The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City & Sparked the Tabloid Wars (45 page)

  1
Long Island Rail Road’s special jury car NYH
, November 9, 1897.

  2
held ordinary jobs
“Link by Link Thorn’s Chain Is Forged,”
NYEJ
, November 9, 1897.

  3
a warning sign from the sheriff
“Thorn on Trial,”
NYP
, November 9, 1897. 160
The farmers had stayed up … playing cards NYH
, November 9, 1897.

  4
puzzling over the newfangled electrical switches
“Thorn in the State’s Toils,”
NYH
, November 10, 1897.

  5
janitor was still sweeping out clouds of dust NYEJ
, November 9, 1897.

  6
precious white slips that read “PASS ONE”
“Life Against Life, Lie Against Lie,”
NYW
, November 11, 1897.

  7
only just gotten over a neck rash NYEJ
, November 9, 1897.

  8
flower in Howe’s lapel BE
, November 9, 1897.

  9
“About a half-pint of diamonds”
“Thorn Jury Discharged,”
NYT
, November 13, 1897.

10
Herald
man was keeping track of the betting pools NYH
, November 10, 1897.

11
anonymous note that warned
Ibid.

12
sitting with a handkerchief atop his bald head NYH
, November 9, 1897.

13
“Hear ye! Hear ye!” “Rapidly Nearing the Supreme Test,”
NYET
, November 9, 1897.

14
“This is one of the most remarkable crimes” NYH
, November 10, 1897. NB: The remainder of this section is primarily drawn from the
Herald
’s transcription.

15
air in the room had already grown foul again BE
, November 9, 1897.

16
picked out some friends of his in the gallery NYT
, November 9, 1897.

17
signing autographs at just fifty cents a pop …
The Headless Body Murder Mystery
NYET
, November 9, 1897. NB: This is title #771 (1897) from the very popular Old Cap. Collier dime-novel series. Dime novels were only haphazardly preserved, so that there is currently only one known surviving copy, at the University of Texas at Austin.

18
“Where were you shortly after 1 o’clock” NYEJ
, November 9, 1897.

19
“like a ghastly pack of cards”
“Mrs. Nack Has Confessed,”
NYT
, November 10, 1897.

20
“Is this the part of the body found by you?” NYEJ
, November 9, 1897.

21
One
Telegram
writer dryly observed NYET
, November 9, 1897.

22
“He is a good little boy”
“Mrs. Nack Has Confessed the Murder,”
NYW
, November 10, 1897.

23
“Was there any one else there” NYEJ
, November 9, 1897. NB: The remainder of this section is drawn from this
Evening Journal
account, except as noted.

24
corner seat in the jury box was right next to the exhibit table
“Mrs. Nack Has Confessed the Murder,”
NYH
, November 11, 1897.

25
looked like he was about to turn green
“The Thorn Jury Completed,”
NYTR
, November 9, 1897.

26
Isaac Newton … failed to see anything funny NYT
, November 10, 1897.

27
“Did you see these three portions together” NYW
, November 10, 1897. NB: The remainder of this section is drawn from this account, except for the Aimee Smith exchange noted below.

28
“Do you remember the case of … Aimee Smith?” NYH
, November 10, 1897.

29
first four pages of tonight’s issue would be devoted to the case NYEJ
, November 9, 1897.

30
Spanish overture to President McKinley
“Cabinet Like Spain’s Reply,”
NYT
, November 10, 1897.

31
vote by the Georgia legislature
“Voted 91 to 3 Against Football,”
NYP
, November 9, 1897.

32
“Dynamite Dick” had been gunned down
“Dynamite Dick Shot Dead,”
NYT
, November 10, 1897.

33
“Interest in the case is not wholly” BE
, November 9, 1897.

34
“We will disprove” NYEJ
, November 9, 1897.

35
betting on Thorn now ran at roughly even odds NYH
, November 10, 1897.

36
Barberi had been the first woman ever sentenced NYT
, July 16, 1895.

37
already been turned into a Broadway play
Morgan and Van Doren,
Italian Americans
, 320.

38
Barberi was a free woman, sitting in the gallery right beside the lawyer
“Mrs. Nack Saw Thorn with a Dirk Knife,”
NYEJ
, November 10, 1897.

39
“What are you
doing
here, anyway?” NYW
, November 10, 1897.

  1
Mrs. Nack’s lawyer was followed NYH
, November 10, 1897.

  2
a melodrama set in Chinatown
“The First Born a Hit,”
NYT
, October 6, 1897.

  3
Friend walking purposefully away, leaving before NYH
, November 10, 1897.

  4
wake up everyone from Captain O’Brien NYT
, November 10, 1897.

  5
to Sheriff Doht NYW
, November 10, 1897.

  6
Howe’s house on Boston Avenue … darkened and quiet
“Mrs. Nack Confesses,”
NYTR
, November 10, 1897.

  7
a reporter secretly on his payroll
Rovere,
Howe & Hummel
, 35.

  8
during big cases he worked out of the Park Avenue NYH
, November 10, 1897.

  9
immense cast-iron castle painted a blinding white
Korom,
American Skyscraper
, 77. 172
“Yes, I’ve heard the news” NYH
, November 10, 1897.

10
Another knock came at the door … a
World
reporter NYW
, November 10, 1897.

11
“I had the
most perfect case”
NYH
, November 10, 1897.

12
counsel …
for Nelson Weeks
BE
, April 20, 1897.

13
body in the Aimee Smith case had
not
been quickly identified BE
, March 9, 1897.

14
Newton was in direct charge of the Thorn case’s body parts NYT
, November 10, 1897.

15
“I cannot understand one thing” NYH
, November 10, 1897.

16
Californians and even Londoners woke that morning to the news
“A Murderess Tells Her Dark Secret,”
Oakland Tribune
, November 10, 1897; and “The New York Turkish-Bath Murder,”
Pall Mall Gazette
(London), November 10, 1897.

17
men in the crowd sprinted … women, slowed by their long skirts
“Life Against Life, Lie Against Lie,”
NYW
, November 11, 1897.

18
World
reporter dubbed it the Flower Garden
Ibid.

19
MRS. NACK HAS CONFESSED THE MURDER NYW
, November 10, 1897.

20
Thorn went pale and stiffly passed the newspaper
“Mrs. Nack’s Story Told,”
NYT
, November 11, 1897.

21
“Augusta Nack,” announced the court clerk NYEJ
, November 10, 1897.

22
smoothing her skirt as she sat
“Mrs. Nack’s Awful Story Told,”
NYP
, November 11, 1897.

23
Her appearance, the
Times
sniffed NYT
, November 11, 1897.

24
“My name is Augusta Nack” NYEJ
, November 10, 1897. NB: I have drawn from different news reports as indicated for the testimony that follows. Many of the physical gestures and tone of voice, however, are drawn from the particularly detailed rendition given in the November 11, 1897, report in the
New York Press
.

25
transfixed spectator … nearly toppled over NYW
, November 11, 1897.

26
“Wanted his head?”
“Story of Murder Told by Mrs. Nack,”
BE
, November 10, 1897.

27
“He came one evening in my house” NYEJ
, November 10, 1897.

28
“I told Guldensuppe that he should come with me” NYW
, November 11, 1897. 176
“I had the key, and I went inside” NYEJ
, November 10, 1897.

29
not another sound in the room save for the furious
scritch scritch
NYP
, November 11, 1897.

30
“He had a bottle of ammonia”
“Thorn’s Trial Is Postponed,”
NYET
, November 11, 1897.

31
“Here is a photograph” NYEJ
, November 10, 1897.

32
favorite diamond pendant
“Passed Away Very Suddenly,”
BE
, September 2, 1902.

33
“Mrs. Nack.… You have told us” NYEJ
, November 10, 1897.

34
“How long did this frightful love continue?” NYH
, November 11, 1897.

35
“
You prepared to go Europe, didn’t you?” NYEJ
, November 10, 1897.

36
“Mrs. Nack, don’t you remember” NYH
, November 11, 1897.

37
“a scene of disorder in the court room”
“Mrs. Nack Tells Her Story,”
NYCA
, November 10, 1897.

38
collapsed in a far corner of the jury box NYH
, November 11, 1897.

  1
gathered around the Garden City Hotel billiard table
“New Jury to Try Thorn,”
NYT
, November 12, 1897.

  2
crowds scoured the floors … and locals pointed out the chairs
“Thorn Confesses His Part in the Murder,”
NYEJ
, November 11, 1897.

  3
“Yes, yes, yes—no, no, no”
“Thorn Trial Ends; Jury Discharged,”
NYEJ
, November 12, 1897.

  4
his rose-and-scarlet scarf … diamond-encircled moonstone
“Thorn Jury Discharged,”
NYT
, November 13, 1897.

  5
the size of an egg NYEJ
, November 12, 1897.

  6
“The gallery was nearly full of Long Island folks” NYT
, November 13, 1897.

  7
Howe jokingly shook a fist
“Thorn’s Trial Is Postponed,”
NYET
, November 12, 1897.

  8
“Larsen had a very narrow escape”
“Thorn Juror Under the Knife,”
NYH
, November 12, 1897.

  9
In the Cancini case of 1857, he noted NYEJ
, November 11, 1897.

10
“You!
You insignificant little imp!”
“Jury Discharged in the Thorn Trial,”
BE
, November 12, 1897.

11
“This … is the case of my life” NYT
, November 13, 1897.

12
cheers and congratulations from his staff
“Thorn’s Trial at a Standstill,”
BE
, November 11, 1897.

13
“a damnable spider”
“Thorn Eager to Testify,”
NYT
, November 14, 1897.

14
“From my first interview I found him
saturated
with chivalry”
“New Trial for Martin Thorn,”
NYH
, November 12, 1897.

15
million-dollar operation in breach-of-promise cases
Rovere,
Howe & Hummel
, 77.

16
John Barrymore, because he didn’t give a damn
Ibid., 95.

17
“She is the biggest liar unhung” NYEJ
, November 11, 1897.

18
“Mrs. Nack admitted that she herself had cremated Guldensuppe’s clothes”
“Mrs. Nack Identifies the Saw,”
NYEJ
, November 17, 1897.

19
stern, bespectacled Bronx landlady named Ida Ziegler
“Lawyer Howe’s New Witness,”
NYT
, November 21, 1897.

20
“On one Sunday.… I believe it was prior”
“Thorn’s New Witness,”
NYW
, November 21, 1897.

21
the accused barber had been left unshaven.… barber showed up at Thorn’s cell with manacles
“Thorn Handcuffed Getting a Prison Shave,”
NYW
, November 20, 1897.

22
Howe associate led a short impresario and a willowy actress
“Anna Held Meets Thorn—A New Trial and Jury,”
NYW
, November 12, 1897.

23
THORN CONFESSES HIS PART IN THE MURDER NYEJ
, November 11, 1897.

24
women’s fashion plates with actual photographed faces
“An Advance View of Striking Autumn Fashions,”
NYW
, August 29, 1897.

25
Pulitzer anxiously telegraphed from Maine
Telegram, December 15, 1897. Pulitzer Papers, container 2.

26
Evening Telegram
ceased publication altogether
“Evening Telegram Suspends and Resumes,”
NYEJ
, November 22, 1897.

27
“All the News That’s Fit to Print” Campbell,
The Year That Defined American Journalism
, 70.

28
COCAINE PHANTOMS HAUNT HIM
NYEJ
, November 22, 1897.

29
one could also find all these headlines NYH
, November 22, 1897.

30
far more column inches on crime and accidents than other cities
Baldasky,
Commercialization of News
, 155.

31
“The two stories of Nack and Thorn have reached an equilibrium”
W. R. Hearst, editorial,
NYEJ
, November 12, 1897.

32
They tallied some 1,147 letters
“Three New Jurors and a New Judge for Thorn,”
NYEJ
, November 22, 1897.

33
latest ad for the Eden Musée waxworks
advertisement,
NYT
, November 20, 1897.

34
THE INVASION OF NEW YORK NYJ
, November 14, 1897.

35
THE STORY OF MY LIFE
Ibid.

36
Augusta Nack was quietly led out of her cell
“Mrs. Nack Has an Outing,”
NYS
, November 15, 1897.

37
“Can you point out the place?”
“Digging Ends,”
NYEJ
, November 15, 1897.

38
“Did you find the saw?” NYS
, November 15, 1897.

39
lost his job at the Astoria Model Bakery
“Nack Lives in Dread,”
NYW
, November 13, 1897.

40
“What do you think of the strange course”
“Mrs. Nack Tells New Secrets,”
NYEJ
, November 13, 1897.

41
newspapers gloated after word of her failed carriage trip
“Thorn Denies That He Is a Jailbird,”
NYH
, November 16, 1897.

42
laborers worked with scythes to clear
“Find Saw as Mrs. Nack Said,”
NYEJ
, November 16, 1897.

43
rusting eighteen-inch surgeon’s saw—a Richardson & Sons model
“Thorn’s Saw Is Found,”
BE
, November 16, 1897.