The Blue Eyed Six - The First Murder For Insurance Money

We first discovered this historical marker while geocaching, years ago.

"Stichler's mother carted his body home in a wheelbarrow and buried him here, in the family's back yard."

The infamous murder of Joseph Raber committed by the “Blue Eyed Six” occurred near this site.

On April 16, 1879, a Grand Jury indicted Charles Drews, Frank Stichler, Henry Wise, Josiah Hummel, Israel Brandt and George Zechman (six blue eyed men) with the murder of Joseph Raber.

Raber was man of 65 years who lived in poverty in a charcoal burner's hut along the Blue Mountains.  He  had no steady job and depended mainly on the charity of his equally poverty-stricken neighbors. 

In early July 1878, Wise, Hummel, Brandt and Zechman met, and agreed to insure Raber. The men told an insurance agent they agreed to take care of Raber for the rest of his life and wanted the policy to cover burial costs.

 Brandt’s Tavern, with the footpath over Indiantown creek in the foreground.

 The four men then hired Franklin Stichler and Charles Drew to drown Raber. The men claimed to have been walking to the store with Raber, when he became dizzy on the bridge crossing the creek, fell in and drowned.

 And they almost got away with it - the coroner declared Raber’s death an accident, and his remains were laid to rest in the Moonshine United Zion Church cemetery.

But many suspected it was no accident.

“It is said that persons in the vicinity hold policies of insurance on Raber’s life for $13,000 upwards. There is unpleasant talk of the probability of his death not being accidental.” - Lebanon County Courier

The insurance company, not anxious to pay up, encouraged the Lebanon County Constables to interview Joseph Peters, the son in law of Charles Drew.  Peters then admitted to witnessing the murder.

The trial attracted interest throughout the world, and newsmen from all parts of the globe came to Lebanon to cover the trial.

 "In an unprecedented court decision, all six men – the four conspirators plus the two assassins – were tried together. This, along with the fact that each suspect had blue eyes, led the newspapers to refer to the men as the Blue Eyed Six. All six were found guilty of murder in April 1879, though one of the conspirators, George Zechman, was later granted a second trail and acquitted due to lack of evidence against him. "
 

At the trial, defense tried to discredit Peters.  He was AWOL from the army, and there were rumors that his wife had been having an affair with Stichler while Peters had been away in the army.

The jury deliberated for five hours then returned a verdict of guilty of first degree murder for all of the defendants.

Wise made a full confession, apparently hoping to avoid the gallows.  

At the sentencing, Zechman, who was a known insurance investor and had insured many people in the past with no foul play, was granted a new trial, on his own. His involvement in the conspiracy was based solely on statements made by other defendants.  He was found not guilty, in his second trial.

The other four men then issued their own confessions, placing as much blame as possible on Wise, who had made the first confession.  All five men were sentenced to hang.

The remaining blue eyed five were sentence to death by hanging, at the county prison. [Today, the Farmers Market in the center of town is located on the spot where the old courthouse stood]

Drews and Stichler were hanged on November 14, 1879, the day after Zechman’s not guilty verdict was read.    Brandt, Hummel and Wise were hanged on  May 13, 1880.

Brandt and Drews are buried side by side in the veteran's section of Mt. Lebanon Cemetery in Lebanon. Hummel and Zechman are buried at Sattazahn Lutheran Church cemetery in Union Township, Lebanon County. Wise is buried at Evangelical United Brethren Church cemetery in the village of Green Point, Union Township, Lebanon County. Stichler's mother carted his body home in a wheelbarrow and buried him here, in the family's back yard. a family plot on McLean Road, now within the bounds of Ft. Indiantown Gap.

Several books, a dvd documentary, and even a whiskey have been inspired by the Blue Eyed Six.

An 1880 Pamphlet	https://amzn.to/3YqX7wr	https://amzn.to/3ErF3v4
DVD		On Facebook

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"Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was inspired by the Blue Eyed Six moniker for his Sherlock Holmes short story, "The Red-Headed League" The story alludes to the matter through the criminals' use of a made-up millionaire from Lebanon, Pennsylvania." [Is this true?  I'm not certain..]

"Preserved between McLean Road and a tank trail, training & cultural resource management coexist. Four members of the Blue Eyed Six took out an insurance policy on Joseph Raber, an elderly farmer, and promised to take care of him until his death. As part of the conspiracy, the other two members, Franklin Stichler and Charles Drews, drowned Raber in nearby Indiantown Run in 1878. The trial that followed received international attention as the first trial for an insurance murder. The two were convicted of the murder along with three other members and were hanged in Lebanon in 1880. Stichler's mother carted his body home in a wheelbarrow and buried him here, in the family's back yard. Additional information may found on the Lebanon County Historical Society Site."

Inscription on the historical marker