The Corpse in the Shipping Crate

On September 17, 1841, an expressman picked up a crate on Maiden Lane in Manhattan and delivered it to the docks. The crate, addressed to New Orleans, was loaded aboard the packet Kalamazoo, scheduled to leave that afternoon. Inclement weather kept the Kalamazoo in port for a week and sailors started complaining of a foul odor coming from the hold. The crate was opened revealing a decomposing human corpse identified as New York printer, Samuel Adams. The man who had arranged its passage was John C. Colt, a bookkeeping instructor, client of Mr. Adams, and brother of the inventor of the Colt revolver.

Rogue's Gallery

Did Lizzie Do it?

A Gaslight Poll:
Who killed Andrew and Abbey Borden?
Well over 100 years after the fact, this murder is still news. Did Lizzie Borden get away with murder, or did someone else? No one knows but everyone has an opinion. Choose from the following major suspects (or add your own) and cast your vote in the box to the right.

• Lizzie Borden - The accused - Had means, motive and opportunity; but there was reasonable doubt.
• Emma Borden - Lizzie's older sister - Had the same motives, but a better alabi.
• Brigit Sullivan - The maid - Driven mad by having to wash windows on such a hot day while recovering from food poisoning.
• John V. Morse - Lizzie's uncle - Happened to be visiging at the time, making deals with Andrew.
• William S. Borden - Illigitimate half-brother - Enraged by his father's refusal to meet his demands for money.
• A conspiracy - Two or more of the above.
• Other - Leave a name in the comments.

Case summary: Lizzie Borden took an axe... Or Did She?

>Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum and Library
The Hatchet

Hang Down Your Head Tom Dula

The stories behind murder ballads are never as pretty as the songs. The story behind “Tom Dooley” – the 1866 murder of Laura Foster by Tom Dula in Elkville, North Carolina – is particularly ugly. Tom Dula was having an affair with Mrs. Ann Foster Melton and when her cousin Pauline Foster came to work at the Melton home, Tom Dula had her too. They had another cousin, Laura Foster, and Tom took her to bed as well. One member of this group contracted syphilis and soon they were all infected. Tom blamed Laura and threatened revenge. Laura Foster’s body was found in a shallow grave and Tom Dula had left for Tennessee. Might have gotten away, “Hadn’t been for Grayson.”

Freda Ward - "Girl Slays Girl"

Alice Mitchell and Freda Ward, aged 19 and 17, had become close friends at the Higbee School for Girls in Memphis. So close, in fact, that they declared their love for each other and planned to elope to St. Louis to live together as husband and wife. When Freda’s family stopped the relationship, forbidding Freda from seeing Alice, events took a dreadful turn. On the afternoon of January 25, 1892, Alice Mitchel met Freda Ward on Front Street and cut her throat with a straight razor. Was Alice driven by insanity, jealousy, or “an unnatural love?”

Lizzie Borden Took an Axe ... Or Did She

Either Lizzie Borden got away with murder or someone else did. Lizzie was acquitted of the axe murder of Andrew and Abby Borden and no one else was ever arrested. The Borden murder case has been cold for over a hundred years yet criminologist - professional and amateur - continue to pore over newspaper accounts, police reports, and trial transcripts looking for the real killer. There have been many theories, but the case remains unsolved.