Wire Thieves Kill Policeman

Before Friday, April 7, 1916 was over, the Lewis brothers would kill two St. Louis Police Officers, John McKenna and William Dillon.  McKenna was the first to fall, when he interrupted the brothers attempts to steal wire, a valuable commodity during World War I.  Dillon would be killed investigating McKenna’s murder.

McKenna was assigned to look for the wire thieves, who had been stealing from the area near today’s Central West End.  He observed the Lewis Brothers, Ora and Frank, park their vehicle, which later turned out to be stolen, in the alley behind 4178 Delmar Boulevard.  When McKenna went to speak with them, they attempted to flee but he pulled his revolver on them and stopped them at 4172 Delmar Boulevard.

He took a pistol off the taller of the two men and placed it in his pocket.  He then put his own revolver away and walked them to the Motor Car Gasoline Co. at 618 N. Whittier Street.  The gas station remained a gas station until 1997, when it was torn down.  McKenna asked George Fisher, an employee of the company, to call the police station.

McKenna then began to search the larger man.  McKenna was briefly distracted allowing the smaller man to walk behind McKenna.  The smaller man pulled a pistol that was missed during McKenna’s initial search.

The smaller man fired a single shot into McKenna’s skull.  McKenna would die from the wound two hours later.  Subsequent investigation revealed the smaller Lewis may have asked for a drink of water.  When McKenna gave him permission, he walked behind McKenna and shot him in the back of the head.

Fisher heard the shot and turned to see McKenna falling.  The Lewis brothers fled back to their automobile and fled down the alley at a high rate of speed.  A milk truck driver and another citizen attempted to follow the brothers but they lost the fleeing felons at the intersection of Vandeventer and Delmar Boulevards.

A citizen saw the brothers abandon the mud spattered car at Belleview and College Avenues.  They transferred several bundles from the stolen Ford into a Hudson.  The Ford had been stolen from Palm Street on March 21, 1916.

The proprietor of 4172 Delmar Boulevard, where McKenna stopped the brothers said the description of the murders matched two men, who were renting her garage.  They claimed to be from Springfield, Illinois.  They had been coming in and out with several different automobiles during the past two months.

The brothers were from an area a bit closer, the 4200 block of Athlone Avenue.  It would be there that they killed their second policeman in 24 hours.  William Dillon recognized the description as that of the Lewis Brothers, also known as the DeMorris boys after their step-father, Dillon decided to head to the DeMorris home and investigate.

McKenna was born on September 10, 1886 and was 29 years old.  He left a widow.  He was the son and nephew of St. Louis Police Officers.  His father, mother and sister were at his bedside, when he passed.

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