Catherine Mueller Thompson:1965, Warren, Ohio

   

  She was born Catherine Johanna Mueller in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the 9th of June in 1915. Her brother was named after her father. Her sister was named after her mother. But, Catherine was called Kitty. She was a self-assured, smart, and pretty go-getter. She knew what she wanted out of life. She also knew what she didn’t want out of life. 

  When she was 30, she married 35 year old Dominic Ventura Bevilacqua in 1945 in Pennsylvania. The two later parted ways.  Dominic later married another lady and passed away decades later in Georgia in 1993. 

  On June 1st, 1949 she married 85 year old William Henry Crutchley. The two were married almost ten years. He passed away in January of 1958 making Catherine a widow at 43 years old. 

  On the 26th of June, 1958 she was wed to 38 year old John Vanasky. They did not remain married, for whatever reason.  (He passed away in 1990.) 

  On July 7th 1959 she was wed to 31 year old Loyd Eugene Thompson in Hot Springs, Virginia. On this marriage license she states that she had been married and divorced once. So, she fibbed a little there. I found a Loyd Eugene Thompson on Find a Grave who passed away in Ohio in 1908 at the age of two. But, there was another Loyd Eugene Thompson born in 1927. Apparently this marriage also did not last. 

  I wonder if Catherine followed the ethos that Elizabeth Taylor followed. Taylor allegedly wouldn’t sleep with a man unless they were married. 

  In the only photo of Catherine that I have found she appears to be very pretty. She’s quite glamorous in a light colored off the shoulder evening gown. It appears that she has on dangling earrings and a sparkly necklace. 

   She operated Kitty’s Inn, a little bar, in Warren until about 1963. One newspaper described it as a “slum” bar. The article derided the “oriental” style of lettering on the windows.  I am wondering if Kitty’s Inn was a tiki style bar. I really hope it was. I’d love to find a photo of her bar. 

   I really admire Catherine. She was not content to just get a factory job or wait tables. She opened up her own place. She made it exotic and fun. She brightened up Warren in her way. 

  She filled out a marriage license application with 32 year old Grover “Lucky” Allgood on February 24th, 1965. He was an African American man and was a bit younger than she was. (She may or may not have told her mother about this marriage. It’s a little hard to tell.)

  On October 2nd, 1965 Catherine was murdered. She had been stabbed to death. Her mother was worried about not being able to get in touch with her. She used a spare key to enter the home. Her mother then reported the death to police. Catherine was found nude and in her bed. It was reported that she lived alone at 2752 Milton Street Southeast. Police took a knife and the blood soaked bed sheets in as evidence according to one article. 

   The thing about stabbing is that it’s easy to cut yourself when the knife gets slippery. Did Catherine’s killer leave DNA behind? Was she sexually assaulted also? What evidence was preserved in her case? 

   Newspaper articles at the time of her death mention that Mr. Grover “Lucky” Allgood was in jail at the time of her murder. They also mention that he was an African American. Maybe the newspaper article that I mentioned above called her place a “slum” bar because she served African Americans and enjoyed their company. Her bar actually sounds like it was a great place. It sounds like a very warm and welcoming neighborhood bar. 

  Was she killed because she had married an African American man? Was she killed by another romantic partner? Was she killed by a stranger? 

  One article states that her throat was slashed several times, nearly decapitating her. She also had stab wounds to her chest. This seems like overkill and usually indicates someone who knew the victim personally. But, it’s important to know that Catherine Thompson wasn’t the only woman viciously murdered in Warren in 1965.

  Another victim, Patsy Baugh, 21, was murdered earlier in August 1965. Catherine and Patsy lived about 8 blocks apart. Patsy was a mother of three. Her mother reported her missing when she could not find Patsy but did find blood on Patsy’s sofa. 16 hours later Patsy was found, in her nightgown and robe, strangled and stabbed 35 times in the woods near her home. Her night clothes were pushed up around her neck suggesting a sexual assault. One article mentions a 43 year old boyfriend was to be questioned but his name is never mentioned. 

  Were Catherine and Patsy murdered by the same man? 

  On the 3rd of February in 1968 Catherine Thompson’s former husband Loyd Eugene Thompson was murdered by means of strangling in Arlington, Virginia. He was strangled with his own necktie.His death certificate mentions a scuffle but I found no newspaper articles about a fight or scuffle. 

  Grover “Lucky” Allgood passed away July 14th, 1971 in Warren, Ohio. Sadly, he was also murdered. Mr. Allgood was found lying on the road by patrolling police officers. He had been shot in the leg and suffered multiple cuts to his body that were described as mutilation. (The word mutilation makes me wonder about the nature of the cuts. What parts of his body were cut?) A trail of blood led from the body to the home of a 66 year old man named Hughie Seymour. One article stated that it appeared that Grover Allgood was carried from that house to the spot where his body was found. Mr. Seymour told police that Grover Allgood was trying to burglarize his home and that was why he shot him. That doesn’t explain the cuts and it doesn’t explain why Mr. Hughie Seymour did not simply call the police at the time of the incident. 

  Mr. Seymour was put on trial for the murder of Grover Allgood. Newspaper articles mention opening arguments beginning. I can find no articles that talk about the outcome of the trial. Not even one. I imagine that Mr. Hughie Seymour was acquitted. It’s not difficult to imagine that newspapers didn’t want to report that a black man whose blood trail led straight to his alleged murderer got no Justice. People in power were always worried about rioting breaking out. So, this trial seems to have evaporated quietly. 

  I could not find the final resting place of Grover “Lucky“ Allgood. 

  

  Did Hughie Seymour have anything to do with the murders of Patsy Baugh or Catherine Thompson? If he was indeed the man who attacked Grover “Lucky” Allgood then he was quick to pull a knife even when he had a gun handy. 

  Who murdered Loyd Eugene Thompson in Arlington, Virginia?

  Hughie Seymour moved to Middletown, Ohio where he passed away in 1981. 

   Sometimes we have information that we don’t know we have. Maybe you heard a rumor in your family about something terrible that someone did. Maybe you have a tiny piece of information that can help solve a murder. 

   If you have any information about the murders of Catherine Thompson or Patsy Baugh or Grover “Lucky” Allgood please submit a tip at the link below:

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Law-Enforcement/Investigator/Cold-Case/Homicides/Thompsoni