Case File: Charles Reuter

Locations

• 625 N. Cheyenne Ave, Tulsa, Oklahoma - home of Charles Reuter, murder location
• 630 N. Cheyenne Ave, Tulsa, Oklahoma - home of H. W. Stover where Mrs. Reuter spent the night after the murder

People

Name	(Born-Died)	Description
Baker, Joseph "Joe"
Bellew, Grover "Bud"
Breckinridge, M. A.		Superior Court Judge
Brodie, Dr.		Attended Mrs. Reuter and the murder
Grosshart, Dr.		Attended Mrs. Reuter and the murder
Malloy		County Attorney
McCullough, William		Sheriff on the murder case
McKenzie, Guy D.		an oil operator
Pence, L. B.		Administrator of the estate of Charles Reuter
Reuter, Charles T.	1869-1912	The victim. A prominent lawyer and defense attorney
Reuter, John Charles	1909-?	son of Charles and Laura, age 3
Reuter, Laura M.	1885-?	Wife of Charles Reuter, and suspect
Reuter, Marcella Deener	1905-?	daughter of Charles and Laura, age 7
Stover, H. W.		Neighbor where Mrs. Reuter spent the night
Yoder, Ed		Chief of Police

Documentation

Burials

• Find-a-Grave: Charles T. Reuter (1869-1912), in Peoria, Illinois

Census Records

• 1880 US Federal Census: Peoria, Illinois - Charles, age 11, with parents and siblings.
• 1910 US Federal Census: Peoria, Illinois - Charles, 32, with first wife Mina in the home of his mother and sister.
• 1910 US Federal Census: Tulsa, Oklahoma - Charles, Laura, and their two children "Marzella" (age 4), and John (age 1)

Court Records

• 1912-1914: Probate of Charles T. Reuter, #1203 (114 pages); Laura M. Reuter petitions for a settlement and partition of the estate. Commissioners W. A. Brownlee, G. N. Wright, and W. P. Moore are appointed to view and appraise the estate. Mrs. Reuter is allowed $40 per month for the maintenance of herself and the children during the process of the settlement of the estate (6 Jun 1912). They find that four parcels of real estate are worth a total value of $7050. The judge finds that Mrs. Reuter and the two children each hold a one-third interest in the estate. Pence receives $359.19 in commission and expenses as administrator of the estate.
  • Testimony of Mrs. Reuter: marriage date, births of children.
  • Undertakers Receipt: Mewbray Undertaking Co, $247 for casket, hearse, ambulance, shaving, embalming, and permit.
  • Rolls File: Note on male child, 1/16 degree Cherokee, in probate by mistake? #1143, age 11 when enrolled 1 Sep 1902, Census Card #370
  • Receipt: adenoid operation (tonsils) for Johnie, $25
  • Accounting: Allowances, Advancements and Taxes for Laura Reuter, total $1185.29

Newspaper Articles

• 3 Feb 1899 (Freeport Daily Bulletin) - How Charles Reuter moved from being a barber to a lawyer
• 8 Nov 1904 (The Inter Ocean) - marriage license for "Charles Renter" of Peoria, Ill (35) and Mary McKeon (20)
• 5 May 1912 (Tulsa World) - First local article, Charles T. Reuter killed by a robber, wife distraught.
• 20 Sep 1912 (Washington County Sentinel and the Weekly Enterprise) - Trial of Guy D. McKenzie, Mrs. Laura M. Reuter, Bud Bellew, and Joe Baker is set for 5 Oct 1912 according to the plans of County Attorney Malloy. McKenzie, Baker, and Bellew are in County jail while Mrs. Reuter is at liberty on her own recognizance. Trial set by Superior Judge M. A. Breckinridge.
• 22 Jun 1914 (Tulsa World) - rumors that Mrs. Reuter has remarried, or intends to, to a "young and good looking" stenographer that has been keeping company with her for several months. He was away from work on vacation while Mrs. Reuter left the city "for some little time" to visit her children at a boarding house in Fort Smith, Arkansas - she has been staying at the Hotel Tulsa. She has her home on North Cheyenne on lease for 1 year.

Vital Records

• 1904: Marriage of Charles Reuter and "Mary McKeon" in Chicago
• 1905: Birth of "Marcella Dean Reuter" in Peoria, Illinois