Flint is well known for its modern violent crimes but Flint's history is filled with little known stories that read stranger than fiction. Gruesome murders, weird accidents, and violent deaths. Join us every Thursday as Joe Schipani details some of the odd but true deaths he found in Flint's archives.
Conflicting Evidence May 7th, 1933
The morning of May 7, 1933 started
in an unusual way for Robert and Muriel Moyar. He woke up that Sunday in his
usual manor and went outside do yard work. But Muriel claimed she said she did
not feel well and stayed in bed.
Around ten in the morning, while
doing yard work, Robert heard a gunshot from inside the house. He quickly ran
into the house to see what happened. When he got the bedroom, he saw Muriel
lying there holding a gun, with a bullet hole in her head, mumbling she was
sorry. He then ran to the neighbor’s house to have them call the police before
rushing back to Muriel.
By the time he returned she was
gone.
The police arrived shortly after
and took statements from Robert and neighbors who heard the gun fire.
When the coroner arrived and
looked at the body he determined that Muriel had been dead for several hours
and although possible, it would be hard for her to shoot herself at an angle to
match the wound entry.
Muriel’s body was taken to the
coroner’s office for further investigation.
Robert was taken to the police
station under suspicion of murder. Robert stood his ground with the suicide
claims.
The coroner decided he did not
want to make the call and would leave it up to a jury to decide.
Muriel’s mother arrived that
afternoon and gave her statement to the police. She claimed that when she
talked to Muriel the day before Muriel had asked to borrow money. Her mother
told her she would have to check with Muriel’s father who was in Chicago at the
time. Muriel then told her not to worry and bid her goodbye.
Robert claimed that the two
stayed home the night before and went to bed early.
A contradicting statement was
given by one of Muriel’s friends who claimed to see Muriel at a dance with
another man. The unidentified man sent a statement to the police that he and
Muriel attended the dance Saturday night. He claimed that he took Muriel and
her friend home when the dance was over at one in the morning because all three
of them lived on the same block. He parked his car in his drive way and said
her goodnight. Muriel refused to get out of the car. She claimed she was afraid
to go home to her husband. He then left her in his car alone. She eventually
walked home.
The case did not have enough
evidence to convict Robert of murder. He was released from jail.
Did Robert think Muriel was
cheating and killed her? Did he hold the gun to her head and force her to pull
the trigger? This would explain the angle of the bullet hole and the coroner’s
statement that she’d been dead for hours.
Or did she kill herself like her
husband claimed?
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