The unsolved saga and murder of 3 time Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel is a sweeping drama of murder and mayhem based on actual historical facts and the discovery of the murder weapon. Plenty of friction between Harry Higel and Rube Allyn from 1913 to 1921, both ran for Mayor of Sarasota 3 times, Harry Higel won all three times. Harry Higel was of direct German heritage, Rube hated Germans. Mr. Higel murdered on Friday morn January 7th 1921 case remains unsolved 100 years later. Later in July 1921 City of Sarasota breaks away from Manatee County and becomes Sarasota County mostly due to ineffective investigation of Higel's murder and possible tainted Manatee County Grand Jury that freed the 'oh so guilty' Rube Allyn. Manatee County Grand Jury was a "Kangaroo Court" at least two members of the Grand Jury were personal friends, drinking buddies, and/or newspaper associates of Rube Allyn. On top of all this you have the supposed murder weapon, a Colt revolver with a broken grip, that appears to have been used to pistol whip Harry Higel on Jan 7th, 1921, found buried on Siesta Key with 6 live bullets, 100 years after the murder.
Whomever owned the 1915's era Colt .32 Caliber Police Positive Pocket revolver, whether it was murder suspect Rube Allyn or his best pal and drinking buddy Noel Mitchell the St Pete private detective known to carry a Colt revolver, the gun got a lot of use as seen on the grips. It appears the revolver was used for other purposes rather than just firing the weapon. It would take an awful lot to mark up the base of the hard rubber grips on the Colt revolver as seen above. Intended to address deficiencies of earlier models such as the Single Action Army, Colt's Positive Lock on double action revolvers manufactured between 1907 to 1922 prevented an accidental discharge even if the lowered hammer was struck or the pistol was dropped, allowing the revolver to be safely carried with all six chambers loaded. You could actually hammer nails with the Colt revolver and it would not discharge.
According to a Tampa Times news article of Jan 11, 1921, a chart with information on the murder of Harry Higel was published on Page 1. The Tampa Times reported that it appeared that witnesses saw Rube Allyn walking through some woods in the direction to where Harry Higel's body was found (4). It appears that at the site of Harry Higel's murder tracks were discovered in the sand (size 13 shoe) leading in the direction of Rube Allyn's home (2). The tracks ended at a point in Bayou Louise some 200 yards south of Rube Allyn's home (2). Rube Allyn wore a size 13 shoe, no other homes were at the end of Strand (Gulfmead Dr) other than Rube Allyn's in 1921. Manatee Grand Jury did not post a TRUE BILL and Rube Allyn was released form jail in March 1921. Case never went to trial.
The Real Story of Unsolved Murder of Harry Higel (by Rube Allyn) and the arson of the Higelhurst Hotel (by Rube Allyn) all on Siesta Key reads like a book and script for an action/drama movie. During the process of doing my research on Mr Higel's murder and all the characters linked to him and putting it all together, I felt like the story read like a novel and screenplay for a blockbuster movie. For every dirty deal linked to newsman Rube Allyn his pal private eye pal Noel Mitchell (also short term mayor of St Pete) of the Noel A. Mitchell National Detective Agency was always right there. The Higel book/movie would be a period piece, set from 1913 to 1921 in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Bradenton and St Pete Fl. Sarasota mayor Harry Higel and newsman Rube Allyn were neighbors and biter rivals on the north end of Siesta Key. Sarasota city residents complained of mishandling of unsolved murder of Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel by Manatee County Grand Jury and caused split form Bradentown Politicians and Manatee County.
UPDATE MAY 22, 2023.... Harry Higel murder suspect Rube Allyn's best pal and drinking buddy was St Pete mayor Noel A. Mitchell who also owned and operated the Noel A. Mitchell National Detective Agency in St Pete. Mr Mitchell was a Florida licensed private investigator with a concealed weapon permit from the Pinellas County Sheriff. Private eye Noel Mitchell carried a Colt revolver. The Noel A. Mitchell National Detective Agency in St Pete advertised that one of their agents was Joe Neil the best shot in Florida with a revolver, a crack shot that can hit a silver dollar at 30 paces. The Noel A. Mitchell National Detective Agency in St Pete also advertised that citizens with a burglar in the house should call Neil at 1228 and he would send men armed with shot guns loaded with buck shot to your house. Don't call the police, call The Noel A. Mitchell National Detective Agency in St Pete at 1228.
The Higel story pivots around WWI and America's induction in April 1917 to fight the Germans in France and it's effect in Sarasota Florida. Rube Allyn hated Harry Higel who was of German heritage. In the years leading up to and during World War I, the US experienced a wave of anti-German sentiment, fueled by super-patriotism (Rube Allyn) and xenophobia, that resulted in open hostility toward all things German. Rube Allyn's friend, idol, and mentor Elbert Hubbard and his wife were on the RMS Lusitania passenger ship that was torpedoed by a German U-Boat killing 1,195 people including 128 Americans on May 7, 1915. The disaster set off a chain of events that led to the U.S. entering World War I in 1917. Rube Allyn was devastated by his friend Elbert Hubbard's murder by the Germans, (Prussian Savages). Back Story, Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel murdered by newsman Rube Allyn in part because he was of German heritage, it was WWI on Siesta Key.
Back story on Higelhurst Hotel arson was Harry Higel's link to Germany
and even the Hotel name 'Hurst' links to a region in Germany. Higelhurst
Hotel was torched on March 30th, 1917 (by Rube Allyn), three days later
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session
of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany which was
granted, Rube Allyn was ecstatic. Rube Allyn was a war hawk and hated
Germans. Rube wanted to join the Army when he was in his 50's to go and
kill Germans in 1917. The story also gets involved with Prohibition that
began on January 17, 1920 when the Volstead Act went into effect. Rube
Allyn's best pal and drinking buddy was private eye Noel Mitchell also
the Mayor of St Pete, (for only 1 1/2 years in office).
Mayor Noel Mitchell was kicked out of office in Nov 1921 for drunken office party during Prohibition at City Hall raided by St Pete cops, Rube Allyn was there. Rube Allyn was often drunk in Sarasota or on benders with Noel Mitchell in St Pete and Ruskin where Allyn owned property. Noel Mitchell was a private investigator who owned the Mitchell Private Detective Agency in St Pete that employed rough and tumble guys with guns, Colt revolvers, just like the one used to kill Harry Higel. Noel Mitchell carried a Colt revolver and had a concealed carry permit from the Pinellas County Sheriff. Allyn and Mitchell both ignored Prohibition and both were arrested and jailed for public drunkenness on multiple occasions between 1913 and 1921. Rube Allyn had two other arrests for Attempted Murder and a charge for Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Noel Mitchell was connected to an unsolved violent pistol whipping murder in St Pete.
"Loaded Gun Found Buried on Siesta Key": 1920's Era Colt Revolver Found Buried on Siesta Key Verified by Sarasota County Sheriff Cold Case Detective as Possible Link to Murder of Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel. Get real here, nobody buries a perfectly fine, loaded Colt revolver with a broken grip on Siesta Key unless it was used in the bludgeoning murder of former Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel on Friday January 7tth, 1921. The Colt revolver went into the muck and mud of salt water wetland on Siesta Key in 1921 looking real shiny and pretty as seen in the top photo and came out of the ground 100 years later a rusty mess. But 6 live bullets remained in the cylinder of the Colt revolver, I have the cylinder, Colt grips with damage, barrel parts and the bullets on my desk.
The 100 year old Colt revolver found buried in the mud on Siesta Key that most likely links to the pistol whipping murder of Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel on Jan 7th, 1921 had deep gouges and scratches and a piece missing on the bottom of the hard rubber grips. The deep gouges and scratches and the missing piece would strongly indicate the Colt revolver was used to hit a hard, sharp, jagged object like the skull and teeth of Sarasota mayor Harry Higel. According to Dr Joseph Halton's medical report the multiple blows to Harry Higel's head fractured the bones in his head thus most likely leaving marks on the weapon, especially if it was the hard rubber Colt revolver's grips.
Photo credit screenshot Tampa Morning Tribune: TALL MAN MUST HAVE HIT HIGEL: Rube Allyn was a big strong man at over 6' 2" tall, with long arms and big fists and he wore a size 13 shoe, almost always canvas shoes (sneakers) with no socks. Rube was farm tough, supposedly he did work on a farm during the summer months. Harry Higel would have been no match in a street fight with an experienced bar-room brawler like Rube Allyn who was bigger and stronger than the much smaller Harry Higel at 5' 4" tall, in what appears to have occurred at the corner of Mangove Ave and Higel Ave on Friday morn Jan 7, 1921. Harry Higel's short height is hereditary as his father Frank Higel Sr was only 5' 0" feet tall. Rube Allyn was arrested after circumstantial evidence indicated he was the correct suspect in Mr Higel's murder.
Sarasota Dr Halton's medical report to the Coroners Jury on Friday evening Jan 7th, 1921, the day Harry Higel was murdered, indicated multiple depressed fractures to his skull, multiple broken facial bones, and at least one compound skull fracture. A Manatee County Coroners Jury inquiry convened by County Judge Cary B. Fish in Bradentown Fl found probable cause to arrest Rube Allyn Sr for Harry Higel's murder on Friday Jan 7, 1921. At a Coroners Jury inquiry investigating the murder of Harry Higel several witnesses gave testimony as to have seen Rube Allyn Sr near the Higel crime scene. Manatee County Judge Cary B. Fish convened the jury at about 3:00 pm Friday Jan 7th, 1921 in Bradentown Fl. The Coroners Jury viewed the remains of Mr Harry Higel at the Sarasota morgue and returned to the Bradentown City Hall to take testimony. Evidence discovered by the Coroners Jury was turned over to the Manatee County Grand Jury for indictment of Rube Allyn.Sarasota Fl Jan 7th, 1921, Dr Halton's medical report on murdered Harry Higel indicates at least 5 blows to his head from a heavy solid object, most likely a pistol whipping. Harry Higel was not hit by a car, he was targeted by what appears to be Rube Allyn, his neighbor. Wounds were found on the right side of the head above the eye and on the left side of the head also above the eye indicating Mr Higel was facing his murderer (Rube Allyn) when struck. Multiple wounds were also found on the top and back of Mr Higel's head indicating he most likely was hit when he was on the ground. The multiple wounds on Mr Higel's head appear to be depressed fractures from Dr Joseph Halton's report, possibly caused from a pistol whipping.
Dr Halton's medical report to the Coroners Jury on Friday evening Jan 7th, 1921, the day Harry Higel was murdered, indicated multiple depressed fractures to the skull, multiple broken facial bones, and at least one compound skull fracture. Mr. Higel suffered multiple depressed fractures all over his head as per Dr Halton's report. "The mark of the weapon was clearly shown with a hole in the skull made by the pointed end of the weapon". The holes in Mr Higel's skull are called depressed fractures. Mr Higel's injuries, that led to his death, most likely would have been caused by a pistol whipping, the butt of the Colt revolver has a pointed end, see photo above.
In Sarasota Rube Allyn hated 3 time Mayor Harry Higel, he could never beat him. Siesta Key was sparsely populated from 1917 to 1921 only about 40 people lived there full time. When Harry Higel's Higelhurst Hotel burned to the ground (arson) on Friday morn March 30th, 1917, Rube Allyn was there and living nearby on the north end of Siesta Key, he was a person of interest. Sarasota County residents complained of mishandling of unsolved murder of Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel by Manatee County Grand Jury caused a split form Bradentown/ Manatee County Politicians in 1921.
Sarasota's Rube Allyn Sr appears to have been the poster boy for someone with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). Rube Allyn Sr was a hot tempered, erratic, hard drinking Irishman whose eccentrics were condemned in Sarasota. Rube was known for fierce outbursts of temper. Rube was venomously bitter when confronted or disagreed with and frequently drunk in Sarasota. Rube had been in bitter disagreements with Harry Higel for years. Rube's testimony before a US Senate Committee in Feb. 1918 reveled a racist, bigoted man who hated Jews and German speaking people. Rube acted violently and impulsively and was arrested for Attempted Murder during the commission of a Hate Crime in Philadelphia in 1918, he also shot a neighbor boy Brooks Brewer, 19, in Ruskin with a shotgun in 1929 for no apparent reason. Someone with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) could destroy property, react way out of proportion to things that happen and could attack or kill another person. Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) involves repeated, sudden episodes of impulsive, aggressive, violent behavior or angry verbal outbursts in which the affected person reacts grossly out of proportion to the situation (Rube Allyn Sr.) and then going into a deep depression. Rage, domestic abuse, throwing or breaking objects, or other temper tantrums may be signs of Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). Intermittent Explosive Disorder is a chronic disorder that can continue for years, although the severity of outbursts may decrease with age. Problems with alcohol often occur along with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (Rube Allyn Sr often drunk). The explosive verbal and behavioral outbursts are out of proportion to the situation (Rube Allyn Sr), with no thought to consequences, and can include: Tirades, Heated Arguments, Shouting, Slapping, Shoving or Pushing, Physical Fights, Property Damage, Threatening or Assaulting People (Rube Allyn Sr). They're often perceived by others as always being angry. They may have frequent verbal fights (Rube Allyn Sr) or there can be physical abuse.
On
Friday morn Jan 7th 1921 at about 8:30 am former Sarasota mayor Harry
L. Higel was found brutally beaten around the head lying in a pool of
blood at the corner of Mangrove Ave and Higel Ave on Siesta Key Fl.
Witness Manuel Davis a worker for Harry Higel spoke with him from 8:00
am to 8:10 am on Mangrove Ave near the Shell pit about a load of wood to
be delivered to Higel's house around the corner on Higel Ave. Witness
M. L. Reed and others saw Rube Allyn between 8:00 am and 8:30 am making
his way along the Key near where Harry Higel's body was found. Sarasota
mayor Harry Lee Higel was murdered by newsman Rube Allyn during a pistol
whipping on Friday morn Jan 7th, 1921 at the north end of Siesta Key
Fl. Why were no photographs taken of
Rube Allyn's size 13 shoe prints next to where Harry Higel's body had
laid in the sand that led off in the direction of Rube Allyn's house on
Gulfmead Dr? Siesta Key was sparsely
populated from 1917 to 1921 only about 40 people lived there full time, how many wore a size 13 shoe?
When
Harry Higel was beat to death on Friday morn January 7th, 1921 on Siesta Key Fl, Rube
Allyn was there and living nearby. The real Rube Allyn,
a veteran newspaperman and media darling who put himself in the
spotlight every chance he got, would have set up shop on the corner of
Mangrove Ave (
If
a Movie was ever cast for the Unsolved Murder of Harry Higel on Siesta
Key Fl, Leonardo DiCaprio would be a shoe in for the tall, erratic, hard
drinking Irish newsman Rube Allyn character. Rube
Allyn's alibi was that he was back at home the morning of the Higel
murder by 8:00 am on Friday Jan 7 as confirmed by his wife Rose and
could not have done it as Higel was killed sometime between 8:10 am and
8:30 am. Interestingly Rose Allyn did not show up Wednesday morn March
9th to be questioned by the Grand Jury, she sent a statement instead.
Appears Rose Allyn was too busy getting Rube's 'Florida Fisherman
Magazine' ready for press over in Tampa, what the hell? In 1921 a felony conviction for Murder in Florida meant the death penalty and the execution method was hanging.
In 1923 a bill was passed in Florida and placed all executions under
State control instead of County and changed the method from hanging to
electrocution. It appears to me that this Manatee County Grand Jury was nothing more
than a "Kangaroo Court", a court held by a legitimate judicial
authority which intentionally disregards the court's legal or ethical
obligations and evidence. According to the Tampa Tribune on March 9th, 1921 the Manatee County Grand
Jury was made up of 19 men; M. C. Davis, George N. Brown, J. A. Howse,
J. A. Henry, T. B. Gallup, C. A.
Rowlett, C. F. Edwards, Carl Hendrix, Guy Jones, C. L. Davis, W. O.
Edwards, H. T. Glazier, Iron Ross, E. P. Lloyd, H. D. Horney, E. J.
Bright, James G. Foster and Frank Kennedy. J. A. Howse was chosen Foreman. The
murder case of Harry Higel by supposed suspect Rube Allyn was not
carried forth to trial due to a tainted Manatee County Grand Jury as claimed
by (Harry Higel's brother) George Higel who said: "One of the members of
the Manatee Grand Jury investigating the murder of Harry Higel and the
suspect Rube Allyn was a fellow newspaper man and personal friend of
Rube Allyn".
For a fictional quasi historical book telling the story about the murder of Harry Higel based on a 100 year old .32 caliber Colt Police Positive Pocket revolver just like the one I described in all my articles and actually found on Siesta Key, see Tony Dunbar's The Story of the Sarasota Celery Fields & Other Mysteries, Blind Pass Publications" https://blindpasspublications.com/Books/index#celery The FBI or “Bureau of Investigation” should have been contacted by the remaining Higel brothers in Sarasota to investigate the very obvious rigged Manatee County Grand Jury that allowed newsman Rube Allyn to get away with murder on Siesta Key Fl in Jan 1921.
Leonardo Dicaprio and Martin Scorsese block buster new movie 'Killers of the Flower Moon' takes place in the same time period as the unsolved murder of Sarasota mayor Harry Higel, the 1920's. Martin Scorsese's attempts an epic Western and ends up with a violent, riveting crime story. “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, tells the real story of the brazen murders of Indigenous people of Osage County, Okla in the 1920s to rave reviews. In the 1920s, members of the Osage Native American tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma, are murdered after oil is found on their land, and the FBI decides to investigate. Killers of the Flower Moon is a New kind of Scorsese masterpiece. The Osage Indians lack political and social power—or more accurately, the freedom to exercise that power, since many holders of underground mineral rights, including Mollie and her family, require white “guardians” to access their own money. Partly as a result of this legal setup, marriages between Osage women and white men in the territory are not uncommon. Two of Mollie’s sisters already have white husbands, so it’s no family scandal when Mollie marries her hired driver, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), newly arrived in town, 1917, after military service in World War I. Late in the film, an officer from the United States’ newly formed “Bureau of Investigation” (FBI) shows up at the Burkharts’ door to ask questions about the unsolved murders in Osage country, and what has for two-plus hours been a love story embedded in a portrait of organized crime suddenly morphs into a heart-pounding courtroom drama, as the weak-willed Ernest flails between his fear of his powerful uncle and his real, if twisted, loyalty to his broken, bereaved, but still trusting wife.
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