Chester Comer

Overview

Chester Comer murdered multiple people in an unexplained rampage in 1935. He was fatally wounded after a shoot-out with the police on November 27, 1935.

Timeline

• 1935 (fall) — Comer’s first known victim, his ex-wife Elizabeth, was discovered near Kansas City, Kansas.
• December 1935 — Elizabeth’s body was identified.
• 1935 — Comer murdered his second wife, Lucille, and dumped her nude body in the countryside near Edmond, Oklahoma.
• 1935 — Comer drove from Edmond to Shawnee, abducted and murdered Ray Evans, and stripped Evans before dumping the corpse in a field outside of town.
• 1935 — Comer gunned down farmer L.A. Simpson and his son Warren (fourteen) execution-style in a rural pasture.
• November 27, 1935 — Marshal Oscar Morgan stopped Comer in Blanchard; shots were exchanged and Comer was fatally wounded.
• November 27, 1935 — Comer died after the shoot-out with the police.

The offence

Comer’s violence included shootings of multiple victims in 1935. His first known victim was his ex-wife, Elizabeth. Her bullet-riddled body was discovered near Kansas City, Kansas, in the fall of 1935. The body was badly decomposed and would not be identified until December.

Comer murdered his second wife, Lucille, and dumped her nude body in the countryside near Edmond, Oklahoma. From Edmond, Comer drove southwest to Shawnee. He abducted and murdered Ray Evans, a local civic leader. Evans was stripped, and his corpse was dumped in a field outside of town.

Comer then picked off his last two victims: farmer L.A. Simpson and his son Warren, fourteen. Comer left their bodies fully clothed after gunning them down execution-style in a rural pasture.

Investigation

Various motives, including greed and jealousy, have been advanced for the sudden, lethal violence overtaking Chester Comer in 1935. No explanation for his crimes was advanced beyond a confession.

Comer confessed while dying to “doing away” with Evans and the Simpsons, but he advanced no explanation for his crimes.

“doing away” with Evans and the Simpsons

Arrest

Comer was still driving Simpson’s car when Marshal Oscar Morgan stopped him in Blanchard. Shots were exchanged, and Comer was fatally wounded.

Aftermath

Chester Comer died on November 27, 1935, after the shoot-out with police.

Other details

• Michael Newton described the case as an “unexplained rampage.”
• Elizabeth was Comer’s ex-wife.
• Ray Evans was described as a local civic leader.
• Warren was fourteen.
• The record states that “Various motives, including greed and jealousy, have been advanced,” and that “it seems that none of the suggested motivations adequately answer” for the violence.