Herbert and Thelma
I have mentioned on my website the strange and possible paranormal things that have happened in my house. In the back of my mind I have always wondered why? Was it my Mom? She did pass in the house in Hospice care in 1997, but I doubt she is hanging around, although when her music box started playing 7 years after her passing...yeah that was a little weird. The only tenants before my Mom bought the place in 1993 were Alice who passed in June 1993, and her husband Ralph who passed in January 1987. Yes those are their real names, Ralph and Alice, born 50 years before the television show. When talking to the realtor back then, he made them out to be the kindest couple. I was also of the understanding that one or both passed away in the house of natural causes. It turned out not to be the case, they both passed away at a local hospital, but even if was true that they passed away in the house, why would they haunt the place? As for my Mom, she actually did die in the house, but why would she haunt the place? It just didn't make any sense.
So a couple years ago, I am looking for Ralph and Alice's obituaries online to see if it mentioned anything about them "passing away at the home" or something along those lines but instead they both passed away at Independence Regional Health Center 6 years apart. But while I'm searching for this I ran across a newspaper article that floored me. I am on a site that archives newspaper articles (figure out the name...hehe), and put in Ralph's name. A few hits came up, one of which was his obituary. Other articles that came up were from December 1968, in which I saw my address in the preview. Now I am curious. I click the link and read the headline, "Resident Discovers Double Murder". Holy shit! Was there a double murder at my house back in 1968? It couldn't have been Ralph and Alice obviously, so maybe they moved in after that? What's going on here?
I read on. Here is a quick synopsis. Ralph and Alice were out of town that weekend and when returning home (my house) the phone is ringing. Ralph's sister-in-law's brother was calling to ask if they have seen Herbert, Ralph's brother or his wife, Thelma, or if they were with them. The reason being is that Herbert, a postal worker had not showed up for his job and could not be reached by phone. Not thinking the worst, they figured the couple were either sick or went out of town that weekend. Along with Ralph's sister, Hazel, they drive over to Herbert and Thelma's house about 8 miles away. They arrive around 9:00 at night and notice the lights were on. They ring the doorbell and knock on the door but no answer. Ralph gets a key and opens the front door. He was only inside the house a few seconds when he spotted his brother in the front bedroom dead face up on the bed. Thelma was found dead in the back bedroom. Both Herbert and Thelma were tied up with either electrical cord or tape, depending on the newpaper article. Both had been shot in the head at close range, Herbert shot at least twice. Thelma was in curlers and apparently getting ready to take a bath, gagged with a cloth, and molested before or after being shot.
This is truly horrific. It's something that would be on Discovery ID channel. The house was ransacked, telephone cord ripped out of the wall, a television and stereo were stolen, and the killer took off in their car only to abandon it near the 18th and Vine area, now a historic jazz district. The killer would soon be apprehended for a homicide on the other side of the state line in Kansas but one of the witnesses declined to show up for court. Somewhere along the line the killer pled to a lesser charge in that case and was eventually paroled. There was also a jailbreak with him a three other inmates where all were eventually found in a school. In the end, the killer never faced prosecution for the double murder of Herbert and Thelma. I found an article from a 1979 edition of the Kansas City Star that also questioned this as well as go over all the evidence gathered back in 1968.
I was able to track down a relative of Herbert and Thelma and they were actually afraid when the killer broke out of jail because they may attempt to track them down and kill them too. From what they said the killer ended up being killed in a drug deal years later. I was able to find an obituary but the ages were off by a few years, so chances are if they lived a life of crime, they are probably dead by now somehow.
With all this being said, if my house is haunted, it is probably not by Mom, Ralph, or Alice. It could be by Ralph's brother or sister-in-law. In my communication with a relative, I get the feeling that Ralph and his brother Herbert were close so it's not out of the realm of possibility they would spend time hanging out here. I obviously can't prove it, but combined with their violent death and their connection to this house, my theory is that it may be Herbert or Thelma popping in every now and then checking on things, and they're probably a little surprised to find me living there instead of Ralph and Alice.
Rest In Peace – Herbert and Thelma (December 1968)
