FISHING FOR AVOCADOS! –– C.A. BROADSTONE on FILMMAKING, WRITING, MUSIC, and Other Things BCP!

 

THE BLOODY CENTURY INDEED!

Here's a capsule of one of the stories in this cool book, known as THE BOND STREET TRAGEDY.

 

Emma Cunningham, a 33-year-old widow coming upon hard times, seduced and had an affair with a wealthy dentist, Dr. Harvey Burdell (who, in spite of his successful banking and real estate investments, was also known to service the dental needs of prostitutes working in his Bond Street neighborhood and to take his fee in trade).  Soon enough he was found dead in his office and generally a bloody mess.  His corpse was examined and it was determined that the doctor had been strangled with a garrote and stabbed fifteen times with a long slender knife.

 

After the murder Emma promptly produced a letter stating that she had been married to Dr. Burdell, and that his estate was therefore entirely hers.  Witnesses and a trail of clues led the police to quickly arrest Emma for Burdell's murder.  She was put on trial, which was a sensation that lasted only 3 days –– and thanks to her attorney bashing Burdell's reputation with prostitutes, among other unsavory practices, Emma was acquitted of his murder.

She then had the gal to insist she was pregnant with Burdell's child, to regain her upper hand on claiming his estate.  She even went as far as to secure a living baby and fake labor and giving birth to the child.  This is where everything went straight to hell for her –– the police were already suspect and were waiting to pounce on the fraudulent Emma and her accomplice physician when the doctor appeared with the new (and illegally procured) infant.

Hahahaha!  Good try, Emma Cunningham!

For a detailed account of this wild murder tale visit: 
http://www.murderbygaslight.com/2011/03/bond-street-tragedy.html 

Or purchase the book "The Bloody Century: True Tales of Murder in 19th Century America: 

http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Century-Tales-Murder-America/dp/0692300678