Press enter after choosing selection

Wegener Killing Suspects Held

Wegener Killing Suspects Held image
Parent Issue
Day
5
Month
February
Year
1957
Copyright
Copyright Protected
Rights Held By
Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

Wegener Killing Suspects Held

YPSILANTI — Nine suspects were arrested in Detroit raids over the weekend in connection with the Dec. 23 robbery-murder at Willow Run Airport, detectives here revealed today.

Detective Sgt. Marvin O. Krans, who has headed the murder investigation but is scheduled to be transferred to Jackson district headquarters this week, said five of the nine were cleared and released yesterday.

The others were to undergo further questioning and lie detector tests today, Krans said.

Krans and other state police detectives worked around the clock over the weekend with Detroit Police Department holdup squad officers in an attempt to turn up the slayers of Laverne W. Wegener, 41-year-old Port Huron father who was beaten to death.

The intensified weekend police activity was touched off by an anonymous tipster, Krans said, which led to the arrest of the suspects in a series of three early-morning raids Saturday in Detroit. They were held incommunicado by Detroit police until yesterday.

The Associated Press today identified the four still being held, without charge, as Patricia Wooton, 18; Eddie Bailey, 27; Frank Lockett, 26, and Harold Simmons, 25, all of Detroit.

Police said the four admitted being at the airport the night that Wegener was killed.

The three men, police said, were seeing Miss Wooton off on a night plane, but she said she could produce witnesses to prove the four did not leave her downtown Detroit hotel room until 10:05 p.m.

Wegener was beaten fatally between 9:15 and 9:55 p.m.