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John Joseph Pilarchik

Death by Force
Case Description
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In the Cramer Hill neighborhood of Camden, New Jersey, a sequence of events unfolded on September 6, 1949, that would end the life of 27-year-old John Joseph Pilarchik. On that late summer morning, Howard Barton Unruh, a 28-year-old World War II veteran, left his apartment on River Road armed with a Luger pistol. His first stop was the shoe repair shop owned by Pilarchik. Unruh entered the shop and fatally shot the unsuspecting shoemaker. This act marked the beginning of a rampage that would lat ...Read More
Links to Additional Sources (3)
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  • Smithsonian Magazine: The Story of the First Mass Murder in U.S. History
  • Criminal Minds Wiki: Howard Unruh
    •     ...View 1 additional sources
    Victim Details

    John Joseph Pilarchik

    Male

    White / Caucasian

    Camden

    NJ

    1949-09-06

    27

    John

    Joseph Pilarchik

    11/19/2025

    Forum Posts (3)
    I’ve been really moved by the story of John Joseph Pilarchik, the cobbler whose life was tragicall... ...Read More
    11/02/2024
    It's haunting to think about how John Joseph Pilarchik went from serving his country to becoming one... ...Read More
    03/25/2023
    Hey everyone,
    I've been reading more about the tragic events of September 6, 1949, and I found so... ...Read More
    02/24/2023
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