The Sodder Children of Fayetteville: Revisiting a Local Mystery 70 Years Later

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY SPOTLIGHT WEST VIRGINIA ON MARCH 7, 2016; PG. 38 (LINK)

It was around 10:00PM on Christmas Eve 1945 as members of the Sodder household trickled to bed.  Jennie Sodder agreed to let her younger children stay up late to play with toys given to them by their sister, Mary Ann (Marian).  Jennie reminded her youngest sons, Maurice and Louis, to feed the cows and close the chicken coop before going to bed.  As they played, the children listened to the radio, waiting to hear of Santa’s arrival.  It was nearly midnight when Mary Ann fell off to sleep on the couch while reading a magazine.  Oldest son, Joseph, would not be making it home from the Army in time for the celebration.  Disappointed, the family did not put up a Christmas tree that year.

It was only a short while later when the sleeping family awoke to a nightmare – smoke filling the rooms and their house set ablaze.  The resulting tragedy would change their lives forever.  But not in the way one would expect.

When five of their ten children (Maurice, 14; Martha, 12; Louis, 9; Jennie, 8; and Betty, 5 – the very same ones who stayed up late with Mary Ann) went missing, George and Jennie Sodder initially assumed the worst – that they had burned up inside the house.

However, several strange events occurred before, during, and after the fire that led some, especially the Sodders themselves, to wonder what truly happened at the residence on U.S. Highway 21 in the little town of Fayetteville, West Virginia, in the early morning hours of Christmas Day 1945.  Seventy years later, numerous questions, oddities, and theories persist in regard to that fateful December morning that cause many to classify the case as unsolved.  Here are some of the details surrounding this perplexing mystery.

Before the Fire
George owned a coal trucking company and, a few months prior to the fire, a man approached him at the home to talk about a hauling job.  Walking the property, the man pointed out two fuse boxes on the house and warned George that they would cause a fire.  This wouldn’t necessarily raise questions except the power company had inspected the wiring and added the second box to accommodate an electric stove.

Closer to Christmastime, the family noticed an unfamiliar man parked near their house who seemed to be unusually interested in watching the children walk home from school.  He was seen on a few occasions.The morning of December 25th, around 12:30AM, a phone call rang in to the house.  Jennie got up from bed and answered the call from her husband’s home office.  An unknown female asked for a man that did not live at the residence nor had reason to be there.  There was lively noise in the background and someone let out a peculiar laugh.  Jennie chalked it up to a prank.

Before returning to bed, Jennie, whose bedroom was on the first floor, noticed that all the downstairs lights were on and the window curtains open.  She turned off the lights except for one in the office, pulled the curtains, and checked the doors, which happened to be unlocked.  As she closed up the house for the night, she saw Mary Ann asleep on the couch.  Jennie assumed her other children had gone to their bedrooms upstairs, and she went back to bed herself.  While dozing off, she heard a noise that startled her – a loud thud hitting the roof, likened to the sound of a rubber ball, followed by a rolling noise and a thump.  About half an hour later, still not fully asleep, she smelled smoke filling the bedroom that she shared with George and youngest child, Sylvia.

During the Fire
Jennie traced the smoke back to the office, where flames were darting from the ceiling in a corner of the room.  She stood at the bottom of the stairs and screamed for her children to get out of the house.  Older brothers John and George, Jr. (Ted), who slept in the back bedroom, yelled to their siblings and ran downstairs, assuming the children would follow.  The fire had progressed worse than they realized; and, once it was clear the other children weren’t coming down, it was too late to go back for them.

George, Jennie, and four of their children escaped the fiery house.  Trying other ways to reach the upstairs bedrooms, George discovered a ladder that he usually kept propped against the house was gone.  Days later, he found the ladder tossed over a hill about 75 yards from the house.

There were two coal trucks for the hauling business parked on the property.  Along with John and George, Jr., George ran to the trucks with the intent of using the height to climb up to the second story windows.  Despite having been in working condition the day before, neither truck would start.  Throughout his life, George held the belief that someone had tampered with the engines.

The home office where the phone was located was in flames; and Mary Ann, having been asleep downstairs, took Sylvia outside and then ran to the neighbors’ to call for help but could not reach an operator.  A passerby stopped at a nearby bar to call the fire department and received no response from an operator either.  After driving further into town, he called again and reached Fire Chief Morris who, when told about the burning house, said, “We know it.”

This was sometime between 1:30 and 2:00AM.  Morris claimed that he didn’t know how to drive the firetruck and had to wait on his men.  Firefighters did not remain active at the station and relied on a “phone tree” system to call each other.  The Sodders lived two and a half miles from the fire department, but the firefighters did not arrive on site until 8:00 or 9:00AM, six to seven hours later.  By this point, the house was nothing but a pile of smoldering rubble.

The Remains
An initial survey of the site, led by Fire Chief Morris and the State Police Superintendent, was held that Christmas morning.  Morris informed the Sodders that the search had turned up no remains (“We searched as if with a fine tooth comb and we could not find a thing.”), but it was rumored that the Chief told townsfolk that he actually did find remains, some organ matter, something he never reported to the Coroner or any other officials.  That same day, a mortician, who helped rake through the ash, gave testimony that he had discovered a liver but determined it was uncooked, not of human origin, and held no significance.  Four days later, although not completely satisfied that no remains were found, the Sodders believed the investigation to have been thorough and conclusive.  The family, intensely heartbroken, covered the site with fill dirt and erected five memorial markers, a makeshift cemetery for the children.  Death certificates were issued on the 30th.

Popular theory hypothesized that the bodies were completely cremated in the fire.  However, to address nagging questions, the Sodders contacted a crematorium in Ohio that told them their practice was to heat the bodies for two hours at 2,000 degrees and that bones of “significant size” would often remain.  Information published by the National Funeral Directors Association supports this, stating that “optimum temperature” for cremation is 1,400-1,800 degrees.  The NFDA further explains that human remains are burned for two to two and a half hours and, in some cases, bone fragments can endure the extreme heat.  The Sodder house had burned to the ground in only 30-45 minutes and, judging by the condition of debris found, burned at a lower temperature than standard funeral home cremations.  Parts of appliances, fabrics, and other items (things that would’ve burned up quicker than human bones) were pulled from the house, yet no organs, skeletons, or fragments were recovered.  Family and witnesses noted never having smelled burning flesh.

Three months later, Jennie read a newspaper report about a nearby residence that had also burned to the ground.  Seven individuals perished in the fire, and all seven skeletons were recovered.  The Sodders approached the local authorities with this new information but were brushed off.  The family then proceeded to hire a string of private detectives.

Chief Morris’s involvement became increasingly dubious when it was discovered, two years after the fire, that he had put a “heart” inside a box and placed it at the scene before it was covered with dirt.

The box was dug up, prompted by a tip from a local minister who had heard that the Chief confessed to people around town about planting the evidence.  A small piece of the organ was sent off to the personal contact of a private investigator who did testing and concluded the organ was a cow liver.  The rest of the organ was taken to the mortuary, where it wound up being thrown out.  The funeral director had examined it prior to its disposal and determined it was “something other than human flesh.”  It was later rumored that Morris admitted to placing the liver at the scene in hopes the family would find it and accept it as proof that the children were dead.  He refused to cooperate with further questioning by the Coroner and other officials.  Morris’s strange behavior and the lack of remains found at the site were largely what caused the family’s grief to grow in to suspicion.

In 1949, the Sodders hired Oscar B. Hunter, Jr., a well-respected pathologist from Washington, D.C., to conduct a careful excavation of the site.  Amongst other things, four pieces of human vertebrae were found and sent to the Smithsonian Institute to be studied by physical anthropologist Marshall T. Newton.  The study found that the bone shards belonged to one individual, aged 16 or 17 (the oldest missing child, Maurice, was 14), and had not been exposed to fire.  Hunter also stated, had the children died, large groupings of bones should’ve been recovered because of how quickly the fire burned out.  It was suggested that the bones found had likely been in the five feet of fill dirt George used to cover the remnants of the house.  The Smithsonian Institute transferred the skeletal fragments back to George.  Sometime later, a letter was sent to one of the Sodders’ private investigators with a claim that the pieces of vertebrae had been taken from a nearby cemetery and planted at the scene.  The bones have since been lost, preventing modern DNA testing.

After the Fire
The official reports blamed faulty wiring (something the local police later recanted); yet, according to Jennie, the lights were working properly at the time of the fire.  A telephone repairman determined that the house’s phone line had been cut, not burned.

Furthermore, during the chaos, two men who owned a bar near the house were spotted stealing a pair of automobile chain blocks from the property, a burglary that would’ve taken advanced planning.  One of the men was later arrested, charged, and fined for the theft.  He denied being involved in the fire but confessed to cutting the phone line with pliers when meaning to cut the power lines.  Investigators questioned the testimony because the line was cut high in the air 2’-0” from the utility pole (possibly why the ladder wasn’t in its usual spot).  No eye witnesses saw the line being cut, and the other thief joined the Army to escape punishment.  Nothing ever resulted from this information.

In 1946, while playing in the yard, Sylvia found a green rubber object with a twist cap, appearing to be what was left on an incendiary device similar to ones used in WWII.  A man who was riding a late night bus reported having seen “balls of fire” being thrown at the house by unknown individuals.  It was alleged this was likely the source of the noise Jennie heard after going to bed for the second time and also what started the fire.

Not long after their disappearance, several sightings of the Sodder children were reported, one of them mere days after the fire from the manager of a hotel in Charleston.  When she tried speaking with the children, the Italian-speaking adults accompanying them became hostile.

The Photograph
In 1967, 22 years after the tragedy, Jennie received a picture in the mail of a young man.  The back of the picture displayed a message, reading: “Louis Sodder.  I love brother Frankie.  Ilil Boys.  A90132 or 35.”George and Jennie became convinced that the photograph accurately portrayed an image of what their son, who was nine years old at the time of the fire, would look like as a man in his early 30s.  “Ilil Boys” could have meant “little boys,” and the “A90132 or 35” conceivably corresponded to zip codes in Sicily, an island notoriously overrun with the Italian Mafia.  The envelope the photo arrived in was postmarked from Kentucky and had no return address.  It had been opened and then resealed, something George indicated had also occurred with other mail linked to the case.  The Sodders hired another private investigator to pursue this lead in Kentucky, but they never heard back from the man.

The Mafia
George and Jennie, both Italian immigrants, left Italy as children themselves.  They settled their family in Fayetteville, which was, at the time, a community heavily populated with other Italian-American immigrants.  George was very outspoken about his distaste for Mussolini and was known to get in to heated debates with other locals about the Fascist dictator.

Around October of 1945, an insurance agent by the name of Russell Long solicited George to buy life insurance for himself, Jennie, and their ten children.  George declined.  The Fire Marshal’s report states that the man was sent by Fiorenzo Janutolo, a former employer of George’s, who also owned a hauling company.  Janutolo was the director of the Fayette County National Bank, a co-signer on a loan to George, and a listed recipient of a $1,500.00 insurance policy in a mortgage clause on the Sodder’s property.  Janutolo became enraged that the family refused life insurance.  He cautioned George that his house would burn down and his children would die, an eerie prediction for a fate yet to come.  “You are going to be paid for the dirty remarks you have been making about Mussolini,” he added.  In addition, Janutolo may have been irritated that the family had not yet settled the estate of Jennie’s deceased father.

The Coroner’s jury, with serving members that included Morris and Janutolo’s cousin (C.G. Janutolo), ruled the fire as accidental and declared the children deceased.  Without the Sodders’ knowledge, Janutolo had increased the property insurance, and he received an insurance payment of $1,750.00 as a result of the fire.

The family and many locals suspected that the Mafia, possibly at the orders of an angry Janutolo, may have started the fire and kidnapped the children as revenge against George.  Adding to the suspicion, Chief Morris also worked as a bookkeeper for Janutolo, feasibly giving Morris motive to muddy the investigation.  If the children did live beyond that night, perhaps they were told the rest of their family had died in the fire; or, maybe they believed they were protecting themselves and their family from the ruthless Mafia by not attempting to make contact.

Two articles from the Charleston Gazette, printed in 1948 and 1950, claimed that arrests on the grounds of conspiracy were anticipated in this “grudge murder.”  It appears no arrests were ever made.

A Continued Search
The Sodders asked the local Prosecutor to question people of interest.  He declined, claiming it was a conflict of interest to question people he considered friends and, later, added, “Today they burned your house, but tomorrow they may burn mine and I have children too.”

The family wrote to the FBI several times; and, in 1947, received a reply from J. Edgar Hoover stating the case was under jurisdiction of the local authorities but that the FBI would assist in the investigation if the Fayetteville police and fire department would accept.  Both departments refused the offer.

The Sodders filed two appeals with the state, one in 1951 and again in 1952, requesting the case be investigated further.  Hearings were held but the requests were denied, and the case was officially closed by Governor Patteson.  The Sodders also petitioned to various presidents over the years.  The President would filter them to the FBI, who would, in turn, agree to help as long as the local authorities approved (they never did).

George hired several private investigators who turned up information suggesting the events of that night had been orchestrated.  Research ceased when the PIs would receive warnings not to pursue leads any further.  After one PI gave up, George would hire another.

Taking matters in to their own hands, the Sodders constructed a billboard along Route 16 in 1952 (where it stood for almost 40 years) that served as a missing persons’ ad for the five children.  The billboard featured a black-and-white photo of each child, their faces looking out at eye level for anyone viewing the billboard on foot, along with a description of the event and a request for any information on their possible whereabouts.  Louis’s picture was later replaced with the photo received in the mail.  In addition, the Sodders handed out flyers and offered rewards, topping out at $10,000.00.

As a result of their efforts, they received many curious leads from individuals throughout the country, including one in 1966 from a woman in Texas claiming that an intoxicated man she believed to be Louis had referred to his companion as “Maurice Sodder” and recounted an uncannily similar story of a Christmas Eve fire in West Virginia.  George drove to Texas to follow the lead but was unable to make contact with the woman who had written to him.  He was, however, able to speak to the men she identified as Louis and Maurice.  They were around the right ages and bared a striking resemblance to members of the family.  The men insisted their actual family lived nearby and that they were not the sons George was hoping to find.  George left Texas very disheartened and unconvinced that the two men weren’t his lost sons.

In a 1984 North Carolina newspaper, John was quoted as saying his siblings had not died in the fire.  He had ideas of who were accountable and believed some of the authorities may have been paid off.  “It’s a way of life in Fayette County.  If they want to get rid of you, they get rid of you.  Our thinking is that they were trying to get rid of us all,” he said, “As long as I live, I’ll never give up hope.”

The family continued to pursue leads, always returning home empty-handed.  “I’m their father and I owe them the job of doing everything possible to find out what happened,” George stated.  Jennie maintained flowers in the dirt plot that was once their lovely home, now a well-tended memorial to the children.  Around 1984, Jennie asked John to paint over the part of the billboard mentioning the reward, as she had no more money to offer in exchange for information.  George and Jennie both went to their graves keeping vigil for their missing children.

70 Years Passed
Sylvia, who was three years old at the time of the fire, is the only known living sibling.  She still resides in West Virginia and considers the disappearance of her older brothers and sisters to be an ongoing, unsolved mystery.  Sylvia, along with a daughter and other relatives, is resolute to keep her family’s story active in an effort to fulfill her parent’s longing to discover the truth.

This Christmas marks 70 years since the fire.  What little evidence that once existed has been misplaced or destroyed, and key people to the case have passed away.  The chance of reaching any definite answers as to what or who started the fire and what happened to the Sodder children that tragic December morning grows ever slimmer.

This is a case full of peculiarities, sometimes even conflicting details.  The bulk of the information in this article was pulled from excerpts of official reports, newspaper and magazine clippings, and personal accounts from members of the family.  The spelling of some names vary by source.

Do you think the Sodder children survived the fire?  Was the fire the work of a calculating arsonist?  Was the behavior of Janutolo and Morris suspicious?  Were the Sodders simply too grief-stricken to accept the fate of their children?  What are your thoughts and theories?