The
Kidnapping of Mrs. Phelps
Mrs. Sophia Phelps
of Bonifay, Holmes County, Florida, 77 years old and described as a crippled 95-pound
woman, was the widowed wife of Confederate Civil War veteran, John Lucas
Phelps. She was his third wife and had been married since 1890. Mr. Phelps
received a pension from his service in the war, and had received a fairly large
settlement not long before he died in 1931.
There
must have been rumors in the area that the widow Mrs. Phelps had a large sum of
money secreted away in her home in Bonifay.
On the 17th of May in 1934, two brothers named Millard, and
Dewey Keith, along with a friend named Bonard Retherford took a trip from
Geneva, Alabama down the road to Bonifay and knocked on Mrs. Phelps front door.
She
answered the knock and when they told her that her Daughter-in-law was dead,
she opened the door and let them in. Reportedly this was when Millard Keith
slapped the 77-year-old woman and demanded money. She initially resisted, and
then produced $1.80 and claiming that was all she had, gave it to them. Not believing her, they took her out of the
house and put her in their car. About this time, neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Robert
Bailey were stopped outside near the house by Dewey Keith and at gunpoint told
to get in the car.
Unknown
to the kidnappers, there was a guest, Mrs. Minnie Hudson, in another bedroom
and she fled the house through the back door and went to the home of a neighbor
named, Walter Fielding. Before the police could be notified the three men along
with Mrs. Phelps and the Baileys, had departed the area.
The
kidnapping trio, took their hostages 12 miles north of Bonifay to a wooded area
near a lake. Mrs. Phelps later said that one of the kidnappers told her he was
John Dillinger and that, “I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you don’t
give me your money”. He also threatened
to kill her if she didn’t keep her mouth shut. According to Retherford’s later
testimony, Millard Keith beat Mrs. Phelps and she finally told him she would
give them her money. They returned to her home, but the Sheriff and a crowd of
people were there. They abandoned her in the still moving car and fled the
area. The Bailey’s had stayed under guard by Retherford, (according to his own
confession), at the lake until released at daylight unharmed. I believe Dewey
was the one who stayed with the Baileys at the lake. When the Sheriff arrived
at the lake, the kidnapper thought it was his partners returning. When he saw
the Sheriff, he jumped into the lake and swam away, later to be arrested at a
friend’s house. The Baileys hid in the
woods until they saw it was the Sheriff and they were safe.
The
authorities investigated and found that Mrs. Phelps had $1200 in her home. They
made her put it in a local bank. The three men were quickly arrested and held
at Chipley in Washington county for their safety.
On
July 4, 1934, James Bonard Retherford, and Millard Keith were found guilty with
no recommendation for mercy in the kidnapping.
Dewey had a separate trial and on the 14th of July he was
found guilty but received a recommendation for mercy.
These
three young men were found guilty under the new “Lindbergh Kidnapping Law”
which called for the death penalty if found guilty without a recommendation for
mercy. Millard Keith, and Retherford were sentenced to death, and Dewey Keith
was given a life sentence.
In
September of 1935 the convictions, and death sentences were overturned by the
Florida Supreme Court and the two were granted a new trial due to the finding
that the Holmes County Circuit Court failed to charge the jury correctly. It was decided that the crime did not qualify
as a kidnapping due to the fact that Mrs. Phelps was released after 2 hours,
and no ransom was paid. It was considered an armed robbery. They were still
found guilty and sentenced to life terms.
Mrs.
Phelps passed away 24 Nov 1939. She is buried next to her husband in the Red
Hill Cemetery in Holmes County.
I
don’t know much about the Keith brothers after their convictions. I know Millard
Keith was married and living in Jacksonville, FL by 1946. He passed away in Gadsden Co., FL on 15 Sep
1987.
Admiral
Dewey Keith, (yes, that was his name), passed away in Geneva County,
Alabama on 17 November 1996.
Then
we get to James Bonard Retherford and the rest of his short life.
Bonard
Retherford, and the Keith brothers entered prison on December 20, 1935. On
March 20, 1940, Retherford and two others escaped from a prison road camp in
Alachua Co. On the 20th of July, 1940, he was recaptured and
returned to the prison camp.
He
was paroled March 20, 1943 and registered as a criminal with the Orlando Police
Department on the 27th of July. He found employment as a truck driver by a
friendly manager at the X-Cel Feed Company. After a few weeks, Retherford stole
the manager’s car and drove it “Jooking” all over Florida and up into Alabama.
He finally abandoned the car near Tallahassee, and was soon arrested on the 29th
of December, and returned to Orlando. He pled guilty of the auto theft and was
fined $100 and given six months in jail. His parole was revoked and he was
returned to prison to serve more of his life sentence in the Phelps case.
When
his parole was revoked by Judge W. M. Murphy, Jr. Retherford turned to police
officer, Sgt. Cloyce Palmer, who had tracked the auto theft case and brought
Retherford back to Orlando, and told him, “I’ll be back.”
On
April 5, 1944, Retherford escaped from the road camp in Floral City, Florida.
He made his way to Orlando, and took a taxi to the home of Sgt. Palmer. When
Palmer answered the door Palmer told him, “Make a move, and I’ll kill you.”
Palmer immediately attacked and grappled with Retherford, and during the
struggle the escaped convict was fatally shot.
Sgt.
Cloyce Palmer retired from the Orlando Police Dept. on 30 June 1967 after 28
years on the force including 25 as a Sgt.
He passed away on Sept 18, 1987.
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