Motive: Competition at Beach Resorts for Rich New York & Philadelphia Fishermen Back Story on 1921 Pistol Whipping Murder Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel

Motive: Competition at Beach Resorts for Rich New York & Philadelphia Fishermen is Back Story on 1921 Pistol Whipping Murder Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel. 100 Years Ago on Friday Jan 7th, 1921 there was a conspiracy to murder former Sarasota Mayor Harry Lee Higel on Siesta Key, by newsman Rube Allyn and St Pete Mayor/private investigator Noel A. Mitchell, they got away with it. Harry Higel murder suspect Rube Allyn's best pal and drinking buddy was mayor and private investigator Noel A. Mitchell in St Pete who had the exact same business plan as Harry Higel on Siesta Key. Noel A. Mitchell arrived in Florida in 1904 to enter the real estate game. Noel Mitchell was from Rhode Island, he relocated to St. Petersburg and purchased The Detroit, one of the largest hotels in town where he lodged Rube Allyn and his office for the Florida Fisherman at no charge. Mitchell was Rube Allyn's benefactor. Rube Allyn was the perfect dupe for Noel Mitchell to use to get rid of his real estate compition on Siesta Key.

Noel A. Mitchell also had a beach front hotel, 'Mitchell's Beach Hotel' on Madeira Beach just like Harry Higel's 'Higelhurst Beach Hotel' on Siesta Key. "Sandman" Mitchell aggressively sold beach front lots near Maderia Beach just like Harry Higel did on Siesta Key Beach. From 1913 to 1924 Noel Mitchell developed the south end of Madeira Beach on John's Pass. Just like what Harry Higel did on Big Pass Siesta Key Fl. As a realtor, Noel had it platted, as Mitchell's Beach Subdivision, just like what Harry Higel did on Siesta Key. Today’s deeds still refer to it as that, "Mitchell's Beach". Noel A. Mitchell became Harry Higel's arch rival, or was it the other way around, for the rich tourist trade and fishermen from the North East. They both advertised their beach resorts in New York City and Philadelphia newspapers, until the Higelhurst hotel burned down on Siesta Key in March 1917. Hotel Higelhurst opened its doors on March 9, 1915, with more than 200 people attending the grand opening reception. Since the bridge to the key was not finished until April 1917, ferry boats provided transportation to the Higelhurst hotel. 

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.

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. Harry Hjgel's fatal injuries on Friday Jan 7th, 1921 could have been caused by the butt and metal frame work of a revolver, pistol whipped. The Colt Police Positive Special .32 caliber revolver was very popular with law enforcement in the 1920's produced with fine carbon steel with fixed iron sights, blade front, V-notch rear. The first issue of the Police Positive ran from the revolver's introduction in 1907 until 1922 sporting Colt's standard hard rubber grips, checkered Walnut grips became standard in 1923. Early Colt Police Positive Special .32 caliber revolvers, 1907 to 1922, had hard rubber stocks, (grips), with fleur-de-lis designs and the Colt name in an oval at top, as seen in my photos in this article of the one found buried in November 2019.

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 Higelhurst Hotel and wooden dock were burned down on Friday morn March 30th 1917, Rube Allyn was a person of interest in the arson of the Higelhurst Hotel that stood at the entrance of Big Pass and facing Sarasota Bay. The Hotel caretaker Mrs Mueller left the Higelhurst Hotel on Thursday afternoon March 29th 1917 for Sarasota where she spent the evening with friends. The Higelhurst Hotel which was located at the very north end of Siesta Key, was empty and vacant when torched on March 30th 1917, Rube Allyn lived next door on Gulmead Dr and hated Harry Higel (and anyone of German decent) who lived directly across Bayou Louise on the north end of Higel Ave. On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked a special joint session of the United States Congress for a declaration of war against the German Empire. Congress responded with the declaration on April 6. Rube Allyn was ecstatic, he hated the Prussian Savages and wanted to go to Germany and kill Germans. 

The Higel story pivots around WWI and America's induction in April 1917 to fight the Germans in France and it's effect in 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 including 128 Americans on May 7, 1915.  

Rube Allyn hated Germans, all Germans. As a result of U-boat attacks on U.S. shipping to Europe, the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Germany on February 4, 1917. 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. Germany's resumption of submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships in 1917 became the primary motivation behind Wilson's decision to lead the United States into World War I.

Rube Allyn's best pal and drinking buddy in 1920 was St Pete Mayor Noel Mitchell. Often drunk Rube and Noel had a lot in common including a blinding hatred of Harry Higel. Noel A. Mitchell was a licensed private detective and owned the  "Noel A. Mitchell National Detective Agency" in St Pete Fl. Noel Mitchell had a concealed carry permit issued by the Pinellas County Sheriff. Noel Mitchell carried a Colt .32 caliber pocket positive revolver. If Noel carried a Colt revolver so did his best pal Rube Allyn. In May 1924 Noel A. Mitchell's right to carry a concealed weapon was denied by St Pete Chief of Police George M. Coslick. 

Noel A. Mitchell made his home in New Haven Conn during the hot Florida summer months. Mitchell is also linked to NYC and Hartford Conn where the Colt Firearm factory is located. In the 1890's Connecticut, New York and all of the North East were 'Colt Country'. The Colt New Police revolver was selected by New York City (NYPD) Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt in 1896 to be the first standard-issue revolver for NYPD. Noel A. Mitchell carried a Colt revolver, he had a concealed carry permit issued by the Pinellas County Sheriff. In 1924 Noel A. Mitchell's concealed carry permit for his revolver was revoked by the Pinellas County Sheriff. Later in 1930 Noel A. Mitchell was the prime suspect in the murder of George Council in St Pete who had been pistol whipped and set on fire. Council's revolver with a broken grip was later found in Mitchell's house.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: On Feb 20th 1918 Rube Allyn gleefully told a Senate Congressional Committee investigation of the US Naval shipyard at Hog Island where he was working, that he threw two Jews off the moving trolley into the cobblestone street on his way to work just because they were Jews and in his way. Rube Allyn was arrested for Attempted Murder and what would be additional charges today for a "HATE CRIME", outside Philadelphia PA. 

The charges were dropped later after the victims disappeared when Hog Island fired all the Russian Jews. Rube Allyn hated and despisd all the German speaking Russian Jews at Hog Island shipyard, his words. Russia, at the time, controlled now-independent countries like Poland, Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania. The Russian Jews who came from the slums of Philadelphia and New York City were not equal to Rube Allyn and the other Irish and Italian workers, so claimed Rube.

First someone (Rube) burned down his German themed HigelHurst hotel very north end of Gulfmead Dr on Siesta Key March 30 1917, just days before the US declares war on Germany and when that did not slow him down someone (Rube) killed Harry Higel on Friday January 7th 1921 just days after his 53rd birthday. Harry Higel was found on the corner of Mangrove Ave (Siesta Dr) and Higel Ave on Siesta Key Fl at about 8:30 am. Harry Higel was bludgeoned to death, beaten repeatedly around the head with an unknown hard object. In 1921 there were only about 3 dozen (36) people living full time on Siesta Key Fl, Rube Allyn and Harry Higel were two of them. Rube Allyn was a tall man at 6' 2" with long arms and a powerful build, Harry Higel was much shorter at about 5' 5" tall. Wounds were found on the top, back, side and front (face) of Mr Higel's head, most likely from a pistol whipping. Newspaper front page headlines of the times screamed "A Tall Man Must Have Hit Harry Higel", Rube Allyn was a tall man. 

As you will see in this article Rube Allyn hated Germans just because they were Germans, like his neighbor Harry Higel. You will also learn that Rube Allyn was a violent and troubled man with connections to people in St Pete who could get away with Murder. Beach Campers Charles Rodman and Herman Rosener who had set up tents near the north end of Siesta Key and were able to see and identify Rube Allyn as the man they saw a few minutes before 8:00 am on Friday Jan 7th walking in the vicinity of Mangrove (Siesta Dr) and Higel Ave where Harry Higel would be found at about 8:30 am in a pool of his own blood. Harry Higel was last seen alive and spoke to by one of his workers Manuel McMullen at 8:10 am Friday morn Jan 7th on Mangrove (Siesta Dr). Manuel was to deliver a load of wood to the Higel house on the north end of Higel Ave on Siesta Key at about 8:30 am. According to Frank Higel Jr, Harry's brother, he surmised that Rube Allyn left the scene of the crime on the corner of Mangrove Ave (Siesta Dr) and Higel Ave at about 8:25 am and waded across Bayou Louise to his house at very north end of Siesta Key on what is now Gulfmead Dr washing out the blood stains on his canvas shoes and his trousers in the salt water. 

Manatee County Deputy Sheriff D. R. Brown and Sarasota City Marshal L. D. Hodges a Manatee County Sheriff Deputy and also Chief of Police for Sarasota were at the Higel crime scene at about 10:00 am. Harry Higel had been found brutally beaten around the head lying in the road earlier that day at 8:30 am. Upon investigation Deputies Brown and Hodges found tracks in the sand (Rube wore size 13 shoe) leading from Rube Allyn's home on the Key near the Higel home towards the scene of the tragedy, and on the other side of the road, and tracks of the same size in the sand leading back in the direction of the Allyn home on Friday morn Jan 7th, 1921. Law Man L. D. Hodges had served as the town Marshall for Sarasota and then Police Chief from 1908 until 1921 when Higel was murdered. Sarasota was part of Manatee County in Jan 1921 when Higel was murdered, it was a Manatee County investigation, not the City of Sarasota Police Dept and there was no Sarasota County Sheriff Dept in January 1921, not until July 1921.

At least 4 witnesses corroborated on the fact that Rube Allyn was near the murder scene on foot before 8:00 am. Rube Allyn was sent to County jail in Bradenton and spent 61 days there awaiting the Manatee County Grand Jury to Convene on Wednesday March 9, no bail was allowed. Grand Juries have more of an advisory role to the prosecutor. They help to determine if there is enough probable cause in a case for an indictment for criminal charges. Grand juries do not determine guilt. They only ascertain if there enough evidence for a trial and a conviction. If you’ve ever sat on a grand jury, this may not be a surprise. The grand jury’s job according to prosecutors is simply to decide whether there is reason enough to bring an indictment, this includes any circumstantial evidence and witness statements, in the Rube Allyn case there were many. Jurors generally agree there is enough to indict. As the saying goes, "most grand juries will indict a ham sandwich". Yet in the case of Rube Allyn the Grand Jury deliberated for only 10 minutes after 6 1/2 hours of evidence put before them including witness statements and failed to indict Rube Allyn with NO TRUE BILL, the fix was in.  

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 (Palmetto), George N. Brown, J. A. Howse, J. A. Henry, T. B. Gallup (Real Estate/News Editor), C. A. Rowlett (Builder), C. F. Edwards, Carl Hendrix, Guy Jones (News Editor), C. L. Davis, W. O. Edwards, H. T. Glazier (builder), Iron Ross (Sarasota Board of Trade), E. P. Lloyd, H. D. Horney (Bradenton Bank and Trust director), E. J. Bright (Adams Boat Line director), 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.

MANATEE COUNTY GRAND JURY TANKS ON RUBE ALLYN MURDER CASE: Rube Allyn was arrested for murder of Harry Higel after Coroners Jury examines the evidence and Mr Higel's body on Jan 7th, 1921. At least 4 witnesses corroborated on the fact that Rube Allyn was near the murder scene on foot before 8:00 am. Rube Allyn was sent to County jail in Bradenton and spent 61 days there awaiting the Manatee County Grand Jury to Convene on Wednesday March 9, no bail was allowed. Grand juries have more of an advisory role to the prosecutor. They help to determine if there is enough probable cause in a case for an indictment for criminal charges. Grand juries do not determine guilt. They only ascertain if there enough evidence for a trial and a conviction. If you’ve ever sat on a grand jury, this may not be a surprise. The grand jury’s job according to prosecutors is simply to decide whether there is reason enough to bring an indictment, this includes any circumstantial evidence and witness statements. Jurors generally agree there is enough to indict. As the saying goes, "most grand juries will indict a ham sandwich". Yet in the case of Rube Allyn the Grand Jury deliberated for only 10 minutes after 6 1/2 hours of evidence put before them including witness statements and failed to indict with NO TRUE BILL.

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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