IL IL - Walter Donley, Peoria, 1 June 1943

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Thanks Marilyn! I know where Bourland is and will check it out soon. It was a street I used to park on during the days of "cruising the beefer" which was a burger joint on Main Street. Bourland intersects Main Street is actually not that far from downtown and Donley's office - probably less than half a mile. I'm pretty sure the car wasn't driven directly there though. The area was residential with a lot of big old houses.

Regarding Rick Baker, he was a popular local writer who wrote a book in which he identified a woman who'd lived almost all her life in a mental asylum and then passed away without anyone ever knowing who she was. She was only known as Mary Doe Four and had apparently been traumatized by a rape when she was found. It wasn't too long after Mr. Baker wrote that 1980 article (1987) that he was killed in a traffic accident.
 
I wish I could find out more about the two men getting out of Donley's car. My thought is neither of the men were Donley. Perhaps he was stashed somewhere while the car was abandoned in the residential neighborhood.

If Donley were being taken against his will, I doubt he would have just argued with someone when he got out of the car, he would have run or yelled for help since it was a residential neighborhood at a time of day when people are coming and going a lot.

I also don't think it is significant that the car was parked in front of a particular house. I think it was parked in a convenient location with no connection to any of the residents. That's just my opinion.

I was given the e-mail address of former PI Norm Kelly, who included Donley's story in his book 'Lost in Yesterday's News'. I plan to e-mail him and see what his take is on this, beyond what he put in this book. Believe it or not, Kelly is the person who served Donley with the subpoena on the day he disappeared.

He also claims that in December of 1943 some kids found a man's arm and hand sticking out of the snow. When I e-mail him, I'll follow up on this.
 
Yes, I have exchanged emails with Norm. He is the eminent authority on local crimes here. We both even wrote for America's Most Wanted News Magazine at one time although not together.

It is almost certain that Donley was murdered. If he had just gone underground, there was no reason for him to remain there and away from his family for the rest of his life.

I will try to drive up to the Bourland location today and take a look.
 
I took that drive today and actually it is probably closer to three quarters of a mile from downtown to where Donley's car was parked. It is also two blocks from University rather than one block like I thought.

The 100 block of S. Bourland is now all commercial. There are some residences in the next block but they appear be housing for the college.
 
In 1943, if you took Bourland to University, would it have been primarily residential?
 
I don't know for sure Marilyn. If you walk from Bourland to University, you are walking on Main street which they both intersect. There are some buildings on north side of the street that look like they were commercial and old enough to have been there in 1943. The opposite side of the street has been torn out but I think I remember it being businesses also. I do remember that at or next to the southeast corner of Main and University there was a movie theater named the Varsity that was torn down something like 30 years ago. The Varsity was there in 1943 I'm almost certain. It is possible that there might have been a few houses interspersed along there but I can't say for sure. I think most of the businesses had apartments upstairs.
 
So the two men could have had time to leave with Donley at 4:45 pm, drive someplace where they could stash/hide him, and still have time to drive the car to where it was found on S. Bourland at 5 pm?

The two men supposedly left Donley's car and made their way to University. I would assume they were returning to wherever they'd left Donley (if, in fact, this is what they did. It's all supposition on my part!!)
 
I'd say it was possible but time would have been tight.
 
STANDREID said:
I'd say it was possible but time would have been tight.
Click to expand...

The two men definitely would not have had time to drive around looking for a place to leave Donley.

Maybe they had already located a place before coming for Donley.
 
The river is only a couple of blocks from Donley's office.
 
In your opinion, is there anywhere between Donley's office and the river that would have provided a somewhat secluded spot for the two men to kill Donley and still get to Bourland by 5 pm?

Is the river rapid enough that a body would be carried downstream quickly?

Interesting idea.
 
Yes, there is a warehouse district near the river. The river is not particularly rapid in my judgment - I don't know its flow rate. There is a lock and dam about 3 miles farther downstream but if the wickets were down then that's like no dam is there. I suppose he could have been boxed up in one of the warehouses and shipped to who-knows-where.
 
Thanks for the info about the river.

My thought is that Donley was either burned, or dismembered and dumped somewhere. I'm sure the bad guys wanted to make sure he wasn't found and they apparently did a danged good job of it!

I don't know anything about organized crime in St. Louis, but I know the Mafia had lots of "dump sites" they used when getting rid of people like Donley. Maybe the same was true of the St. Louis bunch.
 
It seems like a rehearsal for Jimmy Hoffa.
 
Great minds must think alike, because I had the same thought!

I know Donley was married and had a daughter, and probably would never have willingly left them. BUT - do you think there is any possibility Donley went into Witness Protection? It doesn't seem his involvement in the Drewer case would rise to the level of him needing protection, but there is usually more to a story that what appears on the surface.

Just a wild speculation on my part.
 
Anything's possible but I can't see a guy doing that without taking his family with him, especially for an indefinite period. I'm not sure if witness protection was even an option in 1943.
 
STANDREID said:
Anything's possible but I can't see a guy doing that without taking his family with him, especially for an indefinite period. I'm not sure if witness protection was even an option in 1943.
Click to expand...

I agree, it's unlikely to the point of being ridiculous, and just my crazy thought process!
 
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