the victims

A MEMORIAL

This section is dedicated to the memory of the twelve victims of Bonnie and Clyde. BONNIE & CLYDE VICTIMS

John N.Bucher of Hillsboro, Texas: Died April 30, 1932

Eugene Moore of Atoka, Oklahoma: Died August 5, 1932

Howard Hall of Sherman, Texas: Died October 11, 1932

Doyle Johnson of Temple, Texas: Died December 26, 1932

Malcolm Davis of Dallas, Texas: Died January 6, 1933

Harry McGinnis of Joplin, Missouri: Died April 13, 1933

Wes Harryman of Joplin, Missouri: Died April 13, 1933

Henry D. Humphrey of Alma, Arkansas: Died June 26, 1933

Major Crowson of Huntsville, Texas: Died January 16, 1934

E.B. Wheeler of Grapevine, Texas: Died April 1, 1934

H.D. Murphy of Grapevine, Texas: Died April 1, 1934

Cal Campbell of Commerce, Oklahoma: Died April 6, 1934

New Memorial Honors Victim Lawmen Maxwell and Moore
A memorial marker recalling the Stringtown shootout honors Sheriff Charles Maxwell and Deputy Eugene Moore The marker is located on the west side of US 69 in Stringtown, about 125 miles south of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

GRAPEVINE KILLINGS A RUINED EASTER FOR MANY

Edward Bryan Wheeler June 30, 1907 - April 1, 1934

Holloway Daniel Murphy November 27, 1911 - April 1, 1934

In Henry Methvin's statement to police, he said that after Raymond Hamilton and Clyde Barrow split ways following a row over dividing the loot from the Lancaster bank job, Hamilton had told Bonnie Parker that he planned to kill Barrow. She later revealed this threat to Clyde and Clyde, taking the threat seriously, decided to kill Hamilton first. He was laying in wait on Dove Road that day when the two patrolmen happened upon him and ruined his plans. Floyd Hamilton, finding out about the killings of Murphy and Wheeler intercepted his younger brother who was Dallas bound, and then told him about the killings. Raymond had the same style black car, with yellow wheels that Clyde had, so Floyd switched out the wheels with the ones on his own car.

E.B. WHEELER - H.D. MURPHY

H.D. MURPHY

MURPHY & WHEELER MONUMENT

"GRAPEVINE MURDERS" Easter Sunday April 1, 1934

Click on newspaper to enlarge

Three Texas Highway motorcycle patrolmen, Edward Bryan Wheeler age twenty-six,
H.D. Murphy age twenty-two and Polk Ivy were traveling northwest on Highway 114
and Dove Road, just west of Grapevine. They had cruised past a black Ford V8 with
yellow wheels parked on a side road. Ivy continued on to Rhome (or Roanoke, which
was the halfway point), while Murphy and Wheeler turned around to investigate.

Clyde grabbed a sawed-off shotgun and hid behind the car, while Henry Methvin grabbed
a Browning automatic rifle. Meaning to kidnap the officers and take them for a "joyride",
Clyde said to Methvin "Let's take 'em". Methvin took this to mean "kill 'em".

Not knowing of the impending danger and with guns still holstered, Wheeler who was in
front, approached the car. Clyde prepared to jump him and was surprised when Methvin
fired his weapon striking Wheeler in the chest.

Murphy attempted to grab his shotgun from his motorcycle, Clyde, now faced with a
different situation, fired three blasts at patrolman Murphy. After the smoke cleared,
two more victims were to lose their lives!

Placard seen in lower left, marks where the patrolmen's bodies had fallen. Crowds gathering at the site of the Grapevine ambush, following the incident. The J.E. Foust Funeral Home of Grapevine, Texas responded to the death scene.

Facing uphill at site of killings.

1934 reenactment where car is spotted by officers

1934 reenactment facing downhill at site of killings

another reenactment still

WITNESS FARMER WILLIAM SCHIEFFER
Farmer Schieffer who's land overlooked the hill where the killings occurred, was a self proclaimed witness to the event of that day. He changed his story several times. His account went from seeing the killings at a distance, to seeing it up close. He claimed that Bonnie had turned one of the patrolmen over using her one foot and then shooting him again point blank, saying that she made a remark "Looka there, his head bounced just like a rubber ball." His last story implicated Floyd Hamilton and Billie Mace as the killers. Schieffer later confessed that he was looking for the publicity and any reward money that was being offered.

EYEWITNESSES
Ok. no more "Mr. & Mrs. Fred Giggal"
Get to know a little bit more about this couple...
Fred A. Giggal was 49 years old at the time of this incident
Fred A. Giggal was a born resident of Denver, Colorado where he worked as a bookkeeper. He had met and fell in love with a young native of Colorado named Edith M., who had been working as a stenographer for the Moffat Coal Company. After getting married, they lived throughout the 1920s in Denver and then in 1932 they packed up and moved to Dallas, Texas. There they they moved into a home located at 5603 Hudson Street. He had begun working for Rob & Rowley Theatres Inc., as an auditor. Two years after leaving Denver, he and his wife found themselves to be eyewitnesses to the merciless killings of two highway patrolmen, in what started out as a pleasant Easter afternoon drive in the country.

Fred A. Giggal was born in 1885 and was a bookkeeper mostly his whole life. Below is his address listing from when he lived in Denver, Colorado.

By 1932 he and his wife moved to Dallas and had become witnesses to the murders at Grapevine.

Click on newspaper to read full article

EVIDENCE A discared whiskey bottle left behind at the scene, was said to have Clyde Barrow's fingerprints on it. Tarrant County Bertillion experts lifted only a thumbprint from the bottle. It belonged to Henry Methvin. It's must be assumed that there was an attempt to build a stronger case against outlaw Clyde Barrow. The same could be said about identifying Bonnie Parker as a suspect, by a cigar bearing small tooth marks!

BONNIE'S SISTER AND FLOYD HAMILTON WRONGLY CHARGED

Dallas Morning News editorial cartoon depicts the "Grapevine murders"

New York Times - April 2, 1934 TWO OFFICERS SLAIN, BARROW SOUGHT
Submitted by Lawrence W. Lee Jr.

Mike Royko's Bonnie 'n' Clyde "The Sad Side" This article, by the late columnist Mike Royko explores the lastings effect that the Barrow killings had made on the lives of four of the victims family members. Those interviewed, were the sons of Constable Cal Campbell, Sheriff E.C. Moore, Marshal H.D. Humphrey and Constable Wes Harryman.

PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR PART FIVE

photo credit: Virginia Singletary
Marie Tullis (not Maree as found in some accounts) was the daughter of Mary and James J. Tullis is seen in above photo with the young ill fated H.D. Murphy. Heartbroken Marie Tullis had worn her wedding dress to Murphy's funeral. She later went on to become a beauty salon operator in Houston.

Doris Brown Edwards - E.B. Wheeler's widow

"Petticoat Ranger"

Texas honors officer killed by Bonnie and Clyde

Meanwhile southeast of Waco, another lawman gets shot in the head in the early morning hours. Fortunately this officer survived his serious wounds!
ROSEBUD OFFICER R.W. WARD

Hey! but what about the lesser mentioned patrolman?

TEXAS HIGHWAY PATROLMAN
POLK IVY
September 2, 1907 - April 14, 1953

Not much has been said about Highway Patrolman Polk Ivy. His life was spared that Easter afternoon as he rode his motorcycle ahead of Murphy and Wheeler who turned off to investigate the Barrow car. Polk Ivy was born in 1907 and was 26 years old at the time of the killings of his two fellow lawmen. He worked his way up the ranks to become Captain. He lost his battle with cancer on April 14, 1953. My purpose is to acknowledge the "survivor" of that dreadful day and pay homage to this fine lawman.

On April 1, 1934 E.B. Wheeler and his wife of two years, Doris, had planned their Easter. He was part of a 50 man force called "Texas Mounties." Together they went to the home of Polk and Rassie Ivy. Polk was another patrolman. While there, they had made out reports. Young rookie officer Murphy was at home making plans for his April 13th wedding with his young fiancée, Marie Tullis. He did join them later and the three set off on their motorcycles. Polk Ivy rode a little ahead of them and as was the rule, the other two rode in pair formation. They drove through Grapevine toward Roanoke, Tx. Some six miles from Grapevine on Highway 114, Ivy's eye was drawn to an auto parked on a side road. Thinking nothing of it, he rode on. Looking back, he saw that his two fellow patrolmen had broken away from the formation and onto the side road he had seen the parked car. Turning back, he came upon Fred and Edith Giggal who flagged him down. They had just witnessed the incident the moment it happened. He then found Patrolman Wheeler shot to death and Patrolman Murphy, lying, sprawled out on the dust beside their motorcycles and dying from his wounds.

But for the grace of God, there go I
He went on to live another 19 years. That's 19 years of service. 19 years of marriage. 19 years, watching his children growing up! What a horrific sight he came upon! His fellow officers (and friends) gunned down in cold blood! Something he had to live with.

Capt. Polk Ivy (1949)

A special thank you to Mr. John Anderson, Preservation Officer - Archives and Information Services Division for his courtesy and assistance in providing the Hideout with the rare images of Capt. Polk Ivy posted above.

News article below, was printed one month before the above photos were taken of Capt. Ivy.

Polk Ivy married RassieWoods on February 16, 1929. She was the daughter of Seth and Nettie Woods. Mrs. Polk Ivy (Rassie) had served in a high position with the Amarillo district of the State Highway Patrol. They had two daughters -JoAnn Ivy, born October 10, 1931 and Mary Lou Ivy, born February 18, 1933. Polk Ivy's widow, born February 13, 1909, joined her husband in heaven on December 15, 1985.
HOME ADDRESS
1953 Amarillo City Directory

This is where the three Patrolmen got together on that Easter of 1934. POLK IVY'S 1934 HOME

POLK IVY 1949 NEWS ARTICLE

This was their home in 1953 at the time of his passing. POLK IVY'S 1953 HOME

POLK IVY'S CERTIFICATE OF DEATH

POLK IVY'S HEADSTONE

It happened in 1942

VINTAGE TEXAS HIGHWAY PATROL MOTORCYCLE
Photo found on Foo Dog Hyla's Blog

MOVIE STILLS FROM HISTORY CHANNEL'S "BONNIE AND CLYDE"

The Carey and Yarrington Story
A story very similar to the Grapevine incident

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