Zeke Goldblum

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Date of Crime:  February 9, 1976

Charles J. “Zeke” Goldblum was convicted of stabbing to death George Wilhelm on the top deck of a parking garage in downtown Pittsburgh. It was established that Wilhelm drove his car into the Seventh Avenue garage with Clarence Miller in the front passenger seat and Zeke Goldblum in the rear seat behind Wilhelm. The stabbing appeared to be unplanned as it occurred at a relatively public site at 9:15 p.m. on a night when all the downtown stores were open. In addition, the killer did not bring a weapon, but used half a grass shear that had been in Wilhelm's car. Under Pennsylvania law, two persons cannot be legally culpable in the unplanned murder unless both participated in the assault.

Police were summoned to the garage at 9:20 p.m. and found Wilhelm one floor below the top deck, lying on a walkway to a connecting building. He had been stabbed or slashed 26 times. Wilhelm told police officer Thomas Pobicki, “Clarence – Clarence Miller did this to me.” Wilhelm made no mention of Goldblum or of a second assailant, even though he spoke of his wounds and remained conscious for some time after implicating Miller. Wilhelm did not die until 12:12 a.m.

After his arrest, Miller implicated Goldblum in the murder in order to escape punishment himself. Miller testified that Goldblum stabbed Wilhelm after the two exited the car. However, there was blood spatter from left to right along the dashboard, indicating that the front seat passenger stabbed Wilhelm while he was in the car. This spatter evidence was withheld at trial. Miller claimed various financial motives for Goldblum wanting to kill Wilhelm, none of which could be corroborated.

Wilhelm had given a substantial sum of money to Miller in return for a piece of land that he was supposed to get in North Carolina. Miller claimed to have access to government land through political connections in U.S. Senator Schweiker's office. The FBI had knowledge of this deal after Wilhelm complained to them, even though at Miller's urging, Wilhelm subsequently withdrew his complaint. Wilhelm and Miller met the day of the murder, along with Goldblum, who as an attorney acted as Miller's legal counsel. According to Goldblum, Wilhelm found out that Miller had deceived him, and was irately yelling at Miller just prior to his stabbing.

Goldblum was no angel. He had hired Miller in Nov. 1975 to burn down a restaurant he owned, the Fifth Avenue Inn, near downtown Pittsburgh. Goldblum initially provided a false alibi for Miller regarding Wilhelm's murder, because he felt beholden to him, and did not want Miller turning on him. Prior to his trial, a former inmate and an undercover policeman approached Goldblum and offered to kill Miller. Goldblum foolishly agreed to this solicitation, and this agreement was damaging to him at trial. Both Miller and Goldblum were convicted of Wilhelm's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Since Goldblum's conviction, three forensic experts have come forward to support his claim of innocence, along with his original prosecutor and trial judge.

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Reference:  www.freezeke.com

Posted in:  Victims of the State, Western Pennsylvania Cases