James M. "Tiny" McCrory, a 51-year-old male engineer from Niles, Michigan, was killed on April 5, 1976, while working at the rail yards in Elkhart, Indiana. McCrory was seated in the cab of his locomotive near the diesel house when a shotgun deer slug shattered the window and struck him in the head, killing him instantly. His death initially appeared to be an isolated incident, but investigators later linked it to a broader pattern of violence targeting railway employees in the region.
The primary suspect was Rudy Bladel, a disgruntled former railroad fireman known as the "Railway Sniper" or "Railway Killer." Bladel had harbored a deep resentment toward the rail industry and specifically workers from Niles following a 1959 merger between freight yards in Niles and Elkhart, which resulted in him losing his seniority and eventually his job. Investigators believed Bladel spent years seeking revenge against those he felt had displaced him. Although he was an immediate suspect in McCrory's murder due to his history and known grievances, police initially lacked the physical evidence required to charge him.
Bladel was arrested in January 1978 in South Bend, Indiana, after purchasing a. 357 Magnum revolver; as a convicted felon with a prior record for shooting another engineer in 1971, he was prohibited from owning firearms. Following the murders of three more rail workers in Jackson, Michigan, on New Year's Eve in 1978, authorities gathered sufficient evidence to charge him with multiple counts of murder, including the death of McCrory.
In 1979, Bladel was tried and convicted for the murders, receiving three consecutive life sentences. However, his conviction was overturned in 1986 by the U.S. Supreme Court on the grounds that his confession had been obtained in violation of his right to counsel. A second trial was held in 1987, where prosecutors utilized ballistic evidence linking Bladel to the crimes without relying on the contested confession. He was again found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Bladel remained incarcerated until his death from thyroid cancer on November 15, 2006.
