Young Love Turned Tragic

Written By: nppladmin - Apr• 19•21
Originally published to facebook.com/NorthPlattePL on 4/16/2021.

Today’s History Friday takes a look at a story of young love that turned tragic.

June Andrews was born on September 19, 1911, in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. She had four sisters and two brothers; and June was the eldest child. Before June was set to graduate from High School, she fell in love with a man named George St. Clair. With her mother’s consent, they got married on February 13, 1929 in Michigan. Although her father did not oppose the marriage, he was concerned about the character of her fiancé, because St. Clair was a divorced man, and he urged June to continue her education.

By June of 1929, the newlyweds moved away from June’s parents, to North Platte, Nebraska. George quickly found work icing down rail cars at the Pacific Fruit Express Company. They moved into a quaint small home. By late summer, June confided in George that she was pregnant and due in November.

Shortly after 10 o’clock on Monday, September 30, 1929, George St. Clair reported to Lincoln County Sheriff Salisbury that his wife was missing. In fact, he suggested to the Sheriff that perhaps she had run off with another man. The Sheriff thought this quite odd, given her pregnant condition. The Sheriff took June’s disappearance seriously, but thought that perhaps, the young couple had a quarrel and that she had gone to visit relatives for a while. Sheriff Salisbury inspected their home and found that almost all of her clothes were still hanging in the closets and very little was out of place.

George was emotional when speaking about how much he loved his wife and her fragile nature. He painted a story of a loving husband who acted truly perplexed that his wife had just up and disappeared. As Sheriff Salisburg continued to question George, his story started to change and become inconsistent. The Sheriff began to systematically check stores they had visited, as well as speak to family and others who may have seen her. And after speaking to their landlady, George’s stories about his perfect marriage began to unravel. The Sheriff confronted George about the discrepancies in his stories and put him in jail whilst the police continued their investigation. Three days after reporting the disappearance of June St. Clair, Sheriff Salisbury got a full confession from George St. Clair.

“I knew I would be out of a job in November and I had to do something. Nobody wanted me. There wasn’t any use in looking for another job. I knew the only way out was to kill June so things would be easier for her.”

George confessed that he had tried to kill her several times over the past two months, but just couldn’t bring himself to commit the act. But finally, he found the strength to kill her. They drove out into the country by the airport on East 4th Street, because they were going to pick apples for June to preserve. They pulled off the road and when June refused to give him a kiss, George grabbed her by the throat and began strangling her. Once she was lifeless, he shoved her body into the back seat and decided to bury her on June’s parents’ homestead farm, some 25 miles north of North Platte. Once he confessed, he took the Sheriff straight to where he buried her body in the dead of night.

St Clair signed a full confession. He plead not guilty by reason of insanity. His trial began on October 21, 1929, and lasted eight days. The jury found him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment at the State Penitentiary in Lincoln. George died in March of 1939 in the prison’s hospital.

June St. Clair died September 28, 1929, at age 18. Her grave was unmarked until her story was highlighted in the North Platte Telegraph and North Platte Bulletin newspapers during the first Cemetery Tour in 2006. Between public donations and her family’s contributions, enough money was finally raised to give June St. Clair a proper headstone.

It is of note that this story was so sensational in 1929, that three different Detective magazines wrote feature stories during the 1930’s.

Editors Note: George St. Clair died August 18, 1937 in the State Prison Hospital from tuberculosis at age 30.

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