If this site was useful to you, we'd be happy for a small donation. Be sure to enter "MLA donation" in the Comments box.
Coblentz, Paul M. (1932-1957)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1957 Aug 1 p. 3
Birth date: 1932
text of obituary:
2,500 Attend Services For Amish Farmer Killed in Hold-Up
APPREHEND TWO YOUNG MEN FOR SLAYING IN HOLMES COUNTY, OHIO
Sugarcreek, Ohio. — An estimated 2,500 persons attended funeral services at the farm of Mose Coblentz west of Mt. Hope on July 22 for his 25-year-old son, Paul Coblentz, Amish father who was brutally slain by two youthful gunmen in his basement house. It was believed one of the largest Amish funerals ever held in Ohio.
The tragic chain of events at the Coblentz home began late in the evening of July 18 when two drunken young men entered and demanded all of the money in the house. Their request was met, but one of the bandits then started to assault the young mother, Mrs. Dora Coblentz, and threatened to kill their 19-month-old daughter. Hearing her cries for help, the young father attempted to leave the house to sumon [sic] his father from the large farmhouse on the same yard. He was shot down as he started through the door.
The young bandits then made their escape. The father, hearing the shooting, came to investigate and found his son dead of a bullet wound through the head.
The two young men identified as the perpetrators of the crime were later apprehended at Lacon, Ill. and were returned to Holmes County to face charges of first degree murder. Under Ohio law convictions calls for execution in the electric chair.
Main sermons at the services for young Coblentz were preached by Bishop Emanuel chrock of independence, Iowa, John D. Frey of Millersburg, and Bishop Andrew J. Mast of Holmesville.
Surviving, in addition to the bereaved widow and little daughter, Esther, are the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mose Coblentz, one brother and two sisters.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1957 Aug 15 p. 3
text of obituary:
. . .
— A report from Mt. Hope, Holmes County, Ohio, states that one of the two murderers of Paul M. Coblentz, young Amish farmer there, is to have confessed that they had originally selected the Holmes county sheriff as their victim — "just for a thrill." Failing in this plan, and having wrecked a stolen truck in the dark, they were attracted to the Coblentz farm home by the light that was still on. It is there that the tragic shooting took place as Coblentz attempted to run for help. Again, as in so many similar cases, liquor played a part in the crime.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1957 Dec 19 p. 3
text of obituary:
YOUTH FOUND GUILTY IN SLAYING OF AMISH FARMER, SENTENCED
Sugarcreek, Ohio. — On Dec. 11 in Holmes County Common Pleas Court, Millersburg, 19-year-old Cleo E. Peters of Muscatine, Iowa was found guilty of first degree murder in the slaying of Paul Coblentz, 25, Amish farmer, last July, Judge W. W. Badger sentenced Peters to death in the electric chair.
A jury of six men and six women returned the verdict. During the trial Mrs. Dora Coblentz, widow of the slain man, was called to give testimony. The large crowd which filled the courtroom to overflowing included many Amish.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1958 Jan 2 p. 3
text of obituary:
. . .
— The execution date for 19-year-old Cleo Eugene Peters, convicted of the slaying of Paul Coblentz, Amish farmer of Mt. Hope, Ohio, has now been set for April 10. According to a report by N. J. B. Miller in the “Sugarcreek Budget,” members of the Amish church spoke to the defense attorneys at the time of the trial and explained that the Amish did not wish a sentence of death. The attorneys then mentioned the fact in their last plea to the jury, which however returned a verdict of guilty without a recommendation of mercy. Under Ohio law this made a death sentence mandatory.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1958 Jun 12 p. 3
text of obituary:
. . .
— The date for the execution of Cleo E. Peters, convicted of the killing of Amish farmer Paul Coblentz near Wooster, Ohio, has now been re-set for Sept. 8. In setting the new date, the 5th District Court of Appeals in Ohio rejected an appeal for a new trial. Attorneys for the youth plan to appeal the case to the Ohio Supreme Court, it is reported.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1958 Jul 10 p. 7
text of obituary:
Sugarcreek, Ohio.— By appealing to the Ohio Supreme Court, 20-year-old Cleo E. Peters of Muscatine, Iowa has gained an automatic stay of execution after being convicted of the slaying of Paul M. Coblentz, Amish farmer of the Millersburg community.
Lawyers for the youth are seeking to have the verdict set aside on technical grounds. The young man was scheduled to die in the electric chair on Sept. 8.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1958 Oct 23 p. 3
text of obituary:
COURT REJECTS APPEAL OF YOUTH CONVICTED IN SLAYING OF AMISH FARMER
Sugarcreek, Ohio. — Twenty-year-old Cleo Eugene Peters, convicted of first degree murder in the robbery-slaying of Paul M. Coblentz, Amish farmer of Holmes County, is scheduled to die in the electric chair Nov. 7.
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected Peters' appeal from the conviction. His companion, Michael Dumoulin, was also convicted and was given a life term.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1958 Nov 20 p. 3
text of obituary:
DEATH SENTENCE OF IOWA YOUTH COMMUTED BY OHIO GOVERNOR
Sugarcreek, Ohio. — The life of 20-year-old Cleo E. Peters of Muscatine, Iowa, convicted slayer of a Holmes county Amish farmer, was spared when Governor Wm. O'Neill commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. He had been scheduled to die in the electric chair.
It was reported that a number of Amish wrote to the governor, asking that the youth's life be spared.
His companion, Michael Dumoulin, received a life sentence. The youths were convicted of first degree murder in the death of Paul M. Coblentz, 25, in his home near Mt. Hope on July 18, 1957.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1959 Jan 15 p. 7 "Ohio Ministers Visit Convicted Youth" by Paul Hummel