Calvin Perry

Background

Calvin D. Perry 3d was 18 years old and lived within three blocks of Dan and Jane Osborne. Dan Osborne was the editorial page editor of The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. The Osborne slayings involved Dan Osborne, Jane Osborne, and their 11-year-old son Ben. The Osbornes’ dog was also killed, and a 2-year-old daughter was sexually molested and clubbed. The case stirred a wave of fear through Fort Wayne, Indiana, a city of 170,000 people.

The offence

Calvin D. Perry 3d had been accused of murdering Dan Osborne, Jane Osborne, and their 11-year-old son Ben with a baseball bat on the night of Sept. 17. The Osbornes’ dog was killed. A 2-year-old daughter was sexually molested and clubbed. After his arrest and during interrogation, authorities said he confessed to “the big one,” the Osborne slayings, and made long statements that were videotaped, reiterating these confessions under oath and providing considerable detailed information on the crimes. Authorities said he mentioned gently prying open the Osbornes’ door, leaving marks in the wood that investigators found only after his confession. He directed officials to a screwdriver he used, and it matched the marks. He passed a polygraph, or lie-detector, test on his involvement in the Osborne killings, and wallets and credit cards belonging to the victims were found in his home.

Investigation

Federal investigators began trying to reconstruct the events leading to Calvin D. Perry 3d’s death. At the same time, a Federal conciliator was trying to reopen a fragile dialogue between blacks and whites in Fort Wayne, divided by suspicions that the black was murdered in jail. General, a police dog, followed the scent and footprints in the snow of a man wanted for assaulting and robbing another woman in her home, and tracked Mr. Perry down on Jan. 6.

While he was being interrogated on Jan. 6, Mr. Perry confessed more than a dozen other felonies against whites and blacks, including rape, robbery and murder, the authorities said. During an interrogation, a detective asked if there was anything else Mr. Perry wanted to say, and Mr. Perry replied, “I know what you're talking about,” and confessed what he called “the big one,” the Osborne slayings. Over the next two days he made long statements that were videotaped, reiterating these confessions under oath and providing detailed information on the crimes, the police said.

A message to relatives denying any murders was on the bed, the wall and floor, they said.

Arrest

Calvin D. Perry 3d was tracked down on Jan. 6 by General, a police dog, in connection with being wanted for assaulting and robbing another woman in her home. While being interrogated that day, he confessed more than a dozen other felonies against whites and blacks, including rape, robbery and murder, according to authorities.

Trial

He was formally charged with killing Dan and Jane Osborne and their 11-year-old son Ben with a baseball bat on the night of Sept. 17. He did not proceed to trial because he was found dead in his cell.

Sentencing

No sentencing occurred because he was found dead in custody.

Appeals

No appeal outcome was recorded in the material.

Outcome

On Tuesday, Calvin D. Perry 3d was found dead in his cell. He was found hanging close to the floor between an upper bunk and the bars on a low window. Strips of a canvas-like mattress covering were around his neck and ankles. Around the body there were no signs of violence, and authorities said there were several messages to relatives denying any murders on the bed, the wall and floor. His death was ruled a suicide by Coroner Roland Ahlbrand and Sheriff Daniel L. Figel, and the Osborne-Perry cases were closed.

Mr. Perry’s two public defenders, Charles Leonard and Barrie Tremper, said they had seen all the videotapes and police logs, attended the police lineups and interviewed detectives and technicians. They said that while they might later have filed an appeal based on certain procedures when witnesses viewed Mr. Perry and others in a lineup, at no time had Mr. Perry’s rights been violated. They said they found no evidence of coercion; that the tapes showed Mr. Perry acknowledging six readings of his constitutional rights in the first three hours of interrogation alone; and that he refused legal counsel until the confessions were made. They said his demeanor on the videotapes was clear, forthright and there was little actual questioning. Charles Leonard said, “There was almost a camaraderie,” with police saying “Mr. Perry, tell us your story,” and Mr. Perry going on at great length. The lawyers stated they had no opinion on Mr. Perry’s guilt in the various crimes to which he confessed. They said he had detailed knowledge of the victims, their homes and their activities. Charles Leonard said Mr. Perry accurately recounted the contents of a victim’s refrigerator and the interior decoration of rooms and described the crimes against the Osbornes in graphic detail and the design of their house. Charles Leonard said he stopped counting after Mr. Perry correctly described more than 50 details about the Osborne house.

Aftermath

Many blacks in Fort Wayne, including the victim’s mother, Charlene Corey, were suspicious about Mr. Perry’s death.

The Rev. James Fincher, who visited Mr. Perry in jail four days before his death, said Mr. Perry feared for his life and said his confession had been forced. The Rev. James Fincher said: “There has been a murder committed in jail,” and “I believe the police can't solve the Osborne killings so they picked a man already in community trouble and forced him to confess.” He said he could not believe that Mr. Perry had killed himself. The Rev. James Fincher said: “It is all but impossible for him to have done this to himself,” and “Black people do not commit suicide much and when they do, it is not slow. They shoot or cut themselves.”

The Rev. James W. Bledsoe, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, led a meeting Tuesday to protest the death. He said he had “mixed emotions” and that automatic suspicions arose from a history of poor racial relations nationally and in Fort Wayne, where about 30,000 blacks lived. He said, “Fort Wayne is an ultraconservative city,” and “and, you know, we blacks come from a background of where lynchings have followed us down through the centuries.”

After a meeting Thursday night with Patricia A. Glenn, a conciliator from the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service in Chicago, the alliance agreed to suspend further action until an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation was completed. In a statement read to reporters at the altar of St. John's Baptist Church, Mr. Bledsoe’s parish, the ministers said they reserved the right to pursue legal remedies later through the Justice Department’s civil rights division. They indicated they would not be satisfied with any investigation that did not find a violation of Mr. Perry’s civil rights. They rejected an invitation to meet with the Allen County Prosecutor, Stephen Sims, to review the evidence and the videotaped confessions. J. B. Pressey, president of the area's branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said: “There is nothing to be gained from such a meeting.”

Mrs. Glenn said she hoped, through a series of sessions with city and community leaders, to end “rhetorical dialogues” in the news media by both sides and reopen lines of substantive talk. She met with city officials, and one subject she discussed with them was a lack of blacks in higher municipal and county posts.

An entry in the material quoted Coroner Dr. Roland Ahlbrand as being confident Perry’s death was suicide. The material also included claims by Reverend Hugh Guy and Reverend James Fincher that Perry was murdered rather than a suicide victim. The material also included that Mayor Winfield Moses, Junior, explained his call for a grand jury investigation into Perry’s death.

People

• Calvin D. Perry 3d — suspect accused of murdering Dan and Jane Osborne and their 11-year-old son Ben with a baseball bat; found dead in jail by hanging
• Dan Osborne — victim; editorial page editor of The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel
• Jane Osborne — victim
• Ben Osborne — victim; 11-year-old son of Dan and Jane Osborne
• 2-year-old daughter of the Osbornes — victim; sexually molested and clubbed
• Dan and Jane Osborne’s dog — killed
• Charlene Corey — victim’s mother
• General — police dog
• Detective — interrogated Mr. Perry on Jan. 6 (name not provided)
• Charles Leonard — public defender
• Barrie Tremper — public defender
• The Rev. James Fincher — visited Mr. Perry in jail four days before his death
• The Rev. James W. Bledsoe — president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance
• Patricia A. Glenn — conciliator from the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service in Chicago
• J. B. Pressey — president of the area's branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• Coroner Roland Ahlbrand — ruled the death a suicide
• Sheriff Daniel L. Figel — ruled the death a suicide
• Stephen Sims — Allen County Prosecutor
• Mayor Winfield Moses, Junior — called for a grand jury investigation into Perry’s death
• Reverend Hugh Guy — claimed Perry was murdered rather than a suicide victim

Timeline

• Sept. 17 — Dan and Jane Osborne and their 11-year-old son Ben were killed with a baseball bat; the Osbornes’ dog was killed; a 2-year-old daughter was sexually molested and clubbed
• Jan. 6 — General tracked down Calvin Perry; he was interrogated and confessed to more than a dozen other felonies against whites and blacks, including rape, robbery and murder
• Tuesday (the day after he was formally charged) — Calvin D. Perry 3d was found dead in his jail cell
• January 16, 1984 — Calvin Perry committed suicide by hanging himself in his jail cell
• January 21, 1984 — Federal investigators began trying to reconstruct the events leading to his death; a Federal conciliator worked to reopen dialogue between blacks and whites in Fort Wayne

Other details

Mr. Perry was accused of murdering an IN newspaper man and family, and a reported hanging self in jail cell on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 1984 (Fort Wayne, IN) appeared in the material. The material also referenced “Beating deaths of Daniel, Jane and Benjamin Osborne and survival of their daughter Caroline, beaten and raped, last September recalled; films shown. Perry's recent arrest and his alleged confession noted; apparent circumstances of his suicide discussed.” It also included an entry that “Calvin Perry, accused of murdering IN newspaper man and family” reported hanging self in jail cell. The material included: “SEX: M RACE: B TYPE: T MOTIVE: Sex./Sad. MO: Rapist home invader; bludgeoned victims 11-78.” The material also stated: “DISPOSITION: Confessed prior to jailhouse suicide, January 1984.” It further included: “Area ministers noted claiming Perry's confession was extracted under duress.” The material listed: “Mayor Winfield MOSES, Junior - explains his call for grand jury investigation into Perry's death.” The material also stated: “Perry's suicide note quoted.”