Marjorie Taylor Jackson:1977, Indianapolis

   

   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. 

   After a bank employee was convicted of embezzlement; Marjorie became increasingly distrustful of banks. She had grown up during the Great Depression. That’s not surprising. Her generation had seen banks fail and bank customers lose everything. Many people only recovered pennies on the dollar of their hard earned savings. And so, Marjorie began withdrawing large sums of cash. She brought home $9 million dollars in cash over a five month period.

   Her bankers warned her not to keep it in her house. They tried to convince her that her money would earn interest at the bank. Marjorie was adamant that she wanted her money. It took considerable effort and time to get half a million dollars in cash to turn over to Mrs. Jackson. Banks don’t just have all your cash lying around in a vault. It’s invested in order to pay the interest on all the accounts. 

  Word started circulating that Marjorie had a house full of cash. $9 million dollars is a considerable temptation for unscrupulous people. It wasn’t long before someone broke in and robbed her. 

  She actually had several break ins. She didn’t even bother to call the police in some instances. Once she refused to press charges insisting that the robbery was the will of God. 

  She was getting on in years and her mental state was declining. The yard out front was long and unkempt. The leaves went un-raked. Repairs to the home were simply not happening. Neighbors were very concerned. But still, Marjorie kept to herself. 

  One group of thieves was not content to just take that stolen money and run. The thought of a house full of cash was just too tempting. The thieves came back again for more. Things went badly and this time, they killed Marjorie Jackson. 

  On May 7, 1977 Marjorie Jackson was found murdered in her kitchen by firefighters. She had been shot to death and the murderers had set a fire to try to cover up their crime.  Firefighters also found $5 million dollars in cash hidden in various spots around the house. 

Cash from Marjorie Jackson’s home. 

  The thieves had gotten away initially and then spent much of the money in incredibly conspicuous ways. Matching luxury cars was one such purchase. They also bought matching R.V.’s They were flashing cash and expensive purchases during a major economic downturn in the United States. They stuck out in a big way. Not surprisingly; they attracted the attention of law enforcement. 

   The murdering thieves were all caught. 

   

   Howard R. Willard (38) and Marjorie S. Pollitt seemed to be the ringleaders of the crime. They had been married at one time and were now divorced. Apparently they were still friendly enough to commit crimes together. They were arrested in a Tempe, Arizona trailer park in possession of 1.6 million in cash.  

   Manuel Lew Robinson, John Alton Williams, and Annie K. Young were also involved and were tried as accessories. 

   Marjorie S. Pollitt cooperated with investigators and confessed to everything she knew including where the murder weapon could be found. The group had thrown it off a bridge in Morgan County near the town of Centerton. She also told the FBI where two different bags of money could be found buried in the Arizona desert. Those two bags contained a combined total of $2 million dollars in cash. 

  Howard R. Willard was convicted of the murder and robbery and sentenced to life in prison. 

  This case always makes me so sad for Marjorie Jackson. She was aging, lonely and isolated. She was so vulnerable and it seems that there was no one in her life that she was close to. She had no one watching out for her. 

   As the investigation and trial unfolded the newspapers reported every detail to an eager public. An auction was held at Marjorie Jackson’s home and people bought up everything. One unemployed woman bought boxes and boxes of clothing, shoes and gloves. She planned to have a yard sale and capitalize on the publicity that Marjorie’s murder had received. As she was washing gloves she found a large gemstone that she hoped was a diamond. It turned out to be glass. 

   Another man purchased a piano at the auction. He found a key hidden inside and wondered whether the key might open a vault or safe somewhere. 

   Marjorie Jackson is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery. It’s a beautiful historic cemetery in Indianapolis. Many famous and notable individuals are buried there including John Dillinger, Colonel Eli Lilly who founded the Lilly Pharmaceutical Corporation, and former President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison. It’s a lovely place for Marjorie Jackson to rest. It’s full of beautiful monuments, lovely landscaping and mature trees. I hope she’s at peace there. 

     Rest in Peace, Marjorie.