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My Road Trip with the Dead, Stop 14: The Agrues & Dink Carter

9/25/2020

8 Comments

 
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I visited River View Cemetery on a pleasant, sunny afternoon in August 2020. The cemetery is located just south of the southeastern Indiana city of Aurora along the Ohio River in Dearborn County. Established in 1869, River View is a gorgeous cemetery with lots of historic character, occupying 30 acres of heavily wooded, rolling hills a stone’s throw from the river.

I spent my first half-hour there wandering the grounds just past the main entrance in search of five members of the Johnson Agrue family, buried there in 1941. I found them side-by-side near the top of the hill. A casual cemetery visitor might pass by these small markers and never imagine the horrific, senseless death that had befallen each grave’s occupant.
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The fact is, the shotgun massacre of Johnson and Nina Agrue, their adult sons Leo and Will, and their 11-year-old granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth Breedon, was one of the bloodiest mass murders in the history of the county.
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Virginius “Dink” Carter
Thirty-three-year-old Virginius “Dink” Carter is one of the worst of the deplorable monsters featured in my book. He never could say exactly why he hitchhiked to his in-laws’ farm on Laughery Creek, six miles south of Aurora, on that Friday morning in May of 1941, and then, one by one, killed his wife’s parents, her brothers, and her niece, shooting each of them execution style. 
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Nor could he explain why he returned to the crime scene the next day and attempted to blend in with the shocked onlookers, who were anxious for answers. His indifference to the catastrophic deaths of his relatives attracted the attention of the local sheriff, who started quietly asking people in the crowd about Carter’s whereabouts the day before.

Three of the Agrues’ neighbors reported seeing Carter near the farm around the time of the shootings, and that was all the sheriff needed to hear. He immediately took Carter to jail, grilled him relentlessly, and broke him 48 hours later. Carter made a full confession and was later tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.
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Carter was executed February 9, 1942, in the electric chair at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. His body was returned to River View Cemetery, south of Aurora, for burial within eyeshot of the five graves of the innocent victims whose lives he had brutally stolen nine months before. 

​After I’d paid my respects to the Agrues and little Mary, I strolled down the hill, not at all certain where and how I would find Virginius “Dink” Carter’s grave among the scores of tombstones in all directions. But, oddly enough, after I crossed the main driveway, I walked directly to it. The stone that protruded through the thick, green grass bearing his amusingly misspelled name (Virginous) was, like his nickname, dinky. Even at that, in my opinion, it was too good for him. •
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Mary Elizabeth Breeden, Carter’s 11-year-old victim
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The Agrue farmhouse
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Dink’s wife, Leona, and one of their two daughters, Priscilla
8 Comments
Lisa
8/7/2021 12:53:55 pm

My grandfather was a nephew of the Agrue family. As I understand it, they found liquor in the cellar and knew Nina Agrue wouldn’t allow it. So the sheriff took Dink to a local bar to ask his opinion of what happened. Dink ordered a drink - same brand as the bottle in the cellar.
Also, family lore says Dink was buried in the same cemetery but the family wasn’t pleased. Supposedly, he ended up elsewhere (I’ve always been told in a ditch somewhere).

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estella moore
4/12/2023 09:33:13 am

MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A AGRUE AND WAS RELATED TO THE AGRUE IN INDIANIA WE HAD FAMILY REUNIONS AND SOME WERE HELD IN INDIANA AND KENTUCKY AND THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT THE MURDER

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TamieSherman
10/18/2023 01:36:02 am

The Agrues are my great grandparents they were my grandmother Leona’s parents!!! Sometime after Dink got the electric chair, she met my grandfather George Sherman!!! I listen to the story’s by my father saying he had stolen the right from him (daddy Dale Sherman) and other family members to get to know and love them all !!! And he deserved what he got!!!

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Jaime Scott
4/25/2024 05:57:30 pm

I was just wondering who owns that property now? It’s close to my parents and even though it’s a horrible tragedy it’s a beautiful piece of land that someone could turn into something wonderful. It use to have a gate and private property signs but now the gates gone and no signs when you go past . Was just wondering if anyone bought it ? I don’t know why but when I go by there I just want to fix it up . There isn’t much left but it would be a beautiful place if the right person bought it and gave it life again .

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Dale Grant
8/20/2024 08:07:20 pm

Johnson and Nina were my Great Grandparents. I was born long after this horrific evil act, and only learned about it in full about 5yrs ago from researching my family history. My mother grew up right in that area, and apparently kept this all from me, so I had no idea for years after she passed(when I was still young myself). Many things now make sense though as she held it close, I'm sure trying to protect myself and older brothers from this tragedy. I'm positive though that my mother was somewhere on the front lines of the community, and being 15yrs old at the time, was absolutely aware of the proceedings that lead to justice for the family.
My mother rarely talked about her side of the family, and married my father just 6yrs after this event and went on to have my brother's that were born in Milan I believe, and they all ultimately moved to California about a decade later, where I was born and lived all my life.
I've always thought of my mother's side of the family to be rather small, but it just seems like this tragedy just scattered them. I didn't ever meet anyone on my mother's side that I remember, but yes, by all accounts, I'm definitely related to this family. Everything I've read about these people, Johnson and Nina, they were good people, and didn't deserve anything of what they got, none of them did.
Rest in peace family. Ar least I found you.

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Maddy Kaiser
10/29/2024 01:25:02 pm

He's my Great Great Grandpa. I love learning about it

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Ladyboy Fishers link
10/14/2024 05:51:42 pm

I ennjoyed reading your post

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Janis Thornton
10/14/2024 06:45:55 pm

Thank you.

Reply



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     2020 - ROAD TRIP with the DEAD
    • Sept. 1 - STOP 1: Jesse Worley Osborn, Greentown
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