Episode 579: The Society Gang Killing

Phil Kenimer’s life has been marked by a series of unsettling and defiant behaviors that troubled his family and confounded those who knew him.

Phil displayed peculiar and defiant behavior from a young age, including attempting suicide at age 5 and struggling to focus or complete projects in school.

From an incredibly young age, Phil Kenimer exhibited deeply troubling behavior; at five years old, he tried to end his life by jumping out of a second-story window with a curtain cord around his neck. Thankfully, the curtain tore, and he fell into a pile of sand, which saved him from injury. This was a source of profound distress for his parents. His teachers noted his bright mind, particularly in reading, but also his inability to focus and his defiance, often not finishing tasks he started. His father, a well-respected Oklahoma State Supreme Court justice, was particularly frustrated with Phil's conduct. Unable to cope with his erratic behavior, his parents alternated between military school and living with relatives to instill discipline.

Even after moving to Tulsa, Phil maintained his pattern of running away, dropping out of school, and pursuing unrealistic ambitions, demonstrating an impulsive and fantasist mindset.

Continuing a pattern of volatile behavior in Tulsa, Phil often ran away, reaching as far as Louisiana, Florida, and New York City, only to be returned to his parents each time. In 1934, during his senior year, he dropped out of high school, much to the dismay of his parents. Later assessments of his behavior labeled him as an “impulsive fantasist," given his grand dreams and the swift abandonment of them due to a lack of com ...

Phil's unrequited feelings for Virginia Wilcox, the daughter of a wealthy oil magnate, turned into an obsession that failed to win her over and led to dark consequences.

Phil became infatuated with Virginia Wilcox, the daughter of a wealthy oil magnate, and pursued her relentlessly despite her lack of interest.

At 17 years old, Phil became captivated by Virginia Wilcox. He believed he was in love with her and felt a bond due to their similarly strict upbringings and high parental expectations. Despite Virginia's clear indication that she was not interested in him romantically and only saw him as a friend, Phil found it difficult to accept this decision and continued his pursuit.

Phil showered Virginia with gifts and constant requests for dates, even planning to kill himself in a staged "hunting accident" in a desperate attempt to win her affection.

Phil's obsession led him to send Virginia gifts and flowers persistently, even asking her out two years in advance. He spent his entire allowance and borrowed money to send her letters and gifts while attending school in Durant, Oklahoma. Phil concocted a drastic plan to visit Virginia, hoping to persuade her on one last date, after which he planned to stage his own death in a "hunting accident"—a testament to the severity of his fixation.

Virginia firmly rebuffed Phil's advances, making it clear she saw him only as a friend, but Phil refused to accept her rejection, continuing to harass her and her family.

Virginia consistently declined Phil's invitations and told him not to send her gifts. Despite this, Phil expressed thoughts of ending his life or running away, though he never acted on those plans. Phil's lawyer even mentioned that Phil thr ...

Phil, John Goral, and Everett Gartner's Kidnapping and Extortion Scheme

Phil and John Goral contemplated ways to make quick money at the Brown Derby Cafe with their friend Ted Bath. John proposed throwing a party where they would get a young woman from a prominent family intoxicated, take compromising photos, and then use those photos to blackmail her family. Although Ted Bath did not show interest in the plot, John Goral was keen on it.

Later, John Goral escalated the plan to include kidnapping the girl and holding her ransom. He introduced Everett Gartner into the conspiracy, due to Gartner's access to airplanes for potentially transporting the victim. The initial, more modest plan was simply a ruse to get a girl too drunk in order to rent an airplane out.

Phil and John discussed using Virginia Wilcox as their target. Phil saw this as an opportunity to save Virginia and win her affection, looking to appear heroic. They planned for Phil to mail an extortion letter then kidnap Virginia while awaiting the ransom.

The Group's Decision to Proceed with the Plan

Despite his reservations about the plan, Phil agreed to partake. Phil tried to convince others to abandon the kidnapping part but ultimately gave in. Goral convinced him that Virginia's father would not pay unless she was truly in danger. Phil and John planned to discuss the plot further the day John was murdered.

Phil's Reluctance and Attempts to End the Plot

Prior to John's murder, Phil expressed his desire to halt the kidnapping plot. He also showed friends at a local cafe a hunting knife he had for protection, emphasizing he had no intention of killing John, though friend Jack Sneddon later testified Phil threatened to do so.

Concerned for Virginia's safety with the new plan to physically kidnap her, Phil informed her brother, Homer Jr., who dismissed the warning as another of Phil’s schemes for attent ...

On the night of the planned kidnapping, Phil and Goral met, and a confrontation ensued in which Phil claimed he shot Goral in self-defense.

On the night of the planned kidnapping, Phil met with John as planned. During this meeting, Phil claimed that John became irate when he learned that Phil had not mailed a letter as part of their extortion scheme. When Phil threatened to end the plot, mentioning police intervention or violence, John drew a .22 caliber revolver and pointed it at Phil. John's gun didn't fire when he pulled the trigger, and during their ensuing struggle, the gun went off. Phil then fatally shot John a second time in the head.

Before their fatal meeting, John had already expressed unease to a friend, saying that if he were killed, "Bob Wilson" (Phil's alias) should be suspected. Earlier, after returning to school, John had written to Phil hinting at a plan for easy money, which Phil suspected referred to a kidnapping plan.

Phil's trial was a highly publicized and sensational affair, with the defense arguing that he was mentally ill and not fully culpable for his actions.

The trial, which began on February 11th, 1935, in Pawnee, Oklahoma, was a spectacle, drawing attention from across the state and country. The defense argued that Phil had presented many examples of strange behavior from his childhood to support their claim that he was mentally ill. Additionally, they contended that Edna Harmon, a witness for the prosecution, had been hired to lie on the stand.

During the trial, Phil's behavior was erratic and bizarre. For instance, he presented handwritten coded notes claiming they were evidence of a conspiracy; a claim his attorney suggested supported their case that Phil was unbalanced. Additionally, Phil occasionally shouted at former friends testifying about his insanity defense and had to be restrained by the judge or his attorneys.

Phil's own father testified about his son’s continuous troubles, and the defense presented the testimony of Dr. Carl Menninger, ready to argue that Phil was mentally ill and irrational. However, Menninger admitted he might not have dubbed Phil insane if the murder had not occurred.

On the prosecution side, while they did not fully establish a motive for why Phil killed John, Prosecutor Tom Wallace presented a case supported by evidence and testimony that Phil had initially agreed to an extortion plot and then murdered Jo ...

Phil's journey through the criminal justice system took a significant turn when, after several attempts, he was granted a temporary parole in 1938 to care for his ailing mother. Unfortunately, he had to return to prison when his request for an extension of this parole was denied.

A Path to Conditional Freedom

Phil finds a second chance amid loss

The death of Phil's mother, coupled with a change in governors, led to shifts within the parole board that previously denied his requests. The new sympathetic stance of the board in 1943 marked the beginning of Phil's journey toward conditional freedom. As World War II intensified, Phil was offered an opportunity to join the military, an offer he accepted, which served as a precondition for his release from prison.

Sacrifice on the Battlefield

Paying the ultimate price

Once in the military, Phil served courageously as a paratrooper. His service came during one of the most pivotal times in the war, as Phil found himself involved in the historic invasion of Normandy in 1944. Tragically, prior to the invasion, Phil had con ...