tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post5098323034765001703..comments2024-03-09T15:02:20.201-05:00Comments on Murder by Gaslight: Who Killed Benjamin Nathan?Robert Wilhelmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008320767930927490noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-14342784511730343632022-05-15T08:35:56.570-04:002022-05-15T08:35:56.570-04:00Charges against Billy Forester were dropped becaus...Charges against Billy Forester were dropped because there was no proof he was in New York at the time of the murder.Bricky Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03833049342287549634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-81479866761872588012018-07-20T19:33:08.996-04:002018-07-20T19:33:08.996-04:00In an issue of The Blue Pencil Magazine, longtime ...In an issue of The Blue Pencil Magazine, longtime newspaperman and editor James F. Corrigan posited that it was coimmitted by a known 2nd-story man, Charles Dennis, and his partner Kew Carr. What's doubly interesting about this theory was that it was confirmed to Corrigan in 1898 by Worcester Sam Perris, an infamous bank robber who had been a fugitive for 25 years, and was never reported as seen by anyone else since 1879.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444602388628203953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-74708326297213110742017-01-03T01:33:46.200-05:002017-01-03T01:33:46.200-05:00Stephen Birmingham wrote of the murder in his book...Stephen Birmingham wrote of the murder in his book about the upper class Sephardic Jewish community in New York City in his book "The Grandees". He mentioned that one small clue was that Mr. Nathan was terribly nearsighted and constantly needed to wear his eyeglasses when he was up. When he was found dead the eyeglasses were on the night table next to the bed still folded up. As Birmingham put it, this makes it look like the killer deliberately pulled Mr. Nathan off the bed to beat him to death - not an issue of a nearsighted man who hears a burglar and confronts him (in this when not wearing his all important eyeglasses).<br /><br />There is one or two other points. Mr. Nathan was a Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange. He was actually quite important. His brother in law was Justice Albert Cardozo of the New York State Supreme Court. Albert and his wife named their son Benjamin Nathan Cardozo after the victim. Albert was a member of Tammany Hall, and tarred (in the 1870s, as one of the three state jurists (with Justices Barnard and McCunn) who were too close to Boss Tweed. Cardozo would resign his job in 1873 to avoid impeachment and removal (as befell Barnard - McCunn died before the total process occurred), and this would later have an effect on Benjamin Cardozo's determination to redeem the family name in judicial circles (as he did). But my point is that Mr. Nathan's position on Wall Street, and by family so close to the Tweed Ring, might have something to do with the murder, and even pressures on the Superintendent Jourdan that helped speed his health collapse and death. It's worth considering.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04681906276919011393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-91861292233181025632014-01-31T03:18:46.622-05:002014-01-31T03:18:46.622-05:00It's interesting that Frederick was so easily ...It's interesting that Frederick was so easily dismissed. This was an angry killing, so obviously it's someone he knew. The killer attacked him from behind, but why from behind? The killer couldn't look him in the face, also pointing to someone he knew. Frederick's grief could have been guilt and in fact, his not needing the money points to him all the more. He could easily fake the robbery and toss the goods since he didn't need any of them. He was also the one that found the murder weapon. Fancy that.<br /><br />Oh and while I'm thinking about it, I disagree with the household ignoring the fight. That doesn't make any sense. Just saying.<br /><br />I'm also not ruling out Billy Forester. It would be interesting to know whether or not he had spoken to his mother after Nathan arrived. If so, then I'd rule him out. However if he hadn't spoken to her then Forester would not have been aware of Nathan's return and that would explain everything. All the way from knowing the victim to the violence. Nathan would have had to die since he could easily ID Forester and clearly the man was fighting him off so it made killing him all the more difficult, meaning violent.<br /><br />Either way, it's one of the three of them. I can see why Lizzie Borden's Uncle John cited this case when he found out his former brother-in-law and the brother-in-law's wife were savagely murdered. There is a lot of similarity, even with the suspects involved, and if you're curious, I'm 98% certain Lizzie did it. Magnolia Southhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05027695915193365483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-42239783693966839092013-09-04T12:05:32.257-04:002013-09-04T12:05:32.257-04:00Unfortunately, the house is not still standing. It...Unfortunately, the house is not still standing. It was described as one of the largest townhouses in New York - at least 4 stories. Everyone agrees that Nathan was sleeping with the door open. My guess is that one or more of them heard the fight and chose to ignore it.Robert Wilhelmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11008320767930927490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-67142379409823323942013-09-03T16:36:20.786-04:002013-09-03T16:36:20.786-04:00I am curious about how something such as this coul...I am curious about how something such as this could have happened without any of the occupants hearing anything. Perhaps the layout of the house could explain this question Is the house still standing?jlawrencesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08863424734796745393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-91422199792797428492013-09-01T14:24:37.988-04:002013-09-01T14:24:37.988-04:00He was hit fifteen times, and I believe that point...He was hit fifteen times, and I believe that points to a rage killing by someone who knew him. My vote is for Washington Nathan. Christine Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13096401228301214220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-29120125469388907732013-09-01T12:24:11.245-04:002013-09-01T12:24:11.245-04:00This is one of my favorites. No matter how you loo...This is one of my favorites. No matter how you look at it there are pieces missing. It’s like the Lizzie Borden case; everyone has a strong opinion but no one can back it up with facts.Robert Wilhelmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11008320767930927490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8906786397374372561.post-72139580511880276602013-08-31T12:47:12.909-04:002013-08-31T12:47:12.909-04:00The Nathan murder reminds me a lot of the Harvey B...The Nathan murder reminds me a lot of the Harvey Burdell mystery: A man is beaten to death in a home full of people, but no one claimed to have heard a thing.<br /><br />Of course, with Burdell, the problem was that there were so many people who probably wanted to kill him; with Nathan, it's just the opposite. Washington, whatever his faults, does not seem like the type to bludgeon his own father, and while William Kelly may have been "other than a good one," he still lacked both the motive and the enterprise for such a deed. This is one of those murders that seems to have been committed by a ghost.<br /><br />You did an excellent summary of a particularly unsolvable crime, thanks!Undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214242522330278662noreply@blogger.com