married Rose Butera (1909–1962), the Pennsylvania-born daughter of Italian immigrants in Dover. The newlyweds lived with Rose’s family on the 300 block of West Fifth Street, in Dover’s predominantly Italian immigrant neighborhood between Factory and Broad Streets and just a few blocks away from John’s sister and her family on Broad Street. Newspaper accounts described John as a steady worker, with no record of legal troubles in Youngstown or Tuscarawas County.
Early 20th century postcard image of Gioiosa Marea, Sicily. (Source: casealbergo.it) 
John Constantino recorded on the passenger list for the SS Mexico upon its arrival in New York, September 1920. (Source: familysearch.org) 
John Constantino and Rose Butera Tuscarawas County marriage record, October 1928. (Source: familysearch.org) 
The location of the Butera residence on West 5th Street in Dover, Ohio as seen on the 1914 Sanborn Map. (Source: loc.gov)
On the evening of Friday, February 22, 1929, John had planned to attend the Dover Firemen’s and Policemen’s Ball at Wentz Hall, for which he had purchased a ticket. Instead, he decided to go to the movies and invited Rose to join him, but she was not feeling well and stayed home. At 7:05 p.m., John left to walk into town, marking the last time Rose and the Butera family saw him alive. When he failed to return home that night, his family reported him missing to local authorities the following day.
Ten-year-old student John Picco (1920–?) was on his way to the Quebec Schoolhouse, about two miles west of Dover, when he noticed something protruding from a culvert near the school. As he got closer, he realized it was the head and shoulders of a man. Frightened, he ran to the nearby farm of George Wilkins (1889–1976) to report what he had seen. Wilkins called the police, who arrived shortly after with County Coroner James Floyd Lewis (1899–1977) to begin their investigation.
East Liverpool, Ohio newspaper article on the death of John Constantino, February 1929. (Source: newspaperarchive.com) 
Image of the Quebec School found in Lloyd Mizer’s “History of the Schools in Tuscarawas County, Ohio”, printed 1993. 
The location of the Quebec School (red dot) and John Constantino’s Dover home (green dot). (Source: google.com)
Once the body was removed from the culvert, Coroner Lewis positively identified the victim as the missing John Constantino. His body was sent to the office of Dr. Kenneth E. Shaweker (1889–1941) in Dover, where the doctor performed an autopsy. It was determined that Constantino had been shot while in a seated position, either in a car or a building, and that his still-warm body was then stuffed into the culvert, where it ultimately froze in place. Rose and the rest of the Butera family were informed of the findings.
The investigation into John Constantino’s death yielded no clues, and investigators attempted to link the case to the unsolved 1927 murder of another Dover Italian-American named Tony May. In that case, the victim was shot two miles west of Dover on Sugarcreek Road. John Constantino was laid to rest in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Dover. It is impossible to know whether John Constantino was aware that Rose was to give birth months later to his son. To this day, John Constantino’s murder remains unsolved.
New Philadelphia, Ohio newspaper article on the death of John Constantino, February 1929. (Source: newspapers.com) 
Photo of John Constantino that appeared in the New Philadelphia, Ohio newspaper, February 1929. (Source: newspapers.com) 
Recent view of the Quebec School outside Dover, Ohio near where John Constantino’s body was discovered, 2023. (Source: google.com)
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© Noel B. Poirier, 2024.
Tuscarawas County Stories 