Wilma Rosado:1976:Knox, Indiana

    

   On May 11th 1976, a Starke County farm family were awakened by a man with head injuries wandering around on the porch of their farmhouse. He must have looked like a zombie. Thankfully they called authorities who got the young man some much needed medical attention.  The injured man kept asking them to find his wife and to help her. He had been beaten and shot in the head. Even though he was critically injured he was able to give enough information to lead first responders to a wooded area where they found his wife. She had also suffered severe head and neck injuries. His wife had tragically, not survived the attack.

   Wilma Lee Phillips Rosado was born on February 18th, 1956. She attended Wirt High School in Gary. Wilma had a twin sister named Theresa. 

   Wilma married Reynaldo Rosado on the 21st of January, 1975 in Valparaiso. 

   Wilma was the daughter of Ethel Grover Phillips and Robert Phillips. Her mother was named Ethel McCain at the time of Wilma’s murder. Wilma’s husband, Reynaldo Rosado, was the son of Hildegard Kohler Rosado and Julio Rosado.  He was born on July 9th,1954. 

   Wilma Rosado was found, partially clothed, on May 11th 1976 in Starke County, Indiana near the town of Knox. The location listed on her death certificate is 450 S., ½ mile east of Rd.35. That’s not far from Bass Lake and the campgrounds around that area.  

   How did they get from Valparaiso to this area near Knox? 

   The story that later unfolded was one of a brutal kidnapping, sexual assault and murder. 

   Wilma’s cause of death was extensive trauma to the left posterior side of her head. Her larynx and mastoid bone were also damaged. She had been raped. Her husband Reynaldo had been critically injured and suffered a traumatic brain injury in this vicious attack. 

   Was this a racially motivated hate crime? Who did this? 

   

   A few weeks later, on June 3rd 1976 a suspect was arrested in Kentucky. He first gave a false name to investigators. He said his name was James T. Bonds.  Seriously? His actual name was Dan Rubbie Morgan. He was an escapee from a jail in Brownsville, Tennessee where he had been held on kidnapping, rape and robbery charges. Brownsville is northeast of Memphis and is close to Jackson, Tennessee. Was this the Haywood County jail? I wasn’t able to find a newspaper article or other information about his charges in Brownsville. 

   Dan R. Morgan was living in Gary and going by the name James Bonds in 1976. He was born on April 9th, 1938 and raised in  Brownsville, Tennessee. His parents, James and Dealie Morgan, were farmers according to the 1950 Census. 

   Individuals who knew Dan R. Morgan in Gary gave a tip to police after they heard about the attack on the Rosados. Morgan was tracked to Kentucky using his truck registration. He had gotten a job on a 700 acre farm. He gave the false name of James Bonds. He later gave his real name to investigators as they questioned him about a tattoo.

  In 1977 Reynaldo Rosado would testify in court about the attack. He said that he and his wife were hitchhiking in Hobart, Indiana. Hobart is west of Valparaiso. Their destination isn’t clear but it may have been to find farm work. The Rosado’s moved frequently and took on farm work in order to survive.  Mr. Rosado testified that it was not until Dan Morgan turned off of State Road 35 and onto the gravel road 450 South that the two realized they were in danger. They were forced to walk into the woods. He remembered hearing his wife crying. He remembered being hit on the head with a tree branch.  He didn’t remember being shot. 

  It is likely that Wilma Rosado was then sexually assaulted, strangled and bludgeoned to death there in the Starke County woods. 

   The jury recommended the death penalty for Dan Rubbie Morgan in 1977. He was not put to death though. In 1980 his death sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He died of lung cancer on September 30th, 1998. (His death certificate lists Sara Morrow as his mother’s name but that might be his step-mother. I tend to trust the 1950 Census document more on this because the Census taker would have been there in person at the home.) He is buried at Calvary Cemetery Portage, Indiana. 

   I wonder what else Dan Rubbie Morgan did? What else was he doing in Gary? How long was he there? When did he escape the Tennessee jail? Did he commit other crimes before the kidnapping, rape and robbery that he was jailed for in Tennessee? I find it hard to believe that the attack on the Rosado’s was his first murder.  

   Reynaldo Rosado died on January 23rd, 1978 of a gunshot wound to the head. The extensive brain trauma that he had suffered in 1976 was noted on his death certificate. I don’t know if he was murdered or if his death was by his own hand.  We know a great deal more now about traumatic brain injuries. Research suggests that individuals who have suffered a TBI are at greater risk for suicidal ideation. He also may not have suffered a second gunshot in 1978…perhaps he died of complications from the 1976 attack. I haven’t found enough information to determine this. Reynaldo Rosado was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Gary. 

   Wilma Rosado was laid to rest at Calumet Park Cemetery in Merrillville, Indiana in 1976. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. 

   I keep thinking back to Reynaldo Rosado regaining consciousness in the woods of Starke County. He is critically injured and clinging to life but he desperately tries to seek out someone to help his wife. He stayed alive long enough to see his wife’s killer face some Justice by testifying in court too. 

   Rest in Peace Wilma and Reynaldo Rosado.