On April 1, 1965, two armed men robbed the Boyce branch of the Bank of Clarke County. A customer's pencil-written license number, relayed to state police, led a trooper to stop the getaway car within the half hour. The account that follows is built entirely from the Winchester Evening Star's contemporary reporting and one conflicting reprint on the money recovered; a fourth defendant's final result is not established in the reports reviewed for this account.
A pencil at Lanham's
Philip Cunningham ran into Lanham's Grocery in Boyce, called for a pencil and grabbed one from the counter. He had a car's license number to write down. Moments earlier, two men had passed him at the bank door. Now he believed the bank had been robbed. The next day, the Winchester Evening Star's Doug O'Connell told the story of the customer whose search for a pencil helped police find a getaway car. Cunningham had come to the Boyce branch of the Bank of Clarke County to cash checks on April 1, 1965. He operated Locke and Co., a store in Millwood, with his brother. As two men came out, he noticed a paper bag. Inside, he could see no tellers. He stepped back outside, and the men began running. In Cunningham's account to the Star, he crouched behind parked cars and followed them toward a blue-and-white Rambler station wagon about forty yards away. A man was at the wheel.
Source note: Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Winchester Evening Star's April 2, 1965 sidebar by Doug O’Connell reported that Philip Cunningham, on seeing two men leave the Boyce branch of the Bank of Clarke County carrying a paper bag, followed them on foot to a blue-and-white Rambler station wagon, then ran into Lanham's Grocery to write down its license number before returning to the bank; the report and the license number were telephoned to state police headquarters in Culpeper.
What the source supports
That the newspaper attributes the pencil-and-plate account to Cunningham and reports it was relayed to state police at Culpeper.
Uncertainty
Cunningham's account as retold by a Star reporter, not a verbatim transcript or sworn statement; the newspaper itself treats his account as his own retelling. No police log or dispatch record has been read for this claim.
Source
Evidence role: supports. O'Connell's sidebar, Cunningham's account of the pursuit, the pencil and the call to Culpeper.
Doug O’Connell, “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, page 1
Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, sidebar “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star, 1965
Cunningham operated Locke and Co., a store in Millwood, with his brother, and had come to the Boyce branch of the Bank of Clarke County on April 1, 1965 to cash checks, according to the Star's reporting.
What the source supports
Cunningham's identification and his reason for being at the bank that day.
Uncertainty
As reported by the newspaper; no business record, banking record or city directory has been examined for Locke and Co.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The sidebar's identification of Cunningham with Locke and Co. in Millwood.
Doug O’Connell, “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, page 1
Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, sidebar “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star, 1965
In Cunningham's account to the Star, he crouched behind parked cars and followed the two men toward the Rambler, about forty yards away, where a third man waited at the wheel.
What the source supports
The pursuit detail and the presence of a driver waiting at the wheel, both from Cunningham's own account as printed.
Uncertainty
A first-person account printed by the newspaper; distance (“about forty yards”) is the paper's own approximation, not a measured figure.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The pursuit and Rambler description in Cunningham's own account.
Doug O’Connell, “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, page 1
Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, sidebar “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Inside the bank
Inside the bank, manager Edith W. Rodgers and teller Frances Hudson had faced two men carrying pistols. Rodgers told the newspaper that each man handed over a paper bag and demanded money. When someone began entering through the front door, the men ordered the women into a back room and made them close the door. The person arriving was Cunningham. What looked to him like an empty bank was the result of those orders.
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Star's main report said that inside the Boyce branch, bank manager Edith W. Rodgers and teller Frances Hudson faced two men carrying pistols, who each handed over a paper bag and demanded money.
What the source supports
That the robbery inside the bank is reported through Rodgers's account to the newspaper.
Uncertainty
Rodgers's account and police information as reported by the newspaper; no bank incident report or police log has been read.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The main report's account of the robbery inside the bank, attributed to Rodgers.
“4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1–2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1–2, main report “4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” continued as “4 FACE” on page 2
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The same report said the two men ordered Rodgers and Hudson into a back room and made them close the door when someone began entering through the front, which is why the bank looked empty to Cunningham when he stepped inside.
What the source supports
That the empty appearance Cunningham described is explained in the same report as the robbers' own order to the two women.
Uncertainty
As reported; the report does not say how long the women were held in the back room.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The main report's account of the back-room order.
“4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1–2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1–2, main report “4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” continued as “4 FACE” on page 2
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
The call to Culpeper
The men climbed into the back of the station wagon, which drove west. Cunningham went to Lanham's, wrote down the number, then returned to the bank. The robbery report, car description and plate number were telephoned to state police headquarters in Culpeper.
Source note: Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Winchester Evening Star's April 2, 1965 sidebar by Doug O’Connell reported that Philip Cunningham, on seeing two men leave the Boyce branch of the Bank of Clarke County carrying a paper bag, followed them on foot to a blue-and-white Rambler station wagon, then ran into Lanham's Grocery to write down its license number before returning to the bank; the report and the license number were telephoned to state police headquarters in Culpeper.
What the source supports
That the newspaper attributes the pencil-and-plate account to Cunningham and reports it was relayed to state police at Culpeper.
Uncertainty
Cunningham's account as retold by a Star reporter, not a verbatim transcript or sworn statement; the newspaper itself treats his account as his own retelling. No police log or dispatch record has been read for this claim.
Source
Evidence role: supports. O'Connell's sidebar, Cunningham's account of the pursuit, the pencil and the call to Culpeper.
Doug O’Connell, “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, page 1
Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, sidebar “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
The trooper's radio
Near Double Toll Gate, Trooper R. L. Bruce heard the alert on his radio. According to a separate Star account by Jack Davis, Bruce had finished an overnight shift near Middletown, rested, and set out for a funeral in Front Royal. He turned around toward Boyce. Soon he saw a blue-and-white Rambler, and its license number matched. He radioed headquarters and followed as the car turned onto a side road off Route 522.
Source note: Jack Davis, Winchester Evening Star, 1965
A separate Star profile by Jack Davis reported that Trooper R. L. Bruce, having finished an overnight shift near Middletown and set out for a funeral in Front Royal, turned around toward Boyce on hearing the robbery alert on his radio, then saw a blue-and-white Rambler whose license number matched and radioed headquarters before following it onto a side road off Route 522, near Double Toll Gate.
What the source supports
The reported sequence bringing Bruce onto the same road as the getaway car.
Uncertainty
A newspaper profile; Davis reported that Bruce declined to discuss robbery details in a later interview, so the stop sequence is attributed to Davis's own reporting rather than to Bruce's own words.
Source
Evidence role: supports. Davis's profile of Trooper Bruce's shift, the alert and the pursuit.
Jack Davis, “License Numbers Checked, So Pooch Gets the Spuds,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1, 17
Jack Davis, Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1 and 17, “License Numbers Checked, So Pooch Gets the Spuds,” continued as “License Number Checked”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Stopped near Double Toll Gate
Davis reported that Bruce switched on his lights and siren, and the car stopped. With a gun in hand, Bruce ordered its three men and one woman out and onto the road. They offered no resistance. Other officers arrived and helped handcuff them. The Star's main report placed the arrests less than half an hour after the robbery, which had occurred around 1 p.m.
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Star's main report placed the robbery at about 1 p.m. on April 1, 1965, said the getaway car drove west, and placed the arrests less than half an hour after the robbery.
What the source supports
A reported time for the robbery and a reported interval to the arrests.
Uncertainty
As reported by the newspaper; no independent timestamp (dispatch log, court record) has been read to confirm either figure.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The main report's timing of the robbery and the arrests.
“4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1–2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1–2, main report “4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” continued as “4 FACE” on page 2
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Jack Davis, Winchester Evening Star, 1965
Davis reported that Bruce switched on his lights and siren, the car stopped, and with a gun in hand he ordered its three men and one woman out and onto the road, that they offered no resistance, and that other officers arrived and helped handcuff them.
What the source supports
The reported stop and arrest sequence on the roadside.
Uncertainty
As reported by Davis; no arrest report or radio log has been read for this claim.
Source
Evidence role: supports. Davis's account of the stop and arrest.
Jack Davis, “License Numbers Checked, So Pooch Gets the Spuds,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1, 17
Jack Davis, Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1 and 17, “License Numbers Checked, So Pooch Gets the Spuds,” continued as “License Number Checked”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Jail, hearing and pleas
The bank closed so the missing money could be counted. The four arrested people were taken to jail in Berryville and charged. At an April 19 preliminary hearing, all four were held for grand-jury action. Their cases would take months to follow different paths through court. The Star reported that Kenneth Lloyd Presgraves, Buford Homer Shupe and James Clarence Powell pleaded guilty on May 10.
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Star's main report said the bank closed so the missing money could be counted, and that the four arrested people were taken to jail in Berryville and charged.
What the source supports
That the bank closed and the four people were jailed and charged, per the newspaper's report.
Uncertainty
Arrest and charge reporting, not conviction of all four; the report does not itself distinguish the four people's later, different case outcomes.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The main report's account of the bank closing and the arrests.
“4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1–2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1–2, main report “4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” continued as “4 FACE” on page 2
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Star reported that at an April 19, 1965 preliminary hearing, all four charged people were held for grand-jury action.
What the source supports
That a preliminary hearing was held and referred the case to the grand jury.
Uncertainty
A newspaper court report; no hearing transcript has been read.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The April 19 preliminary-hearing report.
“4 Charged in Bank Theft Held for Grand Jury Action,” Winchester Evening Star, April 19, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-19 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “4 Charged in Bank Theft Held for Grand Jury Action”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Star reported that Kenneth Lloyd Presgraves, Buford Homer Shupe and James Clarence Powell pleaded guilty on May 10, 1965, and that Mary Matilda Shupe initially pleaded innocent.
What the source supports
The reported pleas of all four defendants as of May 10, 1965.
Uncertainty
Reported pleas; original court orders have not been read for this claim.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The May 11 report of the three guilty pleas and Mary Shupe's initial plea.
“3 Plead Guilty in Bank Case,” Winchester Evening Star, May 11, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-05-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “3 Plead Guilty in Bank Case”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Sentenced
On July 12, Judge Elliott D. Marshall sentenced Presgraves to 20 years, Shupe to 15 years and Powell to 10 years in the state penitentiary. The July 13 newspaper reported those terms, and its August 11 coverage repeated them. These are the reported sentences; the reports reviewed for this account do not establish how much time each man served.
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Star reported that on July 12, 1965, Judge Elliott D. Marshall sentenced Presgraves to 20 years, Shupe to 15 years and Powell to 10 years in the state penitentiary; the July 13 report was repeated in the August 11 coverage.
What the source supports
The three men's reported sentences and the sentencing date.
Uncertainty
These are the reported sentences; the held newspaper accounts do not establish how much time each man actually served, and no penitentiary or parole record has been read.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The July 13 sentencing report.
“3 Get Penitentiary Terms In Clarke Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, July 13, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-07-13 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “3 Get Penitentiary Terms In Clarke Bank Robbery”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The August 11 report, which repeats the three sentences.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case,” Winchester Evening Star, August 11, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-08-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Mary Matilda Shupe
Mary Matilda Shupe's final result is unknown in the reports reviewed for this account. She initially pleaded innocent, changed her plea to guilty on August 10, then received permission to withdraw that plea and plead innocent again on September 13. The court set November 9 for trial and continued her $2,500 bond. No final verdict, dismissal or sentence has been verified for her.
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
Mary Matilda Shupe changed her plea to guilty on August 10, 1965, then received permission to withdraw that plea and plead innocent again on September 13, 1965; the court set November 9, 1965 for trial and continued her $2,500 bond. Her final result is unknown in the newspaper reports held for this account.
What the source supports
Mary Matilda Shupe's plea history through September 1965, and that no later verdict, dismissal or sentence for her has been found in the held reports.
Uncertainty
The held reports run only through September 14, 1965; no report of a November 9, 1965 trial or any later disposition has been located. This claim states what is unknown, not that no later record exists.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The August 11 report of Mary Shupe's change of plea to guilty.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case,” Winchester Evening Star, August 11, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-08-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The September 14 report of her withdrawal, new plea and trial date.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea To Innocent,” Winchester Evening Star, September 14, 1965, page 2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-09-14 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea To Innocent”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
What was recovered
The money reports also leave a disagreement. Bank president Floyd L. McWilliams told the Star that $11,929 had been taken and all recovered. Later Star reports repeated full recovery. An April 8 account reproduced by Page Valley News instead put the loss at about $12,000 and said all but $100 was recovered. Rounding can explain the different loss figures; it cannot explain the recovery claim. No bank accounting or published correction resolving that difference is reflected in the reports reviewed for this account. The roadside stop followed the details Cunningham brought back to the bank: the Rambler's colors and its license number, written down with a pencil from a grocery counter.
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965, and one more
Bank president Floyd L. McWilliams told the Star that $11,929 had been taken from the Boyce branch and that all of it was recovered, a figure the Star's later reports repeated; a separate April 8, 1965 account reproduced by Page Valley News instead put the loss at about $12,000 and said all but $100 was recovered. The two accounts' recovery claims conflict and are not resolved here.
What the source supports
That the amount recovered is reported differently by two accounts, and that no bank accounting or correction resolving the difference has been found.
Uncertainty
Rounding could explain the different loss figures alone; it does not explain the conflicting recovery claims. No bank ledger or published correction has been read.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The main report's $11,929 figure, attributed to bank president Floyd L. McWilliams.
“4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1–2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1–2, main report “4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” continued as “4 FACE” on page 2
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contradicts. The Page Valley News reprint's conflicting recovery figure, about $12,000 taken with $100 unrecovered.
“Trooper nabs bank robbers,” Page Valley News, reproducing an April 8, 1965 account
Page Valley News (reproducing an unidentified April 8, 1965 newspaper account) · 1965-04-08 (publication)
Locator: Modern reprint of “Trooper nabs bank robbers,” reproducing the April 8, 1965 account; printed page not recorded
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: page-valley-news-1965-04-08-trooper-nabs. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
What this story does not say
This account leaves three things open rather than resolving them. Mary Matilda Shupe's final disposition after her September 13, 1965 plea withdrawal is not established in the reports reviewed for this account; her plea history is reported without an ending. The recovery of the stolen money is reported two ways that conflict — the Star's repeated $11,929 fully recovered, and a separate April 8 account's roughly $12,000 with $100 unrecovered — and neither is adopted over the other here. And the three men's July 12, 1965 sentences are reported as sentences: nothing in the held reports says how much time Presgraves, Shupe or Powell actually served, or whether any sentence was later modified or appealed. No participation or recollection by any judge other than Elliott D. Marshall, who is reported to have imposed the July 12 sentences, is stated or implied anywhere in this account.
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
The Star reported that on July 12, 1965, Judge Elliott D. Marshall sentenced Presgraves to 20 years, Shupe to 15 years and Powell to 10 years in the state penitentiary; the July 13 report was repeated in the August 11 coverage.
What the source supports
The three men's reported sentences and the sentencing date.
Uncertainty
These are the reported sentences; the held newspaper accounts do not establish how much time each man actually served, and no penitentiary or parole record has been read.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The July 13 sentencing report.
“3 Get Penitentiary Terms In Clarke Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, July 13, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-07-13 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “3 Get Penitentiary Terms In Clarke Bank Robbery”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The August 11 report, which repeats the three sentences.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case,” Winchester Evening Star, August 11, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-08-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965
Mary Matilda Shupe changed her plea to guilty on August 10, 1965, then received permission to withdraw that plea and plead innocent again on September 13, 1965; the court set November 9, 1965 for trial and continued her $2,500 bond. Her final result is unknown in the newspaper reports held for this account.
What the source supports
Mary Matilda Shupe's plea history through September 1965, and that no later verdict, dismissal or sentence for her has been found in the held reports.
Uncertainty
The held reports run only through September 14, 1965; no report of a November 9, 1965 trial or any later disposition has been located. This claim states what is unknown, not that no later record exists.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The August 11 report of Mary Shupe's change of plea to guilty.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case,” Winchester Evening Star, August 11, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-08-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The September 14 report of her withdrawal, new plea and trial date.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea To Innocent,” Winchester Evening Star, September 14, 1965, page 2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-09-14 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea To Innocent”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Winchester Evening Star, 1965, and one more
Bank president Floyd L. McWilliams told the Star that $11,929 had been taken from the Boyce branch and that all of it was recovered, a figure the Star's later reports repeated; a separate April 8, 1965 account reproduced by Page Valley News instead put the loss at about $12,000 and said all but $100 was recovered. The two accounts' recovery claims conflict and are not resolved here.
What the source supports
That the amount recovered is reported differently by two accounts, and that no bank accounting or correction resolving the difference has been found.
Uncertainty
Rounding could explain the different loss figures alone; it does not explain the conflicting recovery claims. No bank ledger or published correction has been read.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The main report's $11,929 figure, attributed to bank president Floyd L. McWilliams.
“4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1–2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1–2, main report “4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” continued as “4 FACE” on page 2
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contradicts. The Page Valley News reprint's conflicting recovery figure, about $12,000 taken with $100 unrecovered.
“Trooper nabs bank robbers,” Page Valley News, reproducing an April 8, 1965 account
Page Valley News (reproducing an unidentified April 8, 1965 newspaper account) · 1965-04-08 (publication)
Locator: Modern reprint of “Trooper nabs bank robbers,” reproducing the April 8, 1965 account; printed page not recorded
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: page-valley-news-1965-04-08-trooper-nabs. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
About the evidenceWhat the evidence says
Eight Winchester Evening Star issues from April through September 1965, plus one modern reprint of a ninth, conflicting April 8, 1965 account. None of the nine items was read directly by the editors who wrote this account.
This account is built from a researched narrative and a claim-to-issue/page map prepared by a separate researcher who read the eight held Winchester Evening Star pages (April 2 pp. 1-2 and 17, April 19 p. 1, May 11 p. 1, July 13 p. 1, August 11 p. 1 and September 14 p. 2) and the Page Valley News reprint of an April 8, 1965 account. The integrating session (Main) did not independently re-read the page images or their text; every segment behind this story's claims is recorded as a description of the original, not an inspection of it. The held pages are private, in-copyright NewspaperArchive holdings reached through member access, not public images, so no excerpt beyond a locator is carried in the corpus. Mary Matilda Shupe's final disposition and the exact amount recovered are reported inconsistently or not at all in the reports reviewed, and both are left open rather than resolved.
- An account exists✓ Supported by a source
The Winchester Evening Star's April 2, 1965 sidebar by Doug O’Connell reported that Philip Cunningham, on seeing two men leave the Boyce branch of the Bank of Clarke County carrying a paper bag, followed them on foot to a blue-and-white Rambler station wagon, then ran into Lanham's Grocery to write down its license number before returning to the bank; the report and the license number were telephoned to state police headquarters in Culpeper.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceAn account existsThe Winchester Evening Star's April 2, 1965 sidebar by Doug O’Connell reported that Philip Cunningham, on seeing two men leave the Boyce branch of the Bank of Clarke County carrying a paper bag, followed them on foot to a blue-and-white Rambler station wagon, then ran into Lanham's Grocery to write down its license number before returning to the bank; the report and the license number were telephoned to state police headquarters in Culpeper.
What the source supports
That the newspaper attributes the pencil-and-plate account to Cunningham and reports it was relayed to state police at Culpeper.
Uncertainty
Cunningham's account as retold by a Star reporter, not a verbatim transcript or sworn statement; the newspaper itself treats his account as his own retelling. No police log or dispatch record has been read for this claim.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. O'Connell's sidebar, Cunningham's account of the pursuit, the pencil and the call to Culpeper.
Doug O’Connell, “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, page 1
Doug O’Connell, Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, sidebar “Customer Races for Pencil After Seeing Getaway Car”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
- An account exists✓ Supported by a source
The Star's main report said that inside the Boyce branch, bank manager Edith W. Rodgers and teller Frances Hudson faced two men carrying pistols, who each handed over a paper bag and demanded money.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceAn account existsThe Star's main report said that inside the Boyce branch, bank manager Edith W. Rodgers and teller Frances Hudson faced two men carrying pistols, who each handed over a paper bag and demanded money.
What the source supports
That the robbery inside the bank is reported through Rodgers's account to the newspaper.
Uncertainty
Rodgers's account and police information as reported by the newspaper; no bank incident report or police log has been read.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The main report's account of the robbery inside the bank, attributed to Rodgers.
“4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1–2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1–2, main report “4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” continued as “4 FACE” on page 2
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
- An account exists✓ Supported by a source
The Star reported that on July 12, 1965, Judge Elliott D. Marshall sentenced Presgraves to 20 years, Shupe to 15 years and Powell to 10 years in the state penitentiary; the July 13 report was repeated in the August 11 coverage.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceAn account existsThe Star reported that on July 12, 1965, Judge Elliott D. Marshall sentenced Presgraves to 20 years, Shupe to 15 years and Powell to 10 years in the state penitentiary; the July 13 report was repeated in the August 11 coverage.
What the source supports
The three men's reported sentences and the sentencing date.
Uncertainty
These are the reported sentences; the held newspaper accounts do not establish how much time each man actually served, and no penitentiary or parole record has been read.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The July 13 sentencing report.
“3 Get Penitentiary Terms In Clarke Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, July 13, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-07-13 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “3 Get Penitentiary Terms In Clarke Bank Robbery”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The August 11 report, which repeats the three sentences.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case,” Winchester Evening Star, August 11, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-08-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
- An account exists✓ Supported by a source
Mary Matilda Shupe changed her plea to guilty on August 10, 1965, then received permission to withdraw that plea and plead innocent again on September 13, 1965; the court set November 9, 1965 for trial and continued her $2,500 bond. Her final result is unknown in the newspaper reports held for this account.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceAn account existsMary Matilda Shupe changed her plea to guilty on August 10, 1965, then received permission to withdraw that plea and plead innocent again on September 13, 1965; the court set November 9, 1965 for trial and continued her $2,500 bond. Her final result is unknown in the newspaper reports held for this account.
What the source supports
Mary Matilda Shupe's plea history through September 1965, and that no later verdict, dismissal or sentence for her has been found in the held reports.
Uncertainty
The held reports run only through September 14, 1965; no report of a November 9, 1965 trial or any later disposition has been located. This claim states what is unknown, not that no later record exists.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The August 11 report of Mary Shupe's change of plea to guilty.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case,” Winchester Evening Star, August 11, 1965, page 1
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-08-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea In Bank Case”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The September 14 report of her withdrawal, new plea and trial date.
“Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea To Innocent,” Winchester Evening Star, September 14, 1965, page 2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-09-14 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, “Mrs. Shupe Changes Plea To Innocent”
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
- An account exists✓ Supported by a source
Bank president Floyd L. McWilliams told the Star that $11,929 had been taken from the Boyce branch and that all of it was recovered, a figure the Star's later reports repeated; a separate April 8, 1965 account reproduced by Page Valley News instead put the loss at about $12,000 and said all but $100 was recovered. The two accounts' recovery claims conflict and are not resolved here.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceAn account existsBank president Floyd L. McWilliams told the Star that $11,929 had been taken from the Boyce branch and that all of it was recovered, a figure the Star's later reports repeated; a separate April 8, 1965 account reproduced by Page Valley News instead put the loss at about $12,000 and said all but $100 was recovered. The two accounts' recovery claims conflict and are not resolved here.
What the source supports
That the amount recovered is reported differently by two accounts, and that no bank accounting or correction resolving the difference has been found.
Uncertainty
Rounding could explain the different loss figures alone; it does not explain the conflicting recovery claims. No bank ledger or published correction has been read.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The main report's $11,929 figure, attributed to bank president Floyd L. McWilliams.
“4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” Winchester Evening Star, April 2, 1965, pages 1–2
Winchester Evening Star · 1965-04-02 (publication)
Locator: Pages 1–2, main report “4 Face Charges In Bank Robbery,” continued as “4 FACE” on page 2
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: winchester-evening-star-1965-boyce-robbery. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: contradicts. The Page Valley News reprint's conflicting recovery figure, about $12,000 taken with $100 unrecovered.
“Trooper nabs bank robbers,” Page Valley News, reproducing an April 8, 1965 account
Page Valley News (reproducing an unidentified April 8, 1965 newspaper account) · 1965-04-08 (publication)
Locator: Modern reprint of “Trooper nabs bank robbers,” reproducing the April 8, 1965 account; printed page not recorded
Checked: Catalog index only. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: page-valley-news-1965-04-08-trooper-nabs. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted integration (Claude Sonnet 5) from a researched narrative and a claim-to-source map; the newspaper pages were not independently re-read for this integration. · 2026-09-29. How this project checks its sources
Each statement above is assessed on its own evidence. Nothing here is averaged, scored or voted on, and a well-attributed account can be documented while what it describes stays unconfirmed.
What became of Mary Matilda Shupe's case after her September 13, 1965 plea withdrawal and the November 9 trial date the court set?
Know more about this story, or see something to correct? Help fill a gap. It stays private until it is reviewed.
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Go deeper: every source under this story Follow another threadHuman remains found at Berryville's bank site in 1881
Another Berryville story built entirely from what the local newspaper did and did not report about the Bank of Clarke County; an editorial connection, not a personal one.