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A website devoted to the study of the human condition |
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A website devoted to the study of the human condition |
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The following is a true, unsolved crime that occurred in San Antonio at the Gunter Hotel in 1965. Fascinating, mysterious and gruesome are the details of this story, so be prepared.
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On February 6, 1965, a blonde man in his late 30’s checked into room 636 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio. During the next 3 days, he was seen going in and out of his room several times accompanied by a tall blonde woman. The following Monday, February 8, the afternoon maid on duty, Maria Luisa Guerra prepared to check the room. Thinking the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door was an oversight, she opened the door with her passkey. She proceeded to step inside when she saw a man standing beside the blood soaked bed. As she let out a scream, the man placed his index finger against his lips as if cautioning her to be quiet. Then he quickly gathered up a blood soaked bundle and ran out the door. The police arrived on the scene within the next 10 minutes. Searching the room they found the small footprints of the apparent victim, several cigar butts, one with the imprint of lipstick, and a suitcase containing a man’s shirt, some cheese and several empty wine bottles. Officers also found blonde hairs in the room, as well as nylon hose and women’s undergarments. The officers questioned the maid, Mrs. Guerra, who described details of the bloody bundle that the man carted off. Officers said that the body of a small boned woman, dissected and blood-drained could fit the dimension of the bundle that Mrs. Guerra described. The room was a bloody mess. The mattress and floor were covered with blood and the bathroom was literally coated in blood and small pieces of flesh from ceiling to floor. While no body was found, it was theorized that the body had been butchered in the bathroom, run through a meat grinder and disposed of down the commode. Within days, the police tracked down the suspect just a few blocks away at the St. Anthony hotel. As police entered the suspect’s room, a shot rang out from inside as the man took his own life. During the subsequent investigation, it was discovered that the suspected murderer, Walter Emerick, attempted to check into room 636 at the St. Anthony the day of the incident at the Gunter and had purchased a very large meat grinder the previous week at a downtown department store. To this day, the case is still open. No body has ever been discovered and no female matching the description given to police has ever been reported missing. But since this bloody incident more than 35 years ago, members of the staff and hotel guests have reported strange happenings from time to time. Ghostly images of a woman with her arms outstretched have appeared to maids. Sounds of hammering and grinding have been reported coming from room 636 although it was unoccupied. The image of a woman, unknown to the staff, mysteriously appeared in Christmas pictures. The Gunter Hotel, a hotel rich in history, elegant and magnificent in it’s design and haunted by the memory of a butchering in room 636.
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| Please note that at the time this crime occurred, there was a tremendous amount of construction going on in San Antonio. Green dye was found on Emerick's shoes, the type of dye used to color cement. It is theorized that he may have disposed of the body and/or body parts in still-wet cement at one of the downtown projects under construction. This case still remains open. Ironically, without any substantial physical evidence of a murder, the only charge that would have been brought against Mr. Emerick would have been malicious mischief over $50 (the hotel spent over one-hundred dollars to clean up the mess he left in the room). Is there a ghost? You spend the night in room 636 and tell me. -The Folklorist
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| Links http://texasmonthly.com/travel/virtual/ghostcity/gunter.html
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