The 1976 Mason County jail bombing was a suicide bombing that took place at the Mason County Courthouse in Point Pleasant, West Virginia on March 2, 1976. Five people, including two perpetrators and three law enforcement officers, were killed in the attack, and a further 11 people were injured. The bombing was perpetrated by 19-year-old Bruce Sisk, who detonated a suitcase filled with dynamite in his wife's jail cell after forcing his way in using a sawed-off shotgun.[1]
| 1976 Mason County jail bombing | |
|---|---|
| Location | Mason County Courthouse Point Pleasant, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Date | March 2, 1976 10:50 p.m. EDT (UTC-04:00) |
Attack type | Suicide attack |
| Weapons | |
| Deaths | 5 (including 2 perpetrators) |
| Injured | 11 |
| Perpetrators | Bruce Sisk, Harriet Sisk |
18-year-old Harriet Sisk had been held in the jail, which was in the basement of the courthouse,[2] awaiting trial after confessing to strangling her 2-month-old child to death. She had entered a suicide pact with Bruce prior to the bombing.[3]
Background
editMurder of Davi Calline Sisk
editIn the early hours of February 28, 1976, Harriet Sisk reported to police that her 2-month-old daughter, Davi Calline Sisk, had gone missing and suggested she may have been abducted from their mobile home. An extensive search followed, which resulted in the discovery of Davi's body in a shallow grave located a short distance from the home. Davi's body was wrapped, alongside a rag doll, with 3 blankets.[4][5][1]
On February 29, Harriet confessed to causing the death of Davi and on March 1 an autopsy revealed that Davi had been strangled to death and beaten. Harriet Sisk would subsequently be arrested by Sheriff Elvin Wedge on suspicion of murder and held in the Mason County jail while awaiting trial.[6][7] During this time, Harriet confessed to the murder and claimed that Bruce had assisted her in burying the corpse of the child and filing the police report.[8]
A funeral was held on March 1 for Davi Calline Sisk, which both Bruce and Harriet were permitted to attend despite her arrest.[6][9]
Day of the bombing
editHarriet Sisk's cellmate, Alice Missen, stated that on March 2 Bruce had visited the jail prior to the bombing and had a 10-minute whispered conversation with his wife. She would later recall that when Bruce returned to enact his attack, he said "Well here I am. I told you I'd be back."[10]
A friend of Bruce, Calvin Engle, who claimed to have spent much of the day of March 2 with him, described Bruce's emotional state, saying "It was the day after his daughter's funeral and he was still pretty uptight. But I didn't detect any anger,... just sadness."[6]
Bombing
editOn March 2, 1976, at approximately 10:50 pm, Bruce Sisk entered the Mason County jail armed with a stolen sawed-off shotgun and a suitcase that contained at least 15 pounds of dynamite. Sisk encountered unarmed dispatcher and jailer Charles Keith Anson and held him at gunpoint, demanding to be let into his wife's cell to spend the night. Anson recognized Sisk, who had visited the jail earlier at around 6 pm and talked to his wife, and had apparently gotten upset when Anson informed him visiting hours were over. Sisk pressed the barrel of the shotgun into Anson's back as he was led to his wife's cell. Anson unlocked the cell door and once Sisk entered, he slammed the cell door shut and locked it, locking Bruce, Harriet, and Harriet's cellmate, Alex Sue Missen, inside.[11]
Anson returned upstairs and called for backup and soon numerous law enforcement officers arrived at the scene. Negotiations were attempted with the couple, but they refused to respond. Eventually, the couple released Missen, at Harriet's insistence,[12] from the cell, who State Trooper Lloyd Akers claimed told him that "The only thing they told me to tell you was to have the building clear by morning or you'll be sorry."[1] This prompted officers to begin the evacuation of the jail, but before it could be completed the suitcase bomb was detonated at approximately 11:20 pm.[11]
The explosion instantly killed the Sisk couple and Deputy Kenneth Ward Love and resulted in extensive damage to the jail, courthouse, and surrounding buildings. Sheriff Elvin Wedge would die hours later and Deputy Earnest Hesson would die of his injuries a week later.[12][13] In total, five were killed and eleven were wounded in the bombing.[11]
Witnesses report that the bomb completely destroyed the jail. The courthouse and surrounding buildings had their windows blown out by the blast. It was reported that many of the dead and injured were buried under debris and that the explosion tore a hole into the second floor, resulting in prisoners on that floor falling through into the basement. Cpl. J.L Fitzwater described the explosion, stating "It just demolished the jail. It blew a hole in the side of the building and shattered windows on every floor and in surrounding buildings. It was just a tremendous blast. It ripped steel doors off like they were paper."[14] Some officials feared the building would collapse after witnessing the damages.[12] It was estimated that the explosion caused $500,000 in damages.[15]
Victims
editKilled
edit- Bruce Sisk, 19 (Perpetrator)
- Harriet Sisk, 18 (Perpetrator)
- Kenneth Love, 33 (Deputy)
- Elvin "Pete" Wedge, 48 (Sheriff)
- Ernest Hesson, 71 (Deputy)[16][13]
Injured
editThough 11 injured is the consistently reported number, only 10 have ever been named.
- Lloyd Akers, 33 (State trooper)
- Tom Belcher, 34 (City patrolman)
- Richard Dyer, 47 (Deputy)
- Donald Little, 40 (Prisoner)
- Noah McDade, 52 (Prisoner)
- Alice Missen, 18 (Prisoner)
- Danny Missen, 27 (Prisoner)
- Terry Pierce, 18 (Prisoner)
- Mike Smith, 30 (State trooper)
- Bruce Wallace, 28 (Ohio highway patrolman)[17]
Investigation
editOfficers carried out searches of the Sisk home and interviewed approximately 50 people during the course of the investigation. Forensic analysis of the crime scene revealed that the bomb contained at least 15 pounds of dynamite and had been detonated by an electronic blasting cap and 1½ volt, D-cell flashlight battery, and not by Bruce Sisk shooting it with the shotgun, as originally thought. The investigation found that Bruce had not fired the shotgun at all during the attack.[3][15]
Based on Harriet's confession, a suicide note discovered at the Sisk home and witness testimony, the investigation concluded that the attack was part of a suicide pact between the Sisk couple. The dynamite used in the bomb was stolen by Bruce Sisk from a construction company he had worked for in the past, and the stolen shotgun was linked to a burglary in mid-February. Evidence was found that Bruce exhibited animosity towards police officers and referred to them as "pigs" and other derogatory names.[15]
Aftermath
editAround 11 months after the explosion, the Mason County Commission signed a contract to rebuild the jail, which was destroyed in the explosion. A memorial to the victims was placed outside the jail.[11]
The Sisk's other child, 18-month-old Michaell Sisk, was taken in by the Department of Welfare.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Small town remembers a tragedy". The Daily Sentinel. 1 Mar 2002. pp. 1–4.
- ^ "Bomb Blast In Jail Kills 4, Injures 12". Times-Union. 3 Mar 1976.
- ^ a b "Sisk note hints conspiracy to murder and bury child". The Daily Sentinel. 11 Mar 1976. pp. 1–12.
- ^ "Infant is found dead". The Daily Sentinel. 29 Feb 1976.
- ^ "Mother arraigned". The Daily Sentinel. 2 Mar 1976.
- ^ a b c "Bomber 'Was A Nice Guy'". The Evening Independent. 4 Mar 1976.
- ^ "Young mother charged in daughter's murder". The Daily Sentinel. 2 Mar 1976.
- ^ "Some of the Whys answered". The Daily Sentinel. 12 Mar 1976.
- ^ "Suitcase full of dynamite kills man, wife, 2 others". The Spokesman-Review. 4 Mar 1976.
- ^ "Suicide pact believed behind fatal jail blast". The Montreal Gazette. 11 Mar 1976.
- ^ a b c d "Courthouse explosion one of Mason County's top stories". The Daily Sentinel. 28 Dec 1999.
- ^ a b c "Four killed as father of dead infant dynamites jail". The Morning Record. 4 Mar 1976.
- ^ a b "Deputy Is 5th Victim Of Blast". The Portsmouth Times. 9 Mar 1976.
- ^ "Mason Jail Blast Kills 4, Hurts 11". The Charleston Daily Mail. 3 Mar 1976.
- ^ a b c d "Mason Jail Bombing Was Suicide Pact". The Charleston Daily Mail. 11 Mar 1976.
- ^ "Four killed, 11 injured in jail blast". The Daily Sentinel. 3 Mar 1976.
- ^ "Mason blast kills 4, injures 12". Williamson Daily News. 3 Mar 1976.
Further reading
edit- "Wonderful West Virginia". Wonderful West Virginia. Vol. 71. 2007. p. 4 – via Google Books.
- Newton, Michael (2011). Bomb squad. Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN 978-1-60413-624-1.
- Vaughn, Chad (2023-08-14). "Mason County bridge to be dedicated to officers slain in 1976 bombing". WV News. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
- "Major arsons, disasters in latest Newell book". Retrieved 2024-08-17.