With a signed confession, strong evidence and no other suspects except Bill Clatterbuck, Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles F. Harrison pushed for a speedy trial.
A grand jury composed of W.J. Harper, Onslow Saunders, Ray Peacock, Bernard Minor, Perry Mentzer and C. Oliver Iselin quickly indicted Clatterbuck for the five murders, but started with the homicide of Walter Russell, since premeditation of the killing could be most easily established in that case.
At his arraignment before Judge J.R.H. Alexander on June 14, Clatterbuck was reported to have mumbled, “But I didn’t mean to…” as the judge read the charges. When asked if he or his family had hired an attorney to represent him, Clatterbuck replied he had not. “I don’t know what to do,” he said. “I was never in trouble like this before.” Judge Alexander advised him that if he could not secure counsel, an attorney would be appointed to represent him.
Harrison moved to ask for imposition of the death penalty, and the trial date was set for June 30, 1943. Until that time, Clatterbuck was to remain in the Winchester Jail.
That situation changed dramatically when Warrenton attorney Maj. Robert Augustus McIntyre, 81, was hired by the Clatterbuck family to represent him. In a letter dated June 15, McIntyre informed Harrison that he had been retained by the family, and would be asking for a delay in the trial so that he could prepare. He stated that he was going to mount an insanity defense, and ask for a change of venue for his client.
“I enter upon the discharge of this duty under solemn obligation and with the danger, I must admit, of having my record in homicide cases broken,” McIntyre continued. “I figure that I have handled 75 murder cases in Northern Virginia, and I say with great relief and comfort that I have never had one of my clients electrocuted or hanged.”
McIntyre was successful in having the trial moved to July 26, and immediately started building Clatterbuck’s defense, which would be based on a plea of temporary insanity. His strategy would include testimony from Clatterbuck’s wife, parents and brothers regarding his overwrought mental state, and testimony of “alienists,” or mental heath practitioners, as expert witnesses. He also asked that the trial be moved out of Loudoun County.
The legal wrangling continued until Sept. 2, when Judge Alexander ruled that the trial would be held in Leesburg, but allowed for the jury to be brought in from a jurisdiction outside Loudoun (a change of venue), after failing to field a jury after interviewing 60 Loudoun County citizens. The same effort later failed in Winchester, with only six of 50 accepted. Finally, a jury of 12 men was selected from Madison County.
Prosecutor Harrison was also busy, retaining W.W. Butzer, an attorney from Fredericksburg, to assist him. With everything in place, Clatterbuck’s trial for the murder of Walter Russell was finally scheduled for Sept. 14, 1943.
The Trial Begins
Central to Harrison’s prosecution was Clatterbuck’s detailed confession, which “revealed in grisly detail how on that tragedy-borne morning he (Clatterbuck) used croquet mallet, rifle and rifle butt to slay, in wild, frenzied slaughter, five inoffensive persons, none of which had ever done him harm,” according to news accounts.
Prosecution exhibits included copies of Love’s checks to Clatterbuck, the bullets removed from the bodies of the victims, and the torn-up loan papers recovered from the clerk’s office parking lot. Judge Alexander did not admit the photographs of the victims, stating that they were “gruesome… and did not add anything to evidence in the case.”
For the defense, Maj. McIntyre opened by telling the jury that Clatterbuck was insane now, and was insane the day of the murders. He called on family members and two physicians, Dr. G.T. Strother of Brunswick, Md. and Dr. John E. Lind, of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Washington, D.C.
Strother claimed Clatterbuck suffered from dementia praecox, “a form of insanity that prompts the sufferer to kill.” He went on to explain that the condition was brought on by stress, and “…while bright minds can handle the stress, those with a weak mind can’t,” he testified, adding that Clatterbuck was “mentally deficient.”
They were followed by the coroner and investigating officers who handled the case. Dr. J.S. DeJarnette, former superintendent of the state mental hospital at Staunton, testified that Clatterbuck was sane at the time of the murders, disputing the testimony of the doctors called by the defense.
Testy Exchanges
During cross-examination, McIntyre attacked the accuracy of the key confession transcribed by Elinor Myers, maintaining that Clatterbuck, whom he called “uneducated” and “a very ignorant man,” could not have made the coherent narrative in the confession. Called to the witness stand, both Myers and Harrison stood firm on the content–if not the diction–of the confession.
Continuing, McIntyre challenged Harrison’s role as a prosecuting attorney and active member of the investigation, especially during the confession. “Of course, you realize that you are a quasi-judicial officer in your position,” said McIntyre, to which Harrison answered, “Thank you, Major, for telling me what I am.”
The questioning continued. “Did he (Clatterbuck) know you represented the Commonwealth, and that he could have the benefit of counsel if he so desired?” asked McIntyre. “If he had asked for counsel–and we suggested the idea–certainly,” replied Harrison.
During the cross-examination of the officers who had custody of Clatterbuck prior to his confession, McIntyre sought to establish duress, and any inconsistencies in the way the fast-moving investigation was handled. He criticized Sheriff Alexander for originally arresting Clatterbuck without a warrant, and not being present when Clatterbuck confessed to Sgt. H. H. Howe in Middleburg the day after the murders.
Alexander explained that the first time, Clatterbuck was only brought in for questioning about the Love loans, and that he (Alexander) was not in Middleburg when Clatterbuck confessed because he was in Washington, D.C., gathering information about the autopsies.
The Verdict and Aftermath
The jury retired after hearing two days of testimony. They deliberated for less than an hour before returning a guilty verdict, and recommending that the death penalty be imposed. It was reported that Clatterbuck–who had been very emotional during the trial–had no reaction when the verdict was read. As he was led from the courtroom, he was heard to say, “I don’t know why they did this to me.” He was then transported from Leesburg to the State Penitentiary in Richmond.
Judge Alexander formally sentenced Clatterbuck to death on Sept. 24, 1943, with the execution to take place on Dec. 10. McIntyre immediately filed a writ of error with the State Court of Appeals on Nov. 13, alleging that “the confession was not free and voluntary,” and the execution postponed until Feb. 4, 1944.
Virginia Gov. Colgate Darden, who initially supported the prosecutors, granted the first of three reprieves on Jan. 26, 1944, delaying the execution until May 5, 1944, but on March 10, 1944, the Court of Appeals rejected the writ of error. Surprisingly, Darden granted two more reprieves based on the insanity plea, and the date of execution was pushed to June 2, 1944.
Angered over the delays, Harrison wrote the Governor, closing with, “The solemnity of your duty can only be met with courage and strength.” The Governor pointedly replied, “You were diligent in seeing that an impartial trial was had. I expect to be equally diligent in seeing that his rights are safeguarded to the end.”
The execution was finally moved to June 16, 1944, and this time, there was no reprieve. Clatterbuck died in the penitentiary’s electric chair at 8:40 that morning. His body was picked up by his family, and buried in a cemetery in Hillsboro after a brief church service.
In his closing, prosecutor Harrison called the five murders, “…the worst crime in the history of this county,” an appraisal that still stands today–and hopefully will never be equaled.
Epilogue
Despite the tragedy, survivors of the Love family stayed in Loudoun, continuing the tradition of community service, generosity and kindness for which Morris and Ruth Love were known. The old homeplace that was the scene of the incident still remains in the family, a lasting symbol of their quiet resolve.
But for those who knew them, the painful question remains: What more would the Loves have accomplished–especially James, who died so young–had their lives somehow been spared?
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