The 1973 Gitchie Manitou murders involved an attack on five teenagers in the Gitchie Manitou State Preserve, Iowa, on November 17, 1973. Four of the teenagers were killed and a fifth was kidnapped and raped. Brothers David, Allen and James Fryer were later convicted of the crimes and sentenced to life in prison.
A newspaper report on the Fryer brothers, one day after capture
On the evening of November 17, 1973, five teenagers from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, were attacked by a group of three brothers. Four of the teenagers were killed and one was kidnapped and raped. Those killed were the 17-year-old Roger Essem, the 18-year-old Stewart Baade, Baade's 14-year-old younger brother Dana Baade, and the 15-year-old Michael Hadrath. The 13-year-old Sandra Cheskey was raped by one of the perpetrators but survived. Her testimony would later prove essential in bringing the perpetrators to justice.[2]
The perpetrators of the murders were brothers Allen Fryer, 29, David Fryer, 24, and James Fryer, 21, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.[3]
The murders
Brothers David, Allen and James Fryer were in the Gitchie Manitou State Preserve when they discovered a group of teenagers sitting around a campfire. Believing that the group were smoking marijuana, the brothers decided to go back to their truck to obtain shotguns in order to take the drugs by force.
After obtaining the shotguns, the brothers positioned themselves on a ridge overlooking the victims and opened fire. Roger Essem was killed immediately and Stewart Baade fell to the ground, wounded.[4] At this point, the remaining teenagers took cover in the forest.[4]
The Fryers ordered the teenagers to come out of hiding, prompting Michael Hadrath and Sandra Cheskey to emerge together from the woods.[4] Allen Fryer then shot Hadrath in the arm and claimed that the trio were police officers.[4] Allen and David then forced Dana Baade, Hadrath, and Cheskey to walk along a trail leading away from the campfire, while James Fryer fetched the brothers' pickup truck. After James arrived, Cheskey was tied up and placed in the back of the truck.[4] Allen Fryer then got into the truck and drove away with Cheskey, while James and David rounded up the remaining the teenagers, including the wounded Stewart Baade, who had been lying where he had been shot. After Allen left, James and David Fryer killed the three teenagers with shotguns.[5]
As Allen was driving Cheskey around, he claimed to be a police officer and "the boss" of the three attackers. After a short time, James drove Cheskey to an abandoned farm house, where David and James had already arrived earlier with their own car. James then got into the truck with Cheskey and raped her. Afterwards, Allen got back into the truck and asked Cheskey, "That wasn't so bad was it?". After this, James and David drove away from the farm, leaving Allen alone with Cheskey. Allen told Cheskey that they needed to go inside the farmhouse to "look for critters", but Cheskey refused. Seemingly relenting, Allen then told Cheskey that he'd take her home.
Before leaving the farm, Allen refueled the truck from a large red fuel tank, which would later prove instrumental in locating the abandoned farm house. Allen then began to drive Cheskey home, still under the pretense of being a police officer, saying that Sandra was "too young to get busted".[4]
Investigation
The bodies of three of the teenage boys were discovered on the following day by a couple from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who were visiting the park. The body of Roger Essem was not discovered until the day after.
Investigators originally questioned Cheskey's credibility, as she appeared to be noticeably blunt and composed while describing the crimes, as well as being able to recall several specific details at such a young age. The police interviewed her several times and issued her a polygraph test, which she passed.[6]
On November 29, 1973, Cheskey was accompanied by Sheriff Craig Vinson as they drove around the countryside looking for the farmhouse where she had been held captive. Near Hartford, South Dakota, she recognized the farmhouse by the large red fuel tank standing next to the garage. The farm turned out to be owned by Allen Fryer's employer, a local farmer. By chance, Vinston and Cheskey then witnessed Allen Fryer drive by in the same brown pickup-truck that had been used on the night of the murders. Cheskey told Vinson: "That's him. That's the boss." Law enforcement quickly pulled the truck over and arrested Allen Fryer. Shortly afterward, David and James Fryer were also arrested.
Allen Fryer tried to claim that Cheskey's friends were the ones who had opened fire on the brothers, and that in the ensuing mayhem someone had been "accidentally" killed. By Allen's third interview, however, he admitted to the murders but tried to justify them by saying the five teens had been drinking and smoking marijuana. David Fryer told a similar story at first, but later confessed.[6]
On November 30, 1973, Cheskey identified both David and James Fryer from a police lineup.[6]
Allen and David Fryer were moved from Sioux Falls, SD to Lyon County Jail in Rock Rapids, Iowa. James Fryer remained in Sioux Falls because he was currently serving a jail sentence. On December 1, 1973, all three brothers were arraigned and charged with four counts of murder. Bond was set at $400,000 per person, amounting to $100,000 for each teenager slain.[6]
Trial
Sandra Cheskey's testimony would provide the bulk of evidence against the Fryer brothers during the 18-month-long trial.[7]
On February 12, 1974, David Fryer pled guilty to the open charge of murder, three charges of murder, and one charge of manslaughter.[8] David admitted to killing Stewart Baade. The judge sentenced David to life in prison without the possibility of parole. David stated; "If all my appeals fail, I'll actually write the governor and ask for the death penalty. I won't live out my life in jail. Keeping me locked up for life can't turn around what happened. It can't bring those people back."[9] When David appealed his conviction, he claimed not to have had the opportunity to review the statements made by Cheskey to prosecutors during his trial, so the Iowa Supreme Court ordered a rehearing at Lyon County Courthouse on December 30, 1974 to review this evidence for his appeal.[10]
Allen Fryer was subjected to psychiatric testing, and was found fit to stand trial. On February 1974, Allen began his trial at the Lyon County Court House. On May 20, 1974, Allen was found guilty of four counts of first degree murder and sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison.[11][12]
On June 18, 1974, after Allen Fryer's trial, he and James Fryer escaped from the Lyon County Jail, stole a vehicle, and fled the state.[13] They were arrested by authorities in Gillette, Wyoming, and brought back to Iowa to face federal charges.[14]
James' trial began on December 3, 1974, in Lyon County. However, the defense applied for a change of venue to the Dickinson County, Iowa, to obtain an impartial jury. The trial recommenced at the Dickinson County Courthouse on December 11 with jury selection.[15] After a hearing of how the boys' bodies were discovered, Cheskey gave her testimony.[16] A state psychiatrist determined that James had an IQ of 85 and had poor control over his own behavior.[citation needed] On December 20, 1974, James Fryer was found guilty of three charges of first-degree murder and one charge of manslaughter.[17] On January 7, 1975, James Fryer was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences for the first degree murders of Michael Hadrath, Stewart Baade, and Dana Baade, as well as eight years for the manslaughter of Roger Essom.[10] As James would be serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, the District Attorney concluded that there was no need to subject Cheskey to a new trial regarding her rape by James Fryer.[18][19][15]
All three of the Fryer brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and all their subseqeuent appeals were rejected. In 2016, David Fryer asked the parole board to transmute his conviction to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, but this was rejected after a testimony by Sandra Cheskey and Lynette Hadrath, Mike Hadrath's sister.[20] As of 2024, Allen is serving his life sentence at the penitentiary in Anamosa, Iowa, while David and James are serving their life sentences at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
↑ "Four Boys Slain in NW Iowa: Found in Park; All Were Shot". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Vol.91, no.314. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Gazette Leased Wires. November 19, 1973. pp.1, 3. Retrieved January 5, 2024– via cedarrapids.advantage-preservation.com.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Brettingen, Tom (February 20, 1974). "Murder Witness Testifies During Evidentiary Hearing". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Vol.92, no.42. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. AP [Rock Rapids]. p.7D (51 of 76). Retrieved January 5, 2024– via cedarrapids.advantage-preservation.com.
1 2 3 4 Hamman, Phil & Sandy (2019). Gitchie Girl Uncovered: The True Story of a Night of Mass Murder and the Hunt for the Deranged Killers. Little Elm, TX: Electio Publishing. pp.64, 71–75, 99–106, 117–129, 131, 135–137. ISBN9781632137005.
↑ "Witness Relates Night Of Multiple Slayings". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Vol.92, no.128. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. AP [Rock Rapids]. May 17, 1974. p.8. Retrieved January 5, 2024– via cedarrapids.advantage-preservation.com.
1 2 "Fryer Is Sentenced To Life". Spirit Lake Beacon. Vol.105, no.2. Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, Iowa. January 9, 1975. p.1. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via dickinson.advantage-preservation.com.
1 2 "Fryer Trial in Spirit Lake". Spirit Lake Beacon. Vol.104, no.50. Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, Iowa. December 12, 1974. p.1. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via dickinson.advantage-preservation.com.
↑ "Cheskey Testifies At Fryer Trial". Spirit Lake Beacon. Vol.104, no.51. Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, Iowa. December 19, 1974. p.1. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via dickinson.advantage-preservation.com.
↑ "Fryer Is Guilty on Four Counts". Spirit Lake Beacon. Vol.104, no.52. Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, Iowa. December 26, 1974. p.1. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via dickinson.advantage-preservation.com.
In addition to Allen Fryer v. Nix (mentioned below), the following decisions provide a great deal of background for the 1973 murder case:
STATE OF IOWA, Appellee v. JAMES RAY FRYER, Appellant; No. 58103; Supreme Court of Iowa; 243 N.W.2d 1; 1976 Iowa Sup.
STATE OF IOWA, Appellee v. DAVID LYLE FRYER, Appellant; No. 57308; Supreme Court of Iowa; 226 N.W.2d 36; 1975 Iowa Sup.
ALLEN E. FRYER, Appellant, v. STATE OF IOWA, Appellee; No. 347 / 66755; Supreme Court of Iowa; 325 N.W.2d 400; 1982 Iowa Sup.
The Gitchie Manitou murders are the subject of a 2016 book by Phil and Sandy Hamman, with first-hand accounts from Sandra Cheskey, titled Gitchie Girl.
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