Henryville Murder Tour: UPDATE LYNCHING IN CLARK COUNTY

UPDATE:  Perhaps in this "True Crime" era,  it is no surprise that this particular article is one of the most popular and most visited posts on the blog.  We have an update to "ADD" to the shear terror that

Henryville Indiana should inspire in the heart and soul of any normal reader.  GAW has learned of another spectacular and brutal Murder that took place in Henryville.  GAW is busy trying to learn more about the specific sites in Henryville that were involved. But here is the report  (BONUS: the report involves a "SHYSTER LAWYER" )  : 

"While the vast majority of lynching occurred in the south, a sizable portion occurred in the Midwest. Indiana, a state claimed as “free” from its statehood in 1816, was nevertheless the 7th highest non-southern state with racial terror lynchings, with 18 separate incidents. One way historians have uncovered these horrific crimes is with newspapers. When searching through Indiana papers, many stories emerge of outlaw vigilantes who terrorized and brutalized African-Americans, sometimes for nothing more than alleged crimes. Since many were lynched before they received equal justice under the law, many of their lives ended tragically through injustice under the lariat.

One of the earliest lynchings in Indiana newspapers was chronicled by the Marshall County Republican on November 23, 1871. Three African-Americans, whose names were only given as “Johnson, Davis, and Taylor,” were accused of the murder of the Park family in Henryville, Clark County. Matthew Clegg, “a shystering lawyer” from Henryville, had a dispute with the Parks and when he likely had them murdered, he pushed the blame to the three local African-American men. When the grand jury couldn’t find enough evidence to indict them, the local vigilance committee took matters into their own hands. They broke through the jail, grabbed the three men, placed nooses around their neck, and dragged them through the street. They were then strung up next to each other on a tree. The Republican described their bodies in painful detail; Taylor’s description was the most gruesome: “His form was nude, save the slight remnants of a white shirt that was stretched across his lower limbs, while the hangman’s knot under his chin threw his head back in, a gasping movement, and his white teeth and distended lips grinned with a fiend-like scowl . . . .” It is unclear from the newspaper account if anyone was tried for the lynching."   (From https://blog.newspapers.library.in.gov/category/african-american-history/)  

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Looking for something to do?    If you live in Clark or Floyd County,  Indiana or the Louisville Metro area,  you might want to consider the Henryville Murder Tour. 

Henryville is a small town of about 1500 people.  Most famously in recent times it was the scene of
a devastating tornado in 2012 and captured the attention of the nation due to the destruction caused by this meteorological event.    It is also the birthplace of Col. Harland Sanders,  of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. (Note: there is no KFC in Henryville today).

As a kid,  I knew of Henryville mostly as the hometown of the Henryville Hornets...perennial rivals of my town's high school basketball team...the Silver Creek Dragons.  (Note:  2019 State of Indiana IHSAA Class AAA basketball champions!).   Otherwise...Henryville was a sometime destination to visit the Henryville State Forestry.

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The MURDER Tour:

1.  PIGEON ROOST

Just north of Henryville across the Clark and Scott County line,  is the Pigeon Roost State Memorial Site.   The site is just off of State Rd. 31.


In 1809 Pigeon Roost was settled by a handful of pioneer families. When you visit the spot you can see why it was a good place.  The pioneers found easy rolling ground that was fertile.  And the spot is adjacent to a creek which offered water.  Stands of trees are around to offer lumber for building block houses and fuel for winter fires and cooking.   Shawnee and other Native American tribes routinely roamed through this area and relations with the natives was friend.  According to historical accounts, every summer from 1809 to 1812,   Shawnees visited at Pigeon Roost and the men had marksmanship contests.  Of the pioneers,  apparently William Cowlings was the best aim.

When you look into the history of the site,  you will find family names that are still known in Clark and Scott County today.  Payne,  Collings and Yount  are names I know still are well represented today.

On September 3, 1812 howevever things turned bad at Pigeon Roost.  As day broke,  a war party of Shawnee,  allied with the British,  crossed the creek and began a brutal and ultra violent raid of the settlement.  Apparently they went from block house to block house butchering all they could find and sparing no one. The settlers were scalped and their bodies dismembered and strapped to trees.  Some fought back and it is believed that William Collings killed 4 of the attackers.  In all fifteen children were slain.  9 adult settlers were likewise killed.   Total tally: 28 violently dead.  

Wikipedia tells us as follows: "In 1904 the state of Indiana authorized $2,000 to build a memorial to the victims of the Pigeon Roost Massacre. It is a 44-foot-tall (13 m) obelisk and the area was made a state historic site in 1929.

Recently, new historic markers were placed on US-31 at the entrance to the site and a picnic shelter was built. The state has turned the site over to Scott County. This year a log cabin was built on the site, similar to the ones that would have been built by the early settlers. An annual picnic is held on the site, the second Sunday in September."

My own impression of the site is that it is worth visiting.  The site, at least in winter or early spring, is eerie.  Maybe it's my imagination or maybe it's the old obelisk,  the graveyard and the old craggy trees.  I would say 'haunting"

(Images from https://www.graphicenterprises.net/html/pigeon_roost_04.html by Jim and Kathy Cummings). 

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2. Henryville Forest (Clark State Forestry)

It is a fact that Clark County had it's own 'serial killer' way back in the 1970s.  There was even
a brief article inviting comments on the case that drew some interesting observations.  Here I copy a post on reddit that addresses this mysterious case

In 1977, three boys were killed in the small town of Henryville, Indiana: Richard Sweeney, 8, Jeffrey Burkett 15 and Donald Abell 19.

Sweeney was found in the loft of the The Blue Lick Auction Bar, covered in rags-cause of death was asphyixiated. His Hands were tied and he had been sexually assaulted and strangled. He was killed in April of 1977.

Burkett, whose age is given as 15 or 16, was found June 10, 1977. His hands Had been wired above his head and he had been beaten. In addition, his skull was fractured-Burkett was also strangled as well as molested. Strong evidence his body had been drug through the wood for quite a distance. Rumor had it that Burkett had been tied to tree with barbed wire and surgical style incisions made on body.

The last victim was also the oldest-Donald Abell was 19 and like the others, his hands were bound and his shoes were taken, never to be found. Died of a skull fracture.

So, who did these crimes? If anyone knows, no one is talking. Like a lot of small towns when these crimes happen, there was a lot of talk. In the Burkett case, there was a strong suspect, who moved to Florida, shortly after the murder.

Then there is talk that there is suspect who did all 3 murders and died a few years ago. The man was said to have been from Crothersville, Indiana. Another suspect was said to have the last name Stargel. There were also whispers about a doctor who lived in town that had twin sons. A poster on Websleuths that had a relative who lived in Henryville at that time, was told to avoid the good doctor and his family. After the murders, the doc and his family were said to have moved to Chicago.

In the wake of the deaths, school lockers were searched, but no info was ever released about what was found, if anything. Cops will not discuss the case other than to say it is still open.

Henrysville is a small town-in 2010, the population was 1,905. Most likely at the time of the crime, it would have been smaller. The bodies were all found within a 5 mile radius of each other and here is something crazy-Burkett was found on property owned by the family of the first victim, Richard Sweeney.

On Websleuths, a poster said that a retired sheriff told him that contacting the families of the victims would do more harm than good.

So, who killed these boys and why?

Why has the case never been solved?

Did the killer move else where and strike again or did the town cover the whole thing up?

:
You, can still today get a good idea about the 'feeling' of this case by traveling to the Henryville Forestry and just driving around...including up to the firetower on top. (still open to the public who are willing and able to walk up the stairs).   A woman I knew and her family had been the ones to discover one of the victims back then 40 some years ago.  They had been out looking to gather walnuts and came upon one of the victims in a glen.

When I was about 15 years old,  ...so  1973 or 74,   me and my friends Jeff Hendren and Larry Whitlock rode our bikes from Sellersburg up to the forestry and camped out.  Had my parents known of what sort of monster was lurking in that town I am sure they would not have allowed that trip. As it happens we didn't have a speck of trouble. 

Today,  as I mentioned,  going to the top of the forestry and climbing the firetower is a destination trip.  You can see for miles in all directions and it's quite beautiful...though still kind of creepy



In fact...it's very creepy.

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3.   Danny Guthrie Murder Case

I was the court appointed attorney assigned to defend Chuck Sweeney who was accused and convicted of this murder of a Clark County Commisssioner's nephew.  Danny was a well liked fellow who had a lot of sympathy when he came down with cancer.  One sunny day, after going on a fishing trip with Chuck Sweeney (his distant relation)  he seemed to disappear.   He was missing for months
until the case cracked open.  Here the statement of the facts of the case from one of the Court of appeals decisions about the case.

On May 28, 1991, the victim, Danny Guthrie, left his family to go fishing with defendant. Guthrie did not return home that evening and his wife assumed that he decided to camp over with defendant. The next morning defendant called to see if Guthrie wanted to check the trout lines. Guthrie's wife informed the defendant that Guthrie never returned home and the defendant told Guthrie's wife that he brought Guthrie home between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. the previous day. After several unsuccessful attempts to obtain more information from defendant, Guthrie's wife called the police. On May 29, 1991, Detective Kramer, the lead investigator, and other police officers questioned the defendant at his home. However, no arrest was made and Guthrie remained missing.

In February, 1992, defendant was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for placing a pipe bomb under Detective Kramer's police car.^[2] After being charged for these offenses, defendant entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office on June 26, 1992. Pursuant to the plea agreement, defendant pled guilty to placing the bomb under Kramer's car, agreed to implicate all others involved in the bombing and also to disclose the whereabout 92*92 of Guthrie's body and any information relating to the cause of Guthrie's death.^[3] We summarize defendant's story as communicated to federal authorities as follows.^[4]

According to defendant, on the return trip from the fishing expedition, defendant agreed to give Guthrie approximately 150 marijuana plants in exchange for a saddle. Immediately after arriving at defendant's home, defendant explained to Guthrie where the marijuana plants were located and provided Guthrie with a shovel, two buckets, and a 9 mm gun for protection. Defendant claimed that he then went to play bingo at the Sellersburg Moose Lodge and did not see Guthrie again that evening.^[5] The next day (May 29, 1991), after Guthrie's wife claimed that Guthrie never came home, defendant alleges that he went to look for Guthrie and found him dead with a gunshot wound to the head. He also found the 9mm gun that he had given Guthrie the day before with one round missing and an empty shell casing a foot or two south of Guthrie's body. Because defendant did not want the police to discover the marijuana, he dragged Guthrie's body to a ditch located behind a trailer and buried the body with sweet lime and covered it with dirt and trash. He then threw the shell casings in a creek, and placed one shoe^[6] and a pair of sunglasses in the burn barrel by his trailer. Defendant also buried the gun in an ammunition can near his home, but at a later date retrieved the gun and had it in his possession for personal protection. Defendant told the authorities that eventually the gun was seized from him in the State of Utah as a result of a routine traffic violation. At all times, defendant proclaimed his innocence.^[7]

On July 1, 1992, the police obtained a search warrant for defendant's property and located Guthrie's body in the area described by defendant. An autopsy was performed on the body on July 2, 1992, and the medical examiner positively identified the body as that of Daniel Guthrie. The examiner also retrieved the bullet that caused Guthrie's death. The bullet and the 9mm gun that was confiscated from defendant by a Utah police officer was sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm Laboratory. The Bureau confirmed that the bullet that killed Guthrie had been fired from the 9mm gun belonging to the defendant.

On August 10, 1992, Judge Donahue in the Clark Circuit Court issued a warrant to arrest the defendant for the murder of Guthrie. On October, 8, 1992, upon the State's request, Judge Donahue issued a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum (a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum is referred to in this opinion as a "Writ") so that the State could obtain temporary custody of defendant. At that time, defendant was incarcerated in federal prison in Louisville, Kentucky^[8] and was scheduled to be sentenced that very same day by Judge Barker in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.^[9] The defendant was transported to Clark County shortly after the Writ was issued. On October 22, 1992, defendant filed a Motion to Quash the Writ, 93*93 and a hearing was held on the motion on November 10, 1992. The focus of the hearing concerned whether the State had jurisdiction over the defendant. Defendant argued that before he was sentenced in federal court, the State could have sought temporary custody of him through the use of the Writ, but once defendant was sentenced, the State was obligated to follow the procedures set forth in the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (referred to in this opinion as the "IAD").^[10] In order to avoid conducting a trial and then having a higher court decide that the trial court had no jurisdiction over defendant, Judge Donahue decided that the safer approach would be to return defendant to federal prison and proceed appropriately. Consequently, Judge Donahue granted defendant's motion and ordered that the Writ be held for naught and declared void.

On April 22, 1993, the State dismissed charges against the defendant, and defendant was sent back to federal prison in Kentucky. The State refiled charges on March 30, 1994. On August 1, 1994, upon the State's request, Judge Donahue granted another writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum so that the State could obtain temporary custody of defendant. At this time, defendant was being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Manchester, Kentucky. For the second time, defendant was transported to Clark County. In response, defendant filed a Motion to Quash the Writ on September 13, 1994, and on October 3, 1994, Judge Donahue held a hearing on this matter. Once again, defendant contended that the IAD was the exclusive means of obtaining temporary custody of defendant. Additionally, defendant argued that the circumstances surrounding the issuance of both Writs were identical and that because the issue had been litigated, the doctrine of res judicata and collateral estoppel applied. Judge Donahue denied defendant's Motion to Quash the Writ, relying on the fact that defendant's custody status had changed since the first Writ was issued.

A jury trial was conducted on November 14, 1995, and defendant was found guilty the murder of Guthrie. The trial court sentenced defendant to 60 years to be served upon the completion of his federal sentence of 210 months. case.

If  you care to see where this happened,  you can travel to where Mountain Grove Road runs into Pixley-Knob road.   Danny's body was found about 350 feet north west of that intersection near the Right Branch of Blue Lick Creek.  FYI  Chuck Sweeney always denied killing Danny Guthrie and has (to my knowledge) never admitted it.   He is still fighting to get out of prison.  See this link:

https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/judge-reopens-s-clark-county-pipe-bomb-conviction/article_d987cdaa-e14f-11e9-8bd6-6be2381fce0f.html

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