On the morning of September 30, 1947, Davenport park employees made a discovery that would haunt Scott County for decades. At 7:48 a.m., on Credit Island Park, they found the nude and badly mutilated body of 34-year-old Margaret B. “Peggy” Treese lying face up near the roadway.
Her clothing was scattered around the scene, and near her body lay a battered photograph of a young child. From the outset, it was clear the attack had been brutal. The county coroner reported that Treese had been stabbed at least 15 times in the chest and that her body had been run over repeatedly by an automobile. Newspaper accounts at the time conflicted, with reports listing anywhere from 10 to 19 stab wounds.
Margaret Treese was a war widow living in Davenport since May of that year, working intermittently at a laundry. She was known to spend time in the city’s skid row district and had been drinking heavily on the night of her death. Witnesses placed her at several taverns, with the last confirmed sighting occurring around 12:30 a.m., when she was seen drinking with three unidentified men. One witness later told police he saw her leave in a car with those men, heading toward Credit Island.
What set Margaret’s case apart—and gave it national attention—were the numerous tattoos covering her body. Both arms, her legs, and her chest bore markings. Investigators noted what appeared to be a Social Security number tattooed on one arm. Across her chest was the name “Stanley,” beneath it the words “true love,” and beside them a striking image of a snake with bared fangs. Other tattoos included a large cross inscribed with “Rock of Ages” and the phrase “Bill and Ezzie.”
Because of these tattoos, newspapers across the country began referring to the killing as “The Tattoo Murder Case.”
Margaret’s personal life drew further scrutiny. Her first husband, Elmer G. Treese, had been killed during World War II. In October 1945, she married Stanley Dombkiewicz in New Cumberland, West Virginia, but the marriage was short-lived. Dombkiewicz told authorities they separated after an argument, and he later confirmed that his name was among the tattoos on her body.
As the investigation stretched on, rumors swirled. One newspaper reported that authorities believed Margaret may have been killed to keep her from talking about a previous murder—though no evidence ever surfaced to support that theory.
Over the years, police questioned hundreds of people. More than a dozen individuals confessed to the crime, but none of the confessions held up under scrutiny. In 1951, a man named William Alfred Brinkley walked into a police station in Salinas, California, claiming involvement in a Davenport murder. Investigators quickly found inconsistencies in his story, including errors in dates and details that did not match his age or known history. He was never charged.
Nine years after the murder, a woman from Moline, Illinois, came forward with new information. She told police she had seen Margaret shortly before her death riding in a car with two men she described as “known police figures.” She said the trio drove past Washington Square Park toward Credit Island. Despite the gravity of her claim, no arrests followed, and authorities declined to comment on whether they knew the men’s identities.
Margaret Beatrice Martin Treese was born February 7, 1913, in Steubenville, Ohio. She was one of seven children and left behind her mother and siblings. She was laid to rest on October 3, 1947, in New Cumberland Cemetery in Hancock County, West Virginia.
More than seventy years later, Margaret Treese’s murder remains unsolved—one of Davenport’s most disturbing cold cases.
