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July 1939: County Sheriff Martin O’Donnell, not the Cleveland Police, arrest fifty-two-year-old Bohemian brick layer Frank Dolezal for the murder of Flo Polillo. Dolezal had lived with her for awhile, and subsequent investigation revealed he had been aquainted with Edward Andrassy and Rose Wallace. |
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His
“confession” turned out to be a bewildering blend of incoherent
ramblings and neat, precise details, almost as if he had been coached.
Before he could go to trial, Dolezal was found dead in his cell. The
five foot eight Dolezal had hanged himself from a hook only five feet
seven inches off the floor. Gerber’s autopsy revealed six broken ribs,
all of which had been obtained while in the Sheriff’s custody. To this
day no one thinks Frank Dolezal was the torso killer. The question is:
why did Sheriff O’Donnell? The Kingsbury Run Murders remain one of the most perplexing cases in our nation’s criminal history. Rumors abound as to who may have been the killer. One thing is very clear: Eliot Ness had a suspect who he believed was undoubtedly the killer. This suspect continued to taunt Ness for years after the killings had stopped. All official police records on this case have been lost, destroyed, or removed. |
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Recent findings: Only within this past year, the daughter of the late Peter Merylo contacted the Cleveland Police Museum with the information that she had copies of her father’s files on this case. Other recently discovered documents, including autopsies, hospital records, lunacy hearings and interviews, have shed new light on what really happened. To read more on this fascinating story order " In the Wake of the Butcher " from the on-line Cop Shop.
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