History podcast: 1934 Murder on Crystal Lake

September 16, 2025

In episode 11 of the Great Lakes History Log podcast we a bizarre murder that took place along the shores of Crystal Lake on Saturday, Jan. 20, 1934. The victim was 62-year-old Bertha Bean, also known as Bertha Comley. The sole suspect was Bean’s commonwealth husband, 68-year-old Charles Comley, a former Chicago Board of Trade operator who had been living along the Amber Township lake for the past 10 years.

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The Great Lakes History Blog is presented by Filer Credit Union and the Mason County Historical Society. 

 

 

The Mason County Historical Society is a non-profit charitable organization that was founded in 1937 that does not receive any governmental funding. It owns and operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum in Ludington, Historic White Pine Village in Pere Marquette Township, and The Rose Hawley Archives and the Mason County Emporium and Sweet Shop in downtown Ludington.

For more information about donating to and/or joining the Mason County Historical Society, visit masoncountymihistory.org.

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