Every Town - Thermopolis, WY - Skeleton In The Trunk - Joseph Mulvaney

Episode Date: December 25, 2021

In this weeks episode we highlight the tragic yet bizarre fate of  World War II veteran Joseph Junior Mulvaney. The murky circumstances of his murder almost 6 decades ago are interesting enough, and how his remains were discovered 3 decades later is equally fascinating, too. What could top them is how his remains were finally identified 54 years after he went missing. This is the detailed account of Joseph Mulvaney’s case known as “the skeleton in the trunk.”🥇 Watch This Episode with like.....visuals! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPSDrBuMfgA&ab_channel=ScaryMysteries🎉 Patreon (videos too hot for youtube): https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries 🎧 More Podcasts, we got you: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235579 Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine, because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between. With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime.

Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every town has a dark side. Today, we head to Thermopolis, which is in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, where we learn about Joseph Mulvaney, the skeleton in the trunk that was identified in 2017. On March 29, 2019, Shelley Stattler, Milwaukee, Iowa, brought the remains of her grandfather to his final resting place.

There's nothing extraordinary about that, except for this, that Shepard. Shelley never met her grandfather in her entire life. When she finally saw him, he was nothing but pieces of bones and a skull that had a bullet lodged within it. Shelley's grandfather mysteriously disappeared back in 1963, and his remains were discovered after three decades inside an old military trunk. But it was only in 2017 that they were positively identified as belonging to Joseph Mulvaney Shelley's long-lost grandfather.

I'm Andrew Fitzgerald and welcome to this week's podcast of every town, which will highlight the tragic yet bizarre fate of World War II veteran Joseph Mulvaney. The murky circumstances of his murder almost six decades ago are interesting enough, and how his remains were discovered three decades later is equally fascinating as well. What could top them is how his remains were finally identified 54 years, after he went missing. This is the detailed account of Joseph Mulvaney's case, known as the skeleton in the trunk.

Imagine the agony of Joseph Mulvaney's loved ones who hoped for him to return after vanishing in inexplicable circumstances. His children were told he just wandered off, said granddaughter Shelley Stattler, whose mother, Kathy Mulvaney, is Joseph's oldest daughter. Imagine the grief they have,

to fathom when after 29 years, what was left of Joseph was a trunk full of bones, which had to wait for 25 more years for an affirmation, that the remains were truly his. Joseph never got to meet his seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. It was a good life unexpectedly cut short when he disappeared strangely back in 1963. He was born on January 3, 1921 in Mattoon, Illinois. to Joseph and Catherine Mulvaney, who had both also grown up in that town. The family later moved to Decatur, Illinois, where the younger Joseph finished high school. At the age of 20, he then joined the Illinois Army National Guard of Decatur in 1941. He was technician five when he was deployed to the Pacific Theater during World War II.

He served in the 130th Infanticth Infantial. Regiment of the 33rd Division, which stationed him in Australia and the Philippines between 1941 and 1945. When he returned to America after the war, Joseph was employed in railroad companies, which took him to California, the reason why he and his father left Illinois shortly after his mother passed. It was in California that Joseph met the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Iowa native Mary MacLeese.

She already had a son named John Morris from her previous relationship. Despite this, though, Joseph married Mary Elise, and they built a family with their three biological children. In the beginning of the 1960s, the Mulvaney family relocated to Des Moines, where Mary Elise was born and bred. But Joseph had no ties to at all. They planned to live in a house they bought. in 1963 situated on the northwest side of the capital city. The purchase of a new house, which they dreamed to be their paradise, signaled a new start for their life in Iowa. Their children then were nine, seven, and six years old, but amidst all the good times,

for some reason, they were also brought some misfortune. Surely after they signed the paperwork to buy their house, Joseph suddenly vanished, but he was never reported as a missing person. His children had grown up suspecting that their father became the victim of foul play. And decades later, Joseph's granddaughter, Shelley, said that she believed the reason why her grandfather's disappearance wasn't reported was because her grandmother, Mary Lisa's family, actually knew what had happened to him, so he wasn't really missing. Add to this, the fact that Joseph was already an orphan and that he had no ties to anywhere except his wife and children. Most of all, it was alleged that the woman Joseph married in her family, particularly her son from a past relationship, had Joseph's blood on their hands. For more than two decades since Joseph Mulvaney disappeared without a trace, no one outside his family seemed to wonder where the war veteran had wandered.

As a new resident in Des Moines, Joseph wasn't expected to have many friends, except perhaps acquaintances who didn't bother to ask about his family. his whereabouts. Thus, local police never had an inkling that a certain Joseph Mulvaney had been missing since 1963 after uprooting from California to start a new life with his family. He was gone, but Joseph was actually never far from his Des Moines home. And one person who had knowledge about Joseph's doomed state, which had been kept like a tightly guarded secret, was his stepson John Morris. He was about 16 years old when Joseph disappeared and was presumed to be privy of what really happened to his stepfather. The long-buried mystery surrounding Joseph's disappearance started to take shape in the mid-1980s. When John David was around 40 years old in 1986, he then decided

to move to Texas and left some of his possessions to his friend Newell Sessions from Thermopolis, Wyoming. Among the things John gave to Newell was an old padlocked military trunk, which was placed and stored in a shed. It came with it an agreement that Newell would move the shed off John's property in Des Moines, Iowa, and the latter would come back for his belongings. Newell took the shed with the trunk, but for a long time never bothered to open it. However, John had not retrieved the trunk for the past six years. So in 1992, Newell eventually pried open the decades-old trunk by cutting through the lock with a torch. The contents of the trunk were beyond anyone's expectations.

It was a skeleton of a human being wrapped up in pieces of plastic. It was also a belt and a rotted high-vee grocery bag. The skull was right on top, Newell had told the local newspaper. He thought the remaining. Maine should be given a proper burial. But prompted by his wife, Newell then called Hutsprings County Wyoming Sheriff John Loomley. Prior to this, Newell was able to contact John,

who denied knowing about the human remains kept inside the trunk and was very surprised to learn about it. Moreover, he said that he never opened it and couldn't remember when or where he had bought it. Sheriff Loomley began an investigation and was suspicious of John from the start The bones were taken to the Wyoming State Crime Lab, where x-rays were taken, which showed a bullet lodged inside the skull, and that the victim had been shot in the chest. The sheriff recalled, That night I got a call from the head of the crime lab who told me it was a homicide, as there was a bullet located behind the left eye, and another bullet had grazed on the ribs.

The deceased person's bones served as evidence of a homicide without any identification. of the victim's name, age, time, and location of death. Solving the crime seemed to be next to impossible. But Sheriff Loomley and his team were determined to uncover this mysterious whodunit. Without missing a beat, the sheriff flew to Texas to interview John when the sheriff found uncooperative. Mr. Morris had moved around the country most of his life and claimed he had purchased the steamer trunk at a yard sale.

but he couldn't remember whether he got it in Wyoming, Iowa, Illinois, or Oklahoma. He also wasn't sure if he got hold of the trunk in 1973 or a few years after. John also said he had tried to get the trunk open when he first bought it, but was unsuccessful and just never tried again. What was in the trunk was a mystery to him, he further said. As for his connection to the murder, John said, well, my being a suspect, what do I have to worry about? I mean, really, you know, I know I didn't do the guy. I didn't shoot this dude. I'm not even as old as the gun that shot him. But Sheriff Loomley was

skeptical saying, I called him a liar. Nobody is going to believe you moved a trunk that you bought at a yard sale several times without opening it to see what was inside. He believed that John knew more than he was letting on, possibly even the identity of the dead man. Then on March 31st, 1992, the bones were turned over to the Wyoming State Crime Lab, which created a facial reconstruction of the victim. The examination of the bones and other evidence established that the bullet was a 25 caliber and was fired from a gun first manufactured in 1904, but not available in the U.S. until 1908. Thus it was hypothesized that the murder of Joseph could have transpired between 1908 and 1980.

As for the old trunk, it was surmised that someone in the U.S. Armed Services may have used it between World War I and World War II. Moreover, the bag from the Iowa supermarket chain, Hyves, found with the remains, was first manufactured in the early 1950s, which linked the crime. to Iowa and speculated that the victim was from there. The examined bones determined that they belonged to a Caucasian male who was in his 50s or 60s and stood between 5 foot 5 and 5 foot 8. Furthermore, it was discovered that the victim had several cuts on his rib cage and the bones

in his lower legs, and one of his hands was missing from the remains as well. This led to speculations that the victim had been buried before. then excavated and placed in the trunk. At the time, the investigators didn't know the bones belonged to Joseph Mulvaney. Who was John Morris' stepfather? However, the Hot Springs County detectives never considered Mr. Morris as suspect

in the murder of the man in the trunk. Despite many questions about his involvement in how Joseph remains ended up in a military trunk in Wyoming. John didn't face any charges. According to Joseph's granddaughter Shelley, law enforcement officials could never prove that John had a hand in the murder. Also, he wasn't charged for having the remains in his possession.

John later moved to Mississippi, where he reportedly ended his life, and perhaps took to his grave the truth about his stepfather's grisly murder. This then left behind the big question, Who was the murdered man reduced into skeletons inside the trunk? In pursuit of identifying the victim, Sheriff Lumley sought assistance from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations. The remains were transported to Cheyenne where DNA samples were taken. Sandra Mays, a former crime lab supervisor,

developed a sketch of the unidentified victim's skull by creating a three-dimensional facial reconstruction out of clay. Only the eyes and hair were guesswork. Sheriff Lumley praised Sandra's work, saying, the likeness she was able to obtain from the skull of the deceased victim was uncanny. From there, the sketch, and more importantly, the incredible story behind it, were picked up by media outlets, notably the television show Unsolved Mysteries, which featured the investigation into the discovery of the mysterious bones during its February 24, 1993 episode. This was aired several times as Hot Springs County Sheriff's Office continued the investigation. investigation. The episode finally got the attention of Shelley Statler, Joseph's granddaughter,

who thought that the sketch shone on the program resembled her missing grandfather. It was a moment of a stark realization for Shelley who finally vowed to pursue relentlessly the truth. When she was only 19 years old, she came across a story in a Des Moines newspaper about the skeletons in the trunk found in Wyoming and the high V bag that possibly tied the remains to Iowa. Shelley's father told her the remains might belong to her maternal grandfather, but she didn't give it much thought being young and carefree back then. As I got older, I became more interested in family history and kept coming back to the story,

Shelly said. Thus, after finally watching the particular episode of Unsolved Mysteries, she and her mother Kathy tried contacting the Wyoming authorities for years. It turned out that there were ten. and other families that swamped the Thermopolis law enforcement with calls, stating that the remains might be their missing or deceased family member. But Shelly was determined, and even Sheriff Lumley called her Detective Shelley, whose tireless efforts he credited, otherwise the case could have gone unknown if not for her. She started researching about Joseph with only two pieces of

information, his name and birthday. But she was facing such a gargantuan task. Shelly credited the Illinois National Guard with helping her research about her grandfather's military service and to prove his veteran status. When Sheriff Lumley retired, his successor, Lou Falgust, enlisted then-deputy, Jeremy Krausher, to continue investigating the crime. The deputy contacted the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation several times, as DNA technology was gaining improvement

before a good sample could be collected. Shelley herself had to navigate through bureaucracy for almost a quarter of a decade, but there's always a light at the end of the tunnel if you push hard enough. The turning point in the search for the identity of the skeleton and the trunk finally happened then in 2017.

What motivated Shelley Stattler and her mother, Kathy, to keep the light burning, Shelly said, The desire to learn about my grandfather motivated our family to submit the DNA sample. But it wasn't as simple as walking in and offering one.

People retire, they change jobs, and things slipped through the cracks. After nearly 25 years, it wasn't a priority case, so it was difficult finding the right person who could make the testing happen. But it did happen in October of 2017. Officials agreed to test Kathy's DNA against the bones of the yet-to-be-identified murder victim more than five decades ago.

Kathy's DNA sample was taken on October 19th, and the results were known by October 26th. They were a 99.9% match, a virtual certitude in DNA science, and the bones belonged to Kathy's father, Joseph Mulvaney. At least he could be reunited with the surviving family members now. However, Hot Springs County authorities and the family still had to wait for Iowa to take the lead on the case before Joseph's body could be released. The Des Moines PD had to prove that Joseph's murder occurred in Iowa, which is a big state, and they had to locate the original burial place as well. It spelled trouble, but Deputy Sheriff Krausher continued to push the issue for the

of Joseph's remaining family members. In the end, they overcame the difficulties, and in 2019, Shelley and her family finally managed to officially claim her grandfather's remains from the state of Wyoming. They decided to cremate the war of veterans' remains ahead of a long overdue and well-deserved full military honors funeral on March 29, 2019 at Ballard Funeral Home in Cody, Wyoming. The National Guard of the state conducted full military rights, which included a 21-gun salute. Many of Joseph's remaining relatives traveled from Des Moines to witness his dignity being restored. Shelley stated, I was afraid he was going to be in that box for the rest of my life. I just wanted him home with us, honoring Joseph for his service during World War II.

The deacon during the eulogy hailed him as a hero. as a returning veteran and as a warrior. Joseph Mulvaney finally has his name back and has been returned home, 1,000 miles from where he was found. It was a miracle that decades after being murdered, Joseph's remains, were discovered. He has received what's due to him, and his family is somewhat at peace.

Yet still, the mystery behind his murder and eventual discovery continues. and what exactly happened to him that led to his mysterious death. Joseph's wife, Mary, died in 2009, and had been estranged from her family for a decade when she had passed away. Her son, John, a person of interest in Joseph's disappearance and subsequent homicide, had also died allegedly due to suicide. Mike, the youngest child of Joseph and Mary, met his death in 2001 in his early first. 40s. Thus, the chances of putting the pieces together in the puzzling death of Joseph and determining his killer aren't very plausible.

But Joseph's granddaughter Shelley had seemingly made up her mind. Although the details surrounding the murder have never been confirmed, she believes that her grandmother, Mary, was the one who shot her husband in the head with some involvement with her eldest son, John. They then buried Joseph's body on the family, Des Moines. property, but at some point his bones were dug up and kept in a padlocked military trunk, which were in John's possession when he settled for a period of time in Wyoming's Thermopolis area. What made Shelley think of this possible scenario?

I don't think my grandparents had a very good marriage, and I know it affected my mom and her siblings growing up. My grandmother wasn't always easy to get along with, she said. Kathy, Shelley's mom, and the eldest of the Mulvaney couple's own children, added that growing up, not knowing what happened to their father put a great strain on their family. The investigator's suspicion about Joseph's case is parallel with Shelley's belief. The hot spring sheriff's office reported that investigators suspect that Joseph was killed by a male family member who buried his body in a trunk in Iowa. The suspect reportedly brought the trunk when he moved to Wyoming, and that suspect reportedly committed suicide years later, the sheriff's office is said. Obviously, their suspicion points to John Morris.

Shelley still has questions about this suspect, her uncle, who had a volatile relationship with her family and was known to use different aliases. Alas, the answer may not land on Shelley's lap, or it may not exist at all. And to this day, no charge has been filed in the homicide of World War II veteran and railroad worker Joseph Mulvaney. As members of the Army National Guard Honor presented Shelley Statler with the American flag from atop her grandfather Joseph's coffin during his military funeral in March of 2019, Shelley shed copious tears. But these were tears of joy. from being known as merely a skeleton in the trunk left to rot for decades, her grandfather has been put to his final resting place as an honored war veteran.

It's regrettable that Joseph's killer will never be brought to justice, but it pleases his family and friends that he may finally rest in eternal peace. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown. Tune in next week for another episode filled with scary stress. and mysterious stories, because who knows? Maybe your town will be next.