CHAPTICO, Md. – Ninety-three years ago, 76-year-old Ida Mae Kirk was murdered when her car was blown up.
The investigation revealed that Miss Kirk had spent the prior night at the home of the Reverend Joseph P. Gibson and his wife at the rectory next to Christ Church in Chaptico.
On the morning of January 9, 1933, Miss Kirk and Reverend Gibson’s wife had just left Chaptico for a trip to Washington, D.C. As they were traveling down Route 238 in Chaptico, the bomb exploded less than a mile from the Gibson home.
Detectives believed a dynamite stick was tied to the exhaust pipe of the car.
It was believed that the person(s) responsible for the crime had prior knowledge of explosives, as Mrs. Gibson was unharmed.
Investigators found evidence of the crime located on the Gibson property: a cut shotgun shell and a quantity of copper wire were located. A week later, a 13-year-old came forward and stated he threw the shotgun shell on the property after “whittling” on it.
Investigators located a section of the exhaust pipe that had been broken off by the explosion and had entered the passenger compartment of Miss Kirk’s vehicle under the front seat. However, the gas tank was found intact.
Hours after the murder of Miss Kirk, investigators took two suspects into custody, John Sylvester Gross, 43, and Paul Thomas, 17. It was revealed that Gross had prior experience working with dynamite and had done similar work on the Kirk property. Thomas had been raised on the Kirk property since he was a boy. It was further revealed that Gross had been acquainted with Miss Kirk’s cook and that, about a month earlier, he had been banned from Miss Kirk’s property.
The suspects were held in jail for questioning for just over a month, and no charges were filed against them.
Just over a year later, Gross was found dead in the middle of the road near his home in LaPlata. Foul play was suspected, as his body appeared to be run over “by several cars.”
Shortly after Miss Kirk’s murder, a dispute broke out over her will, where she bequeathed more than $40,000 to over 15 people – a large sum in 1932. Questions arose regarding the document’s legitimacy, and it was not settled until 1942.
Miss Kirk asked in her will that a life-size marble statue of a guardian angel be placed in her family plot at Christ Church. The angel still stands watch.
No arrests were ever made in the murder of Ida Mae Kirk.
