Bert Ellis Dean is not famous, but what he did Saturday, May 19, 1934, made him infamous. On that day, Ellis, who suffered from what we now call PTSD, did the unthinkable when he shot four innocent people, mortally wounding two, and seriously wounding the other two, one of whom was his wife. He then committed suicide after his rampage.
According to the Marion Star of May 22, 1934, on the previous Saturday (May 19th), in a fit of rage mixed with passion, Dean attempted to murder his estranged wife, Maud Morganthaler Dean. Mrs. Dean was working as a maid for Thomas Hoffman at his apartment in the Georgian Apartments on South State Street in Marion. Bert Ellis Dean burst into the apartment, and a fight ensued in the kitchen between Dean, his wife and when Mr. Hoffman acted to protect Mrs. Dean from he husband, Dean draw his gun and fired shots, at his wife, wounding her and mortally wounding Thomas Hoffman who died on Tuesday, May 22, 1934. Also injured by one of the stray bullets was Adeline Pfeiffer, a visitor of Hoffman's, who was shot in both arms, one of which was permanently paralyzed when a nerve was severed. One Dean's bullets shattered the kitchen window and seriously injured Mrs. Claude Thomas who was climbing the back exterior stairs to her apartment in the rear of the building when she was shot. (Thompson was taken to Columbus when it was discovered that the shooting had severed her spinal column; she later died of complications from her wounds.)
Dean left the scene of the crime on foot and his body was discovered later by a cemetery maintenance worker in the veterans' section of the cemetery. Dean had killed himself with a gunshot wound to the head, leaving behind a hastily written suicide note stating "I am going to end this thing now." He was buried at Marion Cemetery.
The Victims and the Aftermath
Maud Morganthaler (Dean) Garrett survived the ordeal, and after her recovery moved to Cincinnati to start a new life and she remarried. She later said that she believed that her first husband had suffered from "War Nerves". "He was never the same after the war and things got worse as time went on."
Thomas Hoffman was buried at Forest Glen (now Chapel Heights) next to his wife Doris.
Irene Thomas died ten days after the shooting and was buried in Toledo. Several months after the incident, her husband attempted suicide in his grief over her life.
Adeline Pfeiffer lived for several years, in constant pain from the damage caused in her arm left lame by the shooting. Without the use of her arm, she was dependent on his son for her livelihood and died in 1950. Mrs. Pfeiffer was at the Hoffman residence to accompany Mr. Hoffman to Forest Glen Memorial Park (now Chapel Heights) to look at the new grave marker for the late Mrs. Hoffman's grave.
The "Georgian Apartments" which were the second and third floors of a commercial block at 131 South State Street fell into disrepair, as living patterns changed, and were finally torn down in 2015.
It is our duty to remember the victims, who were not doing anything but living their lives.
If you must find a place to hang any sorrow for this man after the heartache and loss he committed, find it in his service to his country and what he sacrificed - his clearness of mind - for the country.
We know that PTSD isn't a precursor to the unthinkable in every instance, only those in the extreme. And while we can't help Bert Dean or any of his victims, we can help by supporting those causes that help our wounded warriors, especially those who return home with unseen wounds to the thought process, and those who have PTSD. Give them the opportunity that this man never had, and hopefully, it can prevent future tragedies like this one from happening again. PTSD can be treated - help a vet with it by helping them the help they need, and the help they deserve.
According to the Marion Star of May 22, 1934, on the previous Saturday (May 19th), in a fit of rage mixed with passion, Dean attempted to murder his estranged wife, Maud Morganthaler Dean. Mrs. Dean was working as a maid for Thomas Hoffman at his apartment in the Georgian Apartments on South State Street in Marion. Bert Ellis Dean burst into the apartment, and a fight ensued in the kitchen between Dean, his wife and when Mr. Hoffman acted to protect Mrs. Dean from he husband, Dean draw his gun and fired shots, at his wife, wounding her and mortally wounding Thomas Hoffman who died on Tuesday, May 22, 1934. Also injured by one of the stray bullets was Adeline Pfeiffer, a visitor of Hoffman's, who was shot in both arms, one of which was permanently paralyzed when a nerve was severed. One Dean's bullets shattered the kitchen window and seriously injured Mrs. Claude Thomas who was climbing the back exterior stairs to her apartment in the rear of the building when she was shot. (Thompson was taken to Columbus when it was discovered that the shooting had severed her spinal column; she later died of complications from her wounds.)
Dean left the scene of the crime on foot and his body was discovered later by a cemetery maintenance worker in the veterans' section of the cemetery. Dean had killed himself with a gunshot wound to the head, leaving behind a hastily written suicide note stating "I am going to end this thing now." He was buried at Marion Cemetery.
The Victims and the Aftermath
Maud Morganthaler (Dean) Garrett survived the ordeal, and after her recovery moved to Cincinnati to start a new life and she remarried. She later said that she believed that her first husband had suffered from "War Nerves". "He was never the same after the war and things got worse as time went on."
Thomas Hoffman was buried at Forest Glen (now Chapel Heights) next to his wife Doris.
Irene Thomas died ten days after the shooting and was buried in Toledo. Several months after the incident, her husband attempted suicide in his grief over her life.
Adeline Pfeiffer lived for several years, in constant pain from the damage caused in her arm left lame by the shooting. Without the use of her arm, she was dependent on his son for her livelihood and died in 1950. Mrs. Pfeiffer was at the Hoffman residence to accompany Mr. Hoffman to Forest Glen Memorial Park (now Chapel Heights) to look at the new grave marker for the late Mrs. Hoffman's grave.
The "Georgian Apartments" which were the second and third floors of a commercial block at 131 South State Street fell into disrepair, as living patterns changed, and were finally torn down in 2015.
It is our duty to remember the victims, who were not doing anything but living their lives.
If you must find a place to hang any sorrow for this man after the heartache and loss he committed, find it in his service to his country and what he sacrificed - his clearness of mind - for the country.
We know that PTSD isn't a precursor to the unthinkable in every instance, only those in the extreme. And while we can't help Bert Dean or any of his victims, we can help by supporting those causes that help our wounded warriors, especially those who return home with unseen wounds to the thought process, and those who have PTSD. Give them the opportunity that this man never had, and hopefully, it can prevent future tragedies like this one from happening again. PTSD can be treated - help a vet with it by helping them the help they need, and the help they deserve.
Bert Ellis Dean is not famous, but what he did Saturday, May 19, 1934, made him infamous. On that day, Ellis, who suffered from what we now call PTSD, did the unthinkable when he shot four innocent people, mortally wounding two, and seriously wounding the other two, one of whom was his wife. He then committed suicide after his rampage.
According to the Marion Star of May 22, 1934, on the previous Saturday (May 19th), in a fit of rage mixed with passion, Dean attempted to murder his estranged wife, Maud Morganthaler Dean. Mrs. Dean was working as a maid for Thomas Hoffman at his apartment in the Georgian Apartments on South State Street in Marion. Bert Ellis Dean burst into the apartment, and a fight ensued in the kitchen between Dean, his wife and when Mr. Hoffman acted to protect Mrs. Dean from he husband, Dean draw his gun and fired shots, at his wife, wounding her and mortally wounding Thomas Hoffman who died on Tuesday, May 22, 1934. Also injured by one of the stray bullets was Adeline Pfeiffer, a visitor of Hoffman's, who was shot in both arms, one of which was permanently paralyzed when a nerve was severed. One Dean's bullets shattered the kitchen window and seriously injured Mrs. Claude Thomas who was climbing the back exterior stairs to her apartment in the rear of the building when she was shot. (Thompson was taken to Columbus when it was discovered that the shooting had severed her spinal column; she later died of complications from her wounds.)
Dean left the scene of the crime on foot and his body was discovered later by a cemetery maintenance worker in the veterans' section of the cemetery. Dean had killed himself with a gunshot wound to the head, leaving behind a hastily written suicide note stating "I am going to end this thing now." He was buried at Marion Cemetery.
The Victims and the Aftermath
Maud Morganthaler (Dean) Garrett survived the ordeal, and after her recovery moved to Cincinnati to start a new life and she remarried. She later said that she believed that her first husband had suffered from "War Nerves". "He was never the same after the war and things got worse as time went on."
Thomas Hoffman was buried at Forest Glen (now Chapel Heights) next to his wife Doris.
Irene Thomas died ten days after the shooting and was buried in Toledo. Several months after the incident, her husband attempted suicide in his grief over her life.
Adeline Pfeiffer lived for several years, in constant pain from the damage caused in her arm left lame by the shooting. Without the use of her arm, she was dependent on his son for her livelihood and died in 1950. Mrs. Pfeiffer was at the Hoffman residence to accompany Mr. Hoffman to Forest Glen Memorial Park (now Chapel Heights) to look at the new grave marker for the late Mrs. Hoffman's grave.
The "Georgian Apartments" which were the second and third floors of a commercial block at 131 South State Street fell into disrepair, as living patterns changed, and were finally torn down in 2015.
It is our duty to remember the victims, who were not doing anything but living their lives.
If you must find a place to hang any sorrow for this man after the heartache and loss he committed, find it in his service to his country and what he sacrificed - his clearness of mind - for the country.
We know that PTSD isn't a precursor to the unthinkable in every instance, only those in the extreme. And while we can't help Bert Dean or any of his victims, we can help by supporting those causes that help our wounded warriors, especially those who return home with unseen wounds to the thought process, and those who have PTSD. Give them the opportunity that this man never had, and hopefully, it can prevent future tragedies like this one from happening again. PTSD can be treated - help a vet with it by helping them the help they need, and the help they deserve.
According to the Marion Star of May 22, 1934, on the previous Saturday (May 19th), in a fit of rage mixed with passion, Dean attempted to murder his estranged wife, Maud Morganthaler Dean. Mrs. Dean was working as a maid for Thomas Hoffman at his apartment in the Georgian Apartments on South State Street in Marion. Bert Ellis Dean burst into the apartment, and a fight ensued in the kitchen between Dean, his wife and when Mr. Hoffman acted to protect Mrs. Dean from he husband, Dean draw his gun and fired shots, at his wife, wounding her and mortally wounding Thomas Hoffman who died on Tuesday, May 22, 1934. Also injured by one of the stray bullets was Adeline Pfeiffer, a visitor of Hoffman's, who was shot in both arms, one of which was permanently paralyzed when a nerve was severed. One Dean's bullets shattered the kitchen window and seriously injured Mrs. Claude Thomas who was climbing the back exterior stairs to her apartment in the rear of the building when she was shot. (Thompson was taken to Columbus when it was discovered that the shooting had severed her spinal column; she later died of complications from her wounds.)
Dean left the scene of the crime on foot and his body was discovered later by a cemetery maintenance worker in the veterans' section of the cemetery. Dean had killed himself with a gunshot wound to the head, leaving behind a hastily written suicide note stating "I am going to end this thing now." He was buried at Marion Cemetery.
The Victims and the Aftermath
Maud Morganthaler (Dean) Garrett survived the ordeal, and after her recovery moved to Cincinnati to start a new life and she remarried. She later said that she believed that her first husband had suffered from "War Nerves". "He was never the same after the war and things got worse as time went on."
Thomas Hoffman was buried at Forest Glen (now Chapel Heights) next to his wife Doris.
Irene Thomas died ten days after the shooting and was buried in Toledo. Several months after the incident, her husband attempted suicide in his grief over her life.
Adeline Pfeiffer lived for several years, in constant pain from the damage caused in her arm left lame by the shooting. Without the use of her arm, she was dependent on his son for her livelihood and died in 1950. Mrs. Pfeiffer was at the Hoffman residence to accompany Mr. Hoffman to Forest Glen Memorial Park (now Chapel Heights) to look at the new grave marker for the late Mrs. Hoffman's grave.
The "Georgian Apartments" which were the second and third floors of a commercial block at 131 South State Street fell into disrepair, as living patterns changed, and were finally torn down in 2015.
It is our duty to remember the victims, who were not doing anything but living their lives.
If you must find a place to hang any sorrow for this man after the heartache and loss he committed, find it in his service to his country and what he sacrificed - his clearness of mind - for the country.
We know that PTSD isn't a precursor to the unthinkable in every instance, only those in the extreme. And while we can't help Bert Dean or any of his victims, we can help by supporting those causes that help our wounded warriors, especially those who return home with unseen wounds to the thought process, and those who have PTSD. Give them the opportunity that this man never had, and hopefully, it can prevent future tragedies like this one from happening again. PTSD can be treated - help a vet with it by helping them the help they need, and the help they deserve.
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BERT E DEAN
OHIO
PFC 119 FIELD ARTY 32 DIVISION
WORLD WAR I
JUNE 25, 1892 - MAY 19, 1934
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