Monday, October 26, 2026

Toledo Clubber Murders – October 1926

In the 1930s, Cleveland had its Torso Murderer.

But in the mid-1920s, Toledo had its "Clubber" – a serial killer with his face dyed red with paint who clubbed to death three women and beat seven others into unconsciousness.

And it was 100 years ago this month on the morning of October 26, 1926 in Toledo, that the naked and bloodied body of Lily Croy, a young schoolteacher, was found stuffed beneath a fire escape at a school just a short distance from her home.

Below is the story from the front page of the October 30, 1926 Lorain Journal, conveying the terror being felt at that time in the Glass City.

As the article noted, "The streets of this busy harbor city on the shores of Lake Erie are almost empty of women.

"Toledo is a silent city. Only the taxi business is good. Women ride for safety's sake.
"Girls forego their customary dates.
"Husbands bring home the provisions for dinner. The butcher shops are crowded with puzzled males.
"No agent can induce a housewife to go to her door.
"If a woman goes downtown by daylight and is detained past dusk, she calls the Medical Service Bureau for an escort."
It's a pretty horrible story – the epidemic of fear that gripped Ohio's fourth largest city. And the killer was never caught, and the case never solved. (Click here to read a great write-up of the story.)
Sometimes the scariest stories are those ripped right out of the headlines.
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Closer to home, the front page also includes the story of Lorain's "Phantom Burglar," who had just robbed two more homes, after already ransacking more than 100 homes the previous winter and ten homes in the last two weeks.

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