I could have called this report "A Parent's Worst Nightmare" but then how could we differentiate this crime from every other horrific act of intentional violence that ends a child's life?
The working title for this entry was "Worst Vacation Ever."
You might want to break out your vintage Suffolk County Hagstrom maps for this one because I'm sure the neighborhoods have changed some in the last 90 years.
At 5 PM on Sunday, September 23, 1934, Robert Gabriel Lazzari asked his 6-year-old daughter Rita (her 7th birthday was a week away) to walk over to their neighbor Max Panzer's house to borrow a tire pump while he worked on removing his car's flat tire. That was the last time he'd see her alive.
The Lazzari family and the Panzer family lived on opposite sides of Islip Avenue (Route 111) in Central Islip, New York. A reported distance of perhaps 350 to 400 feet.
The Panzers lived on the west side of Islip Avenue and the Lazzari family lived east of Islip Avenue, on Cherry Street (a dead end).
Rita had left the Lazzari's yard at 5 PM and after 20 minutes had come and gone, Robert started to worry. Whenever Rita was tasked with running an errand, she'd always return promptly.
Robert headed over to the Panzer house and he learned that Rita had never knocked on their door. Fearing the worst, Robert Lazzari phoned the police.
A combined total of sixty State Troopers and neighbors began searching the neighborhood and surrounding wooded areas.
Near midnight on September 24th, Max Panzer and (another neighbor) Joseph Kleinmeir found an abandoned 1931 Model A Ford grey sedan on an unnamed dirt road that ran into but not through the woods off of Commack Road.
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| People's Exhibit #1 |
The car had ridden up onto a stump and gotten stuck. A jack was under the rear axle. The vehicle was parked roughly 30 feet from the main road.
Police sent a teletype to Albany with the Ford's the license plate - #6Z58-07. The owner was identified as Patrick Daniel Downey.
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| NYPD teletype (circa 1930s) |
Twenty feet away from the vehicle, Kleinmeier found some undergarments belonging to a young girl. Robert Lazzari was shown these items and he identified them as Rita's.
His daughter was still missing.
As the search continued, several State Troopers hid in the bushes near the abandoned sedan and the road leading to it, in an anticipation that someone would eventually come back for the car. The gamble paid off because between 7 and 8 AM the following morning, Patrick Downey and John Haselbeck, Jr., a mechanic, drove down the lane towards the car.
After a brief conversation with the Troopers, Haselbeck was dismissed but 31-year-old Patrick Downey, who readily admitted to owning the abandoned car, was driven to the State Police Barracks in Heckscher State Park in East Islip for further questioning.
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Downey told police he'd pulled into the dirt road Sunday evening to relieve himself and he had no knowledge of the missing girl. After getting his car stuck on the stump, he started to walk home and was lucky enough to catch a ride from an acquaintance, Robert H. Anderson.
While Patrick Downey was in custody, the search of the woods continued, and more evidence was gathered.
Trooper Daniel F. Glasheen found two scapular medals and a crucifix on the ground, roughly eight feet north of Downey's car. Robert Lazzari recognized these as the religious medals his daughter wore safety-pinned to her undershirt. One medal depicted a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church, and the other was "a medal of a little flower."
A photo of the two medals was entered into evidence (People's Exhibit 7) but, unfortunately, it was not included in the court documents I've seen.
There was still no sign of Rita.
After four hours of questioning by police, a defeated and remorseful Patrick Downey admitted to killing Rita. He also agreed take police to the body. However, Downey had been so inebriated at the time of his crimes that he couldn't quite recall where he'd left his victim. Downey led twenty NYS Troopers through the woods and made seven wrong guesses in an hour as to where Rita's body was.
It was State Trooper Daniel F. Glasheen who eventually found Rita's body, at 2:30 PM on September 24th. She was approximately 100 feet from Commack Road, in a clump of bushes. Glasheen would testify in court that Rita's body was1488 feet from Downey's car, in a direct line, north by northwest.
Rita's dress was torn, she was missing her underwear and she'd been strangled with an article of clothing...her own. Downey was in the woods at the time of the discovery, but he was still wandering around, nowhere near the scene.
Mechanic John Haselbeck, Jr. would later testify that Downey had also difficulty directing him to the dirt road that his abandoned car was on. They'd driven up and down several roads that day before finding Downey's Ford parked on a small dirt road which ran west off of Commack Road.
Trooper Daniel F. Glasheen described the location of Downey's car as not even being a road. "It wasn't any road at all where it was in the woods." ".. it goes into a swamp."
(I am wondering if, when he says "swamp," Glasheen is referencing Orowoc Creek which runs through the wooded area in Central Islip?)
Rita's body was photographed by Corporal Dan Reddington then removed to the C.J. Daily undertaking parlor in Bay Shore where she was positively identified by her father.
Doctors Sol Shlimbaum, Grover A. Silliman (the county coroner), and Reidan Trygstad were called in to conduct a postmortem.
The doctors confirmed what the police suspected. Six-year-old, 48-pound Rita Lazzari had been raped before she was killed. Cause of death was, without a doubt, strangulation.
At Downey's subsequent trial, Dr. Grover A. Silliman testified in court:
"We found this - the child's eyes were bulging from the eye sockets - one eye to the extent that the sclera or white of the eye was ruptured and her tongue was protruding and swollen. Her upper face and neck and head were blue, and the lower part of her body was white or pale with some discolorations which normally occurs following death in anybody and about the neck was this article of clothing which was brought around under the right ear and twisted very tightly. Upon loosening this and removing that we found that there was a ring, a depression in the skin where this cloth had been twisted about her neck. That was just about the level of the larynx or Adams apple. Going further down on the body over the hips and over the back part of the buttocks were numerous scratch marks, bloody scratch marks. On making an examination of the genitalia, we found that there was a bloody discharge or bloody fluid around the outer - around the exterior of the vagina or vulva and down over the rectum and in between the cheeks of the buttock. On spreading the legs and making a closer examination, we found that there was a tear or laceration extending from the posterior edge of the vagina back into the rectum. This was very definitely - had been caused prior to death. Then the autopsy was continued; the body cavities were opened and aside from a condition of pronounced emaciation and Anema, we found nothing special that would have contributed to death."
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| Dr. Sol Shlimbaum, in 1955 |
There was further testimony at trial from Dr. Shlimbaum (who had performed the autopsy) and again from Dr. Silliman (who had the taken notes) regarding the extent of the damage done to Rita's nether regions but I don't think it's necessary for me to transcribe those particulars here.
I wanted to include enough information so that it would be clear how violent Rita's last moments were without the narrative being too sensational.
Newspapers of the day generally left any description of rape to the imagination of their readers. Women and children were "interfered with," "molested," "misused," or "assaulted."
On September 26, 1934, one reporter from the Times Union newspaper (Brooklyn), made the decision to refer to the assault on Rita Lazzari as "a fiendish attack."
I don't think there should be any euphemisms for the terrible violence Rita endured before and as Patrick Downey killed her. The world should see him for what he was and what he did.
Downey's abduction, assault and murder of a Rita Lazzari had been a drunken, impulsive action taken to cap off a week-long vacation from his job as an attendant at Pilgrim State Hospital in Brentwood, NY.
Patrick was an attendant at the Hospital's Building No. 1, Ward No. 5.
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| Not the building where Patrick Downey was assigned but the image is correct to the time. |
By his own admission, on Sunday September 24th, between 9:30 AM, when Downey woke up, and 4 PM, he had consumed two bottles of beer, half a pint of whiskey, and two water tumblers of whiskey and soda.
That might sound like a lot of alcohol but Patrick Downey, a married man and the father of two sons - John Patrick or "Jack" (b. 1929) and Michael (b. 1931), was an experienced drinker.
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| a 1931 Model T Ford sedan |
The parachute jumping started at 5 PM, Downey said he'd picked Rita up no later than 5:30 PM. 5 PM is when Robert Lazzari asked Rita to walk over to Max Panzer's house.
Quick note on the airport - This is not Long Island's MacArthur Airport but The Central Islip/Bender-Brentwood Airport (active from 1929 - 1952). It was located in the area west of Route 111 where PSEG (formerly the Long Island Power Authority) is today.
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"Founded in the late 1920s and originally known as the Central Islip Field, this airport was taken over by Henry Bender in 1933 and became known as Bender-Brentwood Airport. The 33-acre grass-dirt field had one dilapidated hanger that housed three planes, with several more tied down outside."
Here is the sequence of events after Downey lured Rita into his car, taken from his confession:
"I then drove south along Islip Avenue until I came to the bridge crossing, the Sunrise Highway. I turned right north of the bridge and drove west on the Sunrise Highway for several blocks and then turned right and traveled north on a road the name of which I do not know. I then turned left off this road and drove my car off the road and into the woods. I parked the car about 30 feet in the woods off the road."
(Here is modern day Google Map of the area. I suspect many of the houses situated east of Orowoc Creek, west of Commack Road, south of Brook Street and north of Sunrise Highway were not there in 1934. Several houses on Brook Street were constructed in 1910. And some of the houses on Roman Street and Romain Ave were built prior to 1934 but none of the houses on S. Shore Court; Milton, Elliott, Herbert or Lake streets date that far back. Downey never says he turned right on Commack Road and that is certainly a road he knew the name of.)
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| 2024 Google Maps image of where the 1934 crime (most likely) occurred. |
Downey had driven Rita approximately 10 minutes away from where he'd found her and then parked in a secluded, wooded area off of Commack Road. Downey said he kissed Rita on the mouth, placed his hand on her crotch then ripped her underwear off her. Rita cried and said, "I want to go home to my Mamma."
The way Downey told the story, he stopped the assault and started the car. He ran over that tree stump while trying to back the car out of the narrow lane and punctured his front right wheel.
Downey said he moved Rita to the back seat of his car so he could access the tools stored under the front seat. He claims this is how Rita's underwear ended up on the ground. Downey swept them off the seat and out of his car.
After changing the flat tire, Downey still couldn't manage to get off the tree stump. He tried jacking up the back end of the car but to no avail; the car was stuck.
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| People's Exhibit #2 |
Downey took Rita by the hand, and they started walking. "We're going the wrong way," she told him. Downey ignored the girl and took her further into the woods.
According to Downey's confession, he laid Rita on the ground, attempted to have intercourse with her but it proved difficult because "her privates were too small."
Downey ejaculated on the child's stomach then "realized I done wrong" and he was afraid of the consequences. Downey strangled Rita until he thought she was dead then threw her body into the bushes to hide it and he walked out of the woods.
Once on a main road (Commack Road) Downey was able to hitch a partial ride home from Robert H. Anderson, whom he recognized as the Chief Engineer of Pilgrim State Hospital.
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| St. John Church |
Anderson testified that he picked Downey up on Commack Road near 45th Street and they drove south on Commack Road. Eventually - "At the depot in Central Islip (Suffolk County Road 100) I turned right and stopped opposite the Catholic Church where I let Downey out."
(This is likely the St. John of God Roman Catholic Church at 84 Carleton Avenue, corner of Carleton Avenue and St. Johns Street, in Central Islip.)
Anderson said he dropped Downey off "opposite the Catholic Church" "between 7:30 and 8 o'clock."
Downey said walked the rest of the way from where Anderson dropped him off and was home by 8 PM.
According to Downey's Sing Sing Prisoner Receiving Blotter, his residence when arrested was Clift Street in Central Islip - no house number was given. The Downey family had been at that address for one month. (The 1930 census shows the Downey family at 81 Pine View Blvd., Central Islip)
Clift Street runs east to west, intersects Carleton Avenue and is 5 blocks south of St. Johns Street (where the church is). Even without knowing exactly which house on Clift Street was Downey's, he could probably walk to it from the Church in 10 or 15 minutes.
Patrick's sister Nora, who was living with her brother and his wife, confirmed the time he returned home that night.
Nora also said something under oath that likely would have made a lasting impression on the Lazzari family.
On the Sunday he raped and killed Rita, Patrick had asked Nora if she and the kids would like to go for a ride with him. This was around 2:30 in the afternoon.
".. I was scared because I had smelled drink on to him. So, I wouldn't go with him that Sunday afternoon. So, I didn't see him no more until about eight o'clock that night."
If Patrick's sister and his two sons had gone with him that day, Rita Lazzari would still be alive.
But Nora couldn't have known that at 2:30 PM when she declined his offer and Nora was right to be reluctant to get into the car with her brother when he was drunk.
No doubt, the memory of a previous wild car ride one month prior was still fresh in her mind.
And I'm sure Nora had heard about an incident three years earlier (May 1931) in Bay Shore when Patrick Downey, drunk behind the wheel, ran into the back of a big truck which was stopped at a red light.
Mary Murray and Eileen O'Mara, who were both in the car that day, testified that Patrick hit the back of the truck so hard that the front windshield of the car they were in shattered.
Patrick's sister Eileen had several cuts on her head from broken glass and the youngest of the three children who were in the car ended up with a black eye.
Here's some testimony from Nora Downey, regarding Patrick's demeanor when he returned home on the evening of September 23rd:
A. ... he came in and I asked him would he have something to eat and he stood at the door and gave me a dirty look and my sister-in-law was putting the kids to bed and he walked to the door and I don't know what he said and he went out on the back porch and sat down and I went to him and asked him if he wanted something to eat and he said no.
Q. Do you know whether he was drunk or sober?
A. He was drunk. So, after a while he came in and I cooked something for him, but he didn't eat it and he asked me for a glass of milk, and I gave him a glass of milk.
Q. What happened after that, anything?
A. I don't know, he looked awful peculiar to me that night; I was just scared to say anything to him. I was just scared to look at him.
Q. Did you see him the next morning?
A. No.
In his confession, Patrick said that after returning home he had a four-hour nap on the sofa, woke up, drank a bottle of beer and went back to sleep until 6:30 AM.
His first concern on the morning after the murder was retrieving his car from the woods. Patrick knocked on the front door of John Haselbeck's house at 7 AM. Haselbeck had worked on Patrick's car once before.
Within the hour, State Troopers would emerge from their hiding places near Downey's car to confront the two men. Patrick Downey's vacation and life as he knew it had ended.
With Downey's signed confession secured, a conviction was certain. If the outraged citizens didn't kill him first.
An angry mob had gathered outside where Downey was being held, making it necessary to relocate the prisoner to Riverhead jail.
Authorities conveyed to reporters that Patrick Downey had told them, "I want to die in the electric chair. I could never live with my conscience. I feel terribly sorry for my wife and children. God only knows who will care for them now."
A Grand Jury quickly indicted Patrick Downey on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of kidnapping. Downey was held without bail.
Meanwhile, the Lazzari family had no money for their daughter's funeral. Robert Lazzari, a carpenter by trade, had not worked in nearly two years. I don't "have a nickel to bury the child," he admitted.
Robert Gabriel Lazzari (born February 20, 1904) was an Italian immigrant who had come to America in August 1920. Robert had filed for citizenship by 1934 but he would not become a naturalized citizen until July 29, 1942.
Robert's wife Daisy Lazzari, the former Desia Bartolomei (born February 6, 1901), had immigrated from Italy in 1913. She was a naturalized citizen who had marched in the women's suffrage parade of 1916. She and Robert married in Brooklyn on October 11, 1926.
In 1934, Robert and Daisy had three children - two girls, Rita (b. 1930) and Martha (b. 1932) and a boy, Robert Norman (b. 1933).
Rita Lazzari's funeral expenses would be covered by the community.
The Brooklyn Times reported on September 28, 1934:
"The financial burden of the funeral was lifted by C. Raymond Daily, funeral director, who contributed the casket and incidentals as well as all equipment, the Rev. Cornelius M. Duffy, pastor of St. Patrick's R.C. Church of Bay Shore contributed a plot in St. Patrick's Cemetery, and the Rt. Rev. Mons. Thomas W. Connolly, pastor of St. Mary's R.C. Church of East Islip, officiated at the requiem mass yesterday at his church."
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| 225 Brentwood Road, Bay Shore, NY 11706 (author's photo) |
Mrs. James L. Springstead, of Islip, and Mrs. Arthur P. Thomas, of Bay Shore, presented the Mr. and Mrs. Lazzari with a check for $233.06, with the promise of more money as donations from neighbors were still coming in. Lieut. John A. Gaffney gave the grieving parents $133.50 in cash; this was money contributed by State Troopers.
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| (1957) |
On October 23, 1934, Patrick Downey received a new court-appointed attorney, Ralph Jones Hawkins.
While meeting with his client in the County Jail, Ralph Hawkins learned there was a history of insanity and alcoholism in the Downey family.
Patrick's sister, Catherine Casey, had died in Ireland's Limerick Hospital for the Insane in July 1926 and an unnamed aunt of Patrick's was currently committed to the same asylum.
Additionally, Patrick's father, Michael Downey, was known to be a violent alcoholic. During the trial, Patrick Downey's sisters, Eileen and Nora, each testified to the childhood trauma they and their (now deceased) mother endured due to Michael Downey's alcoholism.
The defense could argue both sides of the "nature or nurture" excuse for bad behavior. Patrick Downey would plead "not guilty" at trial.
Patrick's sister Catherine Casey nee' Downey had been committed to the Limerick Hospital for a period of three months in 1919, after intentionally setting her house on fire. Upon her release, Catherine attacked her neighbors and tried to choke her husband with his necktie. She was promptly returned to the asylum, where she died seven years later.
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| Limerick Lunatic Asylum - photo from The Journal (November 29, 2014) |
The defense team's strategy would be to claim temporary insanity due to excessive alcohol consumption and/or a sexual perversion that Downey was incapable of controlling.
There was no doubt Patrick Downey had killed Rita Lazzari, but Ralph Hawkins was hoping to avoid his client receiving the death penalty. If Hawkins could prove diminished capacity, Downey might be allowed to plead guilty to second degree murder.
However, District Attorney L. Barron Hill refused to allow Downey to plead to murder in the second degree.
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| (circa 1935) |
"I am determined to try the defendant, Downey, for first degree murder," Hill said. "We have sufficient and conclusive evidence that Downey's acts were premeditated and deliberate. If I consented to a guilty plea to the lesser degree of murder, I feel I would be remiss in my duty to the people of my county. A plea of second-degree murder, under the laws of the State, carries an indeterminate sentence of 20 years to life. The defendant, after serving 13 or 14 years, would be eligible for freedom on parole.
"My conscience would not permit me to be a party to allowing this defendant his freedom to again become a menace to society. The brutal and atrocious murder of a little defenseless school child does not call for any leniency for the defendant. I will present my entire case for the prosecution for a jury to decide the punishment."
Jury selection began on December 3, 1934, in the County Court House in Riverhead, New York with the Honorable Richard W. Hawkins presiding.
After two days of challenges and rejections, the court ordered another panel of 50 potential jurors to be drawn on December 10th.
The all-male jury of 12 (with 2 alternates) was finalized and sworn in on December 10, 1934.
Opening statements and testimony began the following morning at 10 AM.
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| Riverhead Court House and Jail (postcard) |
Daisy Lazzari, Rita's mother, was disqualified from testifying because it had been stipulated that all witnesses, with a few exceptions, should be excluded from the courtroom until after they'd given testimony. Through a misunderstanding, Daisy had been in the courtroom during the testimony of other witnesses.
Her testimony likely would have revealed her being present when Daniel F. Glasheen asked Robert Lazzari to identify his daughter's undergarments.
Sing Sing Prison records indicate Patrick Downey did not have any previous criminal history, but he certainly had a history of violent behavior when drunk. Multiple defense witnesses took the stand to attest to this.
There was an incident on March 17, 1929 (St. Patrick's Day) that would have led to an arrest of Patrick, for property damage at a Manhattan hotel, if not for the fact that his family paid a $25 fine and thus avoiding having charges filed. Patrick's wife Margaret would testify at trial that this was the first time she had seen him drunk - they'd been married for less than four months.
Patrick Downey was born in Limerick, Ireland on July 10, 1903, and he had immigrated to the United States from Ireland in February 1927. On March 4, 1927, he started working at the Central Islip State Hospital as an attendant. By 1934, Downey had become a naturalized citizen.
Quite a few members of the Downey family worked in the mental health industry on Long Island. Considering their older sister's insanity, that's either ironic or appropriate.
Patrick's sister Nora Downey, who'd come to America on February 28, 1928, started working at Pilgrim State Hospital mid-April 1928.
Patrick Downey's sister-in-law, Mary Murray, had worked periodically as an attendant at both Central Islip State Hospital and Pilgrim State Hospital since 1925.
On December 8, 1928, 25-year-old Patrick Downey married 25-year-old Margaret Murray. Margaret was a fellow Central Islip State Hospital employee and, like Patrick, an Irish immigrant. Margaret had arrived in the United States in 1923, four years earlier than Patrick. Her association with Central Islip State Hospital began on October 22, 1923.
Prior to their wedding, Patrick and Margaret each had individual rooms on the hospital grounds, in the Attendant's Home, but after marrying, they moved into the Viele Home (in April 1929), which was also situated on Hospital grounds.
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| Viele Home (Building 46), Central Islip State Hospital |
Unlike her husband, Margaret Downey was a good and reliable employee. Yes, Margaret's NYS Employment records show her working periodically rather than continuously during her fifteen years at the Central Islip State Hospital, but she would always resign then be reinstated. These were more "leaves of absence" as opposed to being suspended or fired.
One of Margaret's lengthiest stretches of uninterrupted employment was from July 1, 1924 to July 31, 1929. She had resigned then too but was back to work on May 20, 1930. Margaret had given birth to her first child, Jack, on September 18, 1929.
In December 1930, Patrick Downey was suspended after being found asleep while on duty. Later that month, Patrick was fired after failing to report for duty for two days during the Christmas holiday. He'd been too drunk to work.
With Patrick now out of work, the Downeys moved in with his sister Eileen and her husband Edward. This gave the O'Maras a ringside seat to Patrick's drinking and the subsequent battering of his wife. And they themselves were occasionally on the receiving end of Patrick's abuse.
Patrick and Margaret made the best of a bad situation by heading to Ireland; vacationing there from January to May of 1931.
Margaret's sister, Mary Murray, had already taken the Downey's young son Jack to Ireland in September of 1930 and he'd been sorely missed.
In early October 1931, Patrick was hired as an attendant at newly opened Pilgrim State Hospital in Brentwood, NY.
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On October 15, 1932, village police officer Tom Julien responded to a domestic situation at the Downey household. Patrick had come home late from work (at 7 PM) and he resented his wife Margaret inquiring as to why, so he responded by punching her in the face. Margaret's sister, Mary, called the police and when Patrick saw Officer Julien, he again punched Margaret in the face.
Rather than arrest Patrick on the spot, Officer Julien simply admonished him. Patrick got sulky and went to bed. When he awoke the next morning and was made aware of what had transpired, Patrick vowed to never drink again. This was a vow he would make and break over and over again.
Another substantiated characteristic of Patrick's alcoholism was that he often had no clear memory of how he'd behaved when drunk.
During the trial, family members took the stand and testified to Patrick's numerous drunken brawls between 1929 and 1934 - at bars, weddings, at home, etc. There were also countless incidents of drunk driving with the kids in the car, being drunk at work, destruction of property, spousal abuse and assaults on friends and family. I don't feel it's necessary for me to share every one of them.
The purpose of these testimonials was to portray the defendant as a man who was fine when sober but irrational and violent when drunk.
One of Patrick's coworkers at Pilgrim State Hospital, James Crotty, who knew Patrick since their days together in Ireland, summed things up by testifying, "When he is sober, he is alright; when he is drunk, he is all wrong." Well, there you have it.
When Patrick Downey would sober up, he was always sorry, just as his father Michael had been when Patrick was a boy.
But I doubt the Lazzari family were interested in Downey's remorse or contrition - they wanted justice and vengeance.
Patrick Downey did not testify on his own behalf, but his wife Margaret was called as a defense witness.
Margaret Downey related to the court more than two dozen instances of drunken behavior on the part of her husband, with many of these resulting in violence. Again, there's no need for me to list them all.
Margaret also testified to her husband's three attempts at "unnatural sexual relations" with her - in February, April and August of 1934. On each occasion, Patrick wanted to perform oral sex on his wife, but she refused him, and she went so far as to leave the house rather than allow it. "I know it is not the natural thing," Margaret said.
Margaret testified that she and Patrick had discussed his sexual desires in April 1934. She explained that she felt it was shameful and improper. Patrick's response was "If I wasn't crazy, I wouldn't try to do anything like that to you."
When Patrick tried it again in August of 1934, Margaret stayed away for two days. Afterwards, Margaret threatened to move out of the house for good and "put the children out to board."
Patrick's response was to ask Margaret "While I am in my sober senses and all that, I never mistreat you, do I?"
Margaret Downey and her sister Mary Murray both testified on cross-examination by the prosecution that Patrick never mistreated his two children.
Dr. Frank Hinkley, a defense witness and a Senior Assistant Physician at Central Islip State Hospital with 30 years of experience treating mental diseases, told the court that Patrick Downey possessed "a diseased germ plasm."
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| August Weismann (1834-1915) |
Basically, Michael Downey's sperm was to blame for Patrick Downey's abhorrent behavior. The defendant was biologically and behaviorally handicapped at his inception.
Dr. Hinkley diagnosed Downey as a sexual degenerate whose perverted desires increased with the consumption of alcohol. It was a Catch-22. Downey drank because his abnormal sexual desires disgusted him, but his intoxication made him a man who was prone to violence and incapable of controlling his unnatural urges.
Dr. Hinkley went into the specifics of Downey's depravity during his testimony.
Dr. Hinkley testified that during his interviews with Patrick Downey, the defendant revealed he had engaged in homosexual acts. Specifically, Downey had given and received both oral and anal sex, expressing a displeasure when he'd been the one giving anal sex.
Downey was also a masturbator and someone who had fantasized about having "a sexual experience with little girls." All of this while having sexual relations with his wife.
"He had to have some outlet for these damned up emotions from time to time," Dr. Hinkley said, "and for that reason he drank and then after he drank and got enough liquor in him, it was very easy for him to smash or hammer his wife and perform in this abnormal reaction to his alcohol. I believe that these acts gave him a sort of outlet to his pent-up emotions and for that reason he was able to go along without bothering little girls up to this time."
It was Dr. Hinkley's opinion that Patrick Downey was incapable of distinguishing right from wrong when he killed Rita Lazzari.
"I believe that his desire and craving was so great at this time that he could not reflect and could not reason and could not control himself under the circumstances," Dr. Hinkley told the jury.
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| Dr. Edward Hicks (1930) |
The prosecution called Dr. Edward E. Hicks as a rebuttal witness. Dr. Hicks was a physician with 41 years of experience, 30 of those years were spent in the field of clinical psychology.
Dr. Hicks also had an opportunity to interview Patrick Downey and he was of the opinion that the defendant "knew the nature and quality of his acts and knew whether they were right or wrong."
It would be up to the jury to decide which "expert witness" was correct.
The trial concluded on December 14, 1934. The jury deliberated for 3 hours and 50 minutes before finding Patrick Downey guilty of Murder in the First Degree. Sentencing was deferred until December 18, 1934.
Following his conviction, Downey was asked to provide the court clerk his "pedigree," certain basic facts regarding himself such as name, age, place of birth, etc. Curiously, when Downey was asked if he was "addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors," Downey replied in the negative.
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| (circa 1934) |
According to the New York Daily News:
"The prisoner showed no emotion as the Court set his doom.
"Downey's request that he be permitted to see relatives before being imprisoned was granted. As the prisoner, who is 32, was being taken from the courtroom, he met his wife and other relatives."
"His wife was weeping as she quickly embraced him. A companion of the woman said a brother of Mrs. Downey had been killed Monday in New York City by a train."
The accidental death referred to by the Daily News is that of John Murray, Margaret's younger brother.
John Murray had been killed by a Third Avenue El train near 134th St in the Bronx on December 16, 1934.
I've seen the death certificate extract but whoever transcribed it couldn't read the handwriting. Why else would they type, "Extensive Merglevey of Bosly fell & Jumped to El Troxs?" John's occupation is listed as "Train Grand."
Patrick Downey's defense attorney filed an immediate and automatic appeal of the verdict.
Fortunately for me, Google Books digitized 1935's "Court of Appeals of the State of New York, Volume 79," making it possible for me to read the appeal and the accompanying court transcripts.
Unfortunately for Patrick Downey, the appeal was a failure. On March 6, 1935, the Court of Appeals ruled that the verdict would stand.
Not a surprising decision but I suspect that had this trial have been held today, an appeal might be successful. Or it would have been possible for Patrick Downey's confession to have been ruled inadmissible during the trial.
Why do I think that? Because on the day Patrick Downey confessed, he was consuming alcohol in the presence of the State Troopers. Moreover, they supplied the second intoxicating beverage.
During cross-examination by defense attorney Ralph Hawkins, Lieutenant John A. Gaffney, a witness for the prosecution, answered questions about the initial transportation of Patrick Downey to the State Police Barracks in Heckscher Park:
Q. Did the defendant say at any time during the trip that he wished that he could have a drink?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And what was the conversation concerning that?
A. Well, he wanted a drink, and he asked me if he could have it and I said yes, and he had a pint bottle in his pocket and took it out and took a drink of it.
Q. You don't know what was in the bottle, do you?
A. No, sir.
Q. What did he say after he took a drink, anything?
A. I asked him what it was. He said it was old beer.
Patrick Downey had a second drink on his way back to the woods before attempting to help find Rita's body.
Again, from Lieutenant Gaffney's cross-examination:
Q. Were you with him when the second drink was had for him or permitted to him?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where was that, do you know?
A. I don't know the place; I have an idea where it is.
Q. Well, it was a place along the road then, wasn't it?
A. Yes.
Q. Well, how was the drink procured for him or how did he get it?
A. I sent a man in for it.
Q. And did the man bring it out to him?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know what that was?
A. It was a whiskey.
Q. Do you know what the quantity was?
A. A two-ounce glass.
Q. Ordinary whiskey glass?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he have with it, anything, water or anything?
A. Not a thing.
Q. And then after that you proceeded on north up in the woods and went to the place where the body was, did you say, or hadn't the body been found?
A. The body had not been found.
By including this testimony, I'm not arguing for Downey's innocence. I'm just surprised by the events. It was a different time, I suppose.
And not that this matters, but on re-cross by defense attorney Ralph Hawkins, John A. Gaffney would recall the place Downey obtained that glass of whiskey was "Oscar's" on Islip Avenue, north of the railroad tracks.
New York State Governor Herbert H. Lehman would not save either Downey or Coo from execution. Eva Coo died in the electric chair on June 27, 1935. Downey's execution was scheduled for July 11, 1935.
Now, on to the facts which inspired the title for this report.
On Thursday, July 11, 1935, Patrick Downey set some kind of Sing Sing record with his two final meals.
According to the New York Daily News:
- "Being allowed to order anything he wanted, Downey had for his noonday lunch: Sirloin steak, mashed potatoes, rolls, bread, lettuce and tomato salad, watermelon, apples, ice cream, cake, coffee and cigarettes."
The Daily News declared this "a death house consumption record."
- For supper, Downey ordered "roast chicken, mashed potatoes, tomato salad, cranberry sauce, rolls, coconut pie, pears, oranges, ice cream and coffee."
Downey entered the death chamber at 11:02 PM, accompanied by Rev. McCaffrey. Downey showed little emotion as he was strapped into the electric chair. Patrick Downey was pronounced dead at 11:05 PM.
Following the execution, an Associated Press columnist, Dale Harrison, wrote about how routine and mundane the execution of Patrick Downey was.
"Fellows like Downey aren't very important. They lack color. They slay insanely, get caught, and are dealt with - like up here at the prison on Thursday nights.
"Downey killed a little girl, Rita Lazzari. Hardly anyone ever heard of her or him; and now they're both dead. Twelve jurors got their fees, the railroads got some transportation money when Downey was brought up here from Long Island, and the executioner got his pay.
"It is easy to see that executions like Downey's don't amount to much. But occasionally the state executes "headliners" - men and women like "Gyp the Blood," "Two Gun" Crowley, Lieutenant Becker, "Lefty Louie," Anna Antonio, Ruth Snyder or Eva Coo."
"Patrick Downeys, however, are just five minutes of Thursday night routine. They walk in, sit down, and in a moment they are dead. It is simple, quick and workmanlike, and not very important."
I suppose Dale Harrison intended these words to be social commentary, but July 11th wasn't just another Thursday night for the Lazzari family.
The Daily News reported, on July 13, 1935, that Margaret Downey had claimed her husband's body, and it was being transported to Central Islip for burial.
If Patrick Downey is buried in Central Islip, I haven't been able to find his grave.
I was surprised by the last entry on Margaret Downey's NYS Employment records, dated April 27, 1938, because in the remarks column is the word "Deceased."
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The New York Death Index does indeed list Margaret Downey as having died on April 27, 1938. She would have been 35 years old. That's way too young. Granted, not as young as Rita Lazzari but still ... I confess I'm curious. Was it suicide, an accidental death, disease?
I could not find an obituary for Margaret Downey. Margaret's cause of death would be listed on her death certificate but my luck with obtaining death certificates from New York State has not been great. It wasn't until December 2024 that I received a death certificate for Clara Branch. I had requested this document back in 2020. I wanted that paperwork for my "Don't Flash Your Cash" entry.
The "better late than never" logic didn't apply in this case because I had already obtained a copy of Clara Branch's death certificate in person from Hempstead's Town Hall when I found myself in New York two years ago (in 2023).
Perhaps that was an aberration? Admittedly, NYS does warn anyone applying for a death certificate that there is now a lengthy waiting period. All the same, a waiting period of four years seems unreasonable.
However, it was my hope that if I saw Margaret Downey's death certificate, I may also find Patrick Downey's grave.
I submitted my request for Margaret's death certificate in April 2024 and I'm still waiting. This blog entry has been in the draft stage since then because I was hoping to provide all the answers I could find. However, I no longer wish to wait to upload the report. Should I finally receive Margaret Downey's death certificate, I'll update this story.
Point of interest - Patrick's sister Eileen O'Mara nee' Downey, who testified on his behalf at the trial, is buried alongside her husband Edward O'Mara (1900-1943) in Saint John of God Cemetery. Eileen O'Mara died on November 27, 1967, at age 62, after being struck by a car.
The steamship Cameronia sailed to Moville, Ireland in August 1938, carrying Mary Murray and her two nephews, John Patrick (age 8) and Michael Downey (age 6).
Listed as the destination for Mary Murray and the two Downey boys is Castleblayney in County Monaghan, Ireland. Castleblayney is the address given for Mary and Margaret's mother, Alice, when Mary Murray, immigrated in 1925.
Was this August 1938 trip to Ireland another vacation? Or had Aunt Mary taken the children back to Ireland for good?
Column 12 of the passenger manifest asks for "Country of Intended Future Permanent Residence" and all three of them have an "X" under "Foreign Countries." If they intended to return to the United States, I haven't found a record of them doing so.
There are no NYS Employment records for Mary Murray beyond July 22, 1938.
As for the Lazzari family - Robert and Daisy Lazzari had another child. In 1936, their son Donald was born.
The 1940 and 1950 census records show the Lazzari family living in the Bronx with Robert employed as the superintendent for an apartment building.
Ismaele "Sam" Bartolomei, Daisy's father who had been living with them at the time of Rita's abduction died on May 28, 1959, in the Bronx. He was 84.
Actually, Sam and his daughter Daisy appear together in every census record from 1915 to 1950. Sam arrived in the US in 1901; Daisy in 1913.
Daisy's mother, Elede Vannini Bartolomei, was in and out of the United States since her arrival in 1913. Elede appears on the 1915 and 1925 census records but not the 1920 or 1930 census. In 1930, Sam's status changes from "married" to "widowed."
Robert G. Lazzari died on April 26, 1989, at the age of 85. He is buried in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Keeseville, New York. There is no obituary for Robert G. Lazzari.
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| Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Keeseville, NY (photo by Samantha Cleveland) |
Daisy Lazzari died on September 22, 1995, at the age of 94, at the Tolstoy Foundation Nursing Home in Valley Cottage, New York. Daisy is buried at St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.
Daisy's obituary says, "she lived in Tuckahoe before moving to Pearl River 10 years ago." The nursing home where Daisy died is less than 30 minutes from Pearl River, NY.
Keeseville, New York, where Robert died, is a four-hour drive north from Pearl River. It's curious that Robert Lazzari is buried so far from where Daisy was living. One would assume Robert and Daisy Lazzari were still married and living together in Pearl River, NY at the time of his death in 1989; her obituary states she'd been living in Pearl River since 1985.
However, there is a connection between Robert Lazzari and Keeseville, NY. Robert and Daisy's daughter Martha lived in Keeseville (at one point) as did their grandson Robert N. Lazzari, Jr. and his family.
Daisy's 1995 obituary lists her daughter Martha's place of residence as Pearl River; her son Robert is in Hebron, NY and her son Donald is in San Antonio, Texas.
Daisy's obituary included the acknowledgement of "A daughter, Rita, died in 1934."
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| St. Patrick's Cemetery in Bay Shore, NY 11706 (author's photo) |
