Murder Or Tragic Accident?

As a mystery writer, I am always interested in real-life mysteries. Recently, a friend sent me a link to a story that is most definitely a mystery dating back over 60 years, leaving people to wonder still today if it was murder or a tragic accident.

On the evening of June 27nd, 1962, an explosion destroyed a farmhouse near Crown Point, Indiana. The blast was so strong that it was heard over six miles away. Neighbors rushed to the scene, where they found nothing left of the house but what they described as kindling, spread across two hundred yards of the property. Killed in the blast were fifteen-year-old Peggy Jean Gorrell and her four-year-old brother, Gary Lynn Gorrell. Their mother, Virginia Irene Teitge, 41, and another of her children, Ronald Gorrell, age 10, died while being transported to a hospital in Gary. Virginia’s husband, Earl Teitge, 43, was injured in the blast but survived.

Earl Teitge told investigators he had just gotten home from work when the family complained about a gas smell. He reported that he turned off the gas valve outside the house, then went into the basement, where the smell was very strong. He said the next thing he knew there was a blinding explosion that knocked him unconscious for a brief time.

Earl was burned from the blast, but could not explain the fact that his wrists and throat had been slashed, leading to immediate speculation that he may have murdered his family and attempted suicide.

There were also reports that a hammer and knife were found in the rubble near the bodies, spawning a theory that the family had been attacked before the explosion occurred. It was also known in the community that Earl worked for a lumber company and had access to large amounts of dynamite. Neighbors and relatives of the family reported to police that there had been domestic discord in the weeks leading up to the explosion.

Because the home was totally destroyed and debris was spread over such a wide area, police and fire investigators were unable to find any kind of clue as to what actually happened. Earl stuck by his story in spite of being questioned several times, and no charges were ever filed against him. That didn’t stop many people in the community from thinking that he got away with murder.

However, if it was more than just a tragic accident, there is another possibility to be considered. The children’s mother, Virginia, married a man named Gorrell in 1939, and they had four children together before divorcing sometime in the late 1950s. Virginia then married Earl Teitge in 1962, shortly before the explosion. Not much is known about Gorrell except that local reports say that soon after the blast he “fled” to Texas. If he was ever arrested or charged for the crime, I have not been able to find any evidence of it.

Virginia and her children were laid to rest in Ridgelawn Cemetery in Gary, Indiana.

Earl eventually remarried and had two children, and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For the rest of his life, he continued to insist that he had nothing to do with the explosion that killed his family and that it was simply a terrible accident. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 91. Was he an innocent man and the victim of tragic circumstances, or a man who got away with murder? I guess we will never know.

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And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – Some days I amaze myself; other days I put the laundry in the oven.