Prime Crime: Solved Murders - The Murder of Don Mellett Pt. 1

Episode Date: May 3, 2023

He had recently led a crusade against the city's corrupt police force as the editor of the Canton Daily News. After exposing crooked officials and getting some officers fired, Don Mellett was shot dead outside his home by an unknown assailant. His family didn't trust that the Canton police department would try to solve the murder, so they looked elsewhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of gun violence and murder. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. A note before we begin, though today's story is true, certain moments have been fictionalized and dramatized by actors. In late July of 1926, 51-year-old Orra Slater walked out of the Cortland Hotel and onto the streets of Canton, Ohio. He was an unassuming man.

Most people would have walked right past him without a second thought. But anyone who read the papers, New Slater was one of the best private investigators in the States, maybe even the country. And he'd been called to Canton to solve a murderer. Slater already had a list of suspects. Normally, he'd have to work incredibly hard to track them down. But not today.

Today, Slater's main suspect found him. him. Welcome to Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crime's most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case. You can find episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free, exclusively on Spotify. This is our first episode on Journal. to Don Mellett. This week we'll cover Don's highly publicized murder

and follow one private investigator as he navigates a city of corrupt cops and tracks down his suspects. Next time, we'll follow the PI as he exposes the conspiracy at the heart of Don's story. We have all that and more. Coming up, stay with us.

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Ohio. The clock had just struck midnight, and most residents were fast to sleep. But Don and Florence Mellet were up and having a good time with their friends, Walter, and Carrie Vale. Things had been stressful for the Mellets lately. Don had a demanding career as a journalist, and the couple had four children to take care of. Even if they couldn't go out, having friends over was a welcome reprieve.

They wanted to keep the night going, so Florence went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Well, Don stepped out to move his car into the garage. Florence didn't notice that he'd left the house. If she had, she might have told Walter to go with him. These days, it wasn't safe for Don to be out alone at night. Florence brushed the worry from her mind and hummed to herself as the coffee brewed. She went to fetch mugs when several loud cracks exploded outside. The kitchen window shattered to pieces.

A bullet shot past Florence, so close she could have sworn it went right through her hair. Across the kitchen, Carrie screamed, and outside she could see the flash of revolvers still firing off. Then, just like that, everything went quiet. Florence looked outside for Dawn and saw him crumpled on the driveway, blood streaming from his head. She fell to her knees and wailed. Dawn had been hit. Suddenly, Florence's maternal instinct kicked in. She crawled towards the stairs to check on her kids.

Helen, their babysitter, stood at the bottom of the stairs, panicked. Florence urged her to keep the children upstairs. Meanwhile, Walter and Carrie ran outside to dawn. Walter took his arms and Carrie got his legs. As they tried to move him inside, Walter yelled for someone to call the doctor. Around the same time, a neighbor pulled up to the house. Leo Schumacher had been driving home when he heard the gunshots. He took over for Carrie and helped Walter maneuvered Dawn inside.

The two men laid him down on the sofa. Florence asked repeatedly if they thought her husband was dead. Leo searched for a pulse, but he couldn't find one. So he told Florence it wasn't his call and that they should wait for the doctor. Florence needed to keep her hands moving. She gathered damp towels and tried to soothe Dawn, but she couldn't stop the blood. As Walter left to pick up Don's brother Lloyd, Leo and Florence had a difficult conversation. We should call the police.

No. No? They might be involved. I'm sorry? My husband is the publisher of the Daily News. The cops hate him. They probably set this whole thing up. I'm sure that's not...

It's the truth. Okay, okay. But the doctor's still not here. And at least the police could administer first aid. Fine. Leo phoned the police. Now all they could do was wait. In the interim, the family doctor finally arrived. Dr. Guy Maxwell knew the melets, and Florence trusted him. She stood to the side as he examined Don. After some time, Dr. Maxwell pointed out the bullet wound above Don's left. ear. But there was no exit wound. At approximately 1 a.m. on July 16th, Don Mellet was declared dead.

By the time Walter returned with Don's brother Lloyd, the police finally arrived. Like Florence, Lloyd thought the cops were complicit in his brother's murder, so he immediately confronted them. You dirty assassins, you did this! Back it up, son! You keep your hands off me. We know who killed him. Why don't you ask Chief Langell, he'll tell you. That's a hell of an accusation, ma'am. You should watch what you say.

If you're so worried about the truth, why don't you just go out and find who did this? Florence and Lloyd weren't conspiracy theorists. They had good reason to suspect the police were behind Don's murder. Don was the editor of the Canton Daily News, and for the past several months, he'd let a crusade against the city's corrupt police force. In his reporting, Don exposed crooked officials and even managed to get several officers fired.

Suffice it to say, he wasn't their favorite person. And there was no one who disliked Don more than the chief of police, Seranus Lingle. Don had convinced the mayor to temporarily suspend Lingle, but after a contentious fight, he'd been reinstated. Now, Langel headed Don's homicide investigation. The night Dawn died, Langel played by the book, but only technically speaking. He ordered all officers to their stations and had detectives ready to investigate every tip that came in. But that may have been just for optics, because at the same time, Langel never visited the crime scene. According to author Thomas Crowell, even though this was the

biggest homicide in Canton's history, there was no urgency to solve the case. Chief Lengel felt little remorse for Don Mellett's passing. If anything, his being gone made their lives a lot easier. Lingle didn't even visit the scene of the crime, and the officers who were on the scene that night failed to collect evidence in a timely manner. But soon, they wouldn't be the only ones investigating Don's murder. Coming up, a stranger comes to to Canton, Ohio. Marvel Television's Wonder Man, an eight-episode series,

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Outcomes vary. Investment management and advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. Investing involves risk to principle regardless of the strategy used. Task performance does not guarantee future results. Now back to the story. In the early morning of July 16, 1926, Canton Police spoke with Bessie Zimmer.

Bessie was the in-home nurse for the Mellet's neighbors, the Schumacher. That night, she'd gone upstairs to check on Mrs. Schumacher when she heard gunshots. Bessie noted that this occurred between 1220 a.m. and 1225 a.m. This time frame would become important later on, But though Bessie was the only witness the police questioned, they didn't seem interested in anything else she had to say. Even when she told them she'd heard someone fleeing in the alley after the murder, they brushed off the tip. Clearly, Canton police were neglecting Don Mellett's case. They knew Don's murder was likely in assassination, and yet his investigation was given hardly any effort or attention.

And hardly any evidence was collected. but they did gather the bullets. The coroner removed one bullet from Don's body and one from the kitchen and brought them to a firearms expert. Then finally, officers recovered three slugs from outside. It seemed these were the only real efforts at catching Don's killer. But this laissez-faire approach would only fly for so long because Don Mellet was a member of the press.

And nothing fired up the media like avenging one of their own. By the time the sun rose on the 16th, the news of Don Mellett's murder had spread through the city. Don's own newspaper, The Daily News, ran the story. It was pretty obvious to the Daily's readers that this was a revenge killing. But that didn't mean anyone knew who had done it. During his time as the editor, Don made plenty of enemies, and that included the Canton police. But according to author Thomas Crowell, Don hadn't just gone after corrupt police officers. He'd also named, quote, bootleggers, dopers, gamblers, and madams in his editorials. There was no shortage of potential leads.

Chief Lengel brought in some of those possible suspects. For three hours, he and his detectives questioned about 20 known criminals. But no one admitted anything, so Lengel let everyone go. By that weekend, the chief declared his theory. He believed the murder was committed by the Black Hand. The Black Hand was a criminal group, often confused as being part of the mob. They were easy scapegoats, mysterious and nebulous enough to be a plausible theory without Lingle having to immediately press charges against a specific person. While some people bought that story, Canton's mayor, Stanford Swartz,

wasn't having it. He was a friend of Dawn's and believed in his crusade to clean up the city. The mayor disliked and distrusted Lengel. Swartz pressed the chief to explain himself. Why would the black hand want to kill Millet? Millet liked to run his mouth. Could have pissed off the wrong people.

I don't buy it. Keep digging. Sir, I'd appreciate your backing on this. If the press catches wind were in disagreement, and rumors will spread. Why don't you just worry about solving a murder? The mayor wasn't the only one pushing for a fast resolution. Reward sprung up for the capture and conviction of Don Mellett's murderers. Don's attorney offered a $1,000 reward,

a local businessman offered $5,000, and the Scripps Howard Newspaper Alliance of Ohio, a local news chain, offered another $5,000. The rewards grew to a total of $27,000. That's almost half a million today. The cash brought more journalists to town, along with amateur and professional sleuths. Everyone wanted to stab at the money.

If they could solve the case, they'd be set for life. At the same time, the newspapers enlisted their own private investigators. In particular, the Scripps Howard Newspaper Alliance viewed Don's murder as an attack on journalists everywhere. They also happened to be Don's former employer before he came to Canton. Perhaps they felt a certain sense of duty to help bring his murderer to justice, so they hired a PI named ORA Slater. Slater came from a detective agency in Cincinnati.

He was 51 and already graying, but he was still at the top of his game. Earlier that same year, he'd gotten a couple of his game. confession out of another high-profile murderer. A few days after Dawn was killed, Slater arrived in Canton and got right to work. He started by meeting with Earl Heximer, the city's safety director, a role that liaised between the mayor's office and the police department. Slater figured he'd be a good man to get on his side early, especially when it came to navigating the authority's current investigation. And sure enough, Hexamer, introduced

to Chief Langel in one of his detectives. It was a tense meeting. According to Slater, Lengel didn't seem pleased that he was around. But Slater didn't care. He had his own investigation to run, and he'd do it with or without Lengel's blessing. Once Slater was done at police headquarters,

he and Hexamer went over to the crime scene for Slater to inspect it himself, but he didn't find anything useful. However, he did notice that there was a vacant lot next to the Mellet's home, and it looked like it had recently been cleaned up. Did anyone survey this lot? Langell had a crew out here clearing the property. Oh, before or after they checked for evidence. After, I hope, but I'm not certain.

Any indication where the shots were fired from? Were there multiple assailants? You'd have to ask Lengel. Of course I would. You think he's covering something up? I'm not saying that, but I'm not not saying it. Slater wasn't one to jump to conclusions. He thought Lengel might just be incompetent,

but his gut told him the chief had ulterior motives. While Slater kept one eye on Lengel, he also became interested in Don Mellon himself. Who was he before becoming the victim of a violent crime? And what could his final days reveal? about his fate. Slater interviewed a number of people to learn more about Dawn. Among them was Helen, the Mellet's babysitter.

She was there the night of the murder and had spent lots of time in the Mellet's home in the days before. As Slater spoke with her, she revealed a key piece of the mystery. One evening, five days before the murder, while the Mellets were out to dinner, someone had called for Dawn. Helen had tried to take a message, but the caller wouldn't tell her who they were. They kept insisting they had to talk to Don. The mystery deepened when Slater spoke with Don's wife, Florence.

The Sunday before the, you know, we were sitting on the front porch when the phone rang. Don picked it up. He didn't know who it was, but they said they were an enemy of his enemies. Why were they calling? To warn Don. They, they, told him there were three men hanging around our garage. What did Don do after he hung up the phone? Luckily, Walter and Don's brother Lloyd were over, so the three of them searched the backyard, but they didn't find anything. They stayed up all night, waiting in the parlor with a gun and baseball bats just in case.

But nothing happened that night. Slater then made. with Walter to corroborate Florence's story. But the PI couldn't have expected what Walter was about to tell him. Don had good reason to be scared for his life. He found out who killed Paul Kitsig. Paul Kitsig. The one and only.

Slater sat for a moment stunned. The Kittzig case had haunted Canton, Ohio for the last five years. The killer was never found. If Dawn cracked it, it'd be massive news in Ohio. But now, it seemed one unsolved murder had led to another. Coming up, Slater gets his first big break. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much.

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His death came right after his testimony helped convict a bootleger named Ben Rudner. The murder case was left unsolved for five years, but apparently in 1926, Don Mellett cracked the case. Don's source claimed that an unknown hitman had killed Kitsig for $25. Then someone killed the hitman. It was clear to Don that Ben Rudner was responsible. And yet, he never published the story. According to author Thomas Crowell, Don's source suffered from addiction. Don didn't think the accusation would stand up without corroboration, so he waited until he had undeniable proof.

Still, Ora Slater knew it didn't matter if Don printed the story or not. Bootleggers were known to resort to violence in order to protect their empires. Simply knowing the truth was enough to put Don in danger, the PI had to learn more about Rudner. But before he got the chance, an unlikely informant, fell right into Slater's lap. On July 18, 1926, Slater checked into a hotel in Canton. It was a Sunday so things were quieter than normal. But he knew that wouldn't be the case for long.

Slater and his benefactors had advertised in the daily news that anyone with information about Don Mellett's murder should meet Slater. If they had valid intel, they could receive a $5,000 reward. Sure enough, someone showed up. Bill Bithsler was a factory worker who feared that he'd unwittingly gotten tangled up in this case. So, you say this all started the night of July 11th? That's right. My wife and I were out shopping on Market Avenue when we passed my old friend Red on the street.

Red's just what we call him because of his hair. His real name's Patrick McDermott. How do you know, Mr. McDermott? We used to work together in the coal field. fields, but we lost touch. Why's that? Well, he wound up in prison. He got caught stealing from the army.

I see. So what happened when you saw him on the 11th? We got to talking, caught up a bit, you know? Then we made plans to see each other the following night. When we got together, everything was normal. We were chatting and whatnot. Then he showed me his gun. I thought he was just showing off, but I saw him again.

later that week and he was going on and on about this newspaper guy who was making trouble for his friends. Did he name the guy? No, but he mentioned the daily news. Then the very next morning, I hear about that murderer, the editor of the paper shot dead. I remembered that the night before Red said he might have to leave town. It just felt wrong. I wanted to talk to you before anything came back to me. I swear. I didn't know anything. Slater thanked Bill and told him to lay low. The PI needed to corroborate these claims without spooking Pat McDermott.

Slater reconnected with Earl Hexamer, the city safety director, to check out Bill's story. Their first stop was a boarding house where Bill said McDermott was staying under a false name. The landlady confirmed that McDermott had been there. He'd rented a room for about a week. But on Friday, the day of the murder, he received a telegram and disappeared. Slater searched McDermott's room, but the only thing he found was an empty Western Union envelope. The PI wouldn't be discouraged. He left the boarding house and marched down to the telegraph office to check for records of the telegram sent to McDermott.

Lo and behold, there was a copy of the original message. It read, take Masselin's store or report. court to home office at once. It was signed R.L. Strang. It didn't make a ton of sense on the surface, but Slater knew it was a clue. Unfortunately, when he did some digging, he couldn't find anyone who went by the name R.L. Strang. It seemed like an alias, but for whom? Slater had no idea. For the next few days, Slater was at an impasse. He knew Patrick McDermott was a person of interest but he didn't want to interview him without more information. Then on Friday, July 23rd, a week after the murder, a local attorney contacted Slater.

The lawyer had a client who wanted to speak with him, so the PI arranged a meeting at his hotel. He wasn't expecting much. Tons of tips had come in over the last week, and while it was his job to hear them out, few were fruitful. But when Steve Kastchok entered Slater's makeshift office, the PI quickly realized this was the lead he'd been waiting for. Welcome. Have a seat. What is it you'd like to tell me? There's this guy, Pat McDermott. I've known him for a decade or so. Met him why I lived out in Pennsylvania. McDermott, you say? That's right. I ran to him last week in Cleveland. It felt like faith.

I was looking for work, and he had a job. Well, It was actually a friend of his over in Masselen who was paying. A guy named Rudner. That wouldn't be a Ben Rudner, would it? That's the one. McDermott told me that Rudner wanted guys to rough someone up. Like I said, I needed cash, so I agreed to go with him and meet Rudner at his hardware store. There was one other guy there, Louis Mazur.

We got into Mazur's car, and he took the three of us to Canton. We drove by a house. McDermott said a newspaper editor lived there and that he was our target, but that's all I know. I backed out, you see, I got kids, a wife. I changed my mind and went back to Cleveland. Have you heard from McDermott since? No, but I figured I had to tell you this now.

Plenty of people saw me with him. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Slater finally had proof that Patrick McDermott. not only was linked to Don's murder, but also to Ben Rudner. And now it all lined up. Don had discovered Ben Rudner's culpability in the death of Paul Kitsig. So Rudner likely hired McDermott to kill Don before he could break the story. And now Slater knew a third man was involved, Lewis Mazer.

But even with all of these leads, Slater needed more proof. It was time to find Ben. Rudner. But Rudner found him first. One day in late July, the two men just happened to cross paths outside of a Canton hotel. It seems Rudner knew Slater would be there. Rudner walked right over and introduced himself. He wanted to speak with the investigator face to face.

So he offered Slater a ride. Slater knew Rudner was trying to suss him out. He was wary, but the people. was also intrigued. So he climbed into the bootleggers' car, and Rudner's driver took them to their next destination. Your reputation precedes you. I heard about the Nesbit case over in Troy. Nasty business, a man murdering his wife.

How'd you get him to confess? I suppose I just talked with him. Made him feel comfortable. A bit like this, actually. So you're saying I should be on guard? only if you've got something to hide. Rudner didn't reveal anything during this drive, but that didn't matter. Slater had other ways of digging up dirt.

He cashed in some favors with his contacts in the federal government and asked them to run background checks. It wasn't long before they came back with compelling info. Rudner and McDermott had been incarcerated in an Atlanta prison at the same time. It was exactly the proof he needed to confirm his informant stories. There was no doubt that Pat McDermott and Rudner were working together. Slater had his theory. Now, he just had to prove it. Thanks again for tuning into solved murders.

We'll be back next Wednesday with part two of the murder of Don Mellett. We'll follow the case as the killers are apprehended, and even more mysteries are discovered at trial. For more information on Don Mellett, amongst the many sources we used, we found murder of a journalist by Thomas Crowell, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solve Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Solve Murders True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. Our head of programming is Julian Bois-Roe. Our supervising sound designer is Russell Nash, with Nick Johnson as our head of

production and quality control by Lisa Marie Gallegos. Stacey Nemick is our supervising editor, and Derek Jennings is our writing lead. This episode of Solve Murders was written by Alex Burns, edited by Sarah Bachelor and Alex Garland, fact-checked by Catherine Barner, researched by Mickey Taylor, produced by Joshua Kern and sound design by Brian Gullab. It stars Charlie West, Tiana Camacho, Cameron Nicod, Tommy Arsinega, and Joe Hernandez. Our hosts are Wendy McKenzie and me, Carter Roy.