Chalkboard Thoughts

        6490 Spring Mill Road is the address of a stylish mid-century modern home in Indianapolis. I used to drive past it on the way to one of my favorite parks to walk the dog. It’s not far from the canals, shops and restaurants of the Broad Ripple neighborhood. It’s also the home of one of the strangest and saddest tales of elder abuse, murder and greed.    Marjorie Jackson was born Marguerite. Her mother was Clara Elizabeth Henry O’Donnell.  Her stepfather, Robert Patrick “Pop” O’Donnell adopted her and she grew up in Indiana.    She was married to Chester Jackson. They owned a successful grocery store chain. The Standard Grocery store chain had many locations in Indianapolis. In 1953, 26 Standard Grocery Stores were listed in a city guide.    Marjorie’s husband, Chester, sadly passed away in 1970. She then inherited roughly 14 million dollars that he had invested over the years.    ...

        Carolyn Lee Owens Brady was almost 34 in September of 1970. She lived at 430 Dori Lynn Lane in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was divorced and the mother of three children, John Alan Fracaro, Natalie (now Herron) and Steven Charles Brady.  On Monday September 20th, 1970 Carolyn was reported missing from Kendallville, Indiana.     Carolyn Lee Owens was born on September 23, 1937 in Kendallville, Indiana to Virginia Easterday Owens and George Owens. Kendallville is northwest of Ft. Wayne. I haven’t been able to find the dates of her two marriages. But we do know that she had been married to Richard John Fracaro and divorced. We know she had been married to Charles Brady of Kendallville and that they were in the process of divorcing.     We know that she was living in Joliet, Illinois in 1957 when her son John Alan Fracaro was born. But, there isn’t much in the news about Carolyn’s life until September 23rd, 1970....

      Susan K. Hall was born February 24th, 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Patricia Joan Christy Hall and Charles K. Hall.    Susan grew up in Indiana. After her high school graduation in 1965, it seems she set out for the west coast. She was married twice.    Jeffrey Alan Moir was born in Oregon on April 4th, 1947. Susan and he married on May 3rd, 1966. They were living in Seattle at 7327 38th Street N.E. The homes on that street are mostly very mid century modern style. It’s a pretty street and very well kept. The couple separated in July of 1968 and were divorced on October 31st 1968 in Reno, Nevada. Reno was known as a place where anyone in the United States could go for a quick divorce.    Susan’s second husband, Ryan Earl Dancer, was from Salem, Oregon. He was born November 2nd, 1946. Susan and he married in December of 1968 in Eugene, Oregon. He was 22 and an employee of a furniture store. She was 21 and wa...