It was a Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 2, in 1913 that a murder took place in Penfield as a result of a quarrel between a husband and wife.
Blanche (Copp) Huff was only 27 years old when her husband, Frank Huff, fired two bullets in what was reported as a “fiery rage.”
The couple shared two daughters. Mrs. Huff died the following day at the DuBois Hospital.
Frank Huff was found guilty and convicted of first-degree murder in December of 1913. The jurors summoned for this trial from Clearfield County were as follows:
- D.W. Wiley, Greenwood Township
- Jesse Flegal, Houtzdale Borough
- H.H. Shankle, Union Township
- J.R. Ardary, Pike Township
- P.C. Farewell, Curwensville Borough
- John Burns, Grampian Borough
- Edward Mausell, Morris Township
- William Dasher, Bradford Township
- Thomas L. Smith, Westover Borough
- Boyd Hummel, Morris Township
- Robert Shaw, Clearfield Borough
- Boyd McCully, Westover Borough
Huff was then granted a new trial and was arraigned on Thursday, Feb. 12, 1914. Before court adjourned in the afternoon, the jury had been completed.
A.M. Liveright and A.H. Woodward were appointed by the court to defend the prisoner.
They proved to be successful and obtained a verdict of murder in the second-degree. A.L. Cole, James A. Gleason, James H. Kelly and District Attorney Welch prosecuted the case.
After many hours of deliberation, the verdict was announced in the crowded courtroom.
Witnesses stated that a smile ran over the face of the defendant and he gave each juror a handshake after the verdict was read.
He then took out a cigarette box and lighted up. His sentence was 17 years of hard labor in the Western State Penitentiary.
The jurors for the second trial are as follows:
- Harry Cowder, Clearfield Borough
- H.H. Spencer, DuBois, Borough
- David A. Mease, Decatur Township
- Alford Cleaver, (?) Township
- W.T. Straw, Ferguson Township
- Norman Schaffer, Pike Township
- Elmer Hoover, Decatur Township
- James Conley Sr., Coalport Borough
- Grant Edwards, Ramey Borough
- T.L. Hertlin, Karthaus Township
- Lemuel Shirey, Lawrence Township
- W.G. Patton, DuBois Borough
The convict, Frank Huff, died at the age of 50 on Nov. 11, 1934 in Ridgeway, Pa., while working for the CCC Camp #101. The death certificate stated that the cause of death was suicide due to poisoning.
