Robert Folkes

Case record: Robert Folkes

Background

Robert Folkes was a dining car waiter and later served as a cook on the Southern Pacific Railroad and on the West Coast Limited at the time of the killing. He lived in Los Angeles on East 25th with his common law wife Jessie Wilson. He was born in Arkansas and was 20 years old in 1943. Folkes was African American and was described as a “Zoot Suitor”. His mother was Clara Folkes.

Martha Virginia James was 21 years old and was married to a Navy Ensign who could not get the same train to San Diego. Martha James followed on the West Coast Limited. She had just recently been married. She was described as a very pretty blonde and was a graduate of Sweet Briar of the College of William and Mary.

The offence

Martha Virginia James was murdered on Jan. 23, 1943 while riding the West Coast Limited train from Seattle to San Diego. She was traveling alone in a sleeper berth.

During the night a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the sleeper section, and Martha James’ body tumbled out of the sleeping berth with her throat slashed. A coroner’s report indicated the victim died of a deep wound to her throat, possibly caused by a sharp instrument such as a razor or a sharp butcher or cutting knife.

Other passengers later heard her scream, "My God, he's killing me!"

The sleeper car was disconnected from the other cars on the train and remained in Klamath Falls for further inspection while the remaining cars of the West Coast Limited continued on into California.

Investigation

The murder apparently occurred just north of Tangent in Linn County, but the train was allowed to continue to Eugene.

While Lane County Sheriff Roy Sutherland and his men searched the train in Eugene, Linn County Sheriff Herbert Shelton and his men launched a wide-scale manhunt in and around Tangent.

Investigators discovered bloody footprints along a section of railroad tracks, but the lead turned sour when they learned that a farmer delivering milk to one of the train cars had suffered a bloody nose. His bloody handkerchief substantiated the farmer’s story. With that, Shelton telegraphed authorities in Klamath Falls that the murderer apparently was still aboard the train.

A young Marine told authorities he chased a man he had seen near the dead woman’s berth to the end of the train but lost him somewhere in between. Others on board said they had seen a young man with a brown pin-striped suit in the sleeper section earlier in the evening. Two women said a young man, wearing a dark coat, had made advances toward them, but each rejected the man. Authorities checked out their tips.

A brown pin-striped suit was found in the luggage of a 30-year-old dining car waiter. The waiter claimed he was in his own sleeping berth when he was awakened by all the conversation about the young woman’s death.

One of the women who claimed she was molested by a young man on the train could not positively identify the waiter as her assailant.

The investigation hit snags until a woman in Klamath Falls reported she also had been accosted on the West Coast Limited 12 days earlier by a man with a butcher knife. Authorities turned their attention to the train’s kitchen crew as the only ones on board who had ready access to butcher and sharp cutting knives.

The Marine told investigators that while chasing the mystery man to the end of the train he ran through the kitchen and spotted a cook working. The cook said he did not see anyone go through the kitchen, but the Marine said the cook was sweating profusely although it seemed fairly cool in the kitchen.

Arrest / questioning

Shelton learned that a 20-year-old cook named Robert Folkes had been on the West Coast Limited the night Martha James was murdered. When first brought in for questioning, Folkes remained cool and unflustered. He denied ever being in the sleeping car the night of the murder.

Authorities laid a trap for Folkes. They “mugged” Folkes and supposedly sent the photo to Klamath Falls for identification by Folkes’ earlier victim. They then told Folkes the woman in the Klamath Falls incident had positively identified him as the man who attacked her. Folkes lost his composure and quickly confessed to murdering Martha James.

Trial / charges / outcome

Folkes was prosecuted in Oregon in a famous murder case.

The Los Angeles Herald Examiner had a large front page photo of Martha James and a story on her murder called "the murder of the lady in berth 13".

The only significant evidence leading to his conviction was his confession, leading many to think he was “railroaded” by the district attorney and police. The L.A.P.D. subsequently obtained a confession out of Folkes, and it was claimed that police got him drunk on whiskey and gave him the "third degree".

Sentencing

Folkes received a death sentence in Oregon.

Appeals

The narrative did not provide any appeal history.

Outcome

Folkes was executed in Salem for his crimes.

Timeline

• Jan. 23, 1943 — Martha Virginia James was murdered while riding the West Coast Limited from Seattle to San Diego.
• January 5, 1945 — Robert Folkes was executed in Oregon by asphyxiation-gas.

Aftermath / related details

Martha James died in a Pullman sleeper car. The narrative described the case as “the most famous railroad murder in US history” and referenced a Discovery Channel story.

A prime suspect was described as the African-American cook that the Marine private had encountered during his initial search for the attacker. Folkes had been described as having a record of sexual attacks. Folkes claimed that he had never even seen Martha James, but it was revealed that he had earlier mentioned to colleagues that she was 'the best looking woman on the train'.

Detectives decided to interview everyone on board the train as it continued on to Los Angeles. Faint traces of blood were tracked to the observation platform at the back of the last car, and the surrounding area was searched but nobody was found.

Investigators later learned the young victim was traveling alone because her husband, a Navy Ensign, could not get the same train to San Diego. He left on an earlier train and she followed on the West Coast Limited.