Wanted: Wendell Forrest Bowers
- Yen Ho
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
There were many surprises whenever scanning through the Ambler Gazette archives, whether they were funny or interesting. One day, I found something that shocked me when I did a random search and found a particular name that made national attention outside of Ambler. Unfortunately this was not the attention the town wanted regarding this particular person...
Background
Wendell F. Bowers (1918-1938) was the son of Roland F. Bowers, a carpenter in Ambler, and Anna Bowers, the daughter of well-known Dreshertown store owner Francis Houpt. He was the younger brother of Geraldine Mohrey (1916-2003). After his mother passed away, his father remarried, and had a son.
In 1923, a petition was filed to appoint Ambler Trust Company as Wendell and his sister's guardian with a $400 bond required to protect his financial interests.
In 1932, Wendell was sent to the Glen Mills Reform School by the Bucks County Court.
At the age of 17, he was arrested and was pleaded guilty for breaking into homes and garages in Cheltenham and stealing wallets and other articles. He even used a fake name "George Lewis." Wendell was placed in the Huntington Reformatory for indefinite term. He even asked the judge to find him a job in the army or navy, but the jurist said he was not old enough, and the government restrictions on criminal offenders would not permit it. He was released on December 3, 1937.
The Murder of Wilma V. Carpenter and Arrest
On the night of December 13, 1937, Wilma V. Carpenter (1899-1937) witnessed her friend Mary Griffin fighting an unknown intruder when she came home near Camp Hill. When Wilma came to intervene and attempted to protect her friend, the unknown intruder turned to her and shot her twice, killing her instantly. The unknown intruder attacked Mary before making his escape by train from the Camp Hill station. Both Wilma and Mary were business partners at a beauty salon in Germantown.
It was confirmed that it was Wendell Bowers who was responsible for the murder of Wilma Carpenter from a fingerprint found on a nail polish bottle found in Wilma's home. With no information of where he could be, local detectives and police, Pennsylvania State troopers, and members of the FBI went searching throughout the eastern part of the country. Wendell was found in Louisville, Kentucky and was arrested by Federal officers after four weeks of searching nationwide. He was termed as a "dangerous character," while at large. Montgomery County District Attorney Frederick B. Smillie oversaw the investigation.
View the image of Wendell caught in Louisville HERE!
He was caught by local police in Louisville for larceny and housebreaking, and his fingerprints were taken and sent to Washington where they identified Wendell. He was questioned by the FBI in Louisville and finally obtained his signed confession.
Fun Fact # 1: Wendell still used his alias "George Francis Lewis" while in Louisville.
Wendell was immediately taken into custody of the federal authorities not as a housebreaker and thief, but as a murderer. He was held at the Montgomery County jail in Norristown.
Since his arrest, the case was fictionalized by publicists and appeared in two detective magazines based from Chief of Police James Ottinger and Mary Griffin's stories.
A Plea for Wendell
An interesting turn happened in this case when Wendell's father Roland supported his son and will do anything to save him from the electric chair. He hired Ambler attorney Elmer L. Menges to defend his son. Even the people in Ambler stood by Roland. He said to district attorney Smillie that Wendell was expected to "get a job on a road-construction project" near Winchester, Virginia. When the highway officials were questioned, they said they knew of no such work in that section.
His confession contained 10,800 words with 54 pages transcribed from him. District Attorney Smillie said Wendell "told everything."
The Decision
Despite having his father supported him, Wendell was sentenced to death by three judges of Montgomery County who agreed unanimously: Harold G. Knight, William F. Dannehower, and George C. Corson. There was no appeal possible under the Pennsylvania Laws. Attorney Menges requested to give Wendell a lesser punishment, but the judges denied his request. He was sent from Montgomery County jail to the Western Penitentiary in Bellefont where he will be executed by the electric chair.
The date was set for Wendell on June 13, 1938 by Pennsylvania Governor George H. Earle. It was originally scheduled for May 9, but it was postponed due to 900-1,300 people who petitioned to save Wendell from his father Roland and his attorney Elmer Menges. The petition was sent to the State Board of Pardons.
The board gave Roland the people of Ambler a chance to be heard to attempt to save Wendell from sitting in the electric chair, but due to attorney Menges not giving them "new or impressive evidence," the board was unimpressed and the original sentence was upheld.
Aftermath
The home of Wilma V. Carpenter was transferred to a New Yorker by a friend of hers, Fred Russell Kingman. The New Yorker who purchased the home was Elmer G. Stacy.
Since the town initially found out about Wendell's crime, the Ambler Gazette talked about how it badly impacted the town along with other crimes committed by other local residents:
"It is no wonder that some of our relatives and friends from wuite a distance asking: 'What kind of town is this where you live.' The condition is such that there is nothing we can do about this tide of crime until something breaks to reveal the presence of those who are criminally inclined. It is to be hoped for the best interest of this borough that a sufficient punishment be given to those charged and found guilty, when appearing before the courts, to be a warning not only to those locally but to all other residents of our county who want to try their hand at violating criminal laws."
- Ambler Gazette, December 23, 1937
Bibliography
"Ambler Youth Sentenced to the Chair By Trio of Montgomery County Jurists." Ambler Gazette. February 10, 1938. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_22778.
"Arrest Predicted In Widow Slaying." The Evening Star. December 18, 1937. Page 1. https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ndnp/dlc/batch_dlc_1lichtenstein_ver02/data/sn83045462/00280601664/1937121801/0425.pdf.
"Bowers' Arrest Climaxes Notable Hunt For Killer." Ambler Gazette. January 6, 1938. Pages 1 & 4. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21361.
"Bower's Father Turns To Support His Son." Ambler Gazette. January 13, 1938. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_22872.
"Bowers' Case In Print." Ambler Gazette. January 27, 1938. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21735.
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"Bowers Will Die May 9." Ambler Gazette. March 31, 1938. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_23081.
"Bowers Gets No Reprieve." Ambler Gazette. April 28, 1938. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21994.
"Bowers Receives Stay Of Execution." Ambler Gazette. May 12, 1938. Page. 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21859.
"Bowers Must Die." Ambler Gazette. June 2, 1938. Page. 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21632.
"Bowers Faces End." Ambler Gazette. June 9, 1938. Page 2. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21249.
"Clue To Carpenter Slayer Leads Here." Ambler Gazette. December 16, 1937. Pages 1 & 6. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_24047.
"Criminal Convictions In County During 1937." Ambler Gazette. March 3, 1938. Pages 1 & 8. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_22827.
"Frank Houpt Will Retire." Ambler Gazette. April 19, 1917. Page 3. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_7042.
"Hearing For Bowers." Ambler Gazette. May 19, 1938. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21985.
"Intense Search For Bowers Made Here." Ambler Gazette. December 30, 1937. Pages 1 & 5. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21417.
"Name Youth As Sex Slayer." Baraboo News Republic. December 17, 1937. Page 1.
"Obituary: Frank Houpt." Ambler Gazette. March 28, 1918. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_10871.
"Publicity Hurts Ambler." Ambler Gazette. December 23, 1937. Page 4. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_23913.
"Sell Home Of Murder Victim." Ambler Gazette. February 23, 1939. Page 2. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21787.
"Slayer of Widow Nabbed in South." The News of Cumberland County. January 5, 1938. Page 1.
Sullivan, Nancy. "Our first wanted poster." The Historical Society of Montgomery County PA. Accessed August 20, 2026. https://hsmcpa.org/our-first-wanted-poster/.
"Suspect Held At Louisville Admits Patterson Slaying." The Star Press. January 5, 1938. Page 1.
"Wendell Bowers Sentenced." Ambler Gazette. August 8, 1935. Page 6. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_24025.
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