Frederick Milton Hollingsworth (1895-1933)

HOLLINGSWORTH

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 3/13/2021 at 08:15:00

From Nevada Evening Journal June 13, 1933 (page 1)

AMES WORLD WAR VETERAN MURDERED ON WAY HOME

Fred Hollingsworth Shot and Killed on Lincoln Highway

Working on clues which fit is thought will result in the solution of the murder of Fred M. Hollingsworth, 36, World War veteran of Ames, shot and killed while in his automobile on his way home to Ames from Nevada last night. Sheriff John Hattery and Ames police officers hope to make an arrest within the next few hours.

Hollingsworth, adjutant of Story County Post No. 2209, Veterans of Foreign Wars, had attended a meeting of the post at the Story hotel last evening and left here about 10:00, according to L. E. Davisson, clerk of the district court, probably the last man to talk with him here.

While there was no robbery motive in the slaying of the man the officers are confident that they know the motive which prompted the slaying of the man and are basing their investigation upon that theory.

Investigation revealed that there had been two shots fired, one from the left side to the rear, the charge from the shotgun shattering the left rear window in the Erskine coach driven by Hollingsworth. The second was through the open left front door, the charge going directly across the face of the man and tearing away the bridge of the nose and the front of the face.

The dead body of the man was found by a passing motorist about 4:30 a. m., in his car standing partly off the paving , on the north side of the Lincoln highway, west of the Grant school house intersection.

The G. H. Hostetter family living within a few rods of where the car was standing had heard no shots during the night.

A passing motorist discovered the dead man in the parked car and notified the Ames police department who in turn notified Sheriff Hattery.

Investigation showed that death had occurred some hours before. After the arrival of the officers the body was taken to an Ames undertaking establishment where it is still held pending a coroner's inquest and investigation of the crime.

Hollingsworth had lived near Cambridge previous to moving to Ames where he he had a position as storekeeper in the chemical department at Iowa State college.
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Ames, June 13--INS--Fred M. Hollingsworth, 36, Iowa State College employee and world war veteran was murdered today in his automobile on the highway east of Ames near North Grant school.

The man's body was discovered sitting upright behind the steering wheel of the car shortly after day break. He apparently had been shot with shot gun, the lead shattering the closed window of his car, authorities said. He had been shot twice.

Hollingsworth had been in Nevada last night attending a meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of which he was adjutant of Story County Post No. 2209.

The dead man was storeroom assistant of the college chemistry department and adjutant of the Story county post of Veterans of Foreign Wars.

A wife and two children survive Hollingsworth.

Officers investigating the shooting today believed one shot was fired at Hollingsworth from a moving car as pursuers came up along the side of the veteran's auto. His nose was blown off. This substantiated the theory that the car was halted when Hollingsworth was killed.

Officers pointed out the auto probably would have swerved off the road had the man died while it was moving.

Clues were meager. No fire arms of any sort were found at the scene of the killing.

Hollingsworth was last seen alive, as far as authorities could ascertain, when he was talking on a Nevada street with members of the V. F. W. post after the meeting. Shortly afterwards he had started out for his home.