A DOWNTOWN MURDER

NORMAN  V.  KELLY

It was Halloween Eve, and all the kids in Peoria, Illinois were anxious to see the sun go down and the bright moon pop up. Tricks or treat was on their minds, and it couldn’t get dark fast enough. For Marion T. Wood, a part-time clerk at the Bi-Sel Novelty store at l09 E. Glendale, in downtown Peoria, Halloween was a busy time. He had masks and all kinds of things that sold during this time of year and he looked forward to getting to the store. Bi-Sel was located downtown pretty close to the YMCA Building. The tavern, The Pour House was there too, and Blooming Balloons, remember that place or how about the Kickapoo Hotel? Those places are long gone by now but if you are anywhere near my age…you remember them.

 

It was October 3l, l983, and Marion had been busy most of the day. It was close to three when the door opened and Marion saw two men come in. He knew both of them in fact he was a distant relative of theirs. “Hi, Uncle Marion,” the man with the beard said, waving as he spoke. Marion shook hands with the brothers David and William Wilson. The three talked for a few minutes before William asked to see a buck knife displayed inside the glass counter. William bought the knife and Marion gave him a receipt. This very act, insignificant at the time, proved later to be very important. The two then left the store telling Marion that they would be back later.

 

William and David Wilson were very close brothers, living in adjacent apartments over on Wayne Street. Both were ex convicts, and both did more than their share of drinking and smoking marijuana. David worked at a fast-food restaurant on the nightshift, but William was unemployed. William was married and had one child and David was engaged to be married. Only twenty-five and twenty-six, the two men didn’t exactly have a bright future. According to their own statements they had spent Halloween day over at The Pour House from eleven until three. Around four they returned to the novelty store and this time they engaged Mr. Wood in a conversation about a TV set he had for sale.

 

“How much you asking for that TV set, Marion?” It was David who was talking as William stood over by the door. At that time William Swearinger came into the store and the conversation stopped as he was greeted by Marion. As Swearinger walked around he heard David ask about the TV set and heard Marion get on the telephone. The call went over to Mr. Jacobs, who at that moment was taking a nap. Marion told Jacobs that someone was in the store had offered a hundred dollars for the TV set. Marion listened:  “Okay, I’ll tell him. Marion hung up and relayed the information to David that the TV would cost $250.00.  Mr. Swearinger then left the store and headed back to his apartment in the Towers over on Main Street. What he had just seen was to be a very important bit of information when he finally took it to the police.

 

                             IT’S  OVER  FOR  MARION  WOOD

 

The Wilsons certainly did not have a hundred dollars even if Mr. Jacob had agreed on the price. David was worried about an eighty- dollar check his girlfriend had given him to deposit in the bank. He discovered that he had lost it somewhere and told William that Linda was “Gonna kill me.” He needed some money to cover that check and that was on his mind when he left The Pour House.

 

The brothers were alone with Marion now and as Marion busied himself with the stock, William walked over by the cash registered and called out to Wood. Marion looked toward him and at that moment David came up behind him throwing his right arm around his throat. David then jerked Marion backward telling him that he had a knife and to stand still. David held the knife against Marion’s throat warning him not to move.

 

Marion Wood was no wimp, standing very close to six foot he weighed 240 pounds and could handle himself. Perhaps early on he thought his “Nephew-in-law” was just playing around. Wood struggled, the knife took a nick out of his neck, and blood began to flow. Marion began to struggle in earnest and another slice of the neck was made. The two men fought on, and all the time, whenever he could, David stabbed at Marion Wood. William, over at the cash registered had emptied the till of what later was said to be less than twenty dollars. William could see that David was having a tough time with Marion and it looked like he might even get control of the knife. William rushed over and with his newly purchased buck knife stabbed Marion five times in the back. That turned the tide and finally, Marion gave up his struggle and fell to the floor.

 

The two brothers stood staring down at Mr. Wood, panting for breath, with knives dripping blood they stepped over his body. They took another look at the register, looked around in drawers for anything of value. They took a few toys, a cigarette lighter and some other worthless junk. On their second trip back to the store they had moved their car right out front for a fast get away. Once they got home they threw the receipt for the buck knife and some wrappers from the store in the dumpster behind their apartment. David hid the knife he used to stab Marion in the blower unit of the furnace down in the basement. They then opened a beer, torched up a joint and sat back to enjoy life. After all didn’t these too masterminds just commit the ‘Perfect Crime?’

 

                                    THE CRIME SCENE