BARTELS, Edward

Edward Bartels

BARTELS, Edward. (Dubuque, IA--East Dubuque, IL, July 11, 1960). The cold-blooded murder of the Dubuque physician and father led to the execution of Victor Harry FEGUER.

On July 11, 1960 Dr. Bartels answered a call at his residence on Indian Ridge for help at about 7:30 p.m. He was asked to come to 1134 Locust to treat a "critically ill Mrs. Stevens." At 10:00 p.m. a "low voiced man" called Mrs. Bartels and said her husband would be remaining at the address overnight while a specialist was being contacted. A clerk at a nearby drugstore reported overhearing the conversation. (1)

It is believed the abductor met Dr. Bartels at Locust Street, got into the doctor's car, and forced him to drive to 1004 Bluff. A neighbor identified two men matching the doctor's description and a composite picture of a "Mr. Newman" entering the building. When the two men left the building, they were walking very quickly. This neighbor thought no more of the scene until police conducted a house-by-house investigation the following day. Among the items found in the room was an unemployment claim report in the name of Victor H. Feguer and a rent receipt for a site on Garfield Avenue with the same name. (2)

Iowa Highway Patrol and private planes were used to search the Dubuque area on July 12th. (3)

Another break in the case occurred on Thursday when a Dubuque used car salesman reported that a man calling himself "Sam Newman" had tried to purchase a car on Friday of the previous week. "Newman" had said he wanted a 1955 model car on the lot and showed him a personalized checkbook in the name of Victor H. "something or other." His description of "Newman" matched those given by a Dubuque landlady and witnesses who saw the man Bartels was walking with on the last night he was seen alive. (4)

On July 19th a state kidnapping charge was filed against Feguer of St. John, Michigan. Police Chief Percy Lucas stated that he would ask the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. There was still no known motive for the crime. (5)

It was later stated during his trial that Feguer, seeking a general practitioner who would be likely to carry morphine or demerol, chose his victim from the phone book. Bartel's name had been the first listed. Feguer drove Bartels into Illinois where he shot the doctor and stole his car. It was in attempting to sell the car that Feguer was captured.

Feguer's appeal was rejected by Harry Blackmun, then a federal appeals court judge in St. Louis and later a member of the United States Supreme Court. His appeal was also denied by President John F. Kennedy.

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Source:

1. Ney, Jim. "Report Few Clues to Disappearance," Telegraph Herald, July 14, 1960, p. 1

2. Ibid. p. 4

3. "Planes Join Search for Missing Dubuquerer," Telegraph Herald, July 12, 1960, p. 1

4. Ibid. p. 1

5. "Clear Way for Entry of FBI," Telegraph Herald, July 19, 1960, p. 1