Kind of random, but anyone know of/recall any information about a murder at Cloquet High School? (senior, graduated)

[wbloomqu]

Another disturbing part of this tragic story is that the wood floor of the stage was never replaced - at least not for many years after the killing. I am not sure if even today it has been replaced, covered over or still used. There are many stories years after the fact that where she was brutally slain the wood was still stained.

I do know that a flooring company was brought in to sand and refinish that part of the wood floor. I also know that the workers had a heck of a job trying to bring that part of the floor to its original condition. You can imagine that the victim's blood seeped into every crack and seam of that section of wood floor. If that part of the flooring is still there you have to think that her DNA is still there.

[minnesotabound]

Jim Savage's father was a pharmacist in Cloquet. They moved to Mpls many years ago & he worked in a pharmacy downtown. I had a neighbor who worked there. One morning many years ago we were waiting for the bus to go to work and I brought up the murder of a classmate & gave her the details. I told her her the name and she was quite shocked. Mr. Savage was her boss and she had no idea of the whole affair. That was in the early 80s and I have no idea what happened to that family. Jeff Savage, a popular and very intelligent kid, stayed in school and even participated in class plays. I have no idea where he is. My mother's best friend was a nurse at the local hospital and, as can be expected in a small town, told my mother about who was admitted to the hospital in shock....
I remember that morning like yesterday. I was in the same class as Kathy. It was a chaotic, weird and surreal day. I remember a classmate looking into Kathy's locker and seeing her coat but she could not be found in school that morning. "It's Kathy isn't it?!" she screamed to Mr. Trochill out in the hall. She went hysterical and her mother came to get her. I have a friend who almost went into the orchestra room but decided not to enter it that early morning as it was dark in there. She trusted her instincts and did not go in. I also knew one of the boys who found her and it had a profound effect on his life and died years later rather broken. Kids were milling about, teachers were trying to herd us into class. For weeks nothing seemed right. What is strange, looking back, is that so little was said to us by the taffy-assed administration. In fact, very little was ever said about it in school from any teacher. I think the small town, tight lipped administrators told them to not discuss it. I could go on and on about it- I have such good images of the day in my mind. Long long ago.

[Deserterer]

admin probably didn't say much about it because it was the 1960s. You didn't talk to mere children about death, murder, sex or any such dark or naughty topics. You just sheltered them and hoped they didn't find out about it. Of course they find out anyway and then they process it without the guidance adults should have given them in the first place. But that's just how things were then. I was being slapped around and picked up by my hair by school admin in the 60s and early 70s and some kids got it even worse. Do you think they ever talked about that, lol? No, they still don't want to talk about it except to say they miss the good old days when you could smack a kid around and generally treat them more like property than sub-adult humans.

[Ken414]

The story I heard was that Jim Savage was released from custody and promptly abducted a young girl. He was pursued by police and was killed when he lost control of the car. The girl was unharmed. I can't verify this story. My sister knew both of the twins, and they seemed perfectly normal to her.

[Deserterer]

July 10, 1978 – James M. Savage, confessed murderer of 14-year-old Kathleen Bodie in the Cloquet High School band room on November 17, 1966, killed himself and injured a deputy sheriff by driving his car 100 miles an hour into a parked Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s car.

Earlier in the day, Savage had stopped two 19-year-old girls in Pine County, exposed himself, and then “told the girls to get in his car. The two girls refused, and Savage took out a 22 semiautomatic rifle and shot one of the girls twice in the chest and left her for dead. He forced the other girl in his car, raped her and physically threw her out of the car in a cemetery two miles north of Brook Park. She reported the incident to the Pine County Sheriff’s office and an all-points bulletin was put out for Savage.”

He was later spotted driving through Ogilvie, and the Mille Lacs County Sheriff Russ Iverson and Deputy Sheriff Tom Boser gave chase. Iverson and Bose got their car sideways on Highway 23 as “Savage came over a hill about a quarter mile away. Iverson told Boser to jump clear of the car. Savage crashed into the left side of the patrol car, pushing it 100 feet sideways down the highway. Boser was thrown out of the car.”

Seconds after the crash, the two cars erupted in flames. “The force of the impact was so great that the bumper of Savage’s 1972 Pinto was touching the steering wheel of the patrol car, a 1977 Ford LTD. Savage still had the 22 rifle in his hands after the crash.”

Mille Lacs County Times; “Fleeing Gunman Killed Ramming Sheriff’s Car”; July 13, 1978; p.1.

[CoteauKid]

Originally Posted by kaykaykay

Does anyone know what happened to the families of Kathy Bodie and James Savage?

I didn't know the families but did see that the victim's mother passed away about a month or so ago:

Lorraine Elvie Bodie

[rainydayparis]

Deserterer... ^^^ I guess you missed post #30? Or did you see it and just decided to copy it?

Originally Posted by geebabe

Found this online:

Quote:
On this date in Minnesota history: July 10
July 10, 1978 – James M. Savage, confessed murderer of 14-year-old Kathleen Bodie in the Cloquet High School band room on November 17, 1966, killed himself and injured a deputy sheriff by driving his car 100 miles an hour into a parked Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s car.

Earlier in the day, Savage had stopped two 19-year-old girls in Pine County, exposed himself, and then “told the girls to get in his car. The two girls refused, and Savage took out a 22 semiautomatic rifle and shot one of the girls twice in the chest and left her for dead. He forced the other girl in his car, raped her and physically threw her out of the car in a cemetery two miles north of Brook Park. She reported the incident to the Pine County Sheriff’s office and an all-points bulletin was put out for Savage.”

He was later spotted driving through Ogilvie, and the Mille Lacs County Sheriff Russ Iverson and Deputy Sheriff Tom Boser gave chase. Iverson and Bose got their car sideways on Highway 23 as “Savage came over a hill about a quarter mile away. Iverson told Boser to jump clear of the car. Savage crashed into the left side of the patrol car, pushing it 100 feet sideways down the highway. Boser was thrown out of the car.”

Seconds after the crash, the two cars erupted in flames. “The force of the impact was so great that the bumper of Savage’s 1972 Pinto was touching the steering wheel of the patrol car, a 1977 Ford LTD. Savage still had the 22 rifle in his hands after the crash.”


Minnesota Family History Research: On This Date in Minnesota History: November 17

Quote:
Murder of Kathleen Bodie; see Nov. 17, 2012 blog
Suspect arrested: see Nov. 23, 2012 blog
Complaint issued; see Feb. 20, 2013 blog
Indictment; see March 7, 2013 blog
Savage pleads guilty, sentenced; see March 14, 2013 blog
Mille Lacs County Times; “Fleeing Gunman Killed Ramming Sheriff’s Car”; July 13, 1978; p.1.



Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Department, Minnesota, Fallen Officers

Minnesota Family History Research: On this date in Minnesota history: July 10

[Deserterer]

Originally Posted by rainydayparis

Deserterer... ^^^ I guess you missed post #30? Or did you see it and just decided to copy it?

I posted it in response to poster # 34, who apparently didn't read post 30. I didn't reread the whole thread I just did a quick search and found what I posted

[DenMick]

I was a Freshmen, I saw Jim sitting on a bench in the gym locker room, his t-shirt was splattered with blood and a blood-soaked towel was underneath the bench. There was a vacancy in his eyes and he did not respond when I asked him about the blood spots, I saw the towel. I immediately got the Gym teacher, he was taken away. Susan Poferl was my friend, what happened to her was tragic. The deaths surrounding the Class of 1970 are many, some brutal some accidental, but too many. At the time the largest class to graduate CHS. Big city crime moved into little Cloquet and nothing was ever the same again.

[DuluthGuy]

Originally Posted by kaykaykay

Does anyone know what happened to the families of Kathy Bodie and James Savage?

I don't know much about Kathy's family but do know her mother recently passed away and her brother is on the Carlton County Board ([url]https://www.co.carlton.mn.us/258/Carlton-County-Board[/url]).