1965 — Dec 11, Arson Fire/Mass Murder, Seeley Club (Tavern), Chicago, IL              —     13

— 13  Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, p. 28.

— 13  Gaudet. “Chicago Tavern Fire,” NFPA Fire Journal, Vol. 60. No. 2, March 1966, p. 24.

— 13  Mt. Vernon Register-News, IL. “Skid Row Knifer Bounced. Sets…Fire…” 12-13-1965, p1.

 

Narrative Information

 

Gaudet/NFPA: “An act of vicious arson, the presence of highly combustible interior finish, and lack of exits combined to kill 13 persons.

 

“Thirteen persons perished and many more were in­jured in Chicago, Illinois, on December 11, 1965, when a man^[1] poured gasoline into the front doorway of a crowded tavern and ignited it. The 25-foot-by-75-foot one-story-and-basement building…was of brick, wood-joisted construction, with a combustible acoustical tile ceiling on wood nailers.^[2]  Inside the tav­ern large portions of the walls, including windows, were covered by cardboard advertising signs amid dis­play paper.  The tavern’s facilities included a small counter-and-stool luncheonette, a retail packaged liq­uor counter, a long bar, and tables and chairs.

 

“Shortly before the late-evening fire, a disagreement occurred between an employee and one of the customers, and the customer was asked to leave. The man left, walked to a nearby gasoline service station, and bought two gallons of gasoline. He returned to the tav­ern, opened the front door, and poured the gasoline into the entranceway. The gasoline flowed some 20 feet toward the center of the building.  He borrowed a match from a passer-by and ignited the gasoline.  The fire spread rapidly, involving combustible partitions, ceiling tile, furniture, and other contents; it was imme­diately so intense in the front section that the occupants could not escape by either the front door or the two front windows.

 

“With the front door blocked by fire, the only remain­ing way out was the 30-inch-wide inward-opening exit door at the rear of the building.  This door is said to have been partially open at the time the fire started.  A steel-barred gate on the outside of the doorway may have delayed escape. No one interviewed seemed to re­member whether the gate was open or closed, locked or unlocked, at the time of the fire.

 

“Fire fighters from the two responding engine com­panies, arriving on the scene soon after receiving a telephoned alarm, attacked and controlled the fast-spreading fire, which was extending out the front door and both front windows. The snorkel squad unit, also assigned to the fire on the initial alarm, was immedi­ately sent to the rear of the building, which was acces­sible from a narrow alley.  This squad company imme­diately began removing the occupants trapped at the rear door.  As soon as the fire had been knocked down at the front, firemen entered the building in an effort to reach those who were still trapped inside.

 

“The chief officer in charge of operations requested additional ambulances upon seeing the need for in­halators and for transporting victims to hospitals. Most of the estimated 40 to 50 people in the tavern escaped, but fire, smoke, and panic at the rear door caused the death of 13 persons.

 

“Four of those 13 victims were found in the basement, to which they had fled seeking a way out (there was no exit to the outside from the basement).  Although it is not known exactly where the other nine victims died, several were found just inside the rear door.

 

“Investigation revealed that conditions in the build­ing before the fire had been far from ideal. The com­bustible acoustical ceiling and the cardboard advertise­ments and display paper on the walls allowed the fire to spread very fast. When fire completely blocked the front door, the only remaining exit was the narrow inward-opening rear door.” (Gaudet. “Chicago Tavern Fire,” NFPA Fire Journal, Vol. 60. No. 2, March 1966, p. 24.)

 

Newspapers

 

Dec 13 report: “Chicago (AP) — “I just got mad. They shouldn’t have thrown me out.” This was the explanation of Robert Lee Lassiter as he admitted using a borrowed match to touch off a fire Saturday night [Dec 11] which killed 13 persons and injured 22 in a West Side tavern. Lassiter, 26, of Chicago was charged Sunday with 13 counts of murder. Lassiter, a laborer for an electric company, told police that he splashed a gallon of gasoline in the door of the Seeley Club on West Madison Street, then borrowed a match to ignite it. The incident that touched off the fire, Lassiter said, was an argument with Eddie Gaston, 38, a waiter at the club. Witnesses said Lassiter had been flourishing a large switchblade knife and Gaston told him to put it away. The two men grappled after arguing, and Lassiter was forced to leave. “I’ll be back and they’re going to get it,” witnesses quoted Lassiter as saying as he left. Gaston was among the seven men and six women killed in the blaze.

 

“Police quoted Lassiter as saying he then walked a few hundred feet to a service station and purchased a can of gasoline. Police said Lassiter splashed the fuel on the floor at the entrance, then poured a trail of gasoline across the sidewalk to the gutter. Witnesses said Lassiter stopped a man entering the tavern and asked, ‘Have you got a match?’ ‘What do you want it for?’ asked the man, Howard Freeman, 45, of Chicago. ‘To light a cigarette,’ Lassiter reportedly replied.

 

“Freeman said he handed a book of matches to Lassiter. He said Lassiter struck a match, lit the entire book and tossed it into the trail of gasoline. It Ignited and exploded in flames inside the tavern, sending the 40 occupants into a panic. The front entrance was blocked by flames. The only other exit, a rear door, was locked. ‘I saw many persons with their clothing burning,’ said Willie Daniels, 35. ‘They cried and screamed and begged for help.’

 

“Customers rushed from the two bars lining the 25-foot-wide room. Some jammed into the yard-wide front entrance trying to escape. Others rushed toward the rear door. It was locked.

 

“Chaplain Robert Holderby of the Fire Department said many victims were trapped when they tried to escape through the rear door. Some were trampled. ‘The scene in the back of the tavern was unbelievable,’ the Chaplin said. ‘The bodies were stacked up, one atop another.’

 

“The fire burned out the one-story brick “Skid Row” tavern. Damage was estimated at $5,000.

 

“Lassiter was arrested as he slept hi his home a short time after the fire started. When told of the deaths and injuries, Lassiter said softly: ‘Oh my God! No!’” (Mt. Vernon Register-News, IL. “Skid Row Knifer Bounced. Sets Tavern Fire Which Killed 13.” 12-13-1965, pp. 1-2.)

 

March 23, 1967 Report: “Chicago (AP) – A graphic picture of events which preceded a tavern fire fatal to 13 persons was sketched by witnesses in the murder trial of Robert Lee Lassiter as the prosecution neared the end of its presentation. Lassiter’s bench trial before Judge Archibald Carey continued today. The defense elected to proceed without a jury after two weeks of attempting to select an impartial panel of jurors failed to complete a jury.

 

“James Picket, 42, testified Wednesday that he was in the Seeley Club the night of Dec. 11, 1965, when roaring flames burst out in the West Madison Street hangout where about 40 persons were drinking. Picket testified that he saw Lassiter pour two gallons of fluid which smelled like gasoline onto the tavern floor just inside the front door. As Lassiter lit a match, Picket told the court, he jumped out of the building and knocked the lighted match from Lassiter’s hand. Picket testified that Lassiter then lit a second match and touched off the blaze.

 

“Willie Daniels, 32, another patron, testified that he saw Lassiter arguing with a tavern employee earlier in the evening. The employee, Eddie Gaston, 38, was one of those who died in the fire, Daniels said.

 

“A deputy fire marshal, Charles Pierce, testified that the fire resulted from ignition of a gasoline-type fluid. Pierce said that he recovered a partly burned gasoline tin from the charred tavern ruins. The can was identified by a service station attendant earlier in the trial as one he supplied to Lassiter when the defendant bought two gallons of gasoline shortly before the fire.”

(Jacksonville Courier, IL. “Witnesses Tell of Tavern Fire that Killed 13.” 3-23-1967, p. 1.)

 

March 31, 1967 report: “Chicago (AP) — Court resumes today [Friday, March 31] to consider the case of Robert Lee Lassiter, charged with murdering 13 persons in a tavern fire in late 1965….The court was recessed Thursday after defense attorney Allan Ackerman told Judge Archibald Carey that he was not prepared to make final arguments. The prosecution did present its final arguments Thursday. During Thursday’s session, the accused testified that he was involved in a fight before the fire and that he doesn’t remember anything between the fire and his arrest. Previously in the Circuit Court trial, Lassiter testified that he was struck in the head and bled from the nose and mouth during the fight preceding the fire he is accused of setting.” (Terre Haute Tribune, IN. “Trial Resumes in Arson-Murder.” 3-31-1967, p. 2.)

 

April 1, 1967 report: “Chicago (AP) — Robert Lee Lassiter, 26, was convicted Friday [March 31] on 13 counts of murder in connection with a 1965 tavern fire which killed 13 persons. Judge Archibald Carey of Criminal Court set April 25 for sentencing….

 

“Allen Ackerman, Lassiter’s attorney, argued that Lassiter was temporarily “deranged” when he set fire to the tavern. He said Lassiter suffered a blow on the head earlier that night in the tavern and acted irrationally. Earlier in the trial Lassiter told the court he did not remember anything after he was struck on the head. Five patrons of the tavern the night of the fire testified they saw Lassiter empty the gasoline and ignite it.” (Morris Daily Herald, IL. “Convict Man on 13 Counts of Murder in Fire.” 4-1-1967, p. 1.)

 

April 29, 1967 report: “Chicago (AP) – Robert Lee Lassiter, 27, who killed 13 persons by setting fire to a crowded tavern, was sentenced today to 100 to 150 years in prison. Judge Archibald Carey, who presided at Lassiter’s Circuit Court trial, imposed 13 identical sentences for murder and specified that they are to be served concurrently. Lassiter was convicted March 31 in a bench trial. He waived trial by jury as efforts were being made to impanel one.

 

“Testimony related that Lassiter was ejected from a tavern at 2026 W. Madison St. the evening of Dec. 11, 1965, for disorderly drunkenness….In passing sentence, Judge Carey told Lassiter, “The deed was horrible in its contemplation and horrendous in its consequence. It is my opinion that you should never be at liberty to wreak havoc on society when you have shown such a wanton and callous disregard for others.” Judge Carey denied a defense motion for a new trial.”

(Register-News, Mount Vernon, IL. “Murderer of 13 Gets 150 Years.” 4-29-1967. p. 3.

 

Sources

 

Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007.

 

Gaudet, Robert E. “Chicago Tavern Fire,” Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Association), Vol. 60. No. 2, March 1966, pp. 24-25.

 

Jacksonville Courier, IL. “Witnesses Tell of Tavern Fire that Killed 13.” 3-23-1967, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=182282689&sterm=robert+lee+lassiter

 

Morris Daily Herald, IL. “Convict Man on 13 Counts of Murder in Fire.” 4-1-1967, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=240697946&sterm=robert+lee+lassiter

 

Mt. Vernon Register-News, IL. “Skid Row Knifer Bounced. Sets Tavern Fire Which Killed 13.” 12-13-1965, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=162532770&sterm

 

Register-News, Mount Vernon, IL. “Murderer of 13 Gets 150 Years.” 4-29-1967. p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=162536044&sterm=robert+lee+lassiter

 

Terre Haute Tribune, IN. “Tavern Fire Murder Trial Evidence Given.” 3-24-1967, p. 6. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=190197064&sterm=robert+lee+lassiter

 

Terre Haute Tribune, IN. “Trial Resumes in Arson-Murder.” 3-31-1967, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=190197174&sterm=robert+lee+lassiter

 

[1] Robert Lee Lassiter. (Duwe, Grant.  Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, p. 28.)

[2] Located on West Madison Street. (Terre Haute Tribune, IN. “Tavern Fire Murder Trial Evidence Given.” 3-24-1967, p. 6.)