Lizzie Lloyd King
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Lloyd King (born 1847) was the infamous alleged murderer of Charles Goodrich, whom she is said to have shot three times in the head on 20 March 1873 in Brooklyn
, New York
, United States
. The murder was headline news in the city, until her capture more than three months after the event. Her inquest
drew large crowds, and prisoner church sermons drew requests for attendance from the general public, some of whom were granted entry. After a year in jail, a psychological assessment
deemed that she was unfit to stand trial, and she was committed to a life sentence at the State Lunatic Hospital at Auburn
.
Her inquest was held on the same day and at the same court as that for Mary Ann Dwyer, who had murdered her three children, making the story even more sensational for the New York press. The New York Times
story headline the next day was "TWO INSANE WOMEN".
The chief of police who handled her case, Patrick Campbell, would recall her case decades later as "a great one", and one of the most memorable of his career.
King was born Elizabeth Lloyd King in Plymouth, Massachusetts
to Isaac B. King and Harriet A. King, and had an older sister. She was described to have a normal childhood, for which her mother could not recall King as having "ever said an immodest word". After puberty, "she grew more and more unnatural and strange", and led a troubled youth, leaving and returning to school at her whim. When in school, she did well in her studies.
She left home shortly afterward. On 25 April 1867, a probate court in Boston
committed her to the Taunton Lunatic Asylum
, during which time she was also known as Alice Howard. Her attending physician was Norton Folsom, who indicated the "form of her disease was mania
, which was manifested by excitement, irascibility, incoherence of speech and violent conduct", and that her condition was "caused by some disease peculiar to females". He indicated that by 10 May 1867, she appeared better. She was discharged on 10 September 1867. From then until 1873, she worked as a milliner and teacher
in New York City
, Philadelphia, and Hartford
, not returning to her hometown during this period.
in recent use by her, and the name by which she was commonly known at the time. She was an inmate of the Working Women's Home, and worked as a milliner making straw bonnets
at a warehouse on the corner of Broadway and Spring Street.
King met Charles Goodrich after responding to a personal ad
in a newspaper, identifying herself to him as Kate Stoddard. A relationship between King and the widower Goodrich ensued, and was established no later than early 1872. In a letter to Goodrich from early 1872, King refers to him as "my dear Charlie".
She would write seven more letters to Goodrich between then and March 1873, and he would write to her five times. She would sign her letters to him using the alias Amy, or sometimes Kate. The letters indicate that the two had married on 20 May 1872, after which her letters to him are addressed "my dearest husband". Goodrich always addressed King simply as "Amy" in his letters to her.
Her letters revealed that from June 1872 to February 1873, she had been living at a house on Degraw Street.
His second letter to her after their marriage states that "it is better for both that we should separate". Goodrich's last letter to King states his intention of providing her with a room in New York City and to aid her financially, if she would cease to refer to herself as his wife, and not mention their relationship to his family.
In that letter, King made many revelations, including that she has been living in the third Brownstone
house from Fifth Avenue
on Degraw Street. Seven units had been built and owned by Charles Goodrich, and were completed in the fall of 1872; he had assumed residence of the unit at 731 Degraw Street. The letter also indicated that Goodrich had married King in what she now knew was a mock marriage, since the clergyman who conducted the ceremony was Reuben Smith, a doctor by trade and a friend of Goodrich. Further, it notes that Goodrich had treated her cruelly, that they had a child in December, and that on the day she wrote her letter, he had evicted her, throwing her trunks and clothing into another unit. She lamented that she had no friends or money, and that "it seems like some dreadful nightmare". She signed the letter Amy G., intended to mean Goodrich.
At the urging of his brother, Charles Goodrich temporarily separated from King for about a week, but she had returned to live with him for at least a few days before he was shot.
A search of the house by police netted a set of letters with "only the Christian name of the writer" (that is, the given name) signed therein.
During the first few days of the investigation, it was hypothesized that Goodrich had committed suicide. The post-mortem investigation revealed that he had been shot three times, the "three bullets in the brain...being as fatal to the theory of self-destruction as they were to the victim". Others persisted in the suicide conjecture; the claim was that he shot himself once, and that the person who discovered him shot him twice more to give the appearance of a murder, and then wiped away the blood. By 25 March, this conjecture was abandoned.
Despite daily questioning of the neighbors up to 26 March, an accurate account of the events could not be established because they offered conflicting information. It was unanimous that a woman was either visiting or living at Goodrich's house, but little was known about her:
The neighbours also unanimously endorsed the hypothesis that it was murder, and that the woman was "directly concerned in the affair".
, where he was buried in a family vault
the next day. Three days later, William Goodrich offered a $2,500 reward for the capture of the woman who had sent him the letter. On 2 July 1873, Brooklyn Common Council unanimously adopted the motion to offer another $1,000 in reward for the capture of King, bringing the total reward to $3,500.
King had been the primary suspect from the start of the investigation, according to the New York Times:
The name Kate Stoddard was first considered for suspicion in the murder when a book of poems was found in Goodrich's home by detectives Folk and Videtto during their search for evidence. Her name appeared on one of the pages of that book.
By 1 April 1873, several suspects for the murder had been proposed: an Englishman named Barnet or Barrett; a man named James, using the alias "Pop" Tighe, and two other burglars; a Spaniard named Roscoe; and Kate Stoddard, based on several letters that were found during the initial investigation of the crime scene. The suspicion of Roscoe was based on an interview of Lucette Meyers by Chief of Police Patrick Campbell, in which she proposed that Goodrich had been "followed to his house and killed by a man—an enemy". The police efforts were by now being criticized, having failed to apprehend or even nominate a viable suspect. When a New York detective apprehended a Frenchman named Charles Dalzen, of "Hayti, West Indies" (sic), mistakenly believing him to be Roscoe, the New York Times noted:
Lucette Armstrong had been in jail at this time, unable to make a $1,000 bail
. She had refused to divulge information she claimed to know about the murder. The police resorted to using an undercover
female detective, labeled a petticoat
by the press, "by whose wiles it was confidently expected Mrs. Armstrong would be induced to tell all she is supposed to know about the Goodrich murder". She was placed in the same room as Armstrong, posing as a witness named Lucy in a civil case, but failed to elicit any relevant discussion from Armstrong.
Goodrich's father made a request to coroner Whitehill on 19 April 1873 to inspect the pistol used in the murder. He stated that it was not his son's pistol, which "had a white handle, ivory or pearl, while this is wood". The location of the son's pistol was unaccounted. Lucette Meyers corroborated the father's account in May
The burglar conjecture was largely ignored as implausible by this time. Various stories regarding Roscoe were known, and by July 1873, he was deemed an accomplice of King to the murder.
Having failed in their search for Stoddard, increasingly the prime suspect in the case, the police hired Mary Handley, making her a detective to the chief of police, paying her a stipend of $2 per day for 40 days. Handley had revealed to the police that she was an "intimate friend" of King's, and had approached the police to assist in searching for her. At first, she dealt with a cold trail as had the other detectives on the case, but after a public tip "relating to the former haunts of Kate Stoddard" was given to the chief, Handley was "put on the track". She made trips to Glen's Falls
, Gloversville
and Albany
, but none were productive.
via the Fulton Ferry
, exiting the gates at the ferry dock, when she observed King headed that way, presumably on her way to Manhattan. Handley asked officer Doherty, the on-duty ferry officer, to arrest King. He did so after some persuasion, and took both Handley and King to the Second Precinct Station of the Brooklyn police, at York Street. On the way there, King was seen to discard several letters onto the street, which were collected by the officer.
Here, Handley introduced King to chief Campbell and captain James McConnell as the fugitive Kate Stoddard. King was interviewed, but denied the charge that she was Kate Stoddard. Campbell noticed a large gold locket
pendant from a chain about her neck, and requested to see it. King denied, but Campbell took it anyway. After fumbling with it for some time, it opened, some of its contents falling to the floor. King picked them up and ate them. They were flakes of desiccated blood. Upon inquiry from the chief, she replied "that's blood—dried blood", then refused to answer any further queries.
She was later taken to the Raymond Street Jail
. Meanwhile, Campbell inspected the letters, which were addressed to individuals in Manhattan and New Jersey
, and inferred that King must reside in Brooklyn.
At this time, the police were reticent with the media, not yet having ascertained the identity of the woman. The police had, to their embarrassment, mistakenly arrested Lucette Meyers earlier in the investigation.
Meanwhile, detectives were continuing their search for Roscoe, who was now also considered a myth in some circles, and had summoned Dr. Reuben Smith and Charles Green to the police station. Smith and Green were friends of Charles Goodrich, and had met King during her relationship with Goodrich. This would allow the police to identify the woman in jail as Stoddard, whom they knew to be the author of the Amy G. letters.
King had been living at High Street since the third week of April, continuing to work in Manhattan. By June, however, she discontinued her work commute, instead working from her room at Taylor's house. She had friendly and frequent association with the Taylor family, who were unaware of her true identity; they became concerned about her disappearance on 8 July 1873, but King's friends suggested she had gone to visit her parents, whom she had said lived in Trenton, New Jersey
. They learned of her capture by police two days later, when as a result of the confession, an officer was dispatched to Taylor's house.
Taylor was brought to the Second Precinct for questioning, where she identified King by her alias Minnie Waltham.
, all possessions of Goodrich, which were seized as evidence.
Handley's friends urged her to apply for the reward.
By the time she was captured, King had reverted to using the name Lizzie Lloyd King, and had abandoned the Stoddard alias. She was interested in news about herself, and requested the day's papers while in jail.
The captain escorted King to coroner Whitehill's office, where they met with the jury in consultation for about an hour. Infrequently, the coroner or a juror would enter the courtroom, causing excitement among those assembled of the imminent commencement of the inquest, but they returned to the coroner's office almost immediately. At 13:00, the captain entered the courtroom with Mary Handley, causing a "decided sensation, the majority of the spectators evidently mistaking Miss Handley for Kate Stoddard". By this time there was a throng of people in the hallways wishing to enter the courtroom, though "none but reporters, officials, and the influential outside few were admitted" to the already overcrowded courtroom. The jurors entered the courtroom via the clerk's office at 13:10, promptly taking their seats. King entered the courtroom shortly after via the main corridor, accompanied by Captain McConnell and her counsel William C. de Witt, to a great uproar.
Mary Handley testified next, and stated that she had known King when they had roomed together at an apartment at 45 Elizabeth Street, between February and June or July 1872. At the time, King was known as Kate Stoddard, and made straw bonnets. King then left for the Working-women's Home, and they did not see each other again until Handley spotted King on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, at which time she requested an officer apprehend King. Handley was employed as a detective for chief Campbell at this time.
Anna Knight was the fourth person to testify. She indicated that King boarded at a home owned by Knight's mother at 127 High Street, and diligently paid her rent of $2.50 per week despite being "in rather poor circumstances". Knight indicated that King used the alias Minnie Waltham during her stay from April 1873 until her capture. She worked in New York, or sometimes brought it home with her.
The father of the victim, David Goodrich, was next to take the stand. He identified various items, but noted that the wooden-handled pistols were not like that owned by his son, which was white-handled. He also noted that in February 1872, a woman brought him a letter, signed Amy G.; he had verified some of the contents of the letter with his son, and advised him that he extricate himself from the position resultant from the association with King.
Captain McConnell testified that he had seized a trunk from King's boarding room on High Street, and that it contained the items presented to the court, and two pistols, one of which was used to fire the three shots that killed the victim. He noted that King had been apprehended and brought to the Second Precinct station at noon the previous Tuesday.
Charles Green noted that he had spent a night in Goodrich's house with King, during which she penned the letter signed Amy G., and identified the articles presented to the court.
General Jourdan, the president of the Board of Police Commissioners, testified that the day before the trial, he had warned King "not to commit herself to the Jury without the advice of counsel".
Patrick Campbell, the Chief of Police of Brooklyn, indicated that King had made "statements to me as to the manner in which Charles Goodrich came to his death", and that she requested that she be called Amy G. during her first interrogation at the police station. He also stated that he had hired Mary Handley as a detective "on account of her personal acquaintance with Kate Stoddard".
Finally, King herself was called to the stand, and identified herself as Lizzie Lloyd King, and that she was a bonnet maker. She declined further comment regarding Goodrich, on advice from her counsel, and was dismissed.
At 18:00, the jury returned, and rendered the verdict:
On 22 July 1873, her father and brother-in-law visited her at the jail, with her counsel for the future trial, O.T. Gray of Hyde Park
. During the visit, which lasted over three hours, nobody else was allowed into that part of the prison.
Her new counsel, D.B. Thompson, made an application to the court on 2 March 1874 to release himself from "further conduct in the case", citing the actions of King to dismiss various previous counsels, and that "so many embarrassments had been put in their way". Judge Gilbert denied the request, and instructed Thompson and Lowe to act as defense counsel for King. Thompson indicated that although the defense was insanity, "the accused is not now insane, but was insane at the time of the crime, if any crime is proven, was committed".
While in jail, she was deemed to be of normal disposition:
, New York. King had stated a preference for the new asylum in Poughkeepsie, and to stay at the Raymond Street Jail until that facility's completion. On 14 July 1874 the District Attorney had sent a letter requesting information about the status of the Poughkeepsie facility, and whether it would be accepting patients. A court investigation into her state of mind concluded on 15 July 1874 that she was not fit for trial, and that an order of commitment would be issued pending a reply from the Poughkeepsie facility. Even when sent to Auburn, she inquired whether she could be transferred to the Poughkeepsie facility upon its completion: "If I go to Auburn now, I wish to know if I can be transferred to Poughkeepsie as soon as there is any room for me there".
She continued to read stories about herself, even sending complaint letters to newspapers about inaccuracies in the reports she read. On 17 July 1874, she objected to the wording of the commitment announcement by Judge Moore, noting that he misrepresented the jury's indictment from the inquest:
A syndicated report in the Oswego Daily Times of 18 May 1880 indicates that at the asylum, King had composed a curious letter:
King was criticizing the New York state "lunacy law" authorizing that those indicted for a crime, but not convicted, be sent to an insane asylum. She considered this an ex post facto law
. The letter was given to Alonzo B. Cornell
, the Governor of New York
.
. The name of the street, between Fifth Avenue
and Sixth Avenue, was changed from Degraw Street to Lincoln Place on 15 April 1873 by the Brooklyn Common Council. Eventually, the remainder of the eastward segment, to Prospect Park
, was also renamed to Lincoln Place.
In May 1873, Goodrich's father filed a lawsuit against Mrs. Finlay of Staten Island
. They had an apparent agreement to exchange the brownstone houses owned by Charles Goodrich for the clipper brig
Hattie Haskett owned by Finlay. The suit was denied because it was signed by Finlay's husband, who "had not been shown to be an authorized agent for his wife".
By 1874, Hanley had made an application to claim the $1,000 reward offered by Brooklyn Common Council in June 1873. After the Law Committee of the council heard testimony on 24 November 1874 from Hanley, and corroboration from Patrick Campbell and General Jourdan, it passed a resolution recommending the payment of that reward; the committee would present the resolution to council when it next convened.
In the book Women Who Kill, Ann Jones
argues that women like Lizzie Lloyd King, who are subjugated from childhood and then abandoned by their mates, are capable of engaging in crimes they would not otherwise commit to prevent their own destitution.
Those involved in the case would reminisce about it years later. In 1895, speaking to officers at police headquarters after announcing his retirement, Patrick Campbell spoke about the loyalty necessary to conduct police duties, citing the King case as an exemplary demonstration of that loyalty:
In a 1906 interview with the Brooklyn Daily Standard Union, Campbell, 80 years old at this time, recounted a few of his most memorable cases. He was chief of police for Brooklyn from 1870 until 1895, and identified the Kate Stoddard case as "a great one". Although he accurately recounted many details, he also stated that "as she made no effort to escape we got her easily enough". After she was sent to the asylum in 1874, he no longer kept track of her. ""A commission adjudged her insane and she was sent to an asylum. She may be
living yet, for all I know."
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The murder was headline news in the city, until her capture more than three months after the event. Her inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
drew large crowds, and prisoner church sermons drew requests for attendance from the general public, some of whom were granted entry. After a year in jail, a psychological assessment
Psychological evaluation
A psychological evaluation or mental examination is an examination into a person's mental health by a mental health professional such as a psychologist. A psychological evaluation may result in a diagnosis of a mental illness...
deemed that she was unfit to stand trial, and she was committed to a life sentence at the State Lunatic Hospital at Auburn
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
.
Her inquest was held on the same day and at the same court as that for Mary Ann Dwyer, who had murdered her three children, making the story even more sensational for the New York press. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
story headline the next day was "TWO INSANE WOMEN".
The chief of police who handled her case, Patrick Campbell, would recall her case decades later as "a great one", and one of the most memorable of his career.
Description
King was described as a "remarkable woman", who was "attractive in face, manner and figure, and was a fine musician". She was also intelligent:Early life
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
to Isaac B. King and Harriet A. King, and had an older sister. She was described to have a normal childhood, for which her mother could not recall King as having "ever said an immodest word". After puberty, "she grew more and more unnatural and strange", and led a troubled youth, leaving and returning to school at her whim. When in school, she did well in her studies.
She left home shortly afterward. On 25 April 1867, a probate court in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
committed her to the Taunton Lunatic Asylum
Taunton State Hospital
The Taunton State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital built in 1854 in Taunton, Massachusetts....
, during which time she was also known as Alice Howard. Her attending physician was Norton Folsom, who indicated the "form of her disease was mania
Mania
Mania, the presence of which is a criterion for certain psychiatric diagnoses, is a state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, arousal, and/ or energy levels. In a sense, it is the opposite of depression...
, which was manifested by excitement, irascibility, incoherence of speech and violent conduct", and that her condition was "caused by some disease peculiar to females". He indicated that by 10 May 1867, she appeared better. She was discharged on 10 September 1867. From then until 1873, she worked as a milliner and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Philadelphia, and Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, not returning to her hometown during this period.
Relationship with Charles Goodrich
In New York City, she roomed with Mary Handley at 45 Elizabeth Street from February 1872, until late June or early July of that year. Handley knew King by the name Kate Stoddard, an aliasPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
in recent use by her, and the name by which she was commonly known at the time. She was an inmate of the Working Women's Home, and worked as a milliner making straw bonnets
Bonnet (headgear)
Bonnets are a variety of headgear for both sexes, which have in common only the absence of a brim. Bonnet derives from the same word in French, where it originally indicated a type of material...
at a warehouse on the corner of Broadway and Spring Street.
King met Charles Goodrich after responding to a personal ad
Personal advertisement
A personal or personal ad is an item or notice traditionally in the newspaper, similar to a classified ad but in nature. In British English it is also commonly known as an advert in a lonely hearts column. With its rise in popularity, the World Wide Web has also become a common medium for...
in a newspaper, identifying herself to him as Kate Stoddard. A relationship between King and the widower Goodrich ensued, and was established no later than early 1872. In a letter to Goodrich from early 1872, King refers to him as "my dear Charlie".
She would write seven more letters to Goodrich between then and March 1873, and he would write to her five times. She would sign her letters to him using the alias Amy, or sometimes Kate. The letters indicate that the two had married on 20 May 1872, after which her letters to him are addressed "my dearest husband". Goodrich always addressed King simply as "Amy" in his letters to her.
Her letters revealed that from June 1872 to February 1873, she had been living at a house on Degraw Street.
His second letter to her after their marriage states that "it is better for both that we should separate". Goodrich's last letter to King states his intention of providing her with a room in New York City and to aid her financially, if she would cease to refer to herself as his wife, and not mention their relationship to his family.
Eviction, and a letter to William Goodrich
King refused the proposal, and on the evening of 15 February 1873 wrote a letter to his brother William W. Goodrich, sending it to his office.In that letter, King made many revelations, including that she has been living in the third Brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
house from Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Brooklyn)
Fifth Avenue is an important commercial thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.The Avenue runs south-by southwest for from its intersection with Atlantic Avenue in Fort Greene just southeast of Downtown Brooklyn through the neighborhoods of Park Slope and Sunset Park until it ends...
on Degraw Street. Seven units had been built and owned by Charles Goodrich, and were completed in the fall of 1872; he had assumed residence of the unit at 731 Degraw Street. The letter also indicated that Goodrich had married King in what she now knew was a mock marriage, since the clergyman who conducted the ceremony was Reuben Smith, a doctor by trade and a friend of Goodrich. Further, it notes that Goodrich had treated her cruelly, that they had a child in December, and that on the day she wrote her letter, he had evicted her, throwing her trunks and clothing into another unit. She lamented that she had no friends or money, and that "it seems like some dreadful nightmare". She signed the letter Amy G., intended to mean Goodrich.
At the urging of his brother, Charles Goodrich temporarily separated from King for about a week, but she had returned to live with him for at least a few days before he was shot.
Shooting and investigation
When Goodrich attempted to finally terminate the relationship and evict her from his home, King shot him in the head three times. The murder occurred at his home. King had descended to the basement, with Goodrich following her, during an argument. He insisted that she leave his house, and reiterated that he "would do all he could afford for her". At this, she shot him in the head, dragged his body near the fireplace grate, and cleaned off the blood.A search of the house by police netted a set of letters with "only the Christian name of the writer" (that is, the given name) signed therein.
During the first few days of the investigation, it was hypothesized that Goodrich had committed suicide. The post-mortem investigation revealed that he had been shot three times, the "three bullets in the brain...being as fatal to the theory of self-destruction as they were to the victim". Others persisted in the suicide conjecture; the claim was that he shot himself once, and that the person who discovered him shot him twice more to give the appearance of a murder, and then wiped away the blood. By 25 March, this conjecture was abandoned.
Despite daily questioning of the neighbors up to 26 March, an accurate account of the events could not be established because they offered conflicting information. It was unanimous that a woman was either visiting or living at Goodrich's house, but little was known about her:
The neighbours also unanimously endorsed the hypothesis that it was murder, and that the woman was "directly concerned in the affair".
Reward offer
Goodrich's body was removed from his residence at 17:00 on 22 March, placed in a hearse, and transported to Cumberland Street, to the residence of his brother William Goodrich. A funeral service was conducted there on the afternoon of 23 March, and his body was then transported on that evening's train to AlbanyAlbany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, where he was buried in a family vault
Burial vault (tomb)
A burial vault is a structural underground tomb.It is a stone or brick-lined underground space or 'burial' chamber for the interment of a dead body or bodies. They were originally and are still often vaulted and usually have stone slab entrances...
the next day. Three days later, William Goodrich offered a $2,500 reward for the capture of the woman who had sent him the letter. On 2 July 1873, Brooklyn Common Council unanimously adopted the motion to offer another $1,000 in reward for the capture of King, bringing the total reward to $3,500.
King had been the primary suspect from the start of the investigation, according to the New York Times:
The name Kate Stoddard was first considered for suspicion in the murder when a book of poems was found in Goodrich's home by detectives Folk and Videtto during their search for evidence. Her name appeared on one of the pages of that book.
By 1 April 1873, several suspects for the murder had been proposed: an Englishman named Barnet or Barrett; a man named James, using the alias "Pop" Tighe, and two other burglars; a Spaniard named Roscoe; and Kate Stoddard, based on several letters that were found during the initial investigation of the crime scene. The suspicion of Roscoe was based on an interview of Lucette Meyers by Chief of Police Patrick Campbell, in which she proposed that Goodrich had been "followed to his house and killed by a man—an enemy". The police efforts were by now being criticized, having failed to apprehend or even nominate a viable suspect. When a New York detective apprehended a Frenchman named Charles Dalzen, of "Hayti, West Indies" (sic), mistakenly believing him to be Roscoe, the New York Times noted:
Lucette Armstrong had been in jail at this time, unable to make a $1,000 bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
. She had refused to divulge information she claimed to know about the murder. The police resorted to using an undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
female detective, labeled a petticoat
Petticoat
A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing for women; specifically an undergarment to be worn under a skirt or a dress. The petticoat is a separate garment hanging from the waist ....
by the press, "by whose wiles it was confidently expected Mrs. Armstrong would be induced to tell all she is supposed to know about the Goodrich murder". She was placed in the same room as Armstrong, posing as a witness named Lucy in a civil case, but failed to elicit any relevant discussion from Armstrong.
Goodrich's father made a request to coroner Whitehill on 19 April 1873 to inspect the pistol used in the murder. He stated that it was not his son's pistol, which "had a white handle, ivory or pearl, while this is wood". The location of the son's pistol was unaccounted. Lucette Meyers corroborated the father's account in May
The burglar conjecture was largely ignored as implausible by this time. Various stories regarding Roscoe were known, and by July 1873, he was deemed an accomplice of King to the murder.
Having failed in their search for Stoddard, increasingly the prime suspect in the case, the police hired Mary Handley, making her a detective to the chief of police, paying her a stipend of $2 per day for 40 days. Handley had revealed to the police that she was an "intimate friend" of King's, and had approached the police to assist in searching for her. At first, she dealt with a cold trail as had the other detectives on the case, but after a public tip "relating to the former haunts of Kate Stoddard" was given to the chief, Handley was "put on the track". She made trips to Glen's Falls
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...
, Gloversville
Gloversville, New York
Gloversville is a city in Fulton County, New York, that was once the hub of America's glovemaking industry with over two hundred manufacturers in Gloversville and Johnstown. In 2000, Gloversville had a population of 15,413. Ten years later, the population had increased to 15,665- History :The...
and Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, but none were productive.
Capture
By chance, on the afternoon of 8 July 1873 Handley was returning to Brooklyn from ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
via the Fulton Ferry
Fulton Ferry (ferry)
The Fulton Ferry was the first ferry route connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City, United States, joining Fulton Street and Fulton Street across the East River...
, exiting the gates at the ferry dock, when she observed King headed that way, presumably on her way to Manhattan. Handley asked officer Doherty, the on-duty ferry officer, to arrest King. He did so after some persuasion, and took both Handley and King to the Second Precinct Station of the Brooklyn police, at York Street. On the way there, King was seen to discard several letters onto the street, which were collected by the officer.
Here, Handley introduced King to chief Campbell and captain James McConnell as the fugitive Kate Stoddard. King was interviewed, but denied the charge that she was Kate Stoddard. Campbell noticed a large gold locket
Locket
A locket is a pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item such as a curl of hair. Lockets are usually given to loved ones on holidays such as Valentine's Day and occasions such as Christenings, weddings and, most noticeably during the Victorian Age,...
pendant from a chain about her neck, and requested to see it. King denied, but Campbell took it anyway. After fumbling with it for some time, it opened, some of its contents falling to the floor. King picked them up and ate them. They were flakes of desiccated blood. Upon inquiry from the chief, she replied "that's blood—dried blood", then refused to answer any further queries.
She was later taken to the Raymond Street Jail
Raymond Street Jail
The Raymond Street Jail was a jail in Brooklyn, New York City. With its cornerstone laid in a ceremony on August 27, 1836, Raymond Street Jail was the chief prison for Brooklyn before the latter was incorporated into New York City, and was closed on July 20, 1963...
. Meanwhile, Campbell inspected the letters, which were addressed to individuals in Manhattan and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and inferred that King must reside in Brooklyn.
At this time, the police were reticent with the media, not yet having ascertained the identity of the woman. The police had, to their embarrassment, mistakenly arrested Lucette Meyers earlier in the investigation.
Meanwhile, detectives were continuing their search for Roscoe, who was now also considered a myth in some circles, and had summoned Dr. Reuben Smith and Charles Green to the police station. Smith and Green were friends of Charles Goodrich, and had met King during her relationship with Goodrich. This would allow the police to identify the woman in jail as Stoddard, whom they knew to be the author of the Amy G. letters.
Identification
Her identity was incontrovertibly confirmed by 11 July 1873, and King confessed to being Kate Stoddard and to the murder of Goodrich. She also admitted that she had been boarding at the home of the widow Ann Taylor, at 127 High Street in Brooklyn, a three-story brick house near Jay Street. Taylor's daughter Anna Knight would later testify at the inquest, indicating that King used the alias Minnie Waltham in association with Taylor.King had been living at High Street since the third week of April, continuing to work in Manhattan. By June, however, she discontinued her work commute, instead working from her room at Taylor's house. She had friendly and frequent association with the Taylor family, who were unaware of her true identity; they became concerned about her disappearance on 8 July 1873, but King's friends suggested she had gone to visit her parents, whom she had said lived in Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
. They learned of her capture by police two days later, when as a result of the confession, an officer was dispatched to Taylor's house.
Taylor was brought to the Second Precinct for questioning, where she identified King by her alias Minnie Waltham.
Evidence
Subsequently, a police officer and a detective executed a search of King's room at the Taylor residence, where they found two trunks, one of which contained a watch, pocket book, revolver, a ring, and two sealsSeal (device)
A seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...
, all possessions of Goodrich, which were seized as evidence.
Handley's friends urged her to apply for the reward.
By the time she was captured, King had reverted to using the name Lizzie Lloyd King, and had abandoned the Stoddard alias. She was interested in news about herself, and requested the day's papers while in jail.
Inquest
An inquest was held on 12 July 1873 at the court house on Livingston Street. Stoddard arrived by carriage with Captain McConnell at 11:00 that morning, but the court room was already full by 10:00, as some had believed the inquest to start at that time. Spectators who wished to attend the inquest thus had to endure several hours of petty cases, or relinquish their seats to those waiting outside.The captain escorted King to coroner Whitehill's office, where they met with the jury in consultation for about an hour. Infrequently, the coroner or a juror would enter the courtroom, causing excitement among those assembled of the imminent commencement of the inquest, but they returned to the coroner's office almost immediately. At 13:00, the captain entered the courtroom with Mary Handley, causing a "decided sensation, the majority of the spectators evidently mistaking Miss Handley for Kate Stoddard". By this time there was a throng of people in the hallways wishing to enter the courtroom, though "none but reporters, officials, and the influential outside few were admitted" to the already overcrowded courtroom. The jurors entered the courtroom via the clerk's office at 13:10, promptly taking their seats. King entered the courtroom shortly after via the main corridor, accompanied by Captain McConnell and her counsel William C. de Witt, to a great uproar.
Testimony
Nine people provided testimonials to the court. Lucette Meyers, who had been quoted in newspapers regarding the murder, identified King by several of her aliases, including Kate Stoddard, Amy Snow, Amy Stone and Amy Gilmore; "she is called by all of these names". She also identified various articles. Adeline Pabor, who had been engaged to Goodrich for months before the murder, testified that Goodrich had introduced her to King, claiming King was his sister. She also identified articles presented to her.Mary Handley testified next, and stated that she had known King when they had roomed together at an apartment at 45 Elizabeth Street, between February and June or July 1872. At the time, King was known as Kate Stoddard, and made straw bonnets. King then left for the Working-women's Home, and they did not see each other again until Handley spotted King on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, at which time she requested an officer apprehend King. Handley was employed as a detective for chief Campbell at this time.
Anna Knight was the fourth person to testify. She indicated that King boarded at a home owned by Knight's mother at 127 High Street, and diligently paid her rent of $2.50 per week despite being "in rather poor circumstances". Knight indicated that King used the alias Minnie Waltham during her stay from April 1873 until her capture. She worked in New York, or sometimes brought it home with her.
The father of the victim, David Goodrich, was next to take the stand. He identified various items, but noted that the wooden-handled pistols were not like that owned by his son, which was white-handled. He also noted that in February 1872, a woman brought him a letter, signed Amy G.; he had verified some of the contents of the letter with his son, and advised him that he extricate himself from the position resultant from the association with King.
Captain McConnell testified that he had seized a trunk from King's boarding room on High Street, and that it contained the items presented to the court, and two pistols, one of which was used to fire the three shots that killed the victim. He noted that King had been apprehended and brought to the Second Precinct station at noon the previous Tuesday.
Charles Green noted that he had spent a night in Goodrich's house with King, during which she penned the letter signed Amy G., and identified the articles presented to the court.
General Jourdan, the president of the Board of Police Commissioners, testified that the day before the trial, he had warned King "not to commit herself to the Jury without the advice of counsel".
Patrick Campbell, the Chief of Police of Brooklyn, indicated that King had made "statements to me as to the manner in which Charles Goodrich came to his death", and that she requested that she be called Amy G. during her first interrogation at the police station. He also stated that he had hired Mary Handley as a detective "on account of her personal acquaintance with Kate Stoddard".
Finally, King herself was called to the stand, and identified herself as Lizzie Lloyd King, and that she was a bonnet maker. She declined further comment regarding Goodrich, on advice from her counsel, and was dismissed.
Verdict
The jury retired at 16:00, and at 16:30 returned to the courtroom to announce that the testimony was sufficient to render a verdict. They received the usual instructions from the judge, then retired for final deliberations, during which time the courtroom crowd openly discussed the possible outcome.At 18:00, the jury returned, and rendered the verdict:
Jailhouse
She was remanded into the custody of sheriff and keeper Courady of the county jail at Raymond Street, where she was assigned to a room by herself on the second floor. Three prisoners at the jail, Fanny Hyde, Mrs. Burgess, and Mrs. Simmons, were assigned to keep constant watch over her to prevent a suicide attempt. Simmons and Burgess were pardoned by the governor on 19 July 1873, and subsequently released from jail and their supervisory duties.On 22 July 1873, her father and brother-in-law visited her at the jail, with her counsel for the future trial, O.T. Gray of Hyde Park
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
. During the visit, which lasted over three hours, nobody else was allowed into that part of the prison.
Her new counsel, D.B. Thompson, made an application to the court on 2 March 1874 to release himself from "further conduct in the case", citing the actions of King to dismiss various previous counsels, and that "so many embarrassments had been put in their way". Judge Gilbert denied the request, and instructed Thompson and Lowe to act as defense counsel for King. Thompson indicated that although the defense was insanity, "the accused is not now insane, but was insane at the time of the crime, if any crime is proven, was committed".
While in jail, she was deemed to be of normal disposition:
Commitment to State Lunatic Asylum
Dr. Charles Corey examined King sometime in May 1874 to evaluate her psychological condition, and on 21 July 1874 she was committed to State Lunatic Asylum in AuburnAuburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
, New York. King had stated a preference for the new asylum in Poughkeepsie, and to stay at the Raymond Street Jail until that facility's completion. On 14 July 1874 the District Attorney had sent a letter requesting information about the status of the Poughkeepsie facility, and whether it would be accepting patients. A court investigation into her state of mind concluded on 15 July 1874 that she was not fit for trial, and that an order of commitment would be issued pending a reply from the Poughkeepsie facility. Even when sent to Auburn, she inquired whether she could be transferred to the Poughkeepsie facility upon its completion: "If I go to Auburn now, I wish to know if I can be transferred to Poughkeepsie as soon as there is any room for me there".
She continued to read stories about herself, even sending complaint letters to newspapers about inaccuracies in the reports she read. On 17 July 1874, she objected to the wording of the commitment announcement by Judge Moore, noting that he misrepresented the jury's indictment from the inquest:
A syndicated report in the Oswego Daily Times of 18 May 1880 indicates that at the asylum, King had composed a curious letter:
King was criticizing the New York state "lunacy law" authorizing that those indicted for a crime, but not convicted, be sent to an insane asylum. She considered this an ex post facto law
Ex post facto law
An ex post facto law or retroactive law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law...
. The letter was given to Alonzo B. Cornell
Alonzo B. Cornell
Alonzo Barton Cornell was a New York politician and businessman who served as 27th Governor of New York from 1880 to 1882.-Early years:...
, the Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
.
Aftermath
Neighborhood residents were concerned about "the unpleasant associations" of the name of their street to the murder, that within days they had petitioned to change it to "Lincoln Place", in honor of Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. The name of the street, between Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Brooklyn)
Fifth Avenue is an important commercial thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.The Avenue runs south-by southwest for from its intersection with Atlantic Avenue in Fort Greene just southeast of Downtown Brooklyn through the neighborhoods of Park Slope and Sunset Park until it ends...
and Sixth Avenue, was changed from Degraw Street to Lincoln Place on 15 April 1873 by the Brooklyn Common Council. Eventually, the remainder of the eastward segment, to Prospect Park
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
Prospect Park is a 585-acre public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn located between Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...
, was also renamed to Lincoln Place.
In May 1873, Goodrich's father filed a lawsuit against Mrs. Finlay of Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. They had an apparent agreement to exchange the brownstone houses owned by Charles Goodrich for the clipper brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Hattie Haskett owned by Finlay. The suit was denied because it was signed by Finlay's husband, who "had not been shown to be an authorized agent for his wife".
By 1874, Hanley had made an application to claim the $1,000 reward offered by Brooklyn Common Council in June 1873. After the Law Committee of the council heard testimony on 24 November 1874 from Hanley, and corroboration from Patrick Campbell and General Jourdan, it passed a resolution recommending the payment of that reward; the committee would present the resolution to council when it next convened.
In the book Women Who Kill, Ann Jones
Ann Jones (author)
Ann Jones is a journalist and author of a number of non-fiction books about her research into women's and humanitarian issues: Women Who Kill, Kabul in Winter, Looking for Lovedu, Next Time She'll be Dead and When Love Goes Wrong...
argues that women like Lizzie Lloyd King, who are subjugated from childhood and then abandoned by their mates, are capable of engaging in crimes they would not otherwise commit to prevent their own destitution.
Recollections
A newspaper report in 1889 about Charles McElvaine, who murdered a grocer, recounted the Goodrich murder. It incorrectly noted that Stoddard "remained in hiding for over six months" (it was actually three and a half months).Those involved in the case would reminisce about it years later. In 1895, speaking to officers at police headquarters after announcing his retirement, Patrick Campbell spoke about the loyalty necessary to conduct police duties, citing the King case as an exemplary demonstration of that loyalty:
In a 1906 interview with the Brooklyn Daily Standard Union, Campbell, 80 years old at this time, recounted a few of his most memorable cases. He was chief of police for Brooklyn from 1870 until 1895, and identified the Kate Stoddard case as "a great one". Although he accurately recounted many details, he also stated that "as she made no effort to escape we got her easily enough". After she was sent to the asylum in 1874, he no longer kept track of her. ""A commission adjudged her insane and she was sent to an asylum. She may be
living yet, for all I know."