I AM THE FORCE

THIS DATE IN WISCONSIN HISTORY

A deadly package bomb is opened
December 27, 1922

A package containing a bomb kills Clementine Chapman and maims her husband, James, in their Marshfield, Wisconsin, home. The Chapmans had expected to find a late Christmas present inside the parcel but instead were greeted with a deadly explosive. Fortunately, the bomb left enough clues for investigators to trace and catch the "Yule Bomb Killer."

The most crucial clues came from fragments of paper that were recovered after the explosion. After detectives painstakingly reconstructed the handwritten address and postmark, they deducted that the killer's first language was not English. In fact, they suspected that he was of Swedish heritage because the Marshfield address had been written "Marsfilld." The sounds sh and ie are not part of the Swedish language and a person of that native tongue would likely spell Marshfield phonetically in such a way.


Although investigators were also able to determine that the bomb had been mailed from Thorval Moen's home, he had an airtight alibi. A search for other Swedish immigrants living in the vicinity eventually led investigators to John Magnuson, a local resident who had a well-known feud with James Chapman over a drainage ditch. After arresting Magnuson and searching his home, detectives discovered materials that matched those found in the bomb and an inkbottle that matched the ink found on the package.

Magnuson was convicted of murder on March 31, 1923, and sentenced to life in prison.