Bio

Joseph Dunbar Medley was born on July 22, 1901, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later lived in Chicago, where he worked as a purchasing agent. He was also reported to have married and later divorced. He served a prison term in Arkansas for obtaining money under false pretenses. After that, he worked for the General Motors Acceptance Corporation, but reportedly lost the position after his criminal record became known.

By the early 1930s, Medley had become involved in organized robbery activity in Michigan. In 1933, he was linked to a gang that committed robberies, including the abduction and robbery of Louis E. Brooks, a wealthy manufacturer. After a manhunt, Medley was arrested in March 1934. He pleaded guilty to armed robbery and received a prison sentence of 30 to 60 years.

Medley did not complete that sentence. In late 1944, while serving time in Michigan, he escaped or absconded after gaining a position of trust inside the prison. He left with money connected to prison war bond funds and began traveling under false identities. 

Murder Story

Joseph Dunbar Medley was linked to a series of robberies and murders involving women in the 1940s. The strongest and confirmed case against him was the murder of Nancy Boyer in Washington, D.C.

Medley was also suspected in the deaths of Laura Fischer, 28, in New Orleans, and Blanche Zimmerman, 38, in Chicago. Both women were reportedly robbed, but the details of those cases are less clear in available records. Because of that, they should be treated as suspected or attributed victims, not confirmed convictions.

In March 1945, Medley used the alias Larry Fischer and attended a poker gathering at Nancy Boyer’s apartment in Washington, D.C. After the other guests left, Boyer was found dead. Investigators accused Medley of killing her during a robbery.

After Boyer’s murder, police searched for Medley across state lines. He was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, later in March 1945 and returned to Washington, D.C. for trial. On June 9, 1945, Medley was convicted of first-degree murder for Nancy Boyer’s death and sentenced to death.

While waiting for execution, Medley escaped from D.C. Jail on April 3, 1946, with another condemned prisoner, Earl McFarland. He was captured again only hours later near the Anacostia River. Medley’s appeals did not stop his sentence. He was executed by electrocution at D.C. Jail on December 20, 1946.