Jealousy erupted into violence when Harvey Colvin attacked Maud Shaffer with a hatchet in a New Philadelphia home. Content warning: This post contains references to suicide and domestic assault. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click hereContinue reading “The Fatal Obsession of Harvey Colvin”
Tag Archives: historic true crime
Indicted but Never Convicted: The Murder of Antonio Di Simone
In 1919, Italian immigrant Antonio Di Simone was murdered near Dennison, Ohio—two suspects were arrested, but justice never came. I have chosen to use the surname Di Simone as opposed to the others that appear in the historical record. It was the surname under which Antonio Di Simone was buried by his friends and itContinue reading “Indicted but Never Convicted: The Murder of Antonio Di Simone”
In the Line of Duty: The Murder of Deputy Myers
A tense standoff between a veteran sheriff’s deputy and an unstable Tuscarawas County farmer ended in deadly tragedy. Martin L. Myers (1890-1940) was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the son of Victor E. Myers (?-1892) and Ella McBarnes Myers (1872-1943). After his father’s death in 1892, young Martin grew up in Dennison, Ohio, where he livedContinue reading “In the Line of Duty: The Murder of Deputy Myers”
The Carnival Murder of 1912
When a carnival rolled into Newcomerstown in 1912, it left behind a dead man and a vanished killer. Documenting the life of Elix Vandil (1884-1912), known variously in American records as Alex Bender, Alex Raudel, and Alexander Vendel, illustrates the significant challenges faced when tracing the paths of recent immigrants at the turn of theContinue reading “The Carnival Murder of 1912”
No Justice for Mary Cirillo Shundry
On Thanksgiving Eve 1932, a young mother’s life was violently ended in a rural Tuscarawas County boarding house. Mary Marie Solvey (1907-1932) was born in, 1907 in Coshocton County, Ohio, to Sicilian immigrants Francesco “Frank” Argento (1877-1953) and Rosa “Rose” Mercurio Argento (1879-1921). Her parents married in Sicily in 1903 and arrived in the UnitedContinue reading “No Justice for Mary Cirillo Shundry”
The Mysterious Death of Florence Weber
In the fall of 1909, twenty-year old Florence Weber vanished after a phone call. Two days later, her body was found beneath a Dover bridge. John W. Weber (1854-1927) was the son of German immigrants who settled in Ohio in the early 1850s. The Webers found themselves in Tuscarawas County, Ohio by the time theContinue reading “The Mysterious Death of Florence Weber”
Death Behind Closed Doors: The Gray and Llewellyn Tragedy
New Philadelphia was shaken in 1910 when a secret meeting between two familiar residents ended in scandalous death. Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for resources toContinue reading “Death Behind Closed Doors: The Gray and Llewellyn Tragedy”
The Poisoning of Mary Hoffman
A Tuscarawas County immigrant couple’s quiet farm life was shattered with arsenic and suicide in 1855. Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for resources to find helpContinue reading “The Poisoning of Mary Hoffman”
Frank Burns and a Christmas Eve Murder on Depot Street
A quiet laborer in Dover, Ohio, Frank Burns became the unintended victim of a Christmas Eve shooting in 1943. Note: The Clakley surname is spelled a number of different ways in the various source material. I have chosen the spelling that appeared in the official criminal court records. Frank C. Burns was born in Milton,Continue reading “Frank Burns and a Christmas Eve Murder on Depot Street”
The Unsolved Murder of Salvatore Favazzo
Over a century later, the brutal murder of Salvatore Favazzo remains one of Tuscarawas County’s most haunting unsolved crimes. In the summer of 1917, Salvatore “Sam” Favazzo (c. 1887-1917) was a familiar face in the Italian neighborhoods of Dennison, Ohio. A man in his early forties, he lived in a local boarding house and ownedContinue reading “The Unsolved Murder of Salvatore Favazzo”
Tuscarawas County Stories 