Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases by Michael Newton

Author:Michael Newton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2016-01-21T05:00:00+00:00

Ernest Gilbert

May 24, 1947; Gretna, VA

Gilbert was a prosperous Pittsylvania County farmer, described in contradictory reports as being 65 or 68 years old. Around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night, two white men knocked at his door while Gilbert, his wife, and their young grandson were in the living room. A son, age 16, was asleep in a nearby bedroom. The men first asked Gilbert if he had any whiskey, then one drew a pistol when Gilbert denied it, holding the three hostages at gunpoint while his partner crossed the hallway to a parlor where Gilbert kept a 400-pound safe. When Gilbert heard the safe rolling, he began to rise and was shot once, then grappled with the gunman, taking four more shots before he collapsed and died. While that occurred, an unseen accomplice was backing a vehicle up to the family’s porch. The gunman’s partner called outside for help, whereupon someone fired several shots through the window but did not enter. Finally, the two invaders rolled the safe outside, placed it in their vehicle, and fled.301

By May 30, Sheriff Arch Overbey’s deputies had arrested three suspects—Calvin Coolige [sic] Haile (spelled “Hale” in a later report), Ray Peters, and Toby Smith—all “mountain men” from the neighborhood of Ferrum, in Franklin County. Overbey told reporters they all “seem to be about 25 years old,” freely admitting that he was “not certain” of their guilt. The three were suspected moonshiners, and witnesses placed their car in Gretna on May 24, but lawyer Brady Allman secured their release on bail, on June 6, after presenting “perfect alibis.”302

Part of the problem was a series of vague, conflicting stories told by Gilbert’s widow. She denied seeing either of the home invaders previously, and despite witnessing her husband’s death at close range, she could not describe either unmasked bandit’s face. The gunman was, she said, “a stocky, medium heighth [sic] person,” while his accomplice was shorter. As for the safe, never recovered, Gilbert’s relatives all knew he kept money in it, but none knew the amount, offering estimates that ranged from $1,500 to $15,000. Sheriff Overbey opined that the killers had their plan “well worked out” in advance and “knew their way around the house.”303

While the first three suspects vanished from the public record, Overbey charged another—23-year-old Elton Wheeler, also from Ferrum—with Gilbert’s murder in late 1947. At trial in January 1948, Wheeler testified that he spent the whole night of May 24 at the Polecat Inn, a dive in Franklin County, but two girlfriends contradicted him, saying Wheeler left them alone for a two-hour period. Gilbert’s widow testified for the prosecution, but her “conflicting testimony” concerned Judge Kennon Whittle, who charged jurors to return a “fair” verdict. The all-white panel deliberated for 25 minutes before acquitting Wheeler on January 21.304 Gilbert’s case remains officially unsolved.

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