Charles McGraw:1988, Beech Grove

   Charles P. McGraw was born in 1934. 

He was a family man. He had been working at St. Francis Hospital as the Director of Food Services for decades. He and his family attended church regularly. He was described as “affable” and “the life of the party”.  

   On October 7th,1988 someone senselessly shot Charles McGraw multiple times in the parking garage of St. Francis Hospital just as he was getting into his Cadillac. It seems like robbery was the motive as no cash was left. His empty money clip was left behind. It seems like the shooter just wanted the cash but not an identifiable clip. Perhaps the shooter got spooked, was impatient and shot McGraw. Perhaps he wanted to eliminate his only witness. Mr. McGraw was found clutching a ring as if he had taken it off to give to the robber. 

  In articles about the murder it was mentioned by Mr. McGraw’s priest that he was known to carry quite a bit of cash. Rev. Joe Wade is quoted as saying “He carried a stash. He carried some big bucks. But I don’t think he carried enough to motivate murder.”

   Was McGraw targeted because he was known to carry cash? Or, did the suspect just see a man approach a Cadillac and think that a Cadillac driver probably had some cash. 

  It seems like the motive is definitely robbery. Parking garages offer quite a bit of concealment for robbers. It happened often. In fact, it happened earlier that same day on the Northside of town.

  Timothy Moffett shot a man, Kenneth Craig, while robbing him at a Northside Indianapolis bank parking garage around 11 a.m. He fled down an alley and got into a waiting car. 

  A man fitting Timothy Moffett’s description was seen at multiple banks that morning. 

  That’s way across town.  Could he have robbed and shot that man earlier and then gone to Beech Grove and committed this murder/robbery? 

Possibly. If you just robbed and shot a man up north and you still wanted more money…maybe go to the opposite side of town. If you had been at a bank; maybe go to a different type of business parking garage…and look for a potential victim. 

  McGraw was dressed up a bit for an event at the hospital and getting into a Cadillac. He might have looked like a doctor. Like someone of means. 

  McGraw had been attending a hospital function.  There was an open house for the grand opening of a new professional building. Mr. McGraw had been to the open house and even sampled some of the food that his department had catered for the event. 

   He had gone to move his car and was expected to go back to the event.

  Someone saw a young white guy about six feet in the parking lot. No one reports a black suspect at the hospital parking garage. 

  Timothy Moffett was arrested for Kenneth Craig’s shooting and robbery in the 2400 block of Riverside Drive at an Aunt’s house on Saturday, October 8th.

 

  (Kenneth Craig survived his injuries. He was shot in the arm and the bullet entered his chest as well.) 

   Timothy Moffett was convicted of shooting Mr. Craig. He was sentenced and was not released until 2016. 

  In an article about the murder it was said that a slip of paper was found in Charles McGraw’s pocket that had the name of a known Indianapolis bookie. Dr. Dennis J. Nicholas was quoted as saying he was not surprised about the bookie’s name being on the victim as McGraw was known to place a bet now and then. He said “I’d be surprised if he hadn’t had a bookies name on him.”

  But that doesn’t really mean anything. If a bookie kills everyone who owes them money then they’d never get any money back. This seems more like a random robbery. 

   What do the two robberies have in common? Does anything tie the Kenneth Craig robbery/shooting to the Charles McGraw murder? 

   McGraw was shot with a .38 caliber handgun. Kenneth Craig was shot with a .22 caliber. That doesn’t mean the suspect didn’t have access to two different guns. 

   I think the fact that Timothy Moffett had already robbed Kenneth Craig at a parking garage that same day still makes him a good suspect for this. He had gotten away with a wallet earlier and maybe wanted to try to get some more money. 

   At the Kenneth Craig robbery…there was a said to be a driver waiting for the gunman. Perhaps Timothy Moffett and that driver took turns with these robberies? Maybe Moffett was the driver at this later one. 

   What evidence still exists? Did they get any fingerprints off the money clip or the car door maybe?  Did they keep the money clip in evidence?  If the suspect touched it…there’s a possibility of touch DNA or fingerprints. 

   This is one of those cases that is not easy to prove. Armed robbery was extremely common then. There were a lot of drugs on the street and robbing in order to get fast cash to buy drugs was very common. In 1988, crime rates were high. Police were very busy with a tremendous amount of crime coming at them everyday. Both guns used in the two robberies that day are very common. 

   Charles Patrick McGraw had no known enemies. He was very well liked at work. He didn’t have any disgruntled employees that anyone knew about. His employer of 23 years, St. Francis Hospital, offered a $10,000 reward for information in the case. 

   Police looked into the 1987 unsolved murder of a part time employee who worked in dietary services. Lee A. Randall was a 21 year old. He was shot and left in a lot at Terrance and Vandeman streets. His car was found about a half mile away. Police did not believe that there was a link between the two murders. 

   The murder of Charles Patrick McGraw is still unsolved. His family has waited many decades for answers. Charles missed out on seeing his children grow up. He never got to meet his grandchildren. He was only 53 and he missed out on so much of life. 

   There’s always hope that a case can be solved. People talk. There may be someone out there who overheard something. Maybe they felt loyal at one time but they might not feel loyal anymore. Maybe someone saw something back then that didn’t seem important then but it seems important now. Sometimes people assume that police already know or that someone else has already told them. But, if you have a tip; submit it.  You could be the one who solves this case.

   

   If you have information about the murder of Charles Patrick McGraw please call Crimestoppers at 1-800-262-TIPS. 

Cases that get attention get solved. You can listen to and share this case on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/jj-vHpiU8QM?si=U6k1oSQpc0e1v8TE