Cases




E.D. Morace

E.D. Morace


E.D. Morace was a Klansman from Ferriday, LA, who became an FBI informant. One Klansman described Morace as the head “hatchet man” for the Ferriday Klan.

Morace was a suspect in the murder of Ferriday shoe shop owner Frank Morris in 1964 but told the FBI that sheriff’s deputy Frank DeLaughter had argued with Morris over a pair of cowboy boots, indicating that this incident sparked the arson that took Morris’ life. Morace denied involvement.

A mechanic, Morace was good friends with the most violent Klansmen, including Raleigh Jackson “Red” Glover, head of the Silver Dollar Group, a Klan within a Klan dedicated to fighting integration and civil rights at all costs. Glover handpicked SDG members, including Morace.

During the investigation into the 1967 bombing of Natchez NAACP treasurer Wharlest Jackson, Morace provided one key piece of information to the FBI. A bomb had been placed beneath Jackson’s truck while parked at the Armstrong Tire Plant in February 1967. While Jackson was driving home after work, the bomb exploded when he turned on the left turn signal, killing Jackson instantly. A few days earlier, Glover had asked Morace how to wire a turn signal on a pickup. It is believed that Glover alone bombed Jackson.

Morace also was a member of the Minutemen, founded by Robert De Pugh with the alleged purpose of fighting communism. But the group, which drew several Klan members, spent much time building up an arsenal of guns and experimenting with explosives.

Morace suffered a series of strokes in the late 1960s before dying in 1970.

Contact us today if you have questions about the LSU Cold Case Project.


Scroll to Top