John Dillinger who was called a “notorious and vicious thief” by the FBI was accused of killing 10 men, wounding seven others, robbing banks, and staging three jailbreaks from September 1933 to July 1934 and was was killed on July 22nd of the same year.
The body of the said gangster who has been portrayed in movies will be exhumed in September following an approval by the Indiana State Department of Health.
It was Michael C. Thompson a nephew to Dillinger that filed for the permit. Dilinger who was interred in Indianapolis cemetery has been there for 85 years.
Dillinger who was never convicted of murder, has a movie-like death as he was killed in July 1934 following a tip off of his visit to see a movie at the Biograph Theater in Chicago.
Why I am fascinated by this story.
In 2009, his life was chronicled in the movie Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp, a story which pretty much tells the story of the famed gangster. Yes, John Dilinger was Public Enemy number 1.
These movies we see on the big screens are really lives of some individuals who have lived on planet earth and plied their trade (good and bad) making a difference.
After 85 years of being buried, what could his body be used for and why now? For someone with a record like Dilinger and with his title of a “notorious and vicious thief” as labeled him by the FBI, why should his body be exhumed and for what purpose?
I love history and having to be able to read about some notable figures and events, I get to learn more about these individuals.