Freaky Flint History with Joe Schipani - The Gas Station Body November 12th, 1931 #freakyflinthistory


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.

The Gas Station Body November 12th, 1931

Shortly after one in the morning on November 12, 1931, patrolman Fred Maschino drove by a gas station on DuPont Street and noticed something lying on the ground in front of the side door between the buildings.

Frank Miller’s gas station consisted of two building, the first was the gas station itself and the other was for storage.

Patrolman Maschino pulled into the gas station and discovered the object on the ground was the dead body of Frank Miller. Just a couple feet away from him, pointing in the opposite direction, was the revolver that shot him.

The patrolman called into the station and requested that the coroner retrieve the body.

Detectives Bloomfield and Martin quickly arrived on the scene. The two men searched the body and found the day’s receipts and cash in his pocket. They noted that none of the money was missing. They investigated the area further and found the register and everything else seemed to be in place. They ruled out a robbery.

It had been raining that evening so one of the theories was that Frank Miller tripped in the rain, dropped the gun, and it fired when it hit the ground. The other theory was that someone approached him to rob him. He put up a fight, they shot him, got scared and ran off before taking the money. Due to the rain, the police could not find any evidence to support either claim. The coroner’s report offered no help. It showed that either situation could have happened. Frank’s death was ruled accidental due to lack of evidence to support a crime. 

~ Joe Schipani is the Executive Director of the Flint Public Art Project and the FFAR Project Assistant at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.  Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HauntedFlint/ 

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