Claude F. Quesenberry, a 41-year-old Caucasian male, tragically lost his life on November 11, 1965, in Columbus, Ohio. He was a World War II veteran and a recipient of the Purple Heart. Claude had recently started working at the Kocelene Oil Co. gas station in West Jefferson, and was not known to have caused any issues. On the morning of his death, his brother Robert went to pick him up from work, only to find Claude shot to death.
An autopsy revealed that Claude had been shot a total of
four times—three times in the back of the head and once in the body. Some money was stolen from him and the cash register, but a noticeable amount of money was left behind on his body, leading investigators to doubt that robbery was the actual motive. The weapon used was a .25 caliber pistol, similar to the one used in another murder case in Columbus around the same time.
Due to the similarities between Claude's murder and that of another victim, 19-year-old Chester Joseph Scowden, who was shot at a gas station on October 2, 1965, authorities considered the possibility that the same perpetrator might be responsible for both crimes. Despite their efforts, no arrests were made, and the cases remain unsolved to this day.
The investigation into Claude F. Quesenberry's death was part of a series of shootings in Columbus and its surrounding areas between 1965 and 1966, known as the Columbus murders. These cases were connected via ballistic evidence, but no suspects were ever identified. The lack of conclusive evidence and the passage of time have left these cases cold, with no resolution in sight.
