On March 20th, 1937, it was reported that Louis Kable, a “middle aged banana merchant” was found nearly dead in his place of business, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by one of his employees. He was reportedly beaten with what was thought to be a club or blackjack. Initially, police believed that he was attacked by robbers.
Articles reported that he had displayed a fat roll of dollar bills to his employees, and said that “business was good”, only fifteen minutes later to be found in a pool of blood, with his head cracked open. The pocket where he stuffed his day’s receipts was pulled inside out, eight pennies and a key were scattered on the floor, and the money he’d shown earlier, was gone. Various sources state that it was $75, the equivalent of $1700 in 2026.
Louis was rushed to the hospital, where he returned to consciousness briefly, mumbled something incoherent, and then died.
Louis’ wife, Hannah, collapsed when she heard of her husband’s death. She fell to the floor of the police station screaming, and two of their daughters wept loudly, as they rushed into their mother’s arms. One article quotes their daughters saying, “Oh, how did it happen, tell me how it happened. Why, Father hadn’t an enemy.” Louis’ brother Benjamin acted the same, when he heard the news.
Hannah told police that her husband had started his day normally, and went to work at 4am. His busy hours were usually 6-8am, and where he sold his bananas. After the morning rush of March 20th, Louis went to the store upstairs and showed his money to a helper named Jimmie Robinson. He told Jimmie, “If you don’t make money in bananas one day, you are sure to the next.”. From there, Louis was seen by going downstairs to the cellar, where his office was.
Around 9:40 am, a man named Julian McPherson who would occasionally sell baskets to Louis went to the cellar, with one of his wares. A minute later, he came running up calling for Jimmie Robinson. That was when they found Louis’ body with a deep gash over his left eye. Robinson called police.
There were overturned baskets in the basement, which indicated a struggle. Louis had been killed in the ripening room, which was a closed off section of the back cellar, where large bunches of green bananas were hung from the ceiling. No-one had heard the scuffle. Police believed that Louis had been attacked shortly before being discovered. Doctors said that he had been beaten so badly, that he could not have survived.
The murder weapon was not found in the basement. And an article from the Courier Post stated that it was potentially believed to have been a piece of pipe. Even though a hatchet that was used to cut the banana stalks was on the floor, police didn’t believe that it was the murder weapon.
Police initially believe that he had been attacked by two men, as Louis was described as exceptionally strong for his age, and “more than a match for any normal man, unless struck from the rear”. One source recalled Louis as stocky and 180 pounds.
A similar robbery had happened the year before, in June of 1936, a man named Morris Schwartz had been hit on the back of the head, and knocked unconscious, robbed of $100. Though he recovered, his attacker was never found.
The first suspects that the police took into custody Louis’ murder, were two African American males. The day after the murder, they were looking for a third man, who had worked for Louis. One of the African American employees was considered suspicious by police, as he was six foot two, and left the cellar “unusually early” the day that Louis was murdered. One source states that the employee would usually stay until noon, but for some reason that day, he didn’t. These suspicions went no-where.
On March 30th, 1937, a man named Fred Turse was detained for questioning, in relation to Louis’ murder. Police had been searching for Turse, and found his truck parked in front of his home. Police stated that he wasn’t booked at headquarters, and willingly consented to talk to police. Turse was shown another man, and identified him as being in the building, the morning of Louis’ murder. Turse was held after the other man had identified the former as having been at the market twice on the morning of the murder.
The man, who wasn’t named, stated that Fred Turse had arrived at the market with his truck and had gone to the basement with Louis, and returned with two doors which belonged on the rear of the truck. Louis then gave Turse a quantity of bananas, who then drove away, but returned a short time later, with the truck, and entered the building.
Turse drove his truck to the police headquarters when he was questioned, and the same rear doors were on the floor inside his vehicle.
Fred Turse and Louis Kable were apparently quite friendly, with Turse readily admitting that he had-had several business dealings with Louis before obtaining steady employment the month before.
Police records showed that Fred Turse had been arrested twice, each for assault and battery. The first was where Turse was one of several men who beat a man from Philadelphia. They attacked the man, as he got off a bus from an industrial plant. Fred Turse had also been arrested in the same industrial plant when he got into a brawl with a fellow worker, who was seriously injured.
On April 8th, 1937, an article from The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Fred Turse saying that Louis Kable’s death was an accident. Turse tried to say that Louis “fell and hit his head on the cellar steps during a tussle over a stalk of bananas”. Police still charged Fred with murder.
First, Fred tried to say that he wasn’t in the cellar where Louis was found. Then, he suggested that it was one of the African American workers who killed Louis Kable. It wasn’t until he was confronted with “the word of half-a-dozen witnesses who saw him enter the cellar”, that Turse admitted to being there with Kable.
The article stated that Fred’s story was that he was “hard up for money-his wife an expectant mother-and that he mentioned this to Kable”. Louis had then offered Turse a stalk of over ripe bananas to sell. Turse told police that they went down the stairs, and he grabbed the stalk from Louis’ hands, and as he did so, Louis fell, striking his head on the cellar steps, and was knocked unconscious. Turse said that he took the bananas, and a roll of bills out of Louis’ pocket. Police were not able to find the money.
On June 18th, 1937, it was reported that Fred Turse changed his plea to guilty in regards to Louis’ murder. Here, it was stated that Turse admitted to the killing. One article stated that Turse admitted going to the building in an attempt to borrow money from Louis Kable, and when he was rebuked, he struck Louis in the head several times, and robbed him of about $75.
On June 29th, Fred Turse was sentenced from 10-20 years for the murder. I am unsure how much of that time was served, and where exactly. Any information about Turse after this is scant.
There is a find a grave page for Louis Kable. He was buried at Mount Sharon Cemetery, in Springfield, Pennsylvania. He was 48 years old.
Youtube video: https://youtu.be/AKHHrWxhJ28
