Today in Wheeling History: October 20–Morley Vernon King, born in Wheeling, who later became infamous as the second person to be listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for the murder of his wife (1901).
Morley Vernon King was born on October 20, 1901, in Wheeling, West Virginia. He grew up in Wheeling but ran away from home at the age of 15. King traveled extensively throughout Europe, living in places like Casablanca, Morocco, where he owned and operated a hotel and bar. He met and married his wife, Helen, in 1929. The couple returned to the United States in 1934 and settled in New Orleans, where they operated a restaurant. King later moved to California, where he worked as a chef in a hotel dining room in San Luis Obispo. On July 9, 1947, Helen King's body was found in a trunk under the back porch of the hotel where Morley worked. She had been strangled to death. Morley King fled and was sought as a fugitive. He became the second person to be listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1950. King was eventually captured on October 31, 1951, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was working under an assumed identity. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and died on September 5, 1954, in San Quentin State Prison, California.
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://shorturl.at/JusHz), Wikiwand (https://shorturl.at/P8AMK)
Photo credits: FBI.gov
Morley Vernon King was born on October 20, 1901, in Wheeling, West Virginia. He grew up in Wheeling but ran away from home at the age of 15. King traveled extensively throughout Europe, living in places like Casablanca, Morocco, where he owned and operated a hotel and bar. He met and married his wife, Helen, in 1929. The couple returned to the United States in 1934 and settled in New Orleans, where they operated a restaurant. King later moved to California, where he worked as a chef in a hotel dining room in San Luis Obispo. On July 9, 1947, Helen King's body was found in a trunk under the back porch of the hotel where Morley worked. She had been strangled to death. Morley King fled and was sought as a fugitive. He became the second person to be listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1950. King was eventually captured on October 31, 1951, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was working under an assumed identity. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and died on September 5, 1954, in San Quentin State Prison, California.
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://shorturl.at/JusHz), Wikiwand (https://shorturl.at/P8AMK)
Photo credits: FBI.gov
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