Silas Jayne
Encyclopedia
Silas Jayne was a Chicago stable owner who is believed to have been involved in some of the most notorious crimes and mysterious disappearances in Chicago history.
he was able to move into the high-end show horse business. His stable was patronized by the Chicago elite and Jayne was adept at exploiting prosperous men with early teenage daughters. The fathers were defrauded by paying for ostensibly top quality horses that Jayne claimed the daughters needed to become champion riders. In reality the horses were often virtually worthless. Jayne was a heavy drinker with a weather-beaten face, overbearing and rough spoken. However, parents allowed their daughters to spend extended periods of time at the stables unchaperoned and he boasted to associates of molesting many of the under-age girls. When a father complained about the broken down horse they had been sold Jayne would tell them that their daughter had become notorious among his employees for her promiscuity. The allegation was rarely, if ever, true but the father usually did not press the point, fearing a scandal. Jayne cultivated friendships with police officers and there are suspicions that allegations concerning him were not followed up for that reason. He was not part of the 'Syndicate' of organized crime in Chicago although his stable was patronized by some prominent gangsters like Sam DeStefano
(a suspect in the Probst killing); they were said to 'play cowboys' by riding horses around, firing guns into the air.
agents who were investigating the 1977 disappearance of Helen Brach
were told that Kenneth Hansen, an employee of Silas Jayne had confessed to the killings. It emerged that Hansen, 22 at the time, had lured Robert Peterson, John Schuessler and his 11-year-old brother Anton to the stables to see horses. When the Schuesslers discovered Hansen sexually abusing Peterson he had attacked and strangled all three. Silas Jayne was enraged at Hansen but because the bad publicity could ruin him he concealed the crime by loading the bodies into a station wagon and disposing of them. Jayne later burnt down the barn to further remove evidence and claimed the insurance. The original forensic investigators in the case had believed marks on the bodies were from floor mats belonging to a model of Packard station wagon that, it later emerged, had been owned by both Hanson and Jayne in 1955. Although neighbors had heard screams and reported it to the police the leads were not followed up, despite the location of the stable being relatively close to the site where the bodies were found. According to a detective who worked on the case Kenneth Hansen had preyed on hundreds of boys before his arrest and conviction for the murders in 1995. Hansen's conviction was overturned five years later on the grounds that the court should not have heard evidence that he often cruised the streets looking for boys but in 2002 he was found guilty at a retrial and sentenced to life in prison, he died in 2007.
, a policeman who was an associate of Silas Jayne is believed to have been paid to kill Helen Brach
when she was about to go to the police over being cheated out of a six figure sum on the purchase of horses. Silas Jayne is strongly suspected to have been behind the disappearance of Ann Miller, 21, Patricia Blough, 19, and Renee Bruhl, 20 from Indiana Dunes State Park on July 2, 1966 where they were last seen on board a boat similar to one owned by one of Silas Jaynes workers. Blough and Miller boarded their horses at the same Illinois stable as Silas' business rival half-brother George Jayne and may have been witnesses to the planting of a booby trap bomb which killed a 22-year-old employee of George Jayne called Cheryl Rude, she had died in an explosion after starting his car. The 1968 murder of Cook County Sheriff's Officer Ralph Probst (shot though his kitchen window) is linked to Silas Jayne; Probst had been investigating the horse racket and told friends he was working on 'something big'. Hansen and Silas Jayne are suspects in the murder of the Grimes sisters
. Silas Jayne used an M1 carbine
to shoot dead Frank Michelle who, while working for George, was placing a bugging device on his car but successfully claimed self defense.
Background
Silas Jayne, known as 'Si' was born on July 3, 1907, the eldest of four brothers in a unruly family of twelve children. He spent a year in prison after being convicted of rape at the age of seventeen. Jayne worked in the horse trade with his brothers, they were successful but Silas in particular acquired a reputation for bullying behavior. His conviction made him ineligible for the draft and with his profits from trading in horse-meat during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was able to move into the high-end show horse business. His stable was patronized by the Chicago elite and Jayne was adept at exploiting prosperous men with early teenage daughters. The fathers were defrauded by paying for ostensibly top quality horses that Jayne claimed the daughters needed to become champion riders. In reality the horses were often virtually worthless. Jayne was a heavy drinker with a weather-beaten face, overbearing and rough spoken. However, parents allowed their daughters to spend extended periods of time at the stables unchaperoned and he boasted to associates of molesting many of the under-age girls. When a father complained about the broken down horse they had been sold Jayne would tell them that their daughter had become notorious among his employees for her promiscuity. The allegation was rarely, if ever, true but the father usually did not press the point, fearing a scandal. Jayne cultivated friendships with police officers and there are suspicions that allegations concerning him were not followed up for that reason. He was not part of the 'Syndicate' of organized crime in Chicago although his stable was patronized by some prominent gangsters like Sam DeStefano
Sam DeStefano
Sam "Mad Sam" DeStefano was an Italian-American gangster who became one of the Chicago Outfit's most notorious loan sharks and sociopathic killers. Chicago-based Federal Bureau of Investigation agents such as William F. Roemer, Jr., considered DeStefano to be the worst torture-murderer in the...
(a suspect in the Probst killing); they were said to 'play cowboys' by riding horses around, firing guns into the air.
Peterson-Schuessler murders
On 16 October 1955 the naked bodies of three young boys John Schuessler aged 13, brother Anton aged 11 and their friend 14-year-old Robert Peterson were found dumped in a ditch in a forest preserve, they had been missing for two days. Almost forty years later Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
agents who were investigating the 1977 disappearance of Helen Brach
Helen Brach
Helen Vorhees Brach , was an American multi-millionairess widow whose wealth had come from marrying into the E. J. Brach & Sons Candy Company fortune; she endowed the Helen V. Brach Foundation to promote animal welfare in 1974....
were told that Kenneth Hansen, an employee of Silas Jayne had confessed to the killings. It emerged that Hansen, 22 at the time, had lured Robert Peterson, John Schuessler and his 11-year-old brother Anton to the stables to see horses. When the Schuesslers discovered Hansen sexually abusing Peterson he had attacked and strangled all three. Silas Jayne was enraged at Hansen but because the bad publicity could ruin him he concealed the crime by loading the bodies into a station wagon and disposing of them. Jayne later burnt down the barn to further remove evidence and claimed the insurance. The original forensic investigators in the case had believed marks on the bodies were from floor mats belonging to a model of Packard station wagon that, it later emerged, had been owned by both Hanson and Jayne in 1955. Although neighbors had heard screams and reported it to the police the leads were not followed up, despite the location of the stable being relatively close to the site where the bodies were found. According to a detective who worked on the case Kenneth Hansen had preyed on hundreds of boys before his arrest and conviction for the murders in 1995. Hansen's conviction was overturned five years later on the grounds that the court should not have heard evidence that he often cruised the streets looking for boys but in 2002 he was found guilty at a retrial and sentenced to life in prison, he died in 2007.
Other murders and disappearances
Silas Jayne is also suspected of being involved in the disappearance of animal lover heiress Helen BrachHelen Brach
Helen Vorhees Brach , was an American multi-millionairess widow whose wealth had come from marrying into the E. J. Brach & Sons Candy Company fortune; she endowed the Helen V. Brach Foundation to promote animal welfare in 1974....
, a policeman who was an associate of Silas Jayne is believed to have been paid to kill Helen Brach
Helen Brach
Helen Vorhees Brach , was an American multi-millionairess widow whose wealth had come from marrying into the E. J. Brach & Sons Candy Company fortune; she endowed the Helen V. Brach Foundation to promote animal welfare in 1974....
when she was about to go to the police over being cheated out of a six figure sum on the purchase of horses. Silas Jayne is strongly suspected to have been behind the disappearance of Ann Miller, 21, Patricia Blough, 19, and Renee Bruhl, 20 from Indiana Dunes State Park on July 2, 1966 where they were last seen on board a boat similar to one owned by one of Silas Jaynes workers. Blough and Miller boarded their horses at the same Illinois stable as Silas' business rival half-brother George Jayne and may have been witnesses to the planting of a booby trap bomb which killed a 22-year-old employee of George Jayne called Cheryl Rude, she had died in an explosion after starting his car. The 1968 murder of Cook County Sheriff's Officer Ralph Probst (shot though his kitchen window) is linked to Silas Jayne; Probst had been investigating the horse racket and told friends he was working on 'something big'. Hansen and Silas Jayne are suspects in the murder of the Grimes sisters
Grimes sisters
Barbara Grimes and Patricia Grimes are two girls who disappeared on December 28, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois. They were found dead on January 22, 1957...
. Silas Jayne used an M1 carbine
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
to shoot dead Frank Michelle who, while working for George, was placing a bugging device on his car but successfully claimed self defense.