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BUTLER COUNTY, KANSAS

MURDER, MYSTERY'S, JUST PLAIN SPOOKY

Above photo submitted by Belinda Larsen. The building is still on Highway 54 east of here. It's been painted a red color and has been modified to look like a house. The cutline for photo that was shown with the first article: "Mute evidence of this morning's shooting is under the blanket at lower center as law enforcement officers took pictures of the body of Mrs. Bohannan. State Trooper Jerry Wholer is shown with his back to the camera, Captain Jim Garrison of the Augusta Department of Safety is shown with the camera in his hand and Butler County Deputy Sheriff Harold Taylor, who had just taken a picture, is at extreme right. The Bohannan's panel truck is shown in the background, parked near the cafe end of the dual business building east of here on the north side of U. S. 54.

AUGUST COUPLE KILLED IN SHOOTING AT SERVICE STATION EAST OF HERE

An Augusta man and woman are dead as a result of an argument that ended in a shooting about 8 o’clock this morning at a combination service station and cafe about 2 1/2 miles east of Augusta along U.S. Highway 54.

Dead are E.L. Bohannan and his wife Grace. He was 32 years old and she was 36.

Butler County Sheriff Dallas Babcock said Frank Hoover, 57, admitted that he shot the couple. The Sheriff said he understood the shooting resulted from an argument concerning the operation of the businesses that are housed in the same building.

The first law enforcement officer on the scene were Captain John Watkins and Lt. Bob Sprague of the Augusta Department of Safety.

They said that Hoover, his wife and son came out to meet them as they drove into the service station drive. They added that Hoover gave himself up voluntarily. He was not armed. He had left the 22 caliber revolver with which he did the shooting inside. Lt. Sprague went into the building and stood by it until Sheriff officers arrived a little while later.

Mrs. Bohannan was killed with a single shot from the revolver, officers reported, and was reported dead when officers arrived. Mr. Bohannan was rushed to Wichita by ambulance, believed mortally wounded with four bullets from the revolver. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a Wichita hospital.

Dr. Dale Anderson, Butler County Coroner, was called to the scene of the shooting, but at noon had not made public any report of his investigation. He was continuing his examination at the Dunsford Funeral Home shortly before noon.

Sheriff officers and Butler County Attorney Warren Ralston were continuing their investigation at the scene of the shooting shortly before noon. Hoover was handcuffed and sitting in the Sheriff’s car most of the time.

It is understood that there were no witnesses to the actual shooting which is believed to have happened about 8 o’clock. The Department of Safety got several telephone calls about 8:20 about a “shooting” at the station east of Augusta. Two cars were dispatched immediately to the station. Along the way, within a 1/2 mile west of the station, two men were seen running west from the scene.

It was later learned that they were fleeing the scene because of the violent argument going on.

According to one source, an argument between the Bohannans and Hoover started over the failure of the Bohannans being called to the cafe earlier this morning. The report further stated that when the Bohannans did reach the business, they called Hoover and complained to him. The argument was said to have ensued. Mrs. Bohannan had been operating the cafe in the building.

It was reported that Hoover first shot Mr. Bohannan a couple of times and when Mrs. Bohannan came to his aid, Hoover turned and fired one shot at her as she reached the door of the cafe. She is said to have turned and started running back to the Bohannan panel truck, but fell to the ground, fatally wounded 12 feet away. It was further said that Hoover then turned again to Mr. Bohannan, firing another shot at him after Mrs. Bohannan fell.

Sheriff Babcock said Hoover was taken to El Dorado and placed in jail about 12:30 this noon. The Sheriff said no charges had been filed at 2:30 this afternoon, but added that he felt sure that Hoover would be charged with murder. He said he did not know when the hearing would be held, possibly yet tonight but maybe not until morning.

Other officers in addition to those mentioned above and shown in the picture, who helped with the investigation were Under Sheriff Forrest Richards, and Deputies Don McGinnis and Jim Peffley.

Mrs. Bohannan was the former Lena Grace Tague. Her father, Joe S. Tague is deceased, but her mother, Mrs. Angie Moser Tague survives but was visiting a son at Bartlesville, Okla. at the time of the shooting. Mrs. Bohannan also has three children, a son, Billy Joe Pickrell, 17, a daughter, Karen Janice Pickrell, 12, and a son, Jewell Dennis Bohannan, 7.

Funeral arrangements are pending.
(Augusta Daily Gazette, December 28, 1961, Submitted by Belinda Larsen)

AUGUSTA MAN AND WIFE SLAIN; STATION OPERATOR IS HELD

An argument at a service station and restaurant east of Augusta this morning resulted in the fatal wounding of a man and his wife.

The victims were Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bohannan of Augusta. Both were about 40 years of age.

Taken into custody following the shooting was Frank Hoover, 57, Augusta, operator of the service station which adjoined the restaurant where the affray occurred.

Sheriff Dallas Babcock said Hoover admitted the shooting to county officials.

Hoover also reportedly called the sheriff about 8:20 a.m. and informed him two persons had been shot.

Mrs. Bohannan died on the drive outside the service station and restaurant from a .22 caliber bullet wound. Her husband, found on the floor of a storage area in the restaurant kitchen, had been shot several times. He died on the way to a Wichita hospital.

Babcock stated the shooting occurred about 8 a.m. and indicated it followed an argument, apparently over rest room supplies. The sheriff said Hoover, who operated the service station, and Bohannon shared some of the bills for the two businesses.

The service station and restaurant are located in a common building on the north side of highways 54 and 77, 2.5 miles east of Augusta.

Autopsies were to be performed on Mr. and Mrs. Bohannon at Wichita this afternoon. Arrangements for securing the services of a pathologist and other details were being handled in Wichita by Jim Klineshment (sp?) of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Hoover was taken into custody and ws brought to the county jail here this afternoon following completion of investigation at the scene.

County Atty. Warren Ralston obtained statements from Hoover and several other persons who were in the vicinity of the station at the time of the shootings.

Sheriff Babcock, Undersheriff Forrest Richards, Deputies Harold Taylor, Don McGinnis and Jim Peffley, along with Ralston and Ervin Grant, assistant county attorney, arrived at the restaurant within a few minutes after being notified of the shooting.

Officers of the Augusta department of safety and the Kansas Highway Patrol also reported to the scene and aided in the investigation.

Raymond Krutsinger, district court reporter, was brought to the restaurant later in the morning to aid in receiving statements given by Hoover and other persons.

The sheriff said Mr. Bohannon operated the restaurant while Hoover ran the adjoining service station, which is owned by the McKnight Oil company. Bohannon operated a floor sanding service.

Babcock indicated Bohannon, who was shot several times while near the front door of the restaurant, ran into the kitchen and fell to the floor where he was found.

Mrs. Bohannon, after being shot, ran to the drive of the station, where she fell and died. Her body was found about 20 feet from the door.

After the shootings, the sheriff said, Hoover entered the office of the service station and called officers. The only telephone in the building is located in the station office.

Investigation of the affray continued this afternoon.
(El Dorado Times ~ Thursday ~ December 28, 1961)

SHERIFF THINKS MAY HAVE BEEN WITNESSES

Butler County Sheriff Dallas Babcock told the Gazette this morning that as yet investigation has not turned up a single person who has admitted seeing the double slaying at the service station-cafe two and half miles east of Augusta yesterday morning.

Sheriff Babcock said, “We have talked to some who said they saw Hoover with the gun and some who said they heard the shots, but no one would say they actually saw the shooting.”

However, the Sheriff said this morning that he was planning to go to Wichita shortly before noon today on a tip that a Wichita man did see the actual shooting of Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Bohannan who died of a result of bullet wounds from a 22 caliber revolver.

Meantime, Frank Hoover, 57, whose home is near the scene of the shootings, is being held in Butler County Jail, the Sheriff said. The Sheriff said Hoover was booked late yesterday afternoon on first degree murder charges on two warrants as a result of the shooting.

Hoover reportedly told Augusta city officers, highway patrolmen and the sheriff officers yesterday morning that he fired the shots that caused the deaths of the Augusta couple. He is said to have told officers that the shootings followed an argument which stemmed partly from earlier disagreements between himself as service station operator and Mrs. Bohannan who operated the cafe in the same building.

Sheriff Babcock said Hoover has been very calm throughout the time he has been in custody. Upon an offer to use the telephone from the County Jail last evening, Hoover called his wife. Asked if he wanted to use the phone to call an attorney, Hoover said he would use the attorney the court might appoint to represent him.
Hoover’s arraignment late yesterday was before Judge Roy Darlington in Butler County Court. Preliminary hearing was set for next Thursday morning at 10 o’clock before Judge Darlington in county court.
(Augusta Daily Gazette, December 29, 1961, submitted by Belinda Larsen)

AUGUSTAN IS ARRAIGNED ON TWO CHARGES OF MURDER

A preliminary hearing of two charges of murder in the first degree against Frank Hoover, 57, Augusta, was set for January 4, at his arraignment late Thursday.

The murder charges were filed against Hoover in connection with the fata shooting of Mr. and Mrs. Ewell J. Bohannan of Augusta at a combination service station-restaurant Thursday morning.

Hoover was arraigned before Judge Roy B. Darlington in county court shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday.

Judge Darlington set the preliminary hearing of the charges for January 4 at 10 a.m. then ordered Hoover held without bond at the county jail.

Warrants charging Hoover in the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Bohannon were read to him immediately prior to his arraignment by Deputy Sheriff Don McGinnis. McGinnis, Deputy Harold Taylor, and Sheriff Dallas Babcock escorted the prisoner to the courtroom for the arraignment.

Hoover remarked to McGinnis just before entering the courtroom he had never been in trouble with the law before.

The fatal shootings took place near the entrance to the restaurant, which was operated by Mrs. Bohannon. Hoover ran a service station located in one end of the building.

Bohannon was shot six times---twice in the head, twice in the chest, in the groin and thigh---and fell to the floor in a storage alcove in the kitchen. He died later on the way to a Wichita hospital.

Mrs. Bohannon, shot in the chest at close range, ran out to the drive outside the building and fell dead. All the wounds were made by a .22 caliber slugs.

Autopsies performed at a Wichita hospital Thursday afternoon showed gunshots caused both deaths, according to Dr. Dale Anderson, Butler county coroner. Dr. William J. Reals performed the autopsies.

The shooting occureed shortly after 8 a.m., and Hoover himself notified sheriff's officers of the affray. Sheriff Babcock, deputies from his office, Augusta safety department officers and state troopers of the Highway Patrol reported to the scene and assisted in the investigation.

Bohannon's age was placed at 32 and Mrs. Bohannon's age was given as 36.

County Atty. Warren Ralston said today information given him in statements by Hoover and other witnesses indicated no threats, attacks, or harsh words passed between Hoover and the Bohannons before the shooting.

However, he indicated there had been differences over use of the drive outside the building, sharing payment for rest rom supplies and use of the only telephone in the building which was located in the station office.

According to Ralston, Hoover told him in his statement he had entered into an agreement with another women who subleased the restaurant from Mr. Bohannon for dividing the cost of rest room supplies.

Mrs. Bohannon resumed operation of the restaurant about two months ago, while Hoover took over the station in Augusta, 1961.

Hoover was quoted by Ralston as saying he had not discussed continuing the arrangement for sharing costs of rest room supplies with Mrs. Bohannon until Tuesday, December 26. They talked about it at that time but came to no agreement.

Subsequently, Hoover advised the Bohannons they and customers at the restaurnt could use the telephone, but neither he nor his helpers would make calls for them.

On Thursday morning, Ralston stated Hoover left the station about 6 a.m., after working all night, planning to see a doctor about a back ailment.

A short time later, his son, Arthur, 13, called and told his father an employee at the cafe had first asked him to call Mrs. Bohannon then came in and placed the call.

Mrs. Bohannon called Muril McKnight, owner of the establishment, and he came out from Augusta. When Hoover arrived, Ralston indicated they agreed, it would be a good time to settle the questions which had arisen.

Ralston said witnesses in the station and restaurant related that Hoover appeared calm when he entered the restaurant and asked Bohannon to come to the station and talk. Bohannon declined saying he was busy at that time.

The shootings followed.

The county attorney quoted Hoover as saying there had been no prior differences between himself and the Bohannons.

Surviving Mr. and Mrs. Bohannon are a son, Billy Pickrell, 17, and daughter, Karen Pickrell, 12, and another son, Jewell Bohannon, 7.
(El Dorado Times ~ December 29, 1961)

SHERIFF LOCATES WITNESS WHO SAW SHOOTING

Sheriff Dallas Babcock said this morning that a man has been located who said he witnessed some of the shooting at a service station-cafe east of Augusta Thursday morning.

He said he and County Attorney Warren Ralston and Court Reporter Raymond Krutsinger were in Wichita yesterday afternoon getting information from the witness who Sheriff Babcock said gave his name as Ray Davis, and employee with an electrical company working on area missile bases.

Sheriff Babcock said Davis told him he was seated at the counter in the cafe when he heard three shots. The Sheriff said Davis told them he turned around and saw a man leaning over the cafe counter, pointing a revolver at another man, then he saw him fire a shot from the revolver at the man behind the counter.

The Sheriff said Davis told them that he then ran to the east side of the cafe, thinking there was an exit door there, but when he found none he turned and ran back to the door which he had a minute before seen the man with the revolver enter the cafe. Sheriff Babcock said Davis told them he rushed out the door, saw the woman’s body in the driveway. He then told the county officials he ran first to the house just east of the cafe to phone, but when he found no telephone available there he ran across the road from where he called the Augusta Department of Safety.

Sheriff Babcock said Davis identified the man who had the revolver as the man who operated the service station, Frank Hoover, now being held on charges of murdering Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Bohannan.
(Augusta Daily Gazette, Saturday, December 30, 1961, submitted by Belinda Larsen)

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR BOHANNANS ON FRIDAY

Joint funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Bohannan have been announced for 2:30 Sunday afternoon at the Dunsford Funeral Home. Arrangements were completed late yesterday afternoon.

Dr. C.W. Nichols, pastor of the First Christian Church will officiate at the services.

Mrs. Bohannan will be buried in Elmwood Cemetery here, and interment for Mr. Bohannan will take place at Clifty, Arkansas.

Services for Mr. Bohannan will be held Tuesday at Clifty, Arkansas, prior to burial there.
(Submitted by Belinda Larsen)

AUGUSTAN BOUND OVER FOR TRIAL ON MURDER CHARGES

Frank A. Hoover, 57, Augusta, was bound over for trial in district court on two charges of first-degree murder following a preliminary hearing in county court this morning.

Hoover is charged in connection with the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Ewell (Jack) Bohannon of Augusta following a shooting at a combination service station and restaurant east of that town a week ago.

Judge Roy B. Darlington ordered Hoover held at the county jail without bond pending his appearance in district court. His trial will be set at the opening of the next term of court in March.

The preliminary hearings of the murder charges were held in the district court room because more than a score of persons attended the proceedings.

County Atty. Warren Ralston called only two witnesses at the hearings. Lieut. Bob Sprague of the Augusta safety department and Sheriff Dallas Babcock.

Hoover, wearing a brown suit and tie, sat calmly through both hearings and declined to question either witness. He was without legal counsel at the hearings.

Mrs. Bohannon, 36, died on the drive outside the building houseing the restaurant and station after being shot once with a .22-caliber revolver. Bohannon, 32, was shot six times and died while being taken to a hospital in Wichita.

Sprague was the first witness called at the hearing of the murder charges. The charge in connection with the death of Mrs. Bohannon ws heard first, with the charge in connection with the death of her husband following immediately.

Sprague testified that he was sent to the station about 8:19 a.m. on December 28, and upon arriving found Mrs. Bohannon lying on the drive already dead. Hoover was taken into custody by Sprague and Capt. John Watkins of the Augusta safety department, and held in a patrol car for a short time.

Upon entering the restaurant with ambulance attendants, Sprague related that Bohannon, seriously wounded and asking for help, was found in a storage alcove at one side of the kitchen.

Upon asking Bohannon what happened, Sprague said, the wounded man stated Hoover shot him.

Sprague also testified concerning the location of the shooting, which he said occurred immediately inside the door to the restaurant.

Sheriff Babcock indicated he arrived at the scene about the a.m. and talked with Hoover while he was seated in the patrol car. At that time, he said, Hoover indicated to him he shot Mr. and Mrs. Bohannon.

The shootings apparently resulted from differences arising over use of the only telephone in the building housing the station office and restaurant and in providing supplies for the rest room.

Similar testimony was given to both officers at the second hearing.

Mrs. Hoover was present in the court room, sitting with her husband during the hearings.

Hoover, taken into custody by county officers on the day of the shootings, was arraigned late in the afternoon of December 28 in county court. He has been held at the county jail without bond since then.

A number of witnesses to the affray have been interviewed by Butler County officers, including one Wichita man, Ray Davis, who was in the restaurant throughout the event.

Davis, who left the scene, later notified Wichita police he was present and was subsequently interviewed by Ralston and Babcock concerning events which transpired.

He indicated to officer he was unable to escape from the restaurant until after the shootings, and notified Augusta officers at once.
(El Dorado Times ~ Thursday ~ January 4, 1962)

HOOVER MURDER TRIAL TO OPEN HERE ON MAY 14

The jury trial on one of two charges of first-degree murder against Frank A. Hoover, 57, of Augusta, has been set for Monday, May 14, in Butler County district court.

Hoover is charged in connection with the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Ewell (Jack) Bohannon, of Augusta, following a shooting at a combination service station and restaurant east of that town on Dec. 28, 1961.

The first case is to be tried is the one charging Hoover with the fatal shooting of Mr. Bohannon. The second, charging Hoover with first-degree murder of Mrs. Bohannon, will follow immediately thereafter, County Atty. Warren Ralston said today.

Hoover was bound over for trial in district court on the two charges following a preliminary hearing held Jan. 4 in county court before Judge Roy B. Darlington ordered Hoover held at the county jail without bond, pending his appearance in district court.

Mrs. Bohannon, 36, died on the driveway outside the building housing the restaurant and station after being shot once with a .22 caliber revolver. Her husband, 32, had been shot six times and died while being taken to a Wichita hospital.

The shootings apparently resulted from differences arising over the use of the only telephone in the building and in providing supplies for the rest rooms.

Hoover, taken into custody by county officers on the day of the shootings, was arraigned late that afternoon in county court.
(El Dorado Times ~ March 6, 1962 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)