"John Blymire dies at 76; principal in 'hex' slaying"
John H. Blymire, one of three men convicted here for a 1928 "hex" slaying which drew nation-wide attention, died Wednesday in Philadelphia, where he had lived after having served 23 years and five months in a state correctional institution. He was 76. The slaying was the subject of a book, "Hex," published in 1969 and written by Arthur H. Lewis. Upon hearing of Blymire's death, Lewis said, "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. John Blymire was a victim of total injustice, a gigantic tragedy. He was not guilty of murder, but was persecuted by the forces of law and order in York, which at that time were a travesty. He should have been incarcerated in a mental institution." The trio had been sentenced in 1929 for the slaying of Nelson Rehmeyer, in Rehmeyer's Hollow near Dallastown, while they were trying to get a lock of his hair to bury and thus exorcise a curse which Blymire believed Rehmeyer had placed on him. Blymire and one of the other defendants were sentenced to life, the third defendant was given 10 to 20 years. Blymire's sentence had been commuted in 1953 by Gov. John S. Fine. He had worked as a janitor until he retired in 1965. The other two defendants in the case were paroled in 1939. One has died since and the other still resides in York. Surviving Blymire are a son, Thomas B. Blymire, 349 E. Philadelphia St., and two sisters, Mrs. Bessie Francesconi, 2444 N. Lawrence St., and Mrs. Minnie Olewiler, Lemoyne. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
York Daily Record
Friday, May 12, 1972
John H. Blymire, one of three men convicted here for a 1928 "hex" slaying which drew nation-wide attention, died Wednesday in Philadelphia, where he had lived after having served 23 years and five months in a state correctional institution. He was 76. The slaying was the subject of a book, "Hex," published in 1969 and written by Arthur H. Lewis. Upon hearing of Blymire's death, Lewis said, "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. John Blymire was a victim of total injustice, a gigantic tragedy. He was not guilty of murder, but was persecuted by the forces of law and order in York, which at that time were a travesty. He should have been incarcerated in a mental institution." The trio had been sentenced in 1929 for the slaying of Nelson Rehmeyer, in Rehmeyer's Hollow near Dallastown, while they were trying to get a lock of his hair to bury and thus exorcise a curse which Blymire believed Rehmeyer had placed on him. Blymire and one of the other defendants were sentenced to life, the third defendant was given 10 to 20 years. Blymire's sentence had been commuted in 1953 by Gov. John S. Fine. He had worked as a janitor until he retired in 1965. The other two defendants in the case were paroled in 1939. One has died since and the other still resides in York. Surviving Blymire are a son, Thomas B. Blymire, 349 E. Philadelphia St., and two sisters, Mrs. Bessie Francesconi, 2444 N. Lawrence St., and Mrs. Minnie Olewiler, Lemoyne. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
York Daily Record
Friday, May 12, 1972
"John Blymire dies at 76; principal in 'hex' slaying"
John H. Blymire, one of three men convicted here for a 1928 "hex" slaying which drew nation-wide attention, died Wednesday in Philadelphia, where he had lived after having served 23 years and five months in a state correctional institution. He was 76. The slaying was the subject of a book, "Hex," published in 1969 and written by Arthur H. Lewis. Upon hearing of Blymire's death, Lewis said, "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. John Blymire was a victim of total injustice, a gigantic tragedy. He was not guilty of murder, but was persecuted by the forces of law and order in York, which at that time were a travesty. He should have been incarcerated in a mental institution." The trio had been sentenced in 1929 for the slaying of Nelson Rehmeyer, in Rehmeyer's Hollow near Dallastown, while they were trying to get a lock of his hair to bury and thus exorcise a curse which Blymire believed Rehmeyer had placed on him. Blymire and one of the other defendants were sentenced to life, the third defendant was given 10 to 20 years. Blymire's sentence had been commuted in 1953 by Gov. John S. Fine. He had worked as a janitor until he retired in 1965. The other two defendants in the case were paroled in 1939. One has died since and the other still resides in York. Surviving Blymire are a son, Thomas B. Blymire, 349 E. Philadelphia St., and two sisters, Mrs. Bessie Francesconi, 2444 N. Lawrence St., and Mrs. Minnie Olewiler, Lemoyne. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
York Daily Record
Friday, May 12, 1972
John H. Blymire, one of three men convicted here for a 1928 "hex" slaying which drew nation-wide attention, died Wednesday in Philadelphia, where he had lived after having served 23 years and five months in a state correctional institution. He was 76. The slaying was the subject of a book, "Hex," published in 1969 and written by Arthur H. Lewis. Upon hearing of Blymire's death, Lewis said, "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. John Blymire was a victim of total injustice, a gigantic tragedy. He was not guilty of murder, but was persecuted by the forces of law and order in York, which at that time were a travesty. He should have been incarcerated in a mental institution." The trio had been sentenced in 1929 for the slaying of Nelson Rehmeyer, in Rehmeyer's Hollow near Dallastown, while they were trying to get a lock of his hair to bury and thus exorcise a curse which Blymire believed Rehmeyer had placed on him. Blymire and one of the other defendants were sentenced to life, the third defendant was given 10 to 20 years. Blymire's sentence had been commuted in 1953 by Gov. John S. Fine. He had worked as a janitor until he retired in 1965. The other two defendants in the case were paroled in 1939. One has died since and the other still resides in York. Surviving Blymire are a son, Thomas B. Blymire, 349 E. Philadelphia St., and two sisters, Mrs. Bessie Francesconi, 2444 N. Lawrence St., and Mrs. Minnie Olewiler, Lemoyne. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
York Daily Record
Friday, May 12, 1972
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