Grimes sisters
Encyclopedia
Barbara Grimes and Patricia Grimes are two girls who disappeared on December 28, 1956, in Chicago
, Illinois
. They were found dead on January 22, 1957. Their murder
case is known as the Grimes sisters' murder case and to this day remains unsolved.
movie Love me Tender
. Brighton Theater was a short distance from their house. In their pockets they had $US 2.15, but it is unknown how they arrived at the theater (whether they took the bus or walked). They were seen in the popcorn
line of the theater at around 9:30 pm. The movie was over around 11 pm, and they were expected at home around 11:45 pm. At 2:15 am, the two sisters were reported missing by their mother.
Their disappearance launched one of the biggest missing-persons hunts in Chicago history. However, police were not able to determine what happened to the Grimes sisters. In a statement, Elvis Presley asked the girls to go home.
. Barbara Grimes lay on her left side with her legs slightly drawn up toward her body. Patricia Grimes covered the head of her sister. She lay on her back and her head was turned sharply to the right.
The autopsy
, performed by experienced pathologists, earned much criticism. They concluded that the Grimes sisters died on December 28, the day they vanished, and the cause of death was due to shock and exposure to low temperatures. The cause of death was only determined by excluding all other possibilities. However, Harry Glos, one of the chief investigators in the case, believed that the Grimes sisters were still alive when their bodies were discarded next to the German Church Road. He stated that the thin ice layer on the bodies of the girls indicated that their bodies must still have been warm when they were dumped there. Only after January 7, 1957 would there have been enough snowfall to create the ice layer. Therefore, according to this theory, the Grimes sisters must have been still alive until at least January 7.
Also, the corpses contained various bruises and marks (for example puncture wounds in the chest that may have come from an ice pick) that were never fully explained. Glos has also theorized that Barbara Grimes was sexually molested before she was killed. Although the pathologists denied this claim, the Chicago police
crime lab
confirmed Glos' theory.
Only the sighting of the Grimes sisters in the popcorn line at 9:30 pm by their friends is undisputed. The accuracy of the other sightings is unknown or questionable.
who bore some resemblance to Elvis Presley. According to the owner of the D&L Restaurant where Bedwell occasionally washed dishes, he was at the restaurant with the Grimes sisters on the morning of December 30. Bedwell first confessed to the murders, but later withdrew his confession on the grounds he had been coerced by the sheriff
's men. Considering the time, this may well have been true . Also, only the sheriff but no other investigator believed that Bedwell may have been the murderer of the Grimes sisters. (Harry Glos, another chief investigator, believed he may have had something to do with their disappearance and murder, but wasn’t sure about Bedwell's role in this case.)
test and failed it. After failing the polygraph, he allegedly confessed to kidnapping the girls. However, because at that time it was illegal to perform the polygraph test on a minor, police had to let Fleig go. He was never charged with the murders because there was no evidence that he killed or kidnapped the girls other than his alleged confession and the polygraph failure. Max Fleig was sent to prison a few years later for the unrelated murder of a young woman.
was a stable owner who, as the Helen Brach
investigation was later to reveal, had been involved in a similar multiple murder of children in 50's Chicago. He is therefore considered a suspect in the case of the Grimes sisters.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. They were found dead on January 22, 1957. Their murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
case is known as the Grimes sisters' murder case and to this day remains unsolved.
Disappearance
On December 28, 1956, sisters Barbara (15) and Patricia (13) Grimes left their house and went to the Brighton Theater to see the Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
movie Love me Tender
Love Me Tender (1956 film)
Love Me Tender is a 1956 American black-and-white CinemaScope motion picture directed by Robert D. Webb, and released by 20th Century Fox on November 21, 1956. The film, named after the song, stars Richard Egan, Debra Paget, and Elvis Presley in his film debut. It is in the Western genre with...
. Brighton Theater was a short distance from their house. In their pockets they had $US 2.15, but it is unknown how they arrived at the theater (whether they took the bus or walked). They were seen in the popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
line of the theater at around 9:30 pm. The movie was over around 11 pm, and they were expected at home around 11:45 pm. At 2:15 am, the two sisters were reported missing by their mother.
Their disappearance launched one of the biggest missing-persons hunts in Chicago history. However, police were not able to determine what happened to the Grimes sisters. In a statement, Elvis Presley asked the girls to go home.
Found dead
On January 22, 1957, a construction worker named Leonard Prescott found the Grimes sisters. Their naked bodies were discarded next to the German Church Road near Willow SpringsWillow Springs, Illinois
Willow Springs is a village in Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,027 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Willow Springs is located at ....
. Barbara Grimes lay on her left side with her legs slightly drawn up toward her body. Patricia Grimes covered the head of her sister. She lay on her back and her head was turned sharply to the right.
The autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
, performed by experienced pathologists, earned much criticism. They concluded that the Grimes sisters died on December 28, the day they vanished, and the cause of death was due to shock and exposure to low temperatures. The cause of death was only determined by excluding all other possibilities. However, Harry Glos, one of the chief investigators in the case, believed that the Grimes sisters were still alive when their bodies were discarded next to the German Church Road. He stated that the thin ice layer on the bodies of the girls indicated that their bodies must still have been warm when they were dumped there. Only after January 7, 1957 would there have been enough snowfall to create the ice layer. Therefore, according to this theory, the Grimes sisters must have been still alive until at least January 7.
Also, the corpses contained various bruises and marks (for example puncture wounds in the chest that may have come from an ice pick) that were never fully explained. Glos has also theorized that Barbara Grimes was sexually molested before she was killed. Although the pathologists denied this claim, the Chicago police
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
crime lab
Crime Lab
A crime laboratory - often shortened to crime lab - is a scientific laboratory, using primarily forensic science for the purpose of examining evidence from criminal cases.- Lab personnel :A typical crime lab has two sets of personnel:...
confirmed Glos' theory.
Witnesses
- Friends saw the Grimes sisters on December 28, 1956, at 9:30 pm in the popcorn line of the Brighton Theater. They laughed and their friends didn’t notice anything unusual. This sighting is considered reliable.
- Numerous people said that they saw them boarding an Archer CTA bus heading east into the city after the screening. According to those people, the Grimes sisters got off the bus at Western Avenue, about half the way to their home. Why they would get off the bus at this station is unknown.
- A security guard on the northwest side believed he was asked for directions by the Grimes girls on the morning of December 29.
- Classmates said they saw the Grimes sisters on December 29 at Angelo's Restaurant at 3551 South Archer Avenue. The accuracy of this sighting is not known.
- A railroad conductor reported them on a train near the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in north suburban GlenviewGlenview, Cook County, IllinoisGlenview is a suburban village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 41,847...
. - On December 30, 1956, at 5:40 am the owner of the D&L Restaurant on West Madison, claimed to have seen the Grimes sisters, with Patricia apparently drunk or sick, accompanied by a later suspect, Edward L. "Benny" Bedwell.
- On January 1, 1957, they have been reported aboard a CTA bus on Damen Avenue.
- The following week a night clerk at the Unity Hotel on West 61st street refused two girls a room (because of their age) who he believed were the Grimes sisters.
- On January 3, 1957, three employees at Kresge thought they had seen the girls listening to Elvis Presley music at the record counter.
- On January 14, 1957, the parents of a classmate of Patricia Grimes (Sandra Tollstan) received two telephone calls around midnight. When picking up the first phone call, nobody at the other end spoke. On the second phone call, 15 minutes later, a seemingly frightened voice asked "Is that you, Sandra? Is Sandra there?" but before the parents could bring their daughter to the phone, the caller had hung up. Ann Tollstan, the mother of Sandra Tollstan and the one who answered the second phone call, was convinced that the caller's voice belonged to Patricia Grimes.
Only the sighting of the Grimes sisters in the popcorn line at 9:30 pm by their friends is undisputed. The accuracy of the other sightings is unknown or questionable.
Edward L. "Benny" Bedwell
A 20-year-old drifter from TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
who bore some resemblance to Elvis Presley. According to the owner of the D&L Restaurant where Bedwell occasionally washed dishes, he was at the restaurant with the Grimes sisters on the morning of December 30. Bedwell first confessed to the murders, but later withdrew his confession on the grounds he had been coerced by the sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
's men. Considering the time, this may well have been true . Also, only the sheriff but no other investigator believed that Bedwell may have been the murderer of the Grimes sisters. (Harry Glos, another chief investigator, believed he may have had something to do with their disappearance and murder, but wasn’t sure about Bedwell's role in this case.)
Max Fleig
Max Fleig was a 17-year-old suspect in this case. He voluntarily took a polygraphPolygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
test and failed it. After failing the polygraph, he allegedly confessed to kidnapping the girls. However, because at that time it was illegal to perform the polygraph test on a minor, police had to let Fleig go. He was never charged with the murders because there was no evidence that he killed or kidnapped the girls other than his alleged confession and the polygraph failure. Max Fleig was sent to prison a few years later for the unrelated murder of a young woman.
Walter Kranz
Walter Kranz, a 53-year-old steamfitter, had called the police on January 15. He told police he dreamed that the bodies of the girls could be found in a park at 81st and Wolf. This park was less than a mile from the location where the bodies of the girls were actually found. Because of that, Walter Kranz was one of the suspects. But after he had been taken into custody and was questioned by the police, he was released.Silas Jayne
Silas JayneSilas Jayne
Silas Jayne was a Chicago stable owner who is believed to have been involved in some of the most notorious crimes and mysterious disappearances in Chicago history.-Background:...
was a stable owner who, as the Helen Brach
Helen Brach
Helen Vorhees Brach , was an American multi-millionairess widow whose wealth had come from marrying into the E. J. Brach & Sons Candy Company fortune; she endowed the Helen V. Brach Foundation to promote animal welfare in 1974....
investigation was later to reveal, had been involved in a similar multiple murder of children in 50's Chicago. He is therefore considered a suspect in the case of the Grimes sisters.