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In 1942, 31 year-old Frederick Wood had been living with his girlfriend of three months, Mrs. Regina Galek, for three weeks in a rented room at 452 E. Church St. Mrs. Galek left on October 9, 1942, to visit her parents. Upon her return late in the evening on October 11, she found Wood drunk and belligerent, recounting a horrifying tale.

On Saturday, October 10 when Regina was away, John Albert Lowman visited Frederick Wood, having become acquainted with him while both were jailed for intoxication. After consuming alcohol downtown, they returned to the room to continue the party. Lowman insulted a picture of Mrs. Galek shown to him by Wood, who responded by striking him on the head with a bottle and then stomping on his body.

Wood also confessed to Regina that he had used a knife on Lowman, puncturing his head and neck. Subsequently, he hid the body under the davenport in their room. After confessing the murder to her, Frederick threatened Regina repeatedly, coercing her to spend the night with him in the same room where the gruesome events occurred and where the dead body lay, while wielding the same paring knife he had used on Lowman.

Elmira Star Gazette. October 14, 1942, page 8.

On Monday, October 12, Regina and Frederick visited his family’s house at 585 Thompson St., where Frederick confessed the crime to his parents, and in a disturbing turn, threatened them with bodily harm if they refused to aid him in disposing of the body. His father Charles then drove them home, dropped them off, and promptly contacted the police to report his son’s threatening behavior. Consequently, Frederick was arrested for disorderly conduct and sentenced to 5 days in jail. Once he was safely behind bars, they learned of the murder confession.

Elmira Star Gazette. October 13, 1942, page 1.

Who was John Albert Lowman?

John Albert Lowman hailed from Elmira, being the son of Mr. Jefferson S. Lowman and Nora, born on June 7, 1900. Their family resided on Horseheads Blvd. (parallel to Grand Central Avenue) in Elmira Heights. His brothers were Donald, Jefferson, and Lyman. He also served as a World War I veteran, enlisting at the age of 16 and serving 18 months in the military. He received an honorable discharge and served in France as a mechanic with the ground Aerial Squadron, where he was wounded in the Argonne offensive. During his youth, he was employed at the Southside Kennedy Valve plant as a clerk for several years. Additionally, he worked as a flagman for the Pennsylvania Railroad. As an adult, John struggled with alcoholism and had been arrested for intoxication, panhandling, and vagrancy in the area multiple times before. He served a term at the Elmira Reformatory for grand larceny. However, he was not known to be a violent or quarrelsome individual. His most recent arrest occurred on September 19, 1942 for sleeping in Brand Park. While mostly unemployed, he occasionally worked as a carpenter.

Who was Regina Galek?

Elmira Star Gazette. November 17, 1942, page 9.

Mrs. Regina Galek, born Regina Solosky to Konstanty Solosky and Josephine Karpacz in Pennsylvania, later relocated with her family to Dundee, NY. At the age of 16, she married John Galek, a 26-year-old farmer from Austria. Together, they welcomed their son, John Stanley Galek, in 1937. At the time of the murder, she was either divorced or separated from her husband, who was serving in the armed forces. Having resided in the Elmira area for a span of 1 to 3 years, she was employed at Remington Rand. Initially held in jail as a witness to the crime, she experienced a breakdown after a preliminary hearing in recorder’s court and was subsequently committed to the Binghamton State Hospital, where she was declared insane. The trial was postponed for several months as the prosecution awaited her recovery to testify, but ultimately proceeded without her. Following these events, she relocated to Rochester. Tragically, she passed away at the age of 56 in 1974 as a result of a car accident in Ontario County.

The Trial – “I never killed any man”.

The trial commenced March 8, 1943. Charles Wood, father of the accused, was there. He held his son’s hand despite calling the police and having him arrested. Mrs. Wood attended the trial but did not sit at the counsel’s table with her son and husband.

Frederick Wood said he only told the story of how he killed Mr. Lowman to be a “big shot” to Regina and to show her that he would “go to any lengths for her”. He testified, “For God’s sake, believe me, I never killed any man”.* He maintained that Mr. Lowman rolled off the davenport and Frederick had found him there later, dead. The coroner reported that Mr. Lowman had died from a compound skull fracture, three rib fractures, and a punctured lung. He had been struck on the left temple and behind the left ear with a blunt instrument and struck or kicked in the ribs. Not to mention the lacerations to his head and neck.

Frederick Wood was found guilty on March 10, 1942. His past record included 19 arrests and stints at Dobbs Ferry, Elmira Reformatory, and the Chemung County jail. The night before his sentencing, he attempted to end his life. The prison doctor mended him with 32 stitches. The next morning, standing in bloodstained clothes, the judge sentenced him to 20 years to life in prison on March 11 to be served at Attica prison. Judge Bertram Newman recommended that Wood serve the maximum sentence–which implied that no leniency would be shown on any future application to the parole board. On the way to Attica, Frederick Wood told the officers driving him that he swore he would never attempt to end his own life again. He was transferred from Attica to Dannemora 13 months later.

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the last we hear of Frederick. The rest of his story will be covered in the 4th and final installment of this series.

Previous posts in this series:

Part 1

Part 2

*Elmira Star Gazette. Wednesday, March 10, 1943, page 5.