By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

Local author Stephanie L. Fowler will be at The Greyhound Bookstore in Berlin this weekend, chatting with readers and signing copies of her new book on the 1960s double homicide in the Salisbury jail.

On Saturday, Dec. 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fowler, a true crime author and co-owner of Berlin’s independent self-publishing company Salt Water Media, will be at the indie bookstore signing copies of her third book, “Into the Night: A Jailbreak and Double Homicide on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.”

Fowler said that the book examines the night of Sunday, Dec. 8, 1968, when 21-year-old prisoner Joseph J. Bartholomey Jr. from Baltimore escaped from the Wicomico County Jail,  murdering the Wicomico County Sheriff Samuel Graham and jailer Albert L. Kelly in the process.

According to the Fowler, Bartholomey was arrested for a few robberies in and around Wicomico and Somerset counties. On Friday, Dec. 6, 1968, two days before the double homicide took place, the prisoner’s friend and girlfriend visited him and smuggled in a gun by hiding it in a box of candy. Bartholomey used the firearm on Kelly first around 10 p.m., before attacking the sheriff, who had come running in in response to the commotion.

At the time of the event, the county jail was located on the top floor of the district court building, referred to by many as the “penthouse prison,” Fowler said. And in the basement of that structure was the sheriff’s department.

Right after the shots were fired, another prisoner rushed to find the deputy on duty in the sheriff’s office.Unfortunately, by the time the pair made it back up to the top of the courthouse, both Kelly and Graham had died. That deputy happened to be Fowler’s grandfather.

Bartholomey made his escape but was eventually captured and sentenced to life in prison.

The details of the crime are laid out in the first few pages of the book. Fowler then dives into the history of Salisbury, the courthouse, the lives of the victims and the perpetrators, and how the events unfolded that night. The author also takes a thorough look at the painful aftermath of the murders and how they shook the community.

Fowler’s inspiration for writing the book comes from her interest in Eastern Shore history. The author was born and raised in Salisbury, where she attended Parkside High School and graduated in 1997. She then enrolled at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

“My family roots go pretty deep here,” she said. “I feel very Delmarva born and bred. I think that there’s something about the history of Delmarva, there’s something about our myths, our legends, these weird stories, these crazy stories…There are many interesting and unusual stories, and this one came to me personally through my grandfather.

“And I am fascinated with Delmarva and the history and the culture and the way that we have been and the way that we are and the things that have shaped us and what continues to shape us. As a nonfiction writer, the stuff of Delmarva is my wheelhouse. It’s all the fodder for what I want to write.”

Fowler said that she hopes her books shed light on forgotten local tragedies. At the time of the murders, Sheriff Graham and his wife, the Wicomico High School vice principal, were beloved figures. But with time, the stories fade. She added that she also made it a point to highlight the death of Kelly, the jailer, as his involvement sometimes gets overlooked. Kelly had only been employed at the facility for around 10 months before his death.

“I always try to make sure I lead with [Kelly],” she said. “I don’t want him to get lost in the conversation.”

“Into the Night” is Fowler’s third book. Her first work was a collection of short stories that, before its official publication, won Washington College’s 2001 Sophie Kerr Prize, the largest undergraduate literary award in the country.

The local author’s second book, “Chasing Alice,” tells the story of Fowler’s high school English teacher, Alice Davis, who was killed by her husband in 2011. That book was published in 2020. Fowler said that while there were no positives from that situation, she found comfort in feedback from others who had used the book to escape toxic relationships or help their loved ones leave abusive partners.

“The better part of that book was people saying, ‘I bought your book, and I gave it to my friend who is in a difficult relationship,’” she said. “One man bought it for his niece, who was dating a guy that raised a lot of red flags for the family.”

“Chasing Alice” won the 2021 Bronze Medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards in the True Crime Category.

Berlin residents and visitors can meet Fowler this Saturday at The Greyhound and score a signed copy of “Into the Night.” Fiction author Andrew Heller will also be joining the Salt Water Media owner, signing copies of his fiction book, “The Ondines of French Camp.” The event will begin at 11 a.m. and conclude around 2 p.m.

“Into the Night” can be purchased at local independent bookstores, including The Buzzed Word in Ocean City, The Greyhound in Berlin, Sundial Books in Chincoteague, Virginia, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, The Bookplate in Chestertown, and Bethany Beach Books in Bethany Beach, Delaware. The work can also be bought on Amazon, the bookshop.org, at Barnes and Noble, and at Salt Water Media, on 29 Broad Street in Berlin.

Fowler said that she is already working on her next book. This story will detail the mysterious death of a lighthouse keeper in the Chesapeake Bay in 1931.

“I am just starting to get into that one,” she said.