Richard Wayne Truman  

Leakin Park is on the site of the Winan family summer home estate.   In the will of a local philanthropist, J Wilson Leakin, was a generous gift to the City of Baltimore for a new park.  Mr. Leakin died in 1922.   Settling Mr. Wilson's estate took years. Once the park fund was established and in true Baltimore form the claws extended in full force by most of the city leaders and 16 year battle ensued as to where this new park was to be located.  The community and government fights were vicious, the finger pointing was fiery and the archives of the discourse makes for some great newspaper reading for a rainy afternoon in the free library.   In the meantime, most of the hiers of the Winan robber barons had fled Baltimore for points north, mostly the New York suburbs.   The Winan family trust funds were dwindling, the Winan family tastes were lavish, these folks couldn't care less about Baltimore and a quick infusion of hard cold cash would do them quite well. So in the mid-1940s the City of Baltimore did one of the smartest things it ever did and bought the Winan property of the Orianda Estate and the Crimea Mansion as well as several land parcels in its environs.  Hence, Leakin Park was born.

And in 1961, also in the very same wealthy New York suburbs of Westchester County a tiny blogger entered this world.   It took the wee blogger a few very short years to realize that there had to be more to life than cowering safely, securely and ensconced in a segregated white snobfest surrounded by country clubs.  Westchester may be a great spot for the Winans but it was never for Cham. 

So our story of the bodies begins with Richard Wayne Truman. 

According to the November 19, 1946 edition of the Baltimore Sun a young 13 year old local boy vanished on the way home from school on September 30 of the same year.  A search ensued in eleven states.   On November 18, a man walking his dog found the badly decomposed body beneath a honeysuckle thicket.  Mr.s Richard K. Truman, of the 2700 block of Prospect Street, mother of the blond, blue-eyed youngster identified the remains through a silver ring found when the police sifted  through the earth taken from the spot where the body was found.  The mother was certain the boy had no plans to run away since he had hust repaired his most prized possession, his bicycle and had plans to use it.  In the pocket of the boys pants was found a discharged 22 caliber bullet, and a green comb was found near the body as well as a small black book on how to become a Boy Scout.  The person that found the body said the boy was lying on his back with his arms folded over the body.

In the January 12, 1947 edition of the Baltimore Sun we find that a Robert Clayton Wright, 15, pleads not guilty in the death of Richard Wayne Truman.   A week later in the January 18 edition, Robert Clayton changes his mind and pleads guilty to manslaughter.   "I wish it didn't happen" said Mr Wright.  According to testimony an 11 year old unnamed boy was present when the shooting occurred, although it was noted that like Mr. Wright, the younger boy did nothing to aid Mr. Truman and kept the shooting a secret for nearly 2 months.  Mr. Wright testified that the small caliber rifle that he had pointed at young Truman had discharged accidentally.   The Judge ordered him sent to the Maryland Training School for boys.   Both boys had been in trouble with juvenile authorities in the past, the older youth having a strong liking for hooking school and the younger boy, when he was only 9,  for breaking and entering.  

The older youth said that on the day of the shooting he and the Truman boy went into the woods to fire the former's .22 caliber rifle.   After firing several times they went to the home of the 11-year old boy to get him to accompany them.  Affter more shooting the trio was on the way home .  The 15 year old boy who was carrying the rifle turned to take aim at a tree.  As he raised the rifle, however, it discharged and the bullet struck Mr. Truman in the chest.  The Truman boy said, "You shot me, help me."  Within a few minutes, however, the Truman youth's chest stopped moving up and down and he began to turn blue.  Then they picked him up, moved him several feet off the pat and hid the body in the honeysuckle vines.  After this they ran from the woods, mounted their bicycles and rode home.  The 15 year old dismantled the rifle and put the parts in several hiding places.  The following day both steadfastly denied knowing the whereabouts of Mr. Truman.  The boys said they were too frightened to tell anyone.

The blogger's editorial comment

I am incredibly impressed at how the judicial system of 1947 took such an interest in this case.  I am also impressed at the level of detail from the Baltimore Sun. Little would we know that in the years that would follow, how little the judicial system would come to care about future murders and how the Baltimore Sun would come to care even less.