The Ging Murder Case.

Harry Hayward, "The Plotter," was a handsome young playboy from a wealthy Minneapolis family. An inveterate gambler, he would finance his habit through theft, insurance fraud, and counterfeit currency.

Hayward was thought to have hypnotic powers. He persuaded Catherine Ging, "The Victim," to make him the beneficiary on a life insurance policy, then, on December 3, 1894, he lured her to a meeting with Claus Blixt, "The Assassin" – also acting under Hayward’s spell. As Catherine Ging was being murdered, Harry Hayward sat in a Minneapolis theatre watching a play with another woman. 

Read the full story here: The Minneapolis Svengali.

The Minneapolis Svengali

Harry Hayward was a handsome young playboy from a wealthy Minneapolis family. An inveterate gambler, he would finance his habit through theft, insurance fraud and counterfeit currency. And he was thought to have hypnotic powers. He persuaded Catherine Ging to make him beneficiary on a life insurance policy, then, on December 3, 1894, he lured her to a meeting with Claus Blixt – also acting under Hayward’s spell. As Catherine Ging was being murdered, Harry Hayward sat in a Minneapolis theatre watching a play with another woman. When the sordid details were learned, the press dubbed Hayward “The Minneapolis Svengali.”