James and Ellen.

James Lattin and Ellen Lucas.
(Daily Graphic, November 20, 1874.)

Ellen Lucas of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was to be married on October 3, 1874. The typically happy 18-year-old was somewhat anxious on the evening of October 2, repeatedly looking at the clock as she hastily ate supper. Ellen changed her clothes and left the house at 7:00, telling her mother that she would not be gone long. Mrs. Lucas watched her daughter walk to the corner where she met her fiancé, James E. Lattin. Ellen never came home that night.

Read the full story here: The Bridgeport Tragedy.

A Delilah's Revenge.

 

In 1863, Theodore B. Weber, then a businessman in Burlington, Iowa, was attracted to Mrs. Adelaide (Ada) Bennert, a woman sixteen years his junior. His passion “soon ripened into criminal intimacy,” and although both were married, they began a romantic affair. When Mr. Bennert learned of his wife’s infidelity, he left her in disgust. Weber moved to Chicago to join his brother’s boot-and-shoe wholesale business. Ada followed him to Chicago, and the affair continued.

The Crosby Street Murder.

At around 6:30, the morning of February 4, 1877, the residents of Crosby Street in New York City were alarmed by a woman’s shriek. Many were preparing for church that Sunday morning, and from their windows, they watched the woman, barefoot, wearing just a skirt and a thin chemise, run across the street, pursued by a man wielding what appeared to be a long iron spike. She ran to the house at 52 Crosby Street, screaming, “Open the door; for the blessed Virgin’s sake, open the door.”

The Knife in Boston.

On the afternoon of November 27, 1874, Aaron P Barnes went, with his business assistant, John W. Ganie, to a lodging house Barnes owned on Gouch Street in Boston. One of the lodgers had left, and they wanted to ensure the room was ready for the next tenant. They went upstairs and found three young ruffians, somewhat intoxicated, lounging in the furnished but otherwise vacated room.

The men, Richard Nealon, James McCall, and George Watson (alias Jeremiah Cummings), appeared ready for a permanent stay. Barnes told them to leave, and they refused. An argument ensued.

McCall stepped up and said, “Shut your mouth; I’ll shoot you.”

"Portuguese Joe."

18-year-old Lizzie McDaniels was walking home from a wedding party in Cherokee Flat, California, at around 4:00 am on June 1, 1871. Two companions, Mr. Wells and Miss Glass, walked with her.  Without warning, a man sprang from the bushes, seized Lizzie by the head, slashed her throat from ear to ear, and stabbed her in the heart. The attacker let go, and Lizzie ran about ten feet, then died in the arms of Miss Glass. The attack was so sudden that it took them all by surprise. Wells drew his pistol and fired but missed the man as he ran away.

The killer was a former lover of Lizzie McDaniels, known as “Portuguese Joe.” He had been courting her for about two years but she was trying to discourage him. He said he would kill her if she would not consent to be his bride, but she had not taken his threat seriously.

Portuguese Joe was also known as Austrian George, though some said he was Italian. This was likely to make it challenging to identify the killer. To make matters worse, there were several criminals known as Portuguese Joe operating in the region—a Portuguese Joe in Placer County was convicted of grand larceny, a gang of Mexican horse thieves in El Dorado had a Portuguese Joe, and a Peruvian arsonist in Nevada was called Portuguese Joe. But the community was outraged and determined to capture Lizzie McDaniels’ killer. The Marysville Daily Appeal said, “If taken it is probable that the courts will not be troubled with a trial of his case. Judge Lynch will preside, and a stout rope and short shrift will be given the murderer of Miss McDaniels.”

Lizzie’s Portuguese Joe was captured at his hideout in the mountains near Cherokee on June 5. Though he was not lynched, the Appeal was correct that the courts would not be troubled with a trial. Portuguese Joe was shot through the head while trying to escape. They placed his corpse inside his cabin and set fire to the building. Nothing was left but ashes.

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Sources: 

“Committed to Jail,” Sacramento Daily Record, February 2, 1871.
“Events of the Day,” Critic, June 6, 1871.
“Horrible Murder,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 2, 1871.
“Horrible Murder,” Marysville Daily Appeal, June 2, 1871.
“Killed,” Daily state register., June 7, 1871.
“Not a Mexican,” Gold Hill daily news, September 15, 1871.
“Oroville, June 1st,” Weekly Alta California, June 10, 1871.
“Pacific Coast News,” Cheyenne daily leader. [volume], June 6, 1871.
“Taken Below,” The Placer Herald, July 29, 1871.
“Terrible Murder of Miss Lizzie McDaniels by Her Lover in California,” National Police Gazette, June 24, 1871.
“Thieves Caught,” Placer herald., February 4, 1871.

The Walworth Parricide, in New York.

 Read the full story here: The Walworth Patricide.

The Acquital of Joseph A. Blair.

Joseph Blair of Montclair, New Jersey, had a vicious argument with his coachman, John Armstrong, on June 26, 1879. Blair was angry that someone had seen his wagon in front of a beer saloon, and he went to the stable to confront Armstrong. Armstrong said it was none of Blair’s business where he went. As the argument grew belligerent, Armstrong told Blair that if he came into the stable again, he would blow his brains out. Blair was heard to respond, “When a man tells me he will shoot, I can be the first to shoot.”

Later that night, Blair returned to the stable with a pistol in his pocket. They argued again, and Blair followed Armstrong when he went up to his room above the stable. Two minutes later, a gunshot was heard, and Armstrong was dead.

A coroner’s jury charged Blair with manslaughter. However, after 2,000 workingmen held a rally protesting the light charge against Blair for killing one of their peers, the prosecution, led by the New Jersey Attorney General, raised the charge to first-degree murder.

Joseph Blair’s trial lasted seventeen days, with three days of impassioned closing arguments for and against his conviction of first-degree murder.  When the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, Blair appeared utterly dazed for a moment, then fell over the pile of law books on the table and sobbed loudly.

Read the full story here: The Murdered Coachman.

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Illustration from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, November 8, 1879.

Life, Crimes, and Conviction of Lydia Sherman.

When the press learned that Lydia Sherman had poisoned three husbands and eight children, they called her “The Arch Murderess of Connecticut,” “The Modern Borgia,” and “The Poison Fiend.”

Read the full story here: The Poison Fiend.

Views of the Fisk Assassination.

James Fisk Jr. was a robber baron, stock manipulator, and financial fraudster. In spite of this, he was a popular, much-loved public figure. On January 6, 1872, he was assassinated on the staircase of the Grand Central Hotel in New York City by his friend and sometime business partner, Edward “Ned” Stokes. Fisk and Stokes were both in love with Josie Mansfield, considered by some to be the most beautiful woman in America. 

The murder became a national sensation and was graphically illustrated many times in magazines and books.

Read the full story here: Jubilee Jim.
 

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1. Life, Adventures, Strange Career and Assassination of Col. James Fisk Jr. (Philadelphia: Barclay and Co, 1872.)
2. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, January 20, 1872.
3. The Life of James Fisk Jr. (Philadelphia: Union Publishing Company, 1872.)
4. “The Stokes-Fisk Assassination,” Illustrated Police News, January 11, 1872.

Liquor and Free Love.

As Police Officers Henry Johnson and Eli Veazie were leaving the Chelsea, Massachusetts City Marshal’s office on the evening of February 17, 1872, they were approached by a man, intoxicated and in a state of agitation.

“I have had my revenge. I want you to go with me,” he said, “I suppose I have killed him and shall have to suffer for it.”

Innocent Man in a Felon's Cell.

In the winter of 1877, Captain Luther Meservey went to sea, leaving his wife Sarah alone in their home in the village of Tenant’s Harbor, Maine. When Sarah was found strangled in her own home, the people of this small but close-knit community were terrified at the thought of a killer in their midst. Nathan Hart, a neighbor of the Meservey’s was tried and convicted on evidence so circumstantial that many in town refused to accept the verdict. The controversy persisted for generations and to this day, the murder of Sarah Meservey is considered one of Maine’s great unsolved crimes.

Read the full story here: 

The Hart-Meservey Murder.

Charley and Mary.

Charley McGill and Mary Kelly.

In 1874, Charley McGill saw Mary Kelly on the street in Columbus, Ohio. He struck up an acquaintance with Mary that soon turned into “desperate infatuated love.” They traveled together throughout Ohio, and although not married, they lived together as man and wife.

Mary was a virtuous girl before meeting Charley, but reportedly, in Cleveland, they lived off Mary’s earnings as a prostitute. After an angry quarrel, Mary moved out. Charley searched for four weeks before finding Mary living in a Cleveland brothel. She invited him to her room, and as they lay together in bed, he pulled out his revolver and shot her in the head.

At his murder trial, Charley McGill pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but the jury did not buy it. He successfully appealed the verdict and was retried but found guilty again. McGill was hanged in Cleveland on February 13, 1879.

Read the full story here: Love and Lunacy.

Blue-Eyed Executions.

It was a foolproof plan. Six men in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, bought insurance policies on the life of Joseph Raber, an elderly recluse living in a hut in the Blue Mountains. They were sure Raber would pass away soon and end their financial problems, but when he took too long to die, they helped him along. At their murder trial, reporters noticed that the killers all had one common trait and branded them “The Blue-Eyed Six.”

Two of the six, Franklin Stichler and Charles Drews, were hanged on November 14, 1879:

Illustrated Police News, Oct. 18, 1879

Henry Wise, Isreal Brandt, and Josiah Hummel were hanged on May 13, 1880:

Illustrated Police News, May 29, 1880.

The last of the six, George Zechman, was found not guilty on appeal. He was an insurance investor, not a party to the conspiracy.

Read the full story here: The Blue Eyed Six.

A Christmas Party Murder.

In 1876, Kate Hambrick married Bob Southern in Picken’s County, Georgia. That Christmas, Kate’s father held a party for the community, and against Kate’s wishes, he invited Bob’s former girlfriend, Narcissa Cowan. When the party started, Kate warned Narcissa not to accept or encourage any attention from Bob. Her warnings were disregarded, and as the evening progressed, Bob led Narcissa to the middle of the floor for a dance. 

 “You have danced enough.” Said Kate as she whipped out a pocketknife and plunged it into Narcissa’s breast. 

Narcissa staggered back as a stream of blood gushed from the wound. Kate sprang on her, caught her by the hair, then cut her throat almost from ear to ear. Narcissa fell dead.

Read the full story here: Mrs. Southern's Sad Case.

The Merrihew Murder.

Charles B. Merrihew became violently ill in May 1879 at his home in Lowville, New York, and was being nursed by his wife, Harriet. They sent for his physician, Dr. Turner, and while waiting for his arrival, Harriet confessed to Charles that she had been poisoning him. Though she refused to repeat her confession to Dr. Thomas, he quickly confirmed that Charles had taken poison. He was able to induce vomiting and save Charles's life. 

The marriage was not a happy one. It was alleged that Charles was having an adulterous relationship with Maria Sheldon. Harriet also had a lover outside of her marriage.

The poisoning incident raised questions about the death of Charles’s brother David two months earlier. David, who was living with Charles and Harriet, suddenly became violently ill and died in their house. At the time, congestion of the lungs was given as the cause of death. After the attempted poisoning of Charles, the authorities exhumed David’s body and performed a thorough post-mortem examination. Doctors determined that David had died of arsenic poisoning. After a coroner’s inquest, Harriet Merrihew was charged with the murder of David Merrihew. She was arrested and taken to jail in Lowville.

"The Boy Murderer."

Myron Buel.
“He possesses an expressionless and almost
idiotic countenance.”  Illustrated Police News.

Myron Buel was called “The Boy Murderer,” though he was 20 years old when he committed the crime. He was charged with the murder of Catherine Richards in Plainfield, New York, on June 25, 1878. The following February he was tried and convicted of first-degree murder.

Buel continued to profess innocence while his attorneys appealed the verdict. His motion for a new trial was denied, and the governor refused to grant a reprieve. Three days before his execution, Buel confessed. He was in love with Catherine, the 14-year-old daughter of his employer. Her rejections angered him so much that he lured Catherine into the barn and then threw a rope around her neck. He beat her to death with a milking stool, then ravished her.

Myron Buel was hanged on November 14, 1879.

Read the full story here: The Confessions of Myron Buel.

The Stull-Best Murder.

On the evening of Saturday, November 9, 1878, Mrs. Amy Best left her home to visit her grandchildren, just a short walk away from her home in Port Washington, Ohio. She never reached her destination. The next day, friends and family made a diligent search of the area and found the body of Mrs. Best at the edge of the woods, near a fence. Her neck was broken, and her skull was crushed. Bruises on her neck indicated that she had been strangled.

The prime suspect in Amy Best’s murder quickly became Mrs. Catherine Stull. Though Amy Best was a 60-year-old widowed grandmother, Mrs. Stull believed she had been having intimate relations with her husband, John Stull, for the past fifteen years. Because of her husband’s infidelity, Mrs. Stull “had endured discord at home and scandal abroad.” She had openly declared that if she ever caught them together, she would kill them both.

Poisoning Mania.

 

Elizabeth Wharton, in custody, en route to trial in Annapolis.

In June 1871, General William Scott Ketchum became ill while a houseguest of Mrs. Elizabeth G. Wharton, a pillar of Baltimore society. As the general lay dying, a second houseguest, Eugene Van Ness, became violently ill. When General Ketchum died, the police determined that he had been poisoned and they arrested Elizabeth Wharton before she could leave on a planned trip to Europe. Her motive, they believed, was to avoid paying a debt she owed Ketchum, but when four other members of her household died mysteriously, she was accused of having “poisoning mania.” Her attorneys asserted that she could not get a fair trial in Baltimore, so she was tried for murder in Annapolis. 

Read the Full Story Here: A Baltimore Borgia.

The Confessions of Edward Tatro.

Charles Butler, aged 25, owned a farm two miles north of Highgate Centre, Vermont, eleven miles from St. Albans. He lived there with his lovely 21-year-old wife Alice. Also in the household were Charles’s elderly father and Edward Tatro, a 20-year-old French-Canadian farmhand.

Charles had to go to Highgate Centre on June 6, 1876, and he asked Alice to join him. She declined, saying she felt ill and planned to go to bed. Charles’s father was away visiting friends that evening, so Tatro said he would stay and take care of Alice. Charles left home at about 7:00.

He returned at about 10:00 and put his horse in the barn. As he approached the house, he was surprised to see no lights. Charles entered the dark kitchen, and as he looked for a match, he stumbled over something lying on the floor. He was shocked to see what it was.

“He lighted the match, and there met his sight the lifeless remains of his lovely wife in a pool of blood, in the most mutilated condition,” said the St. Albans Daily Messenger, “her head beaten almost to a pumice, and her brains oozing out on to the floor.”

Ann and John.

Mrs. Ann E. Freese ran a brothel in a section of Rutland, Vermont, known as the “Swamp.” On June 9, 1874, the house burned to the ground. Amid the rubble was the body of Mrs. Freese, badly burned but recognizable. She had been stabbed several times in the throat before the fire started. The investigation proved daunting with so many anonymous men coming and going from the house, but one man stood out. John Phair, a known associate of Freese, left town around the time of the fire. When he was identified as the man who pawned her jewelry in several Boston pawnshops, Phair was arrested. He was convicted of first-degree murder and hanged in 1879, professing innocence to the end.

Read the full story here: Fire in the Swamp.