The Quarry

Hi, park enthusiasts. I'm your host, Delia D'Ambra, and the case I'm going to share with you today is part murder mystery, part history, and part wrongful conviction, depending on whose tale you want to believe. It happened more than a century ago in Wisconsin's Harrington Beach State Park, which back in 1920 was land formerly owned and mined by the Lakeshore Stone Company. Limestone was the sought-after resource back then, and the modern-day location of Quarry Lake, which used to be dry, produced quite a bit of it between 1900 and 1920. After being mined via dynamite, the crushed limestone would be transported to distribution centers in cities like South Haven and Milwaukee. From there, it would be shipped off to wherever it needed to go. Regular booms were heard coming from the quarry, and those blasts would sometimes send bits of limestone sailing into the air and onto nearby homes that employees resided in. Eventually, though, gravel became a more popular resource. an inexpensive alternative to crushed stone, so the quarry closed. The mining company that owned it shut down, and more than a hundred mostly foreign workers who were employed by Lakeshore Stone Company were forced to seek new jobs and living arrangements elsewhere. Today, Quarry Lake is a stunning body of water surrounded by natural rock walls and trees. But back in 1920, this serene landscape was a crime scene, one that would be talked about for decades to come. This is Park Predators. About 10 to 15 feet in front of him was fellow Italian immigrant and co-worker August Falcinelli. Depending on which source material you read, August's last name is spelled slightly differently. Some coverage has it spelled Falcinelli with an A, and others spell it Falcinelli with an O, which could cause one to pronounce it differently. And as a proud great-granddaughter of Italian immigrants whose last name is D'Ambra, I know misspellings are common and mispronunciations are wrong. They're my daily reality. So I just wanted to note this difference with Falcinelli versus Falcinelli. For all my fellow Italian listeners out there, or historians, go easy on me. Anyway, Dominic was at least a decade younger than August, but the pair seemed to know one another well because they'd both worked for Lakeshore Stone Company while it had been operational. According to coverage by the Sheboygan Press, Dominic had even moved in with August and his wife at some point before securing his own place. So the duo was used to bumping in, to one another on a fairly regular basis. In fact, according to court documents, they'd seen each other earlier that morning while hanging out with a group of men at the quarry's machine shop. And the night before, they'd been together at the Falcinelli's home and shared a meal while playing cards. Now, even though the Stone Company had recently shut down operations at the quarry, many folks who'd been employed there still lived close by. So there was usually lots of activity in the remaining buildings, like the machine shop and the blacksmith shop. And it seems, August knew that Dominic had spent the morning unsuccessfully hunting birds with a double-barrel shotgun, because when he noticed the 29-year-old coming up behind him, he started to say something to the effect of "If I see any crows," but his words were cut short because just then, Dominic suddenly tripped over, according to at least one source, an old steam pipe between two railroad tracks. And in the process, his gun went off. The next thing he knew, August stepped backwards about a couple feet, then fell down in the snow. Dead. Seemingly horrified by what had just happened, Dominic immediately left his gun on the ground and ran back to the quarry's machine shop to tell one of the guys he and August had just been hanging out with that he needed some help. The co-worker and Dominic ran back to August, but there was nothing either of the men could do for him. He was gone. After that, Dominic walked to where he lived and changed his clothing, before returning to where August was at. But by that time, another co-worker had come by and seen August. And that guy asked him, "What are you doing here?" And that guy asked Dominic what in the world had happened. Dominic explained that he'd shot August by accident. He even showed that other guy where he claimed to have tripped on the railroad tracks and where the hammer on his shotgun had been bent out of place and broken. Immediately after talking to that guy, Dominic called the Ozaukee County District Attorney to report what had happened, and shortly after that, the D.A. alerted the sheriff. By 2 p.m., the sheriff's office arrived at the section of railroad tracks where August's body was. When authorities found the 41-year-old, he was lying face up in the snow about two feet off a nearby roadway. There was blood soaking the ground beneath him, and his feet were slightly tucked back beneath his body. He appeared to have an injury to his neck, one on one of his legs, and another near his left arm, which were wounds that differed slightly from what Dominic had initially reported to officials. You see, per the Sheboygan Press' coverage and court documents, when Dominic first made his way to the scene, he was seen with a gun in his hand, and he was seen with a gun in his hand. He was seen with a gun in his hand, and he was seen with a gun in his hand. who worked as farmers or in outdoor trades, were going to have to leave their modes of employment to participate in jury selection. And according to the coverage, the weather in September 1920 in Wisconsin was really nice. So the judge agreed to push the trial until the conditions were expected to get worse, so that jurors, who it seems were mostly people in outdoor lines of work, would be happier to be there, or at a minimum, available. I know, I can honestly say in all my years covering crime stories and criminal trials, I'd never heard of such a thing, but there's a first time for everything, I guess. Anyway, by the time Dominic's trial did get underway in early November 1920, one of the first things jurors did after being impaneled was travel out to the railroad tracks near Belgium where the crime occurred. As far as physical evidence went, the state's case wasn't rock solid. Sure, there was the discrepancy in the gunshot wound injuries to August, but nothing that proved conclusively that Dominic had maliciously killed him. And because of that, the case was almost entirely circumstantial. But prosecutors were undeterred. They felt confident about one crucial thing, motive. You see, their theory, as they explained to jurors, was centered around a very important, very salacious allegation regarding August and Dominic's personal lives. According to coverage by the West Bend Pilot, the state alleged at trial that Dominic's motive for killing August was because he was in love with August's wife. I know, quite scandalous. According to information presented by prosecutors, Dominic had developed a habit of taking August's wife for rides in his car. Now, these rides weren't just the two of them. Apparently, other people were there as well. But the fact remained, they'd been seen hanging out together, going for rides. Coverage that came out years later explained that this theory revolved around the suggestion Dominic was so infatuated with Miss Falcinelli that he planned to get August out of the picture entirely. And testimony that somewhat supported that theory came from a man named Ferdinand Volt, who'd visited the quarry's machine shop and hung out with August and Dominic. He testified that several months before the shooting, he and Dominic had engaged in some friendly banter at the shop. And Dominic had reportedly teased August by asking him something to the effect of, what are you doing here looking for young women? To which Ferdinand responded, quote, no, I am not like you are. You are fooling around with Marie's wife, end quote. Which, by the way, Marie was apparently a nickname for August because his middle name was Marie. And sometimes folks even referred to him as Marie the mule driver because he was one of the people who cared for the mules and horses at the quarry. However, when Ferdinand made that comment to Dominic, about Miss Fulcinelli, Dominic didn't say anything or respond defensively, which one could interpret as him possibly validating Ferdinand's statement. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot out there about Dominic or August's personal life. So I can't say for sure if there was some sort of love triangle going on between the two men and August's wife. All I know is that the trio knew one another well. Like I said, it was reported that for some time period, Dominic had lived with the Fulcinellis, but per court records, by the time the shooting happened, he'd moved into his own cottage near the quarry, which was still very close to the married couple's house. In fact, some source material even refers to them as neighbors. And just like many of the folks who'd worked for the stone company, Dominic and August were immigrants. Dominic had come to the United States as a teenager from Italy around 1906. Court records state that right away he took a job at the quarry and shortly thereafter met August, who was a bachelor at the time. A few years later, though, in 1905, August ended up getting married and the two men remained good friends. If the dynamic of their friendship ever changed after that is unclear. What I know happened at trial is that Dominic's defense team tried to discredit Ferdinand as a witness because, turns out, he had a bit of a drinking problem. And reportedly, on the day he made that offhand comment to Dominic about fooling around with August's wife, Ferdinand was intoxicated. The defense also tried to introduce testimony about Miss Fulcinelli, to help dispute suggestions that she and Dominic were involved, or that he had a reason to kill August. But that testimony was excluded. The Times Press reported that many of Dominic's friends had rallied around him to raise thousands of dollars to hire the best defense attorney's money could buy. The coverage states that in addition to having a local attorney, Dominic was also able to hire a private attorney from Green Bay, named Patrick Martin, who is said to be the best legal talent available in Wisconsin. Throughout the trial, the defense's strategy was simple. Emphasize the theory that August's death was an accident. And to some degree, they had good reason to claim that. You see, according to court records, there was no testimony or evidence found that indicated August and Dominic had been arguing before the shooting, or that something had suddenly fractured their friendship. By all accounts, their relationship was described as worn, and it had been that way for quite some time. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, there were people who were not sure that they were going to be able to get away with it. There were people who saw them together that morning at the Quarry's machine shop shortly before the shooting, and in a social setting the night before. As far as the official record reflects, no one specifically claimed to have seen them get into an argument before the shooting. But at the same time, no one saw them speak to one another at all, which in and of itself seemed unusual. In fact, court records about this explain that the absence of conversation between the two men on the morning of the crime might have been an indication they were upset with one another. And I see that point. I mean, it is strange that these two so-called friends hadn't interacted in a more jovial manner on their walk home. There was reportedly no hey buddy, wait up for me kind of statement coming from Dominic who was trailing behind August. And similarly, there was no oh, didn't see you there, what's up comment made by August. The apparent silence between the duo while they were in the company of others and when it was just them on the railroad tracks could suggest they were avoiding one another for some reason. But I think the real crux of the case when it came down to it was that the math of where Dominic claimed to have fallen and how far that was away from where August was shot just wasn't mathing. You see, according to court records, where Dominic claimed to have tripped on the railroad tracks and accidentally fired his gun was uphill and kind of a far distance from where August was killed. So it seemed nearly impossible that Dominic's version of events could have physically happened. Essentially, when ballistics testing was conducted, which even for 1920 was primitive compared to what experts can do nowadays, the science held up. It was improbable for Dominic to have been, as he claimed, some 50 feet away from August at the time of the shooting and August to have the physical wounds that he had. There were too many factors that made the scenario impossible. Furthermore, there was also the glaring issue regarding the different trajectories of August's gunshot wounds. Officials had been able to prove that he'd suffered two blasts fired from distinctly different angles. The first shot, which hit his left hip, had struck him in a completely different way than the wound to his right shoulder and neck area. So again, that didn't align with Dominic's claim that he'd simply fallen and his gun had misfired one time. In the end, when the nearly two-week-long trial concluded on November 19th, 1920, jurors found Dominic guilty of first-degree murder. His defense attorneys immediately requested a new trial, but a few months later, February 1921, that request was rejected. The judge who issued the denial stated in part, quote, It is the rule of law that when one man is found to have killed another through the instrumentality of a deadly weapon, it is presumed that the death of the deceased was designed by the slayer, and he is guilty of murder unless the evidence raises a reasonable doubt as to whether the killing was intentional or accidental. In my judgment, the location of the body of the deceased of the two wounds caused by the slayer and the discharge of the gun, together with difference in the character of the wounds, point with such certainty to murder that the other circumstances of the homicide, which may well be claimed to be more consistent with innocence than with guilt, are not sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt. End quote. About a month later, in March, Dominic was sentenced to life in prison and shipped off to Waupon Correctional Institution. But that's far from the end of the story. You see, about a month later, the prosecutor, who'd secured Dominic's conviction, received what I have to imagine was a pretty jarring letter in the mail. And the author who'd sent it did not mince words. The letter to the district attorney stated, quote, you made a lot of money by prosecuting and convicting Manna, but we will get our justice and our chance to get even. End quote. The letter wasn't signed by a specific person. It just bore the words, a friend of Manna. The Times Press reported that it had been handwritten in pencil on a standard piece of notepaper. There were no misspellings or indications that whoever authored it struggled with the English language. And the postmark indicated it had been mailed via a local post office in Port Washington. Its ominous tone seemed to promise retribution, which, given Dominic's Italian lineage and familial connections to the city of Chicago, Illinois, I imagine that made some people wonder if more blood would be shed. According to coverage by the West Bend Pilot, Dominic had brothers who resided in Italy and Chicago. They were reportedly the ones pushing for him to receive post-conviction relief. One of his defense attorneys also hailed from Chicago. And given the reputation the Windy City had for being a hotbed for organized crime in the 1920s, plus Dominic's Italian ethnicity and the fact that the letter sent to the DA had essentially been a threat, well, you can see where some folks may have viewed all of that, collectively, as suggesting he had quote-unquote connections, so to speak. Which, by the way, were never proven. What is clear is that in January 1923, nearly three years after the crime, Dominic appealed his case before Wisconsin's Supreme Court. He staunchly maintained he was innocent of the crime, but a majority of the justices on the Supreme Court ruled that his conviction should be upheld. One of several constitutional rights Dominic claimed had been violated had to do with racial prejudice. He alleged that in addition to the trial court erring on specific issues like venue, excluding certain testimony, and so forth, he alleged that those involved in his arrest and prosecution had discriminated against him because of his race. According to court records, Dominic claimed he'd been denied a fair trial because the key people who'd built the case against him did not like the fact that Dominic was a victim of a crime. In the Supreme Court's denial, the justices who upheld the trial court's verdict rejected this accusation and emphasized that Dominic had received a fair trial, as fair as anyone else accused of murder would have received. I found a paper by Marquette Law Review that was published several years later, though, which stated Dominic's conviction was largely the result of racial prejudice. The author of that paper doesn't go into detail about the claim, but he does state that members of the law review felt it was a fair trial. Dominic's conviction was largely the result it was appropriate for the Court of Pardons to reconsider Dominic's bid for clemency. Later coverage by researcher Sam Decker explained that in 1920, and for many years leading up to that, there was tension between people of varying nationalities who lived and worked in Belgium, specifically for the Stone Company. But there wasn't anything in the reporting that documents blatant racial prejudice or actions by members of the criminal justice system against specifically Italians like Dominic. Anyway, despite losing at the Supreme Court, Dominic's conviction was still in effect. In 1925, Dominic again attempted to plead his innocence and requested a formal pardon from Wisconsin's then-governor. His original trial had cost Ozaukee County about $3,000, which at the time was a large sum of money for a local jurisdiction. So, the West Bend Pilot published an article that essentially said taxpayers from the county would most likely view that money as wasted if the DA's office didn't do everything they could to oppose Dominic's request for a pardon. And whatever they did worked, because come the end of October 1925, Wisconsin's governor chose to deny Dominic's request. But Dominic didn't stop fighting. Another application for pardon that he'd filed was heard in the spring of 1928. And that time, it was reported that a new judge thought it might be a good idea to let him out. However, ultimately, that didn't happen. And in January 1929, that request for clemency was denied. And you probably guessed it, he didn't quit. In 1931, after Wisconsin elected a new governor, Dominic tried again. And this time, he was successful. That summer, the state's then-governor agreed to commute his life sentence to 18 years. And because he'd behaved during the 11 years or so he'd already been incarcerated, he was eligible for immediate release. According to his obituary, he went on to work as a maintenance operator for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He got married and eventually retired to Orlando, Florida in 1960. He died six years later in his mid-70s. Today, a historical marker exists near the Stonehaven Historical Trail in Harrington Beach State Park. And it bears Dominic's photo with two women next to him, as well as a blurb of information about the crime. The paragraph alleges that he killed August because he'd fallen in love with the elder man's wife, which to me feels a bit unfair. The motive for this shooting was never definitively established. It was always the case that Dominic had killed his wife. It was always suggested that jealousy was the motive for the crime, but it was never proven. That being said, Dominic was convicted of murder. So as far as the official record goes, he did intentionally kill August. But why? Well, that remains an unanswerable question. In the years after the crime, the quarry began to fill with water. And over time, it created Quarry Lake, which you can still visit in the state park today. Hardly any trace of what once was a bustling, business, and community exists anymore. Time has erased it. But the one enduring story that hasn't slipped beneath the surface of time is the murder of August Valcinelli. And I, for one, think that's a good thing. Park Predators is an AudioChuck production. You can view a list of all the source material for this episode on our website, parkpredators.com. And you can also follow Park Predators on Instagram. I think Chuck would approve.