Criminology is not always serious, at least when it comes to property once owned by infamous murderers. Let me give you a few examples. The 1972 Chevrolet station wagon pictured above is the infamous vehicle that convicted serial murderer Wayne B. Williams is accused of having used to transport several bodies onto the Jackson Memorial Parkway Bridge slowing down only long enough to dump a single body into the Chattahoochee River. Williams was convicted of having killed two of a large number of young black children in the late 70′s and early 80′s and is considered on of the nation’s most infamous serial murderers.
Wayne William’s 1972 Chevrolet station wagon could bring a huge amount of money. This vehicle is currently owned by Criminology Research Project, Inc. located in Piedmont, Alabama. Executive director Dr. Edward Blackwelder says the vehicle is not for sale at any price. If it were to be sold Blackwelder estimates it would sell from $50,000 to $75,000.
Nevertheless, there are equally infamous items owned or used by murderers that are being offered for sale. For instance, Lee Harvey Oswald was buried in a wooden casket for 18 years in Fort Worth’s Rose Hill Cemetery but is now up for bid. Oswald’s original casket is a wooden one being offered by Baumgardner Funeral Home in Fort Worth, Texas. This casket was dug up in 1981 when crime conspiracy buffs pushed hard enough to have Oswald’s body exhumed to prove once and for all whether or not the body contained inside was actually that of Lee Harvey Oswald….it was.
A post-mortem examination was conducted by a former Jefferson County, Alabama, forensic pathologist and the wedding band on Oswald’s ring finger was presented to Maria Oswald who identified it as that of her infamous husband. Oswald’s body was reburied in a new casket.
Since 1981 apparently this original casket was stored in Baumgardner’s Funeral Home and has remained there all these years. Allen Baumgardner, funeral home owner, said that he had decided to sell the casket and various related items (embalming equipment, related Oswald documents) and is offering it at a starting bid price of $1,000. Some knowledgeable sources indicate that the price could go as high as $100,000.
Also interesting is Oswald’s death certificate that is also being auctioned. This certificate originally indicated that Oswald had been shot and killed by Jack Ruby whose legal name was actually Jack Rubenstein. This death certificate was amended due to the fact that Ruby (Rubenstein) had not been convicted of actually killing Oswald.
How much would Wayne William’s infamous station wagon sell for? Blackwelder would not speculate but surmised that the price would likely be in line with the price of the Bronco that O.J. Simpson took his famous slow speed chase in. It sold for approximately $65,000. The morgue “toe tag” on the foot of Jack Ruby sold for thousands of dollars.
Blackwelder says there is a demand for crime memorabilia but has never sold any of the crime related items his Criminology Research Project, Inc., owns. According to Blackwelder’s wife, Shirley, curious minded crime buffs stop by regularly to take photographs of William’s vehicle. Many times, according to Mrs. Blackwelder, “the people actually pose next to the station wagon for a photo.”