On March 25, 1941 a man bicycling down the road on his way to work spotted what he thought was a bundle of clothes. Sadly, it was the body of 25-year-old Marie Swift.
Police couldn't immediately tell what killed the young woman but they could see her body had been dragged from a vehicle and dumped. Much was made of the fact that a single strand of blonde hair had been caught in the handle of Marie's purse. However, it was not so much the forensics but good solid police work that cracked this case wide open in record time. Also, I see no real mention of this clue at the trial so either it proved to be nothing or wasn't important once the police had a confession.
When the truth was revealed it was this -
Marie was pregnant and had gone to the home of Mrs. Addie Wilson for an abortion. Marie was dead within 30 minutes of walking through the door.
Afterwards, Mrs. Wilson, aged 48, didn't know what to do with the body. She couldn't call the police, abortion was illegal, and she couldn't shift the weight herself. Addie drove around until she located her 16-year-old son Clarence and implored him to help her. The two of them placed Marie's body and purse in Addie's car. They dumped everything just outside of the city limits then drove home to destroy any remaining evidence. But I bet they kept the $10 fee.
Addie Wilson was arrested on a murder charge, her son Clarence was held as a material witness and for good measure police arrested Marie's fiance 36-year-old Herman Ward because they felt they could prove he had made the appointment for the illegal procedure. Addie and her son both confessed but Herman continued to proclaim his innocence throughout the ordeal. However, eyewitness testimony at Herman's trial convinced a jury otherwise.
In April of 1941, Addie was found guilty of manslaughter & Herman was found guilty of conspiracy in connection with Marie's death. Both were sentenced to 5 years in prison. Herman was paroled in the Spring of 1942 and Addie gained her freedom in February 1943.
Here's what I don't understand about the case - Herman testified at his trial that he'd learned of Marie's pregnancy in February of 1941. They'd been dating for 5 years - so the baby was probably his. Their wedding was to take place a mere 6 days after the procedure. Why not pass your baby off as premature? And the biggest question of all - why would Addie Wilson think herself qualified to perform such a procedure when her profession was not midwife, doctor or nurse but oyster shucker? WTF?
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