I currently manage over 35,000 memorials on Find a Grave. 25,000+ of the memorials are ones I created, the remainder were created by others who may have died or just didn't want to look after them any more. Every day I check my favorite cemeteries to see if any memorials are up for transfer. One of my favorite cemeteries is Hollywood Forever, in Hollywood, California. Recently a memorial from Hollywood Forever became available for transfer:
After I had it transferred to me I decided to check further into the Cause of Death of George Shea. When a young person dies I am always curious as to what happened. Was it an accident, or a disease? When I checked Newspapers.com for George Shea and 1916, here's what I found:
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| The San Diego (CA) Sun - 21 Apr 1916 |
The story was about a 25 year old waiter named George L. Shea who was living at the Santa Rita Hotel in San Diego. His body was found by Night Police Officer L.A. Lusk in the weeds behind the Benbough Furniture Company, on Arctic near E Street in San Diego. Arctic Street is now Kettner Boulevard.
Officer Lusk found a man's hat and signs of struggle on the sidewalk and examining the trampled weeds, found Shea's body lying about twenty feet back.
I don't know why this story particularly affected me, but I decided to look further into it and see if the murderer was ever brought to justice.
Before we look further into the brutal murder of George Shea, let's see what we can "dig up" about him.
George L. Shea was born in Maine in January of 1887. His parents were Daniel Shea (1861-1914) and Mary Margaret O'Malley (1861-1892). Daniel and Margaret were married September 9, 1882 in Dumfries, Charlotte, New Brunswick, Canada. They had a total of five children: Mable/Mrs. John Young (1883-1919), May Edith/Mrs. Karl F. Brehme (1885-1968), George (1887-1916), Jane Ella/Mrs. Eugene E. Clark (1888-1947) and Thomas (1891-1892).
George's father Daniel Shea worked for the Maine Central Railroad and the Canadian Pacific Railroad. He started as a Fireman, and worked his way up to being a Locomotive Engineer.
George's mother, Mary Margaret O'Malley Shea died in 1892 in Vanceboro, Maine. She was thirty-one years old. She was buried in the Catholic Section of the Vanceboro Cemetery in Vanceboro, Maine:
The 1900 US Census shows the Shea Family living in the Town of Vanceboro, Maine. The Census Enumerator spelled their last name "Shay." The family consisted of: Daniel (38 years old and Widowed), Mable M. (17), May E. (14), George L. (13), Jennie E. (11) and Sarah Shay, Daniel's mother (85). Sarah said she had given birth to one child, and that child was still living in 1900.
Daniel listed his occupation as "R. R. Fireman," the children were all "At School" and Daniel's mother did not list an occupation. They could all read and write, and they rented the house where they were living. Daniel, Mable and May were all born in Canada. They told the Enumerator that they emigrated to the United States in 1887. For the purposes of the 1900 Census they were Resident Aliens.
Daniel Shay married again on July 12, 1902 in Winn, Maine to Charlotte "Lottie" Orr (1866-1930).
The 1910 US Census finds Daniel Shea living in Mattawamkeag, Maine with his wife and daughter Ella, George is no longer living with them. George Shea shows up in the 1910 Census in Tacoma, Washington as a Lodger at 4821 Warner Street. 4821 South Warner Street is now in the middle of the Tacoma Cemetery; North Warner Street ends at 37th Street. George listed his occupation as "Waiter." He also said he had been out of work for six weeks during 1909.
The 1910 Tacoma City Directory shows George living at 1330 1/2 South C Street in Tacoma. That plot is now part of the University of Tacoma and no longer exists as a specific address.
George Shea registered to vote in 1912. He was living in Los Angeles at the time, at 705 1/2 S. Broadway. His occupation was "Waiter" and his party affiliation was "Republican." The State Theater Building, built in 1921 occupies that spot today.
The 1914 City Directory for San Diego shows George Shea as a "Waiter" at the "Palace Cafe:"
The Palace Cafe was said to the the "Handsomest, High Class Cafe in the West."
The next time George Shea's name appears in print is in the Long Beach (CA) Telegram and Daily News from August 23, 1915:
George Shea registered to vote in San Diego in 1916. He reported his address as the "Hotel Dorm" but I could not find a hotel by that name in San Diego in 1916. If it was a hotel dormitory, the hotel name was not listed. He still listed his occupation as "Waiter" but now he registered as a Democrat.
That brings us to the fateful night of Friday, April 21, 1916.
If you have a weak stomach you should probably skip the next section.
According to newspaper accounts, George Shea's murder was particularly brutal. One referred to his body as "fiendishly mutilated." Another account said, "His head terribly beaten with a heavy paving brick, and his clothes ripped and torn, hanging in shreds and covered with blood..." It was suggested that "Shea was hit while walking along the sidewalk and that thereupon he fell and knocked one of his teeth out. The theory is that Shea, while still alive, was taken into the weeds and clubbed to death with the paving brick and possibly robbed."
He was last seen at 11:30 pm Thursday night under the influence of liquor. Whether he was with a companion or not is unknown.
The San Diego Union newspaper reported on April 22, 1916 that the George Shea murder case was proving difficult to solve:
The San Diego Union from the next day reported that a "Ring of Degenerates" had been uncovered:
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| San Diego (CA) Union - 23 Apr 1916 |
"The belief of the police (was) that the killing was done by a frenzied degenerate...but revealed no fact that bore directly on the case in hand."
The Inquest into the murder of George Shea was scheduled for April 24 but newspapers reported that "Unless unforeseen developments take place, no fact concerning (Shea's) assailant or assailants can be revealed by the police."
The Inquest determined that George Shea was murdered by "party or parties unknown." One new piece of evidence was presented - a heavy iron bolt, blood spattered and more than a foot in length. After the Inquest, the body of George Shea was released to his family - specifically to John Young, Shea's brother-in-law (Mable's husband) from Los Angeles.
On April 25, the day after the Inquest, newspapers reported that five suspects had been arrested in the George Shea murder case. One was released, but four remained in custody. They were: Felix Gilmartin (31) a "clubman," Thomas Coburn (36), a "gambler," C. L. Harris, a "waiter," and James Donovan. a "jockey."
Harris was in serious condition from injuries he could not satisfactorily explain; Coburn was seen in an altercation with George Shea after midnight on the morning of the murder; Gilmartin was Coburn's roommate, although police had not uncovered any direct connection between him and Shea; and Donovan was arrested near Tijuana on suspicion.
George Shea's funeral was held on April 25, 1916 from the parlors of Cunningham and O'Connor in Hollywood with interment at Hollywood Forever. Here is his Death Notice from the San Diego Union from April 24, 1916:
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| The San Diego Union - 24 Apr 1916 |
Here is his Death Notice from the Los Angeles Times from April 25, 1916:
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| The Los Angeles Times - 25 Apr 1916 |
Some of the newspaper accounts of the George Shea murder were quick to point out his shortcomings, such as his drinking. It was almost as if they implied that Shea deserved what he got. Not everyone was so unkind. This is from the Escondido (CA) Times-Advocate of April 28, 1916:
"A quiet and gentlemanly young man."
On April 26 there was another arrest in the Shea case, and by April 30, it too led nowhere:
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| San Diego (CA) Union - 30 Apr 1916 |
As the days went by, the trail of the murderer of George Shea grew colder. The San Diego Evening Tribune reported on May 3, 1916 that police were now looking for an unidentified Negro. The Negro was said to be "Leering at women and children and causing consternation wherever he appears."
On May 7, 1916 the San Diego Union newspaper reported on an attempted murder that had many similarities to the murder of George Shea:
After this lead also went nowhere, the investigation ground to a stop. Every lead had been followed up on the police and every lead led nowhere. George Shea's name was not even mentioned in the newspaper until September 11, 1916, five months after his murder:
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| San Diego Evening Tribune - 11 Sep 1916 |
Believe it or not, the article above is the last time the murder of George Shea was mentioned in any newspaper. It appears that the case just ended - unsolved. I researched extensively and could find nothing further that mentioned George Shea. I even turned to Mike Kelly, the researcher nonpareil who also was unable to find anything more written about the murder of George Shea.
I examined lists of cold case homicides, but 1916 was just too far back to show up on most of the lists. I even found a man named James Stewart (not that one) who investigates cold case homicides in the San Diego area. He responded that he did a fair amount of research on the 1910s but he never ran across the George Shea case. Another dead end.
As I prepared to finish this article by reporting that the murder of George Shea remained unsolved 110 years after it happened I stumbled upon information that changed everything.
In doing genealogy research, if you hit a brick wall they tell you to start over and review everything you know about the person. I did that for George Shea. As I mentioned above, there is no mention about the murder of George Shea after September of 1916. However, the Pasadena Star News from January 29, 1919 reported something interesting:
George Shea was murdered April 21, 1916. The Pasadena paper in January of 1919 referred to the "Killing of "Robert" Shea three years before."
The San Diego Evening News from the same date reports even more information about the murder of "Thomas Shea:"
George Shea was a waiter and he was murdered on "Arctic near E Street" which could be "near the foot of F Street." There are too many coincidences - this has to be referring to the murder of George Shea.
Here's the Los Angeles Evening Express again from January 29, 1919:
Shaffer said that he couldn't remember whether or not he had murdered George/Thomas/Robert Shea but it is very possible he killed Shea without ever knowing his name.
Newspapers reported Shaffer was a "degenerate." On April 22, 1916 San Diego papers reported that Shea's murder was "the work of degenerates."
Lacking any additional information I think it is safe to say that George Shea was murdered by Allen C. Shaffer. So then was Shaffer convicted and sent to jail for the rest of his natural life? No.
On January 30, 1919 the Los Angeles Evening Express reported that:
So then, can we report that Shaffer was convicted in a military court and sent to the brig for the rest of his natural life? No.
The San Diego Police Department's way of dealing with Allen Schaffer was to turn him back over to the Army. The Army's way of dealing with Allen Schaffer was to turn him back over to us - by means of an Army Discharge:
Looking at the records above, Albert Shaffer received an Honorable Discharge whereas the record for Allen C. Shaffer just says "Discharge May 31, 1919 by order of the Secretary of War."
It appears that Allen C. Shaffer's past misdeeds finally caught up with him. Here is his record from San Quentin Prison in California:
On May 23, 1919 he was convicted of Second Degree Murder and sentenced to 10 years to Life in Prison.
Chester Allen Shaffer, whose real name was Allen C. Shaffer, died in prison on April 23, 1926:
It is unfortunate that neither Allen C. Shaffer nor anyone else was ever convicted of the murder of George Shea. But justice ultimately prevailed and Shea's murderer was sent to prison for other murders he had committed. In 1926 Shaffer went in front of the Great Judge we will all someday face.
One of the reasons I started this blog back in September of 2011 was so the people I profiled would not be forgotten. George Shea was certainly one of those. Even his murder fell through the cracks. So, let's not forget the man whose life brutally ended on April 21, 1916.
George Shea - a quiet and gentlemanly young man - may he rest in peace.
