An act of kindness on a spring day in 1937 cost a well-regarded Arkansas landowner his life. Victor A. Gates, a 50-year-old Male from Little Rock, was known for his wealth and standing in the community. On May 6, 1937, while driving his new car near Lonoke, Arkansas, he stopped to offer a ride to a young couple who were hitchhiking. This charitable impulse proved to be his final act.
The man he welcomed into his car was Lester Warfel Brockelhurst, a 23-year-old who was in the midst of a violent, multi-state crime spree.
Victor Adolph Gates was born on December 6, 1879. He married Emogene Dean Levy in 1907, and together they raised a family of at least two sons and two daughters in Little Rock. As a prosperous landowner, he was a respected figure in Pulaski County. His decision to help the young couple on the road was likely second nature, a gesture of goodwill from a man of his stature. He could not have known he was inviting a predator into his vehicle.
His passengers were Lester Brockelhurst and his 18-year-old girlfriend, Bernice Felton. The pair had recently fled Illinois, embarking on a nomadic journey of robbery and violence that the press would later sensationalize, nicknaming Brockelhurst "The Crime Tourist" and "The Touring Slayer." Before meeting Gates, Brockelhurst had already murdered at least two other men, John Theander in Illinois and Jack Griffith in Texas, stealing their vehicles and money to fund his travels with Felton. The pattern was grimly repeated in Arkansas. After Gates picked them up, Brockelhurst shot him in the head, stole his money and valuables, and dumped his body in a ditch.
The couple continued their spree, committing an estimated 40 robberies across the country. Their run from the law came to an end just a week after Gates's murder. On May 13, 1937, in Dutchess County, New York, a state trooper named Joseph Hunt pulled them over because their car was missing a license plate. Upon discovering a loaded revolver, the trooper took them into custody. It wasn't long before the full scope of their crimes was revealed. Brockelhurst confessed, admitting to the string of robberies and the three murders, including the slaying of Victor Gates.
Jurisdictions in Illinois, Texas, and Arkansas all had claims on the killer, but it was Arkansas that would bring him to justice for the murder of Victor Gates. During his trial, Brockelhurst’s defense attempted an insanity plea, but he was found competent to stand trial. In a dramatic turn, Bernice Felton testified against him. The jury found Lester Brockelhurst guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. Upon hearing the verdict, both Brockelhurst and his father, who was present in the courtroom, collapsed.
The following day, Bernice Felton faced her own trial for Gates's murder. To the shock and dismay of the public, after only 80 minutes of deliberation, the jury acquitted her of all charges. She was set free, though she and her father had to be escorted to a tourist camp for their own safety against a hostile public. Brockelhurst’s attorneys fought his sentence, appealing all the way to the Supreme Court and filing last-minute petitions claiming he was mentally ill, but their efforts failed.
On March 18, 1938, Lester Warfel Brockelhurst was executed by electrocution at the Tucker Unit in Arkansas. Before his death, he delivered a 12-minute statement, part of which was a rant about his relationship with Bernice Felton. His execution brought an end to a bloody, six-week reign of terror that had tragically cut short the life of Victor Gates, a man whose only mistake was showing compassion to a stranger on the side of the road.
