On April 15, 1963 at about 8 a.m., Geraldine Patton Williams was found decapitated at age 43 in her small family-owned meat market in West Frankfort Heights of Southern Illinois. She probably officially died on April 14th, if before midnight. The police entered Patton's Market located at 1716 E. Main St. when she did not open as usual that morning. They found her body dressed in a bra and nylons, her blouse was found neatly folded on a crate of bottles with the electric saw that was used as a meat cutter still running. Her torso and body were on the floor laying belly down, while her head, cleanly cut at her shoulders, was propped on a shelf next to the meat cutter. Despondent over the death of her husband eight years prior, it was thought that she somehow swung herself onto the waist high meat cutter neck first, decapitating herself. Geraldine had gone through hundreds of her store's receipts the night before she was found, and it was assumed there was no robbery from the store, as there was over $1k inside. There was no sign whatsoever of any foul play.
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| Geraldine Patton Williams West Frankfort IL |
Please note: There was a rumored love affair that Geraldine was having at that time with a married prominent man by the name of Orville Nolen who was the town's mayor. Her neighbors told the police that she told them she had "a big announcement" coming soon about their relationship. Many people are still wondering what her upcoming big announcement was going to be. Maybe this man told her that he was leaving his wife or Geraldine was pregnant by him...so, he or his wife could have committed this crime with the motive of deception / anger / jealousy / etc. Cleo Killion, a longtime friend and store employee of 8 years for Geraldine, knew of no threats against her nor any motives for a suicide. A murder cover-up sounds more believable that a suicide for sure. Maybe Orville paid the medical examiner to lie or had threatened him. Orville and his wife are buried in the same cemetery that Geraldine is at West Frankfort's Tower Heights Cemetery.
Geraldine was raised in Frankfort Heights, also know as West Frankfort. Later she married Carl Ray Williams who sadly passed away unexpectedly at age 40 in 1953 in Johnston City, IL, where the family then lived. They had one child together, their son, Jay. Soon after the death of her husband, the single mother and widow moved back to Frankfort Heights to work at her family's market in Frankfort Heights. Her dad had run the store for many years. When her dad died, she had no problem tending to the business successfully. Jay was spending the with cousins for the at the time of the incident. Her time of death was estimated to be around midnight.
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| Southern Illinois Unsolved Murders |
The local authorities and almost everyone around that area found it very strange that her head was on a shelf, but the medical examiner said he could not find anything to prove she did not kill herself and that it was possible that Geraldine could have placed her own head there and had the strength to overcome the massive arterial spray, blood loss and severed spine to continue feeding her own neck through a vertical band saw meat cutting machine! He said, "if a person had sufficient resolve, they could contain control of the motion of the machine long enough to remove their own head."
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| A 1960's Vertical Metal Band Meat Cutter |
Do you believe that Geraldine "had enough resolve", as the examiner said, to remove her head from shoulder to shoulder in a clean cut with a meat cutter? If you have ever watched meat butchers years using a vertical table saw, you would see how the they have a stern hold on the product to get a clean cut or the blade will bounce back. In the case files, it was noted that she would have had to push constantly in order to make the full cut. But, she would have been unconscious with the first cut to her neck, so how could an unconscious person possibly do that? A jury agreed that the evidence was inconclusive. Since there was no evidence of a murder, the case was quickly ended by a ruling that she had committed suicide. Did she have an unseen mental illness? All of her close family and friends said that she was a happy woman who loved her son and life very much. Yes, she did miss her husband, but did not have any depression or anxiety issues. She had a large family support system and was a hard worker. Assistant Police Chief Arthur Marks said he found no indications at all of any struggle and "couldn't find one thing out of place". Geraldine was failed by the justice system.
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| Former Patton's Meat Market Grocery Store Building At 1716 E. Main Street |
This unsolved cold case mystery file in this small town should definitely be re-opened and thoroughly investigated. Apparently in 1997, a West Frankfort, IL teacher was having her journalism class do a research project about scary stories including this one, but she was threatened by someone who told her, if you enjoy your job then you will pick a different project". It is sad that this has not been solved. My guess is that Orville's wife murdered Geraldine. Who wouldn't love to know what really happened. A suicide? I don't see any way, shape or form that she could have done this to herself. Why would anybody rule this a a suicide? Chickens can run around after their heads are cut off, but not human beings! Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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