In 1921, 18-year-old Marie Wick checked into a Fargo hotel while travelling to visit her aunt. What happened that night in Room 30 would become one of the most vicious murders to ever occur in North Dakota.
Sources
Girl Murdered In Fargo Hotel. Grand Forks Herald, 6/7/1921
Clothing of Murdered Girl is Examined. The Bismarck Tribune, 6/10/1921
Eliminating Theories in Murder Case. Grand Forks Herald, 6/11/1921
No Further Light Thrown on Murder Mystery in Fargo. Grand Forks Herald, 6/13/1921
Fargo Hotel Clerk Arrested for Wick Murder. Grand Forks Herald, 6/15/1921
Continuation Granted in Murder Case. Grand Forks Herald, 6/21/1921
Fargo Murder Case Reviewed in Preliminary. Bismarck Tribune, 6/28/1921
Damaging Testimony Against William Gummer Introduced in Trial Today. Grand Forks Herald, 6/29/1921
Sensational Turn in Gummer Case. Grand Forks Herald, 6/20/1921
Gummer Visited Wick Room. The Bismarck Tribune, 6/30/1921
Coroner’s Jury Holds Gummer Responsible. 7/2/1921
Prescott Hotel in Fargo, Scene of Murder, Is Closed. Grand Forks Herald, 10/15/1921
Gummer Case Shifted to Valley City. Grand Forks Herald, 11/3/1921
Trial of Alleged Murderer of Marie Wick Scheduled to Begin Next Tuesday at Valley City, N.D. Grand Forks Herald, 1/12/1922
Gummer Guilty; Brown Held. The Bismarck Tribune, 2/25/1922
Gummer Enters Prison for Life; His Iron Nerve Never Breaks as He Discusses Case. Bismarck Tribune, 3/20/1922
Marie Wick’s Parents Not Fully Convinced Who Killed Daughter. Bismarck Tribune, 12/11/1944
Man Named ‘Blackie’ Carter Slew Girl, Charges Croal. Bismarck Tribune, 12/11/1944
‘Blackie Carter’ Not in Custody, But Available. Bismarck Tribune, 12/11/1944
Gummer to Get Freedom Dec. 28. The Bismarck Tribune, 12/11/1944
The Tragic Murder of Marie Wick in Fargo 1921. www.strangeago.com
State v. Gummer. www.casetext.com
Prescott Hotel. Fargo, North Dakota: Its History and Images, NDSU Archives
Gavett, Joseph L. North Dakota: Counties, Towns & People, Part 1. Judd’s Workshop Publications, 2008
U.S. Census Records