Affairs in Norwich.

On the morning of March 22, 1881, 60-year-old Alby C. Thompson was found in the Thames Hotel on Market Street in Norwich, Connecticut, suffering from a “paralytic fit.” It was a bad part of town, known for crime and prostitution, and it was assumed that Thompson was the victim of a robbery. He was taken to his home.

Three days later, blood oozed from his ears, and doctors discovered that Thompson had a fractured skull. He died soon after. 

The proprietor of the Thames Hotel, Daniel Delanoy, told police that Thompson had fallen down a staircase while intoxicated. A coroner’s jury disputed this account and, after hearing testimony from other residents of the hotel, concluded that Thompson came to his death from injuries received at the hands of Delanoy’s wife, Julia.

At the preliminary hearing, Minnie Lewis, who lived in the Thames Hotel for about ten days before Thompson’s death, testified against Julia Delanoy. She heard Mrs. Delanoy shout at Thompson, saying, “Get out of my room or I will put you out!”

Lewis said that Mrs. Delanoy helped him put on his coat and had him by the arm. She led him through the hallway to the sitting room and helped him along until they got between the table and sofa. Thompson tried to lie on the sofa, but Delanoy held him up.

“Damn you,” she said and pushed him. He fell and struck his head on the table. She picked him up and led him to the entry door at the head of the stairs. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she said, “Do you want me to help you downstairs?” He lost his balance, pulled his hands off the casing, and fell down the stairs.

Mr. and Mrs. Delanoy went downstairs, picked Thompson up, carried him to the dining hall, and placed him in a rocking chair. Thompson was unconscious, and the Delanoys spoke of sending for a doctor, but did not do so.

Daniel Delanoy testified that Thompson fell down accidentally, and Minnie Lewis was with him when he fell. Mrs. Delanoy swore that she had no quarrel with the deceased and made no threats. She said Minnie Lewis had been drinking with the deceased, and she spent the evening with him. 

As the story progressed, it became clear that the Thames was not a hotel in the usual sense. The New Haven Evening Register put the word “hotel” in quotes. It was, in fact, a brothel, and all the women living there were prostitutes.

The Norwich Morning Bulletin said:

Whether or not Mr. Thompson was intoxicated at the moment he fell down stairs, whether or not he was pushed, and whether this or that woman was the one at whose hand he received the momentum that started him on his fatal tumble, these facts are undisputed: the house was a den of infamous women, and liquor is not only an accompaniment but a stimulus to the vice which gives such houses their darkest character.

Julia Delanoy was indicted for manslaughter. She was tried in May 1881 and found not guilty. The day after the verdict, the Norwich Police descended on the Thames Hotel and arrested Daniel and Julia Delanoy, along with the bartender and the cook, on the charge of keeping and frequenting a house of prostitution. 

No one else was arrested for the death of A. C. Thompson.

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Sources: 

“Affairs in Norwich,” New Haven Evening Register, April 11, 1881.
“Bound Over for Manslaughter,” The Boston Globe, April 8, 1881.
“Connecticut,” Worcester Daily Spy, April 5, 1881.
“Connecticut,” Springfield Daily Republican, April 7, 1881.
“Murder in Norwich,” New York Herald, March 25, 1881.
“New London County,” Hartford Courant, May 30, 1881.
“The Norwich Murder Case,” Morning Journal and Courier, April 7, 1881.
“The Norwich Murder,” New Haven Evening Register, April 8, 1881.
“The Norwich Murder Case,” New Haven Evening Register, April 5, 1881.
“The Norwich Murder Case,” New Haven Evening Register, April 6, 1881.
“Who Murdered Thompson?” Norwich Morning Bulletin, April 12, 1881.