Mrs. Ethel Ann Seeley
Peggy Ann Seeley
Elmer Seeley, Sr.
Triple funeral services for Mrs. Ethel Ann Seeley, Miss Peggy Ann Seeley, and Elmer Seeley, Sr., all of whom were killed Monday night, will be at 2 o’clock this afternoon at the Isaac Ball Funeral Home with the Rev. Edgar A. Poe officiating. Burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park.
Published in the Terre Haute Star, Friday, February 5, 1954, page 2
[Elmer John is son of SGS #2426 - Elmer Barton; Orson John (#2426); Benjamin (#874); Jonathan; Ephraim; John; Benjamin; Nathaniel; Robert]
[Peggy Ann is grand-daughter of SGS #2426 – Peggy Ann; Elmer Barton; Orson John (#2426); Benjamin (#874); Jonathan; Ephraim; John; Benjamin; Nathaniel; Robert]
Marital Row Ends With 3 Being Killed
Husband Kills Wife, Daughter; Slain In Fight With Police
Police closed the book this morning on the marital tangle that ended last night with three dead and one wounded.
“Double murder and justifiable homicide,” said Detective Chief John Roach after statements and reports were verified.
The dead are Elmer Seeley, Sr., 69; his wife Mrs. Ethel Ann Seeley, 48, and their daughter, Peggy Ann Seeley, 18, all of 203 West Vorhees street.
Wounded in the right shoulder while visiting the home was the Seeley’s daughter-in-law, Mrs. Patricia Joan Seeley, 18, of 307 South Thirteenth street.
Seely shot and killed his wife and daughter and wounded his daughter-in-law about 8 p.m. at the family residence.
Police blamed the double slaying on a revenge motive. Mrs. Seeley filed for divorce Jan. 19 and a preliminary hearing was held Jan. 29. The divorce would have been final in 60 days.
Asked To Leave
Relatives said Seeley had been asked to remove his belongings from the house while the divorce action was pending.
After shooting the three women Seeley fled the home and obtained a can of kerosene, police said.
He was discovered shortly, before midnight near the Tulips Incorporated firm, R.R.3, where his wife was employed.
In an exchange of gunfire with Patrolman Chester Wiram and Harry Miller, he was killed with a bullet in his head from Patrolman Wiram’s gun.
“It was justifiable homicide,” Detective Chief Roach said. The officer was complimented for his bravery personally by Mayor Ralph Tucker.
Police said Seeley planned to burn down Tulips Incorporated as part of his “insane revenge motive.”
Daughter-In-Law Shot
Mrs. Patricia Joan Seeley, the visitor at the home and wife of Don Seeley, escaped death at the hands of her father-in-law by pretending to be dead after being wounded.
She and Don expected to move into the home after the elder Seeley moved away. Another son, Elmer Seeley, Jr., 23, who lived with his parents, was not at home at the time.
The two sons appeared in City Court Tuesday, Jan. 26, before Judge Everett S. Everett. They were fined $5 and costs because of a fight, each taking a parent’s side. Elmer is alleged to have struck Don.
Police have closed their investigation except for routine. A final verdict will be made by Coroner Dengil M. Ferguson.
Mrs. Patricia Joan Seeley, the daughter-in-law was treated for her wound at St. Anthony Hospital and released. She later went to police headquarters, voluntarily to make a statement.
She said she and other members of the family saw Seeley peeping in a window about 8 p.m. He entered a rear door and came into the kitchen, she said.
Begs For Life
Mrs. Seeley screamed at her husband not to shoot when she saw the .38 calibre pistol he carried. Seeley fired one bullet into her back. She slumped against a corner wall.
The daughter attempted to run and reach the front door of the home. She was shot in the back with one bullet and killed. She fell face forward.
Struck in the shoulder, the daughter-in-law collapsed and pretended she was dead, she said. When her father-in-law left she ran to a neighbor at 2415 Thompson street where police were summoned.
A Ball ambulance took the wounded girl to the hospital. Several squads of police led by Chief Frank Riddle and Lieut. Edwin Bingham and began a search for Seeley.
He was discovered by Patrolmen Wiram and Miller and a night watchman in the Tulips Incorporated area.
Earlier his automobile was found abandoned on Margaret avenue near the Canal road by officers patrolling the south part of the city.
Deputy Sheriffs Ed Reely and Ray Hurst and state police units aided in the intense and far-flung search. Mayor Tucker, Prosecutor John R. Jett and Police Technician Willard Gantz took part in the probe.
Police said a .22 caliber rifle was confiscated at the residence last Dec. 21, after receiving a report that a man was “threatening his family with a weapon. They found no .38 revolver at the time.
The three bodies were taken to the Isaac Ball Funeral Home.
The slain Mrs. Seeley is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Betty Klein of Terre Haute; four sons, Elmer, Jr., and Don, and Private Lawrence Seeley, stationed with the army in Korea, and Private Robert Seeley, stationed with the army in Laredo, Tex.; three sisters, Mrs. Gladys Pine of Chrisman, Tex.; Mrs. Ruth Chapman of Clinton, Ind., and Mrs. Bertha Shumaker of Paris, Ill., and Selbert Shumaker of Brocton, Ill.; her mother, Mrs. Sarah Shumaker of Paris, and four grandchildren.
Peggy Ann Seeley is survived by her brothers and sister, and several aunts and uncles.
Seeley leaves his sons and daughter, a sister, Mrs. Mabel Grimes of Booneville, Ind., and two nephews.
Friends may call at the funeral home Wednesday afternoon.
Published in the Terre Haute Tribune, Tuesday, February 2, 1954 front page
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