The police arrived at the home of Fred and Edwina Rogers on June 23, 1965. The elderly couple’s nephew contacted them to do a welfare check after his phone calls had gone unanswered for days. At first, the officers didn’t notice anything too unusual in the home… until they opened the freezer. There they saw pieces of hog meat on the shelves which they thought nothing of. But as they were shutting the freezer door, they got quite a shock. The head of Edwina Rogers stared up at them from the vegetable bin. And those pieces of hog? Upon closer inspection they were actually the limbs and torsos of the couple, thus earning this case the moniker “the icebox murders.”
Who were Fred and Edwina Rogers?
There isn’t much information available about the couple, but this is what we do know. Fred Rogers, 81, was a retired real estate agent while Edwina, 79, worked as a sales clerk. The couple lived at 1815 Driscoll Street in Houston, Texas. Charles, the couple’s grown son and owner of the home, was also living with them at the time. Neighbors described Fred and Edwina as being average people.
The Discovery
As mentioned previously, police came to the Rogers’ front door on June 23, 1965. They knocked and after no response, went around the house to try the back door. Flower pots stacked in front of the door seemed a little suspicious to Captain Bullock and officer Barta. They shoved the flower pots aside and forced their way into the house. At first glance, the only unusual thing they noticed was food sitting on the dining room table. Captain Bullock commented that something “just didn’t feel right.”
He decided to take a look in the freezer and saw a lot of meat stacked on the shelves. Thinking it was hog meat and nothing of concern, he started to close the freezer door when he noticed the contents of the vegetable bin. The face of Edwina Rogers was staring up at him through the clear container. In the bin next to that was the head of Fred with the eyes removed. After the shock of that discovery, he took a closer look at the hog meat. The meat was actually the dismembered body parts of Fred and Edwina.
The Investigation
There were some traces of blood found in the home, but not as much as you would expect in a killing and dismemberment. This led investigators to believe the perpetrator had cleaned up after the killings. The cleaning job wasn’t perfect, however, and small amounts of blood were found in a bathroom and in the attic. A hand saw was also found in the attic and was likely the tool used for the gruesome task. An inspection of the sewer system revealed remains of internal organs. This meant that the murderer had flushed them down the toilet and the bathroom was likely where the dismemberment took place.
An autopsy on the bodies showed that Edwina’s cause of death was a gunshot to the head. The murder weapon was never found. Fred’s death was much more brutal. He was beaten to death with a claw hammer, his eyes plucked out, and his genitalia removed from his torso. The claw hammer was found on the property, though it’s unclear if any fingerprints were found on it. The medical examiner believed the killings occurred three days before on June 20th. Father’s Day.
Speaking of Father’s Day, Fred and Edwina’s son was nowhere to be found. At the time of the murders Charles was living with them, staying in the attic. The same place where the hand saw was discovered. Charles Rogers became suspect number one.
“The Icebox Murders” Prime Suspect
An intelligent man, 43-year-old Charles Rogers received his Bachelor’s Degree in nuclear physics after serving in WWII. He then went on to be a pilot in the Navy. He even worked in the office of Naval Intelligence and could speak seven languages. Charles eventually became a seismologist, studying the internal structure of the Earth. This knowledge helped him land a job with the Shell Oil Company where he worked for nine years. Charles was smart, but also odd.
After becoming unemployed earlier that year, Charles moved in with his parents. Most neighbors interviewed after the fact didn’t even realize Charles lived there. Whenever he left the house, it was before dawn and he didn’t return until after dark when Fred and Edwina were asleep. Therefore, neither neighbors or his parents ever saw him. If he or his parents needed to talk to one another, they would leave notes under his bedroom door. No one was aware of what he did when he left the house or if he had gotten another job.
Charles left no clues to his whereabouts. A nationwide search ensued in an effort to find him. Airfields were checked since Charles knew how to fly. No one matching his description had taken off in a plane. He seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth.
Charles was legally declared dead in absentia in 1975, mostly so that his estate could be handled. The “icebox murders” are still unsolved today. The only suspect ever named in the case was Charles. The house at 1815 Driscoll Street was torn down and new condominiums were built on the property in 2000.
Theories
CIA Operative
One popular theory came from the 1992 book, The Man on the Grassy Knoll, by authors John R. Craig and Philip A. Rogers. Their theory suggested that Charles Rogers was a CIA operative involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. They believe that Charles’ mother was tracking his phone calls and found out about this connection. This, they claim was his motive for killing Fred and Edwina. After the killings, they theorize that Charles fled to Guatemala.
“After the assassination, he disappeared for five months. When he resurfaced, his mother began to get suspicious about him. He was always getting telephone calls at home and she would take messages for him.”
Author John R. Craig in The Victoria Advocate
The authors argue that Charles was one of two shooters in the assassination of President Kennedy. They also claim Charles was one of the “three tramps” who were arrested immediately following the shooting. The “three tramps,” as they were called, were three men photographed being escorted by Dallas police near the school book depository.
In order for this theory to be true, you have to believe in a few allegations that have never been proven. Charles was, in fact, in the Civil Air Patrol in the 1950s. It is alleged that this is where he met David Ferrie. A New Orleans District Attorney, Jim Garrison, had alleged that Ferrie had been involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. Garrison also claimed that Ferrie knew Lee Harvey Oswald, who killed the President.
It may have been true that Ferrie and Oswald knew each other. Photos were found many years later proving that they were in the same Civil Air Patrol unit together in the 1950s. The photos don’t prove they knew each other well, and they certainly don’t prove that Ferrie was involved in the plot to murder the President. Ferrie, himself, claims he didn’t know Oswald and had nothing to do with a plot against the President.
Abusive Parents
A more likely theory was revealed in the book, The Ice Box Murders by Hugh and Martha Gardenier. They believe that Charles’ parents had been abusive and manipulative towards him for years. According to them, Fred was a gambler and fraud. Both parents were con artists who stole large sums of money from Charles. Charles may have even been planning the murders for quite some time.
They claim someone matching Charles’ description was heard using an alias and asking about jobs overseas. The authors believe he made it to Mexico where powerful friends from the oil industry helped him stay hidden. He eventually ended up in Honduras where he was killed by miners and an pickaxe to the head in a disagreement about wages.
Icebox Murders Conclusion
Though this case is technically unsolved, it’s widely agreed upon that Charles Rogers was responsible for the murders of his parents. What is still a mystery is the motive behind the killings and where Charles disappeared to afterwards.
Charles was born on December 30, 1921, almost 100 years ago. Whether he was killed by a pickaxe in Honduras, or lived in hiding to an old age, it’s fair to say he’s no longer living today. For that reason, we’ll probably never know the motive behind the killings.
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