Gustave Marx

Serial Killer

Gustave Marx and the Chicago Car Barn Bandits

Early Life and Entry into Crime

Gustave Marx, sometimes called Gus Marx, was a young Chicago criminal who became one of the central members of the group known as the Chicago Car Barn Bandits. The gang operated primarily during the summer and fall of 1903 and included Marx, Harvey Van Dine, Peter Niedermeier and Emil Roeski. Marx and his closest associates were also referred to as the Automatic Trio because they frequently carried and used semiautomatic pistols during robberies. Marx, Van Dine and Niedermeier had known one another from Chicago's northwest side. Their criminal activity began before the killings for which they became infamous. In 1901, the three young men were arrested after stealing lead pipe from the Audubon School in Chicago. They were sentenced to approximately three months in the Bridewell jail. Rather than ending their criminal behavior, the punishment was followed by increasingly serious robberies involving firearms. The group's violence was not driven by a large or carefully organized criminal enterprise. They frequently attacked railway offices, neighborhood saloons and other businesses for very small amounts of money. Their willingness to shoot employees, customers and police officers for only a few dollars created widespread fear throughout Chicago. Although Marx is sometimes described as a serial killer, his crimes were committed as part of a violent robbery gang, and historical accounts do not establish that he personally fired every fatal shot attributed to the Car Barn Bandits.

The Beginning of the 1903 Crime Spree

The gang's major crime spree began in July 1903. On the night of July 3, Peter Niedermeier and Emil Roeski entered the Clybourn Junction station of the Chicago and North Western Railway. Employees L. W. Lathrop and Martin Doherty were working inside when the robbers ordered them to raise their hands. Lathrop resisted and was shot, although he survived. The gunmen escaped with approximately $70. On July 9, 1903, Marx joined Harvey Van Dine and Emil Roeski in the robbery of Ernest Spires' saloon at 1820 North Ashland Avenue in Chicago. Roeski initially entered the establishment and ordered a beer while Marx and Van Dine followed with weapons drawn. Spires and 19-year-old customer Otto Bauder were ordered to raise their hands. Bauder attempted to escape through a side door and was shot in the back. He died from the wound, while the robbers escaped with less than $50. The men continued attacking saloons in the following days. On July 10, Van Dine and Roeski robbed Greenberg's saloon near Robey and Addison Streets. Bartender Louis Cohen was forced into an ice chest while the robbers stole approximately $25. On July 12, the same pair held up Charles Alvin's saloon at Sheffield Avenue and Roscoe Street, taking money from the proprietor and four customers. On July 20, Peter Gorski was shot in the head during a robbery of his saloon at 2611 Milwaukee Avenue. Gorski survived despite suffering a serious wound, and the robbers escaped with less than $5. ...

Confirmed Victims: (8)

Otto Bauder Age: (19), Date of Death: 1903-07-09

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