Ernest Midwinter
Calgary, AB / Aug. 16, 1930
Ernest Midwinter, 26, was called to a Calgary hotel shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, 1930 to pick up four men. Before leaving he telephoned his employer, Percy H. Bennett, to let him know that he was driving the men out of town to Okotoks.
At about 11:30 they were about 12 miles south of Calgary when he was ordered to stop. One of the men, who was sitting in the front seat, pointed a gun at Midwinter and said "Stick 'em up!" The gun went off at the same instant and as Midwinter turned to get out of the car.
The four men bound him with wire, gagged him and threw him into the ditch. The cab was abandoned near De Winton, Alberta.
Midwinter managed to crawl out of the ditch to the fence line where he was spotted by a passing truck driver. The driver flagged down a second motorist who notified the police. An ambulance was sent from Calgary.
Midwinter lived for two days and was able to give the police a good description of his assailants. In addition the four suspects were observed by two other witnesses at the hotel where they had unsuccessfully tried to convince a tourist to give them a ride before calling for a taxi. The tourist was located but could not give police much help as he confessed to being intoxicated when approached by the men.
Nevertheless the Alberta provincial police were so confident of their ability to identify the murderers that they did not publish descriptions. One man was arrested in Leavenworth penitentiary, another in Lethbridge jail, and a third in Carnation, Washington.
One man turned King's evidence and was sentenced to life in prison. Two were convicted of murder and hanged at Lethbridge on June 10, 1931. Neither of them confessed to the crime, nor did they identify the fourth suspect, nicknamed "the kid", who was also eventually captured.
Police theorized that the four assailants wanted Midwinter's car rather than the few dollars that he carried. Originally from Barr Head, he had worked for Percy Bennett for a year though only for six months as a taxi driver. He was survived by his parents and two brothers, all from Barr Head.
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