In the end, the crime didn’t pay, Part II — On the Run

Charles Sherman Ross holding in front of him the Oct. 2, 1937, football edition of a Chicago newspaper apparently proof of the victim’s well-being.

By Philip Neese

Note. The facts in this article are true and are based upon detailed FBI Reports. Complete names have not been used.

John Henry fought with Charles Ross, his kidnapping victim and James Gray, his partner in crime and killed them both and buried them in a pit.

John Henry left the murder scene and came back to Minnesota. He drove north of Emily to a remote location and there he buried $32,625 in the typewriter box that had contained the typewriter he used to write the many ransom letters. He marked that spot well and then proceeded to tour America. His first stop was in Denver where he bought a dog. He wanted a companion that would not take a share of his crime profit and one that would not talk. The wirehaired terrier was his perfect choice.

He started to spend some of the ransom money. While in Spokane, WA, he got rid of the Ford, which had been used in the kidnapping and bought himself a fancy Oldsmobile. He decided to see the sites in Chicago and then it was on to New York City. He toured Washington DC and Philadelphia and then decided to get warm in Miami, FL.

John Henry always had a lot of time on his hands and he enjoyed reading, especially westerns. He decided to go to Texas and see what was “West of the Pecos.” The west wasn’t quite what he thought it would be so he decided to see what luck he might have with the horses at the Santa Anita Race Track near Los Angeles.

John Henry	James Atwood Gray	Charles Sherman Ross

 

The serial numbers of the ransom money had been recorded before it had been turned over to John Henry and these marked bills started turning up all over the country. The FBI kept on the money trail and the hard tedious work finally paid off when they noticed that the money was turning up regularly at the Santa Anita Race Track. The FBI Agents staked out the place. This was not an easy process as there were 500 cashiers at the track and from $400,000 to a million dollars passed through these pari-mutuel windows each day. After a couple of days, John Henry who was now addicted to betting on horses showed up at the window to place his bets. He had formed a habit of betting on the horses and returned to the race track one too many times, where FBI Agents were waiting for him.

The Agents found John dressed in a fancy suit with betting ticket in his hand. When they grabbed him, John Henry stated, “I guess the jig is up!”

[Typewriter box recovered containing a large portion of the ransom money.]

The agents found $14,512.18 on John’s person, in his car and in his hotel room. $5,620 was found to be Ross ransom money, however, John refused to talk or cooperate with the agents. It was interesting that he had a winning ticket from betting on the horses in the amount of $18.80.

The FBI agents flew John Henry back to Chicago where he was questioned by J. Edgar Hoover. J. Edgar Hoover must have been very persuasive, tenacious and skilled in interrogation because after some time John Henry confessed to his crimes. Agents of the FBI then took John Henry back up to the hideout near Emily and recovered the buried cash, the typewriter box and other evidence. They also traveled to the scene of the murders in Wisconsin and there they recovered the bodies of Charles Ross and James Gray. This search took place in January and it was necessary to hire sleds and horses to complete this expedition.

On Jan. 24, 1938, John Henry was arraigned for his crimes in Chicago.
To be continued…