Bechtel, Norman R. (d. 1932)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1932 Jan 27 p. 4

Birth date:

text of obituary:

LOCAL

. . .

— The Review this week received from Rev. S. M. Grubb of Philadelphia, Pa., excerpts of newspaper reports concerning the brutal murder of Norman R. Bechtel in Philadelphia early Wednesday morning, January 20. Mr. Bechtel was a member of the Hereford Mennonite church, where funeral services were held last Sunday. A complete account of the tragedy will appear in next week's Review.

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1932 Feb 3 p. 1

text of obituary:

Philadelphia Church Worker Meets Tragic Death.

Leaving a committee meeting of young people at Lansdale, Pa., late Wednesday night, January 20, Norman Bechtel of Philadelphia, Pa., was brutally attacked in his car before he reached his home. Two other young people from Philadelphia who attended the meeting and accompanied him in his car to their homes were the last to see him alive. Some time later he was found dying on a vacant estate in the Germantown district, his body badly mutilated by knife wounds and his forehead carved with wierd [sic] designs.

Rev. S. M. Grubb of Philadelphia, in writing to the Review, makes the following note of explanation: "My belief is that he was taken for Judge McDevitt by the fiends. The judge has been a terror to criminals and Bechtel's body was found within sight of his home. In a general way there was a resemblance to the Judge and I am informed they both drive the same make of cars."

The following additional information is taken from a Philadelphia daily of January 12:

"A careful hunt for fingerprints on Bechtel's blood-stained automobile ended in failure. Apparently the slayers either wore gloves, or were so splashed with blood that everything they touched left only an indistinct smear. Blood smears were found on the steering wheel and doorhandles but no finger prints.

"The car was found abandoned at 32d and Pearl streets nine hours after the discovery of the murder. It had been seen at the corner as early as 4 a. m.

"Around Boyertown, where investigators are seeking the meaning of the symbols cared on Bechtel's forehead, residents agreed that he was the section's "model young man."

"His family founded Bechtelsville, five miles from Boyertown, and many relatives live in the nearby towns of Palm, Congo, Bally, Barto and Gablesville.

"Rewading, Pa., Jan. 22 — There is no belief in hexerei