German immigrants in US During WWI 1914-1918 suffered internment at slave labor camps and home & business's burned to ground like in Siesta Key Fl

WWI June 28 1914 - Nov 11,1918. When war broke out in 1914 between the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Russia, Japan, and later Italy) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey), the United States announced a policy of strict neutrality in keeping with tradition. This position was untenable when American shipping came under repeated attack from German U-boats. During WWI 1914 -1918 German immigrants in the US suffered harassment, internment at slave labor camps, home and business's burned to the ground (Higelhurst Hotel Siesta Key), lynchings and even the humiliation of being tarred and feathered. On Siesta Key Fl it was known that Harry Higel's grandparents were German immigrants. Mr Higel named his Higelhurst Hotel after the small village Hurst Germany where he grandparents/family came from. Although a little-remembered part of history today, America was completely wracked by the fear and paranoia of Germans that swept from coast to coast during the Great War. 

The United States declared war on Germany in April 1917 and helped lead the Allies to victory. But before that, many Americans were terrified of the German threat growing on the other side of the world. When WWI broke out and Germany became the enemy of the Allies abroad, the American government began calling on its people to reject their German-American neighbors. President Woodrow Wilson declared in 1917 that German-Americans were to be treated as 'alien-enemies' and that they should reject their German identity if they were to be accepted in US society.

"Hotel Higelhurst’s proximity to Rube Allyn’s property have led some to believe he was responsible for devastating 'Higelhurst' fire, as well as Harry Higel’s murder", Jeff LaHurd said, a local historian who oversees the Sarasota County History Center. The unsolved murder of Harry Higel story on Siesta Key Fl links WWI and America's induction in April 1917 to fight the Germans in France, Higelhurst Hotel arson fire in March 2017 on Siesta Key just days prior to America induction into WWI, Dirty Politics in Florida, Anti-German Sentiment in America and specifically in Sarasota with Harry Higel whose grandparents were German immigrants, RMS Lusitania passenger ship sunk by German U boat in Atlantic, 1920's Prohibition, unsavory Private Investigators in St Pete, Harry Higel Murder on Siesta Key during a pistol whipping, Rigged Manatee County Grand Jury frees murder suspect Rube Allyn, and finally buried loaded Colt revolver with a broken grip found buried 100 Years later on Siesta Key that appears to link to Higel Murder. Harry Higel named his fancy 2 story hotel on Siesta Key the 'HigleHurst Inn' in 1915, Higel from his family name and Hurst from his families village in North Rhine-Westphalia Germany. The village Hurst is situated nearby to the villages Bach and Loch and north-east of Franfurt Germany. Mr. Higel's war hawk extremest neighbor Rube Allyn knew all of this. You can't make this stuff up, it all really happened.

Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel murdered by newsman Rube Allyn simply because he was of German heritage it was WWI on Siesta Key. WWI 1914 to 1918: It was a time when German immigrants and their children born in the USA were America’s undesirables. Americans of German descent and German culture, like Harry Higel and his family, in the United States were very much under attack. Because Germany was one of America’s main adversaries in WWI, many Anglo-Americans began to fear that German Americans were still loyal to the Kaiser, or German emperor. Harry Higel's adversary Rube Allyn, in Sarasota and on Siesta Key, hated Germans. 

Suddenly, all German Americans became “hyphenated Americans” who suspiciously practiced their own traditions instead of “assimilating” into Anglo-American culture. As President Woodrow Wilson once admonished: “Any man who carries a hyphen about with him, carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic when he gets ready.” In Rube Allyn's booze soaked brain, President Wilson had made it "open season on Germans".

Throughout the U.S., during 1914 to 1918 individuals (like Rube Allyn), groups, and politicians took actions, larger and small, that were aimed at ridding itself of German culture and German influence in the country. Case in point thre is no doubt that Rube Allyn burning down Harry Higel's German themed HigelHurst Hotel on Siesta Key in March of 1917 (see Tampa Tribune article above). The climate became so hostile that by 1918, South Dakota prohibited the use of German over the telephone, and in public assemblies of three or more persons. With the US entry into World War I after Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare, German nationals were automatically classified as "enemy aliens." Two of the four main World War I-era internment camps for "Germans"  were located in Hot Springs, N.C. and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.

 

The War Prison Camp of Fort Oglethorpe GA for Germans during WWI consisted of a huge, somewhat hilly plot of land approximately a mile square. The entire area was surrounded by two barbed-wire fences, about ten feet high." Tripod watch towers were located outside the barbed wire perimeter. Each tower was equipped with a search light, telephone and machine-gun.Fort Oglethorpe was a military facility used to hold German prisoners of war from 1917 to 1920. Not only did it hold war prisoners, it also held civilian German immigrants and wealthy German-Americans who the American government believed carried too much influence. Fort Oglethorpe also held German businessmen, journalists, academics, and artists who likely had no connection with the war effort of their native country. Several committed suicide while incarcerated at Fort Oglethorpe. Some of the prisoners performed hard labor on the roads and in the quarry.

Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer wrote during WWI that "All German aliens interned by the government are regarded as enemies, and their property is treated accordingly." President Woodrow Wilson issued two sets of regulations on April 6, 1917, and November 16, 1917, imposing restrictions on German-born male residents of the United States over the age of 14. The rules were written to include natives of Germany who had become citizens of countries other than the U.S.; all were classified as aliens. 

Some 250,000 people in that category were required to register at their local post office, to carry their registration card at all times, and to report any change of address or employment. The same regulations and registration requirements were imposed on German females on April 18, 1918. Some 6,300 such aliens were arrested. Thousands were interrogated and investigated. A total of 2,048 (0.8%) were incarcerated for the remainder of the war in two camps, Fort Douglas, Utah, for those west of the Mississippi, and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, for those east of the Mississippi. 

The cases of these German aliens, whether being considered for internment or under internment, were managed by the Enemy Alien Registration Section of the Department of Justice. From December 1917 this section was headed by J. Edgar Hoover, then not yet 23 years old. Back story on mayor Harry Higel's Higelhurst Hotel arson on Siesta Key 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, 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 in his 50's to go and kill Germans in France in 1917 but he was too old at 52 to join.

Plenty of friction between mayor Harry Higel and newspaper editor 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, murdered on January 7th 1921, case remains unsolved 100 years later. In July 1921 City of Sarasota breaks away from Manatee County and becomes Sarasota County mostly due to ineffective investigation oh Higel 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 and/or newspaper associates of Rube Allyn.

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. 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.

"Gun Buried on Siesta Key": 1920's Era Colt Revolver Found Buried on Siesta Key Verified by Sarasota County Sheriff Cold Case Detective Brandon Clark as Possible Link to Murder of Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel. Get real here, nobody buries a perfectly fine, loaded gun 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 .32 caliber Police Pocket Positive six shot double action 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 it on my desk.

I had not indicated the exact address on Givens St off of Higel Ave on Siesta Key where the broken Colt revolver was found as the homeowner had his house up for sale and I did not want to create undo attention to the address. The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that Harry Higel was found unconscious in the middle of the road of Siesta Dr and Higel Ave, (where I have claimed all along the exact location of the crime scene).
A). The Sarasota County Sheriff report revealed today indicates the firearm that I tuned in on Nov 26th 2019, is in fact a 1900's era Colt revolver produced between 1907 and 1922, as I have claimed in numerous reports.
B). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that back in 1921 investigators were unable to determine the instrument used to injure Higel.
C). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates injuries to Higel were from a solid object and above the neck (as in a pistol whipping).
D). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates the weapon used to kill Higel was never located.
E). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that rumors had it, the weapon used to kill Higel was buried somewhere on Siesta Key.
F). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that to this date, no weapon has ever been found, aside from this Colt revolver.
G). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that the location of the Colt revolver was approximately one (1) block of Higel's location.
H). On 3/24/2020 The Sarasota County Sheriff report further states by writer: "I retrieved the weapon from Property and inspected it's parts. Upon review and through my own independent research, I believe, as reported by (Bill) Warner, these parts are to a Colt revolver produced in the early 1900's".

For a fictional story about the murder of Harry Higel with a weapon like the one I describe, see Tony Dunbar's The Story of the Sarasota Celery Fields & Other Mysteries, Blind Pass Publications" https://blindpasspublications.com/Books/index#celery

The Herald Tribune Newspaper in Sarasota did an article about the Higel murder, "100 years later, the murder of popular Sarasota mayor Harry Higel remains unsolved", by Billy Cox, Jan 7th, 2021. The Herald Tribune pointed out that "on March 9, 1921, Rube Allyn was released after a grand jury deliberated for 10 minutes. Sarasota private investigator Bill Warner claims on his website the jury was filled with Allyn’s “newspaper pals and drinking buddies.” Bill Warner says Higel’s injuries are consistent with a pistol-whipping; in fact, he says rusted fragments of a .32 caliber pocket Colt revolver – manufactured between 1907 and 1922 – were recovered near a Givens Street canal in November 2019. He says the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the make and the approximate time range of its manufacture. “You’d never throw away a revolver like that with six live bullets in it unless you’d committed a crime,” Bill Warner says. Like I said, this story looks like a script for a block buster movie. see https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2021/01/07/sarasota-mayor-harry-higels-murder-remains-unsolved-100-years-later/6564394002/

Copyright Protection: Bill Warner Investigations Sarasota Fl Original Articles Published on This Website Using Proprietary Research

Unsolved Murder of Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel and Rigged Manatee County Grand Jury Basis for a Movie it Was WWI on Siesta Key with Rube Allyn

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.

In the early 1900's a photo was published of an assortment of local Sarasota men in front of the Bay Island Hotel on Siesta Key Fl. In the photo murder suspect Rube Allyn is seen at the far left, he hardly ever wore a hat. In the same photo, on the far right 3rd from the end is Mayor Harry Higel, he almost always wore a straw hat and had a mustache in later years. The photo depicts the big difference in size and height between the 6' 2" Rube Allyn and the 5' 5" Mayor Harry Higel.

HARRY HIGEL MURDER TIMELINE: On Friday morn Jan 7th, 1921 at about 7:30 AM Bill Reed a carpenter driving to work on a Key house saw Rube Allyn near the location of where Harry Higel's body was found on Siesta Key, he knew Rube. Rose Allyn, Rube's wife, later confirmed Rube was out of the house sometime before 7:30 am hunting with his young dog. Campers Charles Rodman and Herman Rosener had set up tents near the beach and were able to see and identify Rube Allyn as the man they saw a few minutes before 8:00 AM walking in the vicinity of where Harry Higel would be found at 8:30 AM. Campers Rodman and Rosener also spoke about a car parked in the vicinity near the beach, that most likely belonged to Rube Allyn. Manuel McMullen a worker at the shell pit near Mangrove Ave (Siesta Dr) spoke directly to Harry Higel at 8:10 AM, he was to deliver wood to the Higel house at 8:30 AM Friday January 1921. Rube Allyn most likely murdered Harry Higel during a pistol whipping with his Colt revolver and then drove down to the Givens Street bridge and threw the bloody Colt revolver into Bayou Louise and then returned home.

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.

Former Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel had built his Higelhurst Hotel in 1915 at the very north tip of Gulfmead Dr on Siesta Key Fl, it was burned down in 1917, Rube Allyn lived next door. According to an article in the Tampa Tribune on March 30th 1917 (just days before America entered WWI against the Germans), the HigelHurst Hotel was a two story building and had an old fashioned Virginia portico extending all along the West front of the building facing Big Pass and what is now Lido beach. The Higelhurst Hotel on North Siesta Key was at the entrance to Big Pass on Sarasota Bay with an unobstructed view of the Gulf of Mexico. The Higelhurst Hotel was also near the site where Harry Higel was murdered in 1921, the case remains unsolved. The 'Hurst' name part of Harry Higel's Hotel refers to the Hurst region of Germany were Mr. Higel's grandparents immigrated from to America.

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 (Siesta Dr) and Higel Ave where Harry Higel was found and held a press conference and lead the crowd searching for Mr Higel's killer, he did not. Rube was the correct suspect and arrested for murder. Veteran newspaper guy Rube Allyn took no part in the manhunt on Siesta Key looking for Harry Higel's murderer. Rube stayed home and hid in his Gulmead Dr house until the Manatee County Deputy Sheriff came to his front door, “That's all too coincidental to be a coincidence.” The footprints, tracks in the sand near the where the body of Harry Higel had laid at the cor of Mangrove and Higel Ave on Friday morn Jan 7th 1921 leading in the direction of Rube Allyn's house are very significant as Rube Allyn was one of the few men on Siesta Key who wore a size 13 shoe. A search of Rube Allyn's house on Friday January 7th 1921 at about 11:00 am found a pair of trousers belonging to Rube Allyn Sr that had been recently washed and were still wet. When examining Rube Allyn’s house the Deputy Sheriff noted a pair of canvas shoes with a rubber sole that appeared to be similar to those that left tracks at the scene of the crime. This was enough evidence for Rube Allyn Sr to be arrested. Apparently no photographs of the size 13 footprints in the sand next to where Harry Higel's body had laid were taken to match with Rube Allyn's size 13 canvas shoes. This would have been direct evidence that Rube Allyn was at the crime scene.

The Herald Tribune Newspaper in Sarasota did an article about the Higel murder, "100 years later, the murder of popular Sarasota mayor Harry Higel remains unsolved", by Billy Cox, Jan 7th, 2021. The Herald Tribune pointed out that "on March 9, 1921, Rube Allyn was released after a grand jury deliberated for 10 minutes. Sarasota private investigator Bill Warner claims on his website the jury was filled with Allyn’s “newspaper pals and drinking buddies.” Bill Warner says Higel’s injuries are consistent with a pistol-whipping; in fact, he says rusted fragments of a .32 caliber pocket Colt revolver – manufactured between 1907 and 1922 – were recovered near a Givens Street canal in November 2019. He says the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the make and the approximate time range of its manufacture. “You’d never throw away a revolver like that with six live bullets in it unless you’d committed a crime,” Bill Warner says. Like I said this Higel story looks like a script for a blockbuster movie. see https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2021/01/07/sarasota-mayor-harry-higels-murder-remains-unsolved-100-years-later/6564394002/

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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