The Unstable Horseman
A Man Named Jayne
A few miles down from the infamous Shoe Factory Road, lies a family owned horse training facility named Our Day Farm. The manicured farm spreads across 15 acres in Elgin, IL. Every time my parents would drive past it, I would always ask if they ever went horse riding there. They both brushed it off and said they never went there because the “family history of the farm.” Beyond that, they never really elaborated. I forgot all about it until I began researching Shoe Factory Road and the surrounding area. I stumbled onto an article that had mentioned some bizarre occurrences associated with what is now known as Our Day Farm. The man who runs it is Alex Jayne. The nephew of Silas Jayne.
A name synonymous with death. The list of crimes and murders associated with this man has often been speculated, but one thing’s for sure…this guy had a real dark side. To give you some back story….
“Uncle Si” — Silas Jayne’s first taste for death came at age 8. When he was bitten by a goose on their family farm, he killed the entire flock. At 17, he was convicted of rape and served a year in reformatory. The original Jayne farm in Pontiac, IL had him and his two brothers shipping trainloads of wild mustangs through the town. Injuring a lot in the process. Because he was ineligible for the draft due to his rape conviction, Silas began trading horse-meat during World War 2. He rolled profits into selling “prestigious” horses to daughters of affluent families who wanted to learn how to ride. Parents often let their underage daughters ride unchaperoned because the farm had a reputation for breeding prize winning show horses. Behind the scenes, Jayne had a history of molesting many under-age girls who trained there. Often telling parents their daughters were promiscuous among the employees.
Most parents didn't press the issue, since he had a long history of Chicago mob ties, police officers in his pocket, and gangster affiliates (like Sam DeStafano.) It turned out that the horses being sold were worthless, too. (Which was why he was turning them into horse meat.) This guy was connected at every level.
In 1940, a fire of unknown origin, swept through Jayne’s stable killing 10 horses and burned down the stable. With insurance money rolling in, Jayne quickly learned that fires tend to solve messy problems. His brother, George, was apparently cutting into Silas’ horse business and so Silas set fire to George’s home in Morton Grove. George suspected his brother was out to kill him. (We’ll get into that later.)
THE PETERSON-SCHUESSLER MURDERS
Si was gaining momentum as a ruthless go-to guy for horse breeding. He was also beginning a rap sheet that was starting to accumulate a string of murders. Nothing could be pinned on him though. In the fall of 1955, 3 boys had been seen in at Monte Cristo Bowling Alley where they hitched a ride at the intersection of Lawrence and Milwaukee Ave. Never to return home. Two days later, the bodies of the 3 boys were found in a forest preserve miles from Jayne’s farm. Chicago was now in a citywide panick. Years later it was discovered the boys were driven to Jayne’s farm to see some horses, when they saw some alarming things happening in one of the stables. They were killed in the stable, and the stable itself was burned down. Jayne filed a bogus insurance claim and continued on.
Helen Brach was the was heir to a candy fortune estimated at $17 million dollars in 1977, when she disappeared without a trace. She purchased several horses from Jayne a few years earlier, and is believed to have stumbled across a plot involving Jayne electrocuting horses. The mystery surrounding her death is a story that remains without an ending.
Jayne was also connected to the infamous murders of the Grimes sisters in 1956.
Now back to George Jayne — He began fearing for his life and told his wife he wrote a letter linking his brother Silas to a string of murders, insurance fraud, torturing and injecting one of George’s prize winning horses with turpentine. When she asked him to go to the police he steadfastly refused because he knew police were in his pocket. If something were to happen to him he explained, he told her where he hid the letter.
George’s sixth sense tipped him off and left his stable in a borrowed car. Shortly after — someone fired nearly 30 rounds of bullets into his office. Months following this, cars tried to run him off the road, and someone left a few sticks of dynamite outside his back door. A year after, a car bomb (meant for George) killed one of his secretary, when as a favor, she moved his car. Upon starting the engine, the vehicle exploded. After celebrating his son’s birthday the following year, George was killed by a hitman.
The reason I brought all this up was because it gave me an idea for the second issue of Shoe Factory Road. Sometimes inspiration can come from some really obscure sources. Needless to say, I think my parents made an understatement when they said the family had a “dark history.” Looks like I won’t be visiting the Jayne farms anytime soon.
