Carroll/Dwyer murder trial scrapbook, Volume 1, 1938
Maine Historical Society
Suspects: Paul Dwyer and Francis Carroll
Accusation: Murder
Location: South Paris, Maine
Date: 1937
Victims: Dr. James Littlefield and Lydia Littlefield
A complicated case with multiple suspects and theories, the murders of Dr. James and Lydia Littlefield captured the public’s imagination.
In 1937, authorities tried and convicted seventeen-year-old Paul Dwyer (1919- 1989) for the murder of Dr. James Littlefield (1872-1937) and his wife Lydia of South Paris, Maine. Reportedly, Dwyer first killed Dr. Littlefield and put the body into the trunk of the doctor’s own car. He then drove to Littlefield’s home, where he picked up Lydia Littlefield (1873-1937) under the pretense that the doctor needed help. Dwyer drove himself and Mrs. Littlefield to New Jersey, where the police discover Dwyer asleep in the parked car.
The New Jersey Police—on the lookout for suspicious Maine license plates because of the recent Brady Gang activity—questioned Dwyer. They discovered Lydia dead in the back seat, and Dr. Littlefield’s body in the trunk.
Initially, Dwyer claimed he invited Dr. Littlefield to his house to examine him for venereal disease. After Littlefield chastised him, Dwyer strangled and bludgeoned the doctor and placed him in the trunk. In an elaborate attempt to hide his crime, Dwyer claimed he tricked Mrs. Littlefield into joining him on a road trip, and when she became suspicious, he strangled her. Paul confessed to a version of this story and pleaded guilty. A judge sentenced him to life in prison.
Dwyer’s girlfriend, Barbara Carroll (1920-1992) was the daughter of the Oxford County Deputy Sheriff Francis Carroll (1894-1956), whose region covered South Paris. In 1938, the year after Paul’s arrest, Barbara accused her father of sexual abuse. This coincided with a revised story from Dwyer, claiming he and a reportedly pregnant Barbara asked Dr. Littlefield’s advice about a potential connection between the abuse and pregnancy.
According to Dwyer, Deputy Carroll confronted Dr. Littlefield, who threatened to expose Carroll for the alleged abuse. Carroll then killed the doctor to hide his own crimes and forced Dwyer to dispose of the bodies.
Initially arrested on sexual abuse charges, the courts ultimately tried Francis Carroll for the Littlefield murders. A jury found Carroll guilty of both murders and, like Dwyer, sentenced him to life in prison.