Ernie Yost had two daughters with his first wife, Bessie. They were named Edwina and Vivian. His second wife was Nellie Marie (the woman he killed). Yost had a brother and two sisters.
A relative of Levi Alfred Yost (Ernie’s brother) says she knows nothing about Ernie, but she has this to say about Levi: “I hated him. He was a butthead, but he died when I was a child. All he did is drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes. He was NOT religious and definitely not Christian. In fact, he did not like Christianity. His wife, Myrtle, went to church. He did not go, but he let her do it without making a fuss. He did pottery for a living, making toilets and sinks, and worked at a place called Bowers Pottery Company. He lost a thumb at one point.”
Ernie Lee Russell Yost. He was born on May 10, 1903 and died on April 8, 1948.
Nellie Marie Wright Yost. She was born on March 30, 1912 and died on April 7, 1948.
Tucker’s former secretary, Wanda Lee Corley was born in 1925. Today, she is 92 years old and lives in Alabama. She worked part-time as Tucker’s secretary, knitted at her desk before the arrival of Nellie, Ernie and Tucker on the day of the killings and does not believe her boss ever cheated on his wife. She says, “Tucker was a kind man and complimented Ginger frequently.” Wanda did not attend Tucker’s funeral out of distress and claims the prejudice in Fairmont in the 1940s was much worse against Italians than African Americans. For example, when she told her mother that she found a particular Italian boy cute, her mother got upset and said, “I’d rather you date a Negro than an Italian.” After Tucker’s death, Wanda worked for J. Worley Powell, who bought her a fancy Royal typewriter. She claims she “fell in love with it.” During a 2018 interview, Wanda added, “Back in 1948, the police told me that Ernie had two effigies: one of himself and one of his wife.” (The newspapers only mention the one effigy of Nellie. Does Wanda misremember this detail from seventy years ago or were the newspaper articles incomplete?) It should be noted that the doll found at the table did not have the same short hair as Nellie, thus it may have simply been a satanic doll rather than an effigy of Yost’s wife.
Tucker Rock Moroose (Amoruso). He was born on November 22, 1907 and died on April 7, 1948. He came from Frosolone or Campobosso, Italy (near Naples) on the ship Adriatic and arrived at Ellis Island on January 3, 1914.
Ginger Moroose / Morris. Tucker’s wife. She was born in February 12, 1915 and died on May 10, 2007.
Rose Moroose (Amoruso). She was Tucker’s sister as well as the mistress of Detroit mobster, Vito “Billy Jack” Giacalone, who is one of the FBI’s prime suspects in the killing of Jimmy Hoffa. The relationship between Rose and Billy Jack is detailed in Devil in the Basement. Rose was born on November 7, 1920 and died on July 14, 2007. Billy Jack was born on April 16, 1923 and died on February 19, 2012. Billy Jack’s son, “Jackie the Kid” Giacalone, is reportedly the head of the Detroit mob today.
Ernie’s parents were Thomas Dennis Yost and Elizabeth (Lizzie M.) Spicer. His father was German , and his mother was Dutch. Elizabeth was born in 1875 in Ohio and died in 1910 at the age of 34 in Hampton (Upshur County) West Virginia. Dennis was born in Marion County, West Virginia in 1862 and died in 1934. They had four children: Ernie Lee Russell Yost, Levi Alfred Yost, Hattie L. Looman, and Mary L. Yost . The children were raised in Mannington, West Virginia.
Hattie L. (Yost) Looman (Ernie’s sister) had five children: Annie Looman, Clarence Looman, Claude Looman, Emory Looman, and Harold Looman. The Looman family seems to have originated from the UK and may have lived in Texas at one point.
There was an Edith Looman (born in 1905), who believed in ghosts until her death. She said there was a ghost named Willie Looman who lived in her Mannington, West Virginia home, and a high percentage of people in town seemed to “experience this ghost” or accept this theory. Her relation to Ernie is unknown, but she was two years younger than him and (like him) she was raised in Mannington. This is a very small town (population 1600 – 3000) and only thirteen miles from Fairmont. It can be assumed that Ernie and Edith were related (via marriage at some point) and may have grown up knowing each other and attending school together. Did they share the same religious beliefs?
The law firm of Rose, Padden and Petty (located in Fairmont, West Virginia) stopped handling divorces on the day of the murders (for fear that they could fall victim to what happened in Tucker’s office).
