Davenport Police Would Like to Close 1955 Murder Case

The Quad City Times story of the Lucile Bacher murder case lays out like something we'd watch on "Law and Order" or "CSI". Lucile Bacher was murdered in the pharmacy she ran with her husband Henry, while he was on a lunch break upstairs in the couple's apartment. He heard some bumping from downstairs, but assumed it was Lucile moving some things around, not a robbery homicide. Unfortunately, unlike TV, the murder wasn't wrapped in sixty minutes. It was never solved.

The assailant gagged Lucile, tied her hands behind her back, struck her with a hammer or hatchet and slit her throat.

Henry was also assaulted in the robbery when he came back downstairs to the pharmacy. The assailant pistol whipped him, slashed him in the neck, beat him and stabbed him in the head. He also forced Henry to open the pharmacy cash register and turn over all the money in his wallet. The suspect made off with about $80-$90 dollars.

Henry was able to give Davenport police a description of the man. They were looking for someone around 50 years old. Five feet eight inches tall. He was wearing Khaki clothing, a dark colored jacket and a cap with a long baseball type bill. The next day police found a blood stained cap on he docks of the John Deere Warehouse. Eventually all the evidence police collected was sent to the FBI for analysis because it led to nothing.

In the world of television, Briscoe and Logan would have found the perpetrator. Or Gil Grissom and his team would have used science to solve the murder. There would be a satisfying ending to the story. Sadly for Davenport Police Chief Harvey Smith and Henry Charles Bacher there was no satisfying ending to Lucile Bacher's murder. No suspect was ever charged.

The Davenport Police told the Quad City Times there's no statue of limitations on murder. While the killer of Lucile Bacher is probably dead himself, they'd still like to close the case. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-6125. Solving the murder now, that would be an interesting story line for a police show as well.