On the last evening of August 1947, Edna Adkins, a 33-year-old mother from Middletown, Ohio, was sitting in her car with her young son, Paul. The late summer air held no warning of the horror that was about to shatter their lives. That night, Edna became a victim of Clifford William Gayles, a man whose violent past should have kept him behind bars.
The brutal events that unfolded near Franklin would not only end a young mother's life but also leave an indelible scar on her surviving child and the community.
Edna Frances Minge Adkins was waiting with 10-year-old Paul to give someone a ride when Gayles, a paroled murderer, appeared. Accompanied by his underage girlfriend, Ada Davidson, Gayles was in the midst of a violent crime spree that had begun earlier that day. He held Edna and her son at gunpoint, commandeered their vehicle, and forced them to drive. As they drove into the darkness, Gayles tormented his captives, pistol-whipping young Paul for making noise. He eventually stopped on a desolate road, dragged Edna from the car, and subjected her to a brutal sexual assault before shooting her. He then returned to the car, beat Paul again, and threw him out before speeding away.
Passersby discovered the grievously injured mother and son and rushed them to a hospital in Middletown. Despite the efforts of doctors, Edna succumbed to her injuries. Miraculously, Paul survived the vicious attack, becoming the sole witness to his mother's final terrifying moments. The stolen Adkins car was later found wrecked near Glendale after Gayles had used it to flee, attacking and stabbing another motorist, Edgar Rizzo, who also survived.
The search for Gayles became a multi-state manhunt involving local police and the FBI. The trail led investigators to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Gayles and Davidson were apprehended on October 1, 1947. They were extradited back to Ohio to face justice. The case immediately sparked public outrage and a fierce debate over the state's parole procedures. Gayles had been sentenced to life in prison in 1934 for stabbing his girlfriend, Mamie Robinson Barnes, to death in Cincinnati. Yet, after serving just ten years, the state parole board recommended his release in 1945.
During his trial for the first-degree murder of Edna Adkins, Gayles pleaded insanity. His aunt testified that he had been acting strangely ever since being hit in the head with an axe at age 16. However, a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation determined he was sane at the time of the crimes. The jury was unconvinced by his defense, found him guilty, and recommended no mercy. Gayles, who showed no emotion during the sentencing, was condemned to die. His accomplice, Ada Davidson, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a life sentence; she was paroled in 1958.
Clifford William Gayles was executed in the electric chair at the Ohio Penitentiary on July 2, 1948. His execution brought a legal end to a crime spree that claimed at least three lives, including that of Ollie Davidson, whom he had shot earlier on the same day he murdered Edna. For the Adkins family, the loss was immeasurable. Edna was laid to rest in Woodhill Cemetery in Franklin. Her son Paul carried the physical and emotional wounds of that night for the rest of his life, a brave survivor who bore witness to the senseless violence that took his mother.
