Jan. 25-26, 1958
Atlanta
We don’t know.
We don’t know what became of all the jewelry, antique furniture and oil paintings in the home.
We don’t know who killed the dog.
We don’t know who bound her hands and mouth with adhesive tape.
We don’t know who set fire to the house.
We don’t know if she was killed in the basement or if her body fell
there when the floor collapsed from the weight of the water used to put
out the blaze.
We aren’t even sure if the charred remains in the bedroom are her husband.
And we do not know why the papers apparently never wrote another word about this case.
Dr. Benjamin L. Camp, 58, was born in Whitesburg, Ga., and after graduating with a medical degree from Northwestern University, began a practice in Ellijay, Ga.
He returned to the U.S. after serving in World War I and was recalled
to active duty in World War II, serving as military surgeon in Rome for
American forces.
While overseas, he married Dallas Irene Graham, a major in the Army
Nurse Corps, in 1946. After they were discharged in 1948, they returned
to Rome and practiced medicine until 1954. In October 1957, the Camps
rented a two-bedroom home on the outskirts of Atlanta in Cobb County
overlooking the Chattahoochee River. The secluded home was on a hill and
obscured by tall pine trees, news stories say.
On the night of the crime, Dr. Camp helped deliver a baby at an Atlanta
hospital and left the hospital a little before 10 p.m. Neighbors
noticed the home engulfed in flames about 20 minutes later, news
stories say.
Investigators exploring the ruins of the home found the Camps’ Kerry
Blue terrier in the flooded basement. The dog, which was reportedly
quite protective of Dallas Camp, had been stabbed in the neck. Dallas’
body was also found in the flooded basement, her hands bound behind her
with adhesive tape. She had been gagged with more tape, news stories
say.
Another body was found in a bedroom, but the remains were so badly
burned that identification was expected to be impossible, authorities
said. "Charred bones are all we have to work with," said Dr. Herman
Jones, head of the state crime lab.
Amos Bates
of the Cobb County Police Department said investigators believed
someone overpowered Dallas Camp and waited for Dr. Camp to come home.
"Just what the motive was, we are not sure," Bates said. "We think it
could have been robbery but with everything burned it is hard to tell
what is missing."
We have what appears to be a terrible double homicide, no readily
obvious motive and an intense fire that destroyed a great deal of
evidence.
And even more baffling: Not another word was written about this case in
any newspaper that I can find. I have read about many peculiar old
cases in the last dozen years–but this is one of the most peculiar I
have ever encountered.
We just don’t know.
ladailymirror.com 