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Parkman–Webster murder case

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225:, Parkman went to Cambridge to look for Webster and asked Mr. Pettee, the Harvard cashier, to give him the money from the sale of Webster's lecture tickets to repay Webster's debt. On November 23, Parkman was out collecting debts as usual. That day, Webster visited Parkman's home, suggesting that they meet at the Medical College that afternoon at 1:30 pm. At 1:45 pm, the last confirmed sighting of Parkman had him entering the college on North Grove Street, wearing a dark frock coat, dark trousers, a purple satin vest, and a stovepipe hat. Later that afternoon, Littlefield found Webster's rooms locked from the inside, and heard water running. Webster was home by 6:00 pm and attended a party at the house of friends, the Treadwells, showing no outward signs of distress. 268:
to the touch. When Webster was gone, Littlefield let himself into the room through a window, all the doors being bolted. He found that the kindling barrels were nearly empty, though they had recently been filled, and there were wet spots that tasted like acid in odd places. On November 29 (Thanksgiving), Littlefield borrowed a hatchet, drill, crowbar and mortar chisel, and with his wife standing guard, began chiseling away the wall under Webster's private lab privy. He went down a tunnel into the vault where the wall had felt hot and began to hack at it where the privy emptied into a pit that the police had not searched. He went through two layers of brick in just over an hour, and then stopped to go to a dance, leaving the remaining layers for the next day.
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on Friday around 1:30, Webster struck his cane on the ground, then asking him if he had seen Parkman anywhere in the building, had seen him after 1:30, or if Parkman had been in Webster's own lecture room. When Littlefield answered no to these questions, Webster repeated the story about paying off the debt and walked off, having said more to Littlefield than in their entire years together at the college. Littlefield remembered that four days prior to the murder, Webster had asked him a number of questions about the dissecting vault, and after the college had been searched, the professor had surprised him with a turkey for his Thanksgiving dinner – the first gift he had ever given him.
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furnace (from which they extracted a button, some coins, and more bone fragments, including a jaw bone with teeth). Then they dumped out a chest from which came a foul odor, and there was an armless, headless, hairy and partly burned torso. Just as they determined that the head had been sawn off, they found a saw nearby. Then they found a thigh stuffed inside the torso, and the heart and other organs missing. Mrs. Parkman identified the body as her husband's from markings near the penis and on the lower back. His brother-in-law said that he had seen the extreme hairiness of Parkman's body and confirmed that the body was his.
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as the evidence looks. ... Many suspect the janitor, who is known to be a bad man and to have wished for the reward offered for Dr. Parkman's body. He could make things appear against the doctor, having bodies under his control. I trust our minds will be soon relieved, but, meanwhile, they are soiled by new details continually. I went to see poor Mrs. Webster on Saturday, the day after her husband's arrest, but of course, was not admitted. What a terrible blight upon her life and that of the girls! The mere suspicion, for I cannot believe anything can be proved." On December 1, Harvard librarian
279:, who then found Marshal Tukey. By the time Tukey arrived, word had spread, and a whole party of men was waiting for the official report on the bones' identity. Tukey first had Littlefield go through the dissection room and inventory the specimens to make sure that none was missing. Then several men went into the tunnel and moved toward the vault. They decided that the man with the longest arms would go into the privy and hand out the remains. He handed out the pelvis, the right thigh, and the lower left leg, and these were placed on a board to await the arrival of the coroner, Jabez Pratt. 482:
in a tea chest, which was then displayed, complete with blood stains. He also said that it was possible to fit the other parts into the privy hole, but not the torso. More witnesses were brought forth to testify about Webster's unusual behavior after Parkman's disappearance, and three unsigned letters meant to throw the police off the track were shown. A man familiar with Webster's hand testified to his belief that Webster had written the letters. Before the prosecution rested, a witness then confirmed that Parkman was on the steps of the College early on Friday afternoon.
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Webster was led inside. The clerk asked for their finding. The foreman replied, "Guilty!" Then, as Bemis writes, "The prisoner, who upon the sentence of the jury had turned deadly pale, but who had stood up with a firm bearing to receive the verdict of the jury, immediately upon its announcement, grasped the rail in front of him, and slowly sank down into his seat. Dropping his head, he rubbed his eyes beneath his spectacles with a trembling and convulsed motion as if to wipe away tears, and remained in that position a few moments."
461:, the dean of Harvard Medical College, who held a post endowed by Parkman, took the stand. He testified his belief that the body had been dismembered by someone with a knowledge of dissection and anatomy, that a wound between the ribs would not necessarily cause a large amount of blood loss, and that the corpse's build was "not dissimilar" to that of George Parkman. Wyman again described the bones and showed how they fit together. Then 979:
death-like silence followed, and all eyes were fixed in silence on him whose hopes had now fled. For nearly five minutes the prisoner remained in this state, apparently unconscious ... The prisoner ... seemed affected to tears. No one seemed willing to move – to break the spell which kept all fixed in silence ... The prisoner remained some time after the Court adjourned, with his handkerchief to his eyes." (See Stone 303)
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Instead, he handed them his papers, which contained the same story he had been telling. Neither attorney addressed the claim in Webster's notes that Littlefield may have perjured himself, and neither cross-examined Littlefield about his corpse-stealing nor emphasized that the janitor lived near the lab, giving him an opportunity to plant the body parts and collect the reward.
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they had seen the missing man after he was supposedly murdered. The state's rationale was that those sightings were instead of a Springfield man named George Bliss who the prosecution suggested, with no testimony from Bliss or anyone else, was in Boston on the day in question. In 2007-2008, researchers re-examining the case from Webster's perspective
634:, long after his death sentence. Other witnesses describe how Webster's body was moved from the gallows site, and was going to be taken to a neighbor's house. There was a concern his body would be stolen, and security precautions were taken. The article also asserted Webster's body was placed in Copp's Hill Burying Ground in his father's tomb. 478:
heat on the walls that had led him to dig into the privy. The defense accused Littlefield of being after the reward, which he denied, though they did not accuse him of the murder, as Webster had indicated they should. Overall, the janitor made a good impression – confident, honest, and unflappable. His wife Caroline also testified.
329: 179:, although they were leasing a respectable but not grand house in 1849. He was in debt to a number of friends, as his salary and meager lecture earnings could not cover his expenses. Noted mineralogist and Harvard Professor Clifford Frondel appraised the books Webster authored on chemistry as "creditable" and had praise for them. 291:
to observe. While the officers and coroner were searching, Littlefield showed them a piece of the furnace that he had broken off, on which a piece of bone was fused. They insisted he put it back where he found it. Webster watched mutely as they laid out the parts they had already found, and then he was taken back to jail.
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said that if the jawbone found in the furnace "were placed among a dozen others which I can produce, I should not be led to pick it out from any peculiarity." He placed several false teeth of his own into Keep's mold, and they fit smoothly. Sohier called the prosecution's case "indirect, presumptive,
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The defense then spent two days attempting to refute the prosecution's case. Sohier gave a long speech, among other things, complaining that Webster could not defend himself (at the time in Massachusetts, capital murder defendants could only make one unsworn speech to the jury right at the end of the
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On Friday and Saturday, Ephraim Littlefield took the stand. He told how Parkman had demanded payment on November 19, how Webster had asked if one could use a light inside the dissecting room vault (to which Littlefield said no), how Webster began locking his rooms, about the turkey and then about the
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as his attorneys. Sohier had handled Webster's civil (mostly financial) matters in the past. Inexperienced in criminal law, he provided a second-rate defense for Webster. Merrick, more experienced in criminal law, held a secondary position during the trial. Webster did not discuss strategy with them.
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On November 30, Littlefield resumed chiseling and worked for some time until he managed to punch a hole into the wall, at which point he felt a strong draft that did not permit his lantern to stay lit inside. Maneuvering it, he looked around, ignoring the foul fumes and letting his eyes adjust to the
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On November 28, Webster was at the college early; Littlefield watched him from under the door, seeing as far as his knees. Webster moved from the furnace to the fuel closet and back, making eight separate trips. Later in the day, his furnace was burning so hard that the wall on the other side was hot
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and police officer Trenholm. They asked him if he had seen Parkman. That afternoon, he also visited Parkman's brother, the Reverend Francis Parkman, and informed him and his family that he had met the missing man after obtaining $ 483.64 to pay a debt installment, and that the latter promised that he
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of rural origins, Ephraim Littlefield was the janitor at Harvard Medical College, built in 1846, and had also been the janitor at the previous one since 1842. He and his wife Caroline lived in the basement of the college, adjacent to Webster's laboratory. He knew Webster and the other Harvard doctors
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A century after the trial, one author observed, "the Parkman murder case stands as a classic example of how a jury can reach a sound verdict despite an unfair trial." Another author claimed that the prosecutors ignored evidence that did not fit the case, Judge Shaw showed bias against Webster, whose
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seized whatever thing was handiest - it was a stick of wood - and dealt him an instantaneous blow with all the force that passion could give it. It was on the side of his head, and there was nothing to break the force of the blow. He fell instantly upon the pavement. There was no second blow. He did
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were reluctant to believe that one of their own could be guilty. Longfellow's wife wrote, "Boston is at this moment in sad suspense about the fate of poor Dr. Parkman. ... You will see by the papers what dark horror overshadows us like an eclipse. Of course, we cannot believe Dr. Webster guilty, bad
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Meanwhile, investigators wondered where the rest of the body was. Littlefield observed that he had found a bone fragment in a furnace in the laboratory to which Webster had access and showed it to the marshal. A full search of the toilet area was then conducted, with Webster brought in from the jail
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In June, Webster wrote a confession. He admitted to killing Parkman in self-defense when the latter had become aggressive over the debt. He said that it was an unpremeditated rage, an act of passion and provocation, not a malicious murder. He said that Parkman "was speaking and gesticulating in the
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that Webster was the killer, or even how Parkman had died. Sohier brought forth 23 character witnesses and seven others who claimed to have seen Parkman after his supposed time of disappearance. Following the judge's instructions, the jury ignored the testimony of those defense witnesses who swore
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After a Sunday recess, on Monday the court heard about Webster's debt problem, and doubt was cast on his claim that he had repaid Parkman. Webster's attorneys admitted that Webster could not account for the $ 483.64 he said he had paid Parkman. A police officer then told how he had found the torso
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that he had made of Parkman's jaw. A fire alarm then rang from the building where Clifford had his belongings, so the court recessed while he went to retrieve them. When court resumed, Keep burst into tears as he showed how the loose teeth from the furnace fit into his plates. Composing himself, he
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arrived to identify the bone fragments. Since they were already at a medical college with good facilities for the examination of a body, they laid out the parts, tested them, and wrote up thorough descriptions. They conjectured that a hole found underneath the left breast might have been the stab
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Littlefield became nervous, as some began to link him to the disappearance, and suspicious, as Webster was behaving oddly. A few days after the murder, the two men met in the street, and Webster asked the janitor if he had seen Parkman at the College the previous week. When Littlefield said he had,
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If any delays, misgivings or symptoms of mercy are manifested, the gibbeted body of Washington Goode will be paraded before the mind's eye of his Excellency. If he relents in this case, though the entire population of the State petition for a remission of sentence, Governor Briggs will forfeit all
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Clifford made his own closing argument lasting more than a day. He emphasized that strong medical testimony had been presented. He said that, beyond a reasonable doubt, Parkman was dead, found cut up inside the lab. He reminded the jury of Webster's financial situation and actions before Parkman's
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of the trial that came to be received as the official version. The two men's styles complemented each other. On the first day, Clifford made a three-hour opening statement presenting facts and evidence; Bemis then began his examination of witnesses, who conceded that they would not have recognized
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wrote in his journal: "The standing of Dr. Webster, his uniform tenor of conduct since the disappearance of Dr. Parkman, his artlessness & unfamiliarity with the crime of any kind have been such that the excitement, the melancholy, the aghastness of every body are indescribable. The professors
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The jury began deliberations with a prayer and then reviewed the evidence. They voted unanimously that the remains were Parkman's, that Webster had killed him, and that he had done so deliberately. They returned at 10:45 pm, stating that they had reached a verdict. The crowd filtered back in, and
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On December 1, a coroner's jury was assembled to make a judgment about the disposition of the case. Before they were let in, the coroner and marshal's men examined a sink that appeared to be recently gouged in several places, the strange acid stains on the floor and steps, and the contents of the
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Stone's trial transcript notes, "When the Foreman pronounced the word Guilty, the prisoner started, like a person shot; his hand dropped upon the rail in front, his chin drooped upon his breast; and after remaining thus a moment or two, he sank into the chair, covering his eyes with his hands. A
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On November 26, with a $ 3,000 reward settled on for finding Parkman alive, the family had 28,000 copies of a wanted notice printed up, posted, and distributed; a little later, $ 1,000 was offered for his body. On November 27, Webster worked at the college in the evening. The city was abuzz with
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After this, Marshal Tukey dispatched Officer Clapp and two other constables to take Webster from his home in Cambridge. Without initially telling him he was under arrest, they took him to jail on a charge of murder. Webster initially denied knowledge of the crime. When told what Littlefield had
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of cadavers for the study of human anatomy. As janitor, he cleaned the doctors' rooms and laboratories, started their fires, generally set up the specimens for their lectures, and did whatever else they asked. After Webster's trial, he collected a $ 3,000 reward for providing information about
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speculation fueled by its 120 periodicals. At first, Irish immigrants were blamed. Some believed Parkman had simply left the city; others thought he had been beaten up for the money he always carried with him. Unsigned letters mailed from Boston proposed various scenarios. City Marshal
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and other police officers from Tukey's newly formed professional police force made their first search of his rooms. They returned once, each time placing special emphasis on the laboratories and dissecting vaults, but they found nothing to indicate that Parkman had been there.
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Webster himself then took the stand, against his attorneys' strong advice. In a fifteen-minute speech, he criticized his attorneys and presented his own version of the evidence, after which he called on the author of the anonymous letters to reveal himself; none did so.
511:. The defense contended that since Parkman had been seen leaving the College on Friday afternoon, the prosecution's case was in tatters. Moreover, they said, even if the body was Parkman's, anyone could have killed him and disposed of his body where it was found. 391:
were also present. The trial ran for twelve days: March 19–23, March 25–30, and April 1. 60,000 people witnessed at least part of the trial (with tickets handed out to the waiting crowds and spectators quickly rotated through); journalists came from as far as
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and circumstantial"; the defense then rested and the rebuttal started. Three dentists stated that an artist would recognize his own handiwork, and a physician estimated the condition of the remains to match up with the time for which Parkman had disappeared.
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found, he exclaimed, "That villain! I am a ruined man", going on to blame the janitor and mentioning that only the two of them had access to the privy. He then fell silent, sitting in his cell, trembling and sweating. He put what he later admitted to be
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On November 24, the Parkman family made anxious inquiries and contacted the police. Also that day, Littlefield saw Webster with a bundle; Webster told him to make a fire. On November 25, Webster appeared outside the college where he met Parkman's nephew
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were Parkman's; at the time, the standard in murder cases was proof "to an absolute certainty" that the dead body was that of the victim. Just before 8 pm on March 30, he charged the jury with producing a verdict on the defendant's guilt or innocence.
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mentioned that Webster's lectures were "tedious", at least for a non-chemistry major, but that he "was known to the students by the sobriquet of 'Sky-rocket Jack,' owing to his great interest in having some fireworks at the illumination when
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dragged for a body, and sent men to neighboring towns to check. Search parties were formed that went out day and night. The police searched Parkman's buildings, both rented and vacant, and even abandoned buildings that he did not own.
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wrote on April 2 that "Scarcely one man in ten thousand can be found who does not agree with us in the opinion that the evidence for the defence was sufficient to create a doubt of the unhappy man's guilt", while four days later, the
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dark. Finally, he saw something out of the ordinary. He narrowed his eyes and looked more sharply until he just made out on top of a dirt mound the shape of a human pelvis. He also saw a dismembered thigh and the lower part of a leg.
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The inquest jury, in an 84-page decision, decided that the body parts were indeed those of Parkman, that he had been killed and dismembered at the medical college, and that Webster was accountable for it. Using these findings, the
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The next day, the jury visited the scene of the crime, even entering the privy pit. Back in the courtroom, the coroner described Webster as "mad" after his arrest (possibly due to the strychnine); his lawyers did not object.
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Gilbey, Ryan. "The first film made for the iPhone: Is this the start of a whole new cinematic genre?." The Guardian 14 April 2010, sec. Film: n. pag. The first film made for the iPhone / Film / The Guardian. Web. 14 April
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Cohen, I. Bernard, 1950, Some Early Tools of American Science. An Account of the Early Scientific Instruments and Mineralogical and Biological Collections in Harvard University, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, pp
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confessor, Reverend George Putnam, was helping the prosecution, and statements were edited before appearing in the Bemis and Cushing Reports, which were a whitewash and issued to counteract a spate of negative publicity.
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claim to public respect as a high minded, honorable and impartial chief magistrate. He can do one of two things and retain his character as a man and a public servant: resign his office, or let the law take its course.
168:, his former classmate, was inaugurated. There was no person less likely to commit such a bloody and cruel crime as that for which he was accused." Many anecdotes suggest his classroom demonstrations were livened by 506:
The defense then gave a six-hour speech on four key points that the prosecution had to prove: that the body was Parkman's, that a homicide had occurred, that Webster had perpetrated it, and that he had done so with
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Shaw then made a historic statement, replete with bias against the defendant, in which he made a precedent-setting ruling. He said that the jury only needed to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the
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sailor, had been hanged for the murder of a fellow black sailor based on circumstantial evidence. To have pardoned Webster after sending Goode to the gallows would have undermined his reputation. As
82:; Webster was convicted of Parkman's murder and hanged. Highly publicized because of its gruesome nature and the high social status of Parkman and Webster, the case was one of the earliest in which 307:
that had killed the victim, although it did not resemble a wound and there was no blood. By the end of the day, they had estimated the man's height to have been 5'10", a match to George Parkman.
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trial). Sohier explained the difference between murder and manslaughter, which left the impression that he believed a homicide had occurred. He asserted that the prosecution had failed to show
159:. He was described by Holmes as "pleasant in the lecture room, rather nervous and excitable." Many of Webster's classroom demonstrations involved some of the latest chemical discoveries. 562:
for a pardon, asserting his innocence. Briggs was a lay preacher who did not wish to be seen bowing to Brahmin pressure, which strongly favored a commutation. Moreover, the year before,
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described which bones had been found. The defense argued that the body was not Parkman's, and questioned whether the wound on his body had killed him, as there was little blood near it.
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Oliver Wendell Holmes, "The Benefactors of the Harvard Medical School; with a Biographical Sketch of the Late Dr. George Parkman. An Introductory Lecture" (Boston: November 7, 1850)
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According to a brief book review in the Sept. 20, 1952 issue of The New Yorker, "Fair Trial" by Richard B. Morris has a section dealing with "the Parkman-Webster affair at Harvard."
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found in the furnace belonged to Parkman, recognizing it as the work he had done in the fall of 1846. He showed the jury how the discovered jawbone fit exactly into a plaster
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against Judge Shaw and his instructions to the jury. The hearing was held before Shaw and his four associates on June 12, and the writ denied. Webster appealed to Governor
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Sohier then called medical experts (some of whom had testified for the prosecution) who conceded that it was difficult to identify the body or how the man had died.
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and indicted him. According to their report, they believed that Webster had assaulted Parkman with a knife, and also had beaten and struck him until he was dead.
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claimed that "We have scarcely met a man of intelligence, since the evidence has all come out, who did not profess to believe in Webster's guilt."
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said that "he abstained while others indulged, he walked while others rode, he worked while others slept." Fanny Longfellow, wife of the poet
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discussed the possibility that Webster was placed in a harness, and was never hanged. A story is re-told about a sailor seeing Webster in
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Subsequent searches turned up bloody clothing belonging to Webster, as well as the right kidney. Testing on the stains showed them to be
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most violent and menacing manner" about the mineral cabinet being put up to cover another loan, and that in his fury he, Webster:
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Frondel, Clifford, 1988, The Geological Sciences at Harvard University from 1788 to 1850, Earth Sciences History, v. 7, p. 1-22
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graduate and the son of a prosperous manufacturer. Bemis, a legal scholar and respected, rigorous prosecutor, later wrote a
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both declined to serve as John Webster's counsel. While awaiting trial, Webster wrote out a detailed, 194-page defense.
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drama, and on one occasion the President of Harvard warned that some of them were dangerous if an accident occurred.
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In 1850, Massachusetts law required that capital cases be tried before several judges on the Supreme Judicial Court.
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based on James Winchell Stone's stenographic account of the trial and presenting a fictional solving of the murder.
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Kathleen Halttunen, "Divine Providence and Dr. Parkman's Jawbone: The Cultural Construction of Murder as Mystery"
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then talked about what was needed to burn a corpse and the odor it would produce, after which anatomy professor
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Hoar, George, F., 1905, Autobiography of Seventy Years, v. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, p. 101.
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disappeared in November 1849, his dismembered and partially burned body was found in the laboratory of
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visited Boston in 1867, among his first requests was to see the room where Parkman had been murdered.
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Parkman's disappearance (equivalent to $ 109,872 in 2023) and was able to retire comfortably.
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Webster had financial problems. His family had been forced to give up a mansion he had built in
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to the home page or some other high level page of a website that contains the cited document.
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on August 30, 1850, and publicly hanged. He died within four minutes and was buried in the
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pointed out that his department's dissection specimens differed from the body in question.
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on July 13, 1953, in the episode entitled "The Terrible Deed of John White Webster," with
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sat to his right. On the first day, Webster carried gloves, and he pleaded not guilty.
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poh! at the mere suspicion that he is guilty. ... People cannot eat; they feel sick."
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showed through an inscription that the mold had been made specifically for Parkman.
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remained unmoved, the sentence remained final, and Webster was taken to Boston's
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The Trial of Prof. John W. Webster Indicted for the Murder of Dr. George Parkman
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The case proved enduring in its impact as the first in the United States where
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John White Webster (May 20, 1793 – August 30, 1850) was a lecturer at the new
713:(2002) is another documentary, both about the case and the making of history. 275:
Littlefield exited his excavation and ran to the home of another professor,
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to clear the debt. Webster then left without inquiring about the search.
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Trial of Professor John W. Webster for the Murder of Dr. George Parkman
425:), who mainly confined his role to opening and closing statements, and 328: 118: 699:, based in part on the case. He later participated in the making of a 336:
On January 26, 1850, Webster was indicted for murder. Leading lawyers
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From a list provided for him, Webster chose Harvard graduates
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The Murder of Dr. Parkman: A Film about how History is Made
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Selected Letters and Journals of Fanny Appleton Longfellow
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Despite renewed calls for a commutation, the Governor and
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well, and observed their study of medicine, including the
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George Parkman (February 19, 1790 – November 23, 1849), a
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Popular Crime: Reflections on the Celebration of Violence
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of Bliss for comparative forensic analysis with Parkman.
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would go right away to have the payment recorded by the
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Blood and Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalised Harvard
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On May 4, Webster's lawyers submitted a petition for a
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The trial began on March 19, 1850, with Chief Justice
604:He also admitted to authoring an anonymous letter. 411:Within an hour, the jury of twelve was impanelled. 129:, called him "the lean doctor ... the good-natured 534:On April 1, Shaw sentenced Webster to be hanged. 465:, Parkman's dentist, swore that the jawbone with 302:, a substance effective for removing blood, and 1203:, Spy Pond Productions, with teaching materials 953:American Antiquarian Society: Vignettes @ AAS, 808:Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). 1125:Katherine Ramsland, "All about George Parkman" 1051:Robert M. Ireland, "Review of Helen Thompson, 1135:, American Experience, PBS documentary - WGBH 8: 590:The crime, as sketched some years afterward. 1159:Dead Certainties (Unwarranted Speculations) 874:"Ephraim Littlefield | American Experience" 217:Harvard Medical School in the 19th century. 697:Dead Certainties: Unwarranted Speculations 287:into his mouth, but it only made him ill. 1168:. Boston: Phillip Sampson & Co, 1850 1113:Craig Lambert, "An Aristocrat's Killing" 765: 1040:Fair Trial: Fourteen Who Stood Accused 940:French, John A. Stenographic Report: 742:application to be accepted to a major 1220:, Boston: Redding & Company, 1850 1166:The Trial of Prof. John White Webster 1084:Report of the Case of John W. Webster 1057:The American Journal of Legal History 955:The Gentleman in the Purple Waistcoat 910:Bemis 153-4; Stone 87-9; Sullivan 105 731:Walking Cinema: Murder on Beacon Hill 7: 622:An article in the November 23, 1884 537:Reactions were sharply divided. The 377:Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court 221:On November 22, 1849, a week before 1195:, July 2003, posted on Kusiak Music 1096:vol. 19, pp. 592–3. New York, 663:In 2023 the American film producer 1254:Murder trials in the United States 1059:, Vol. 16, No. 4, 1972, pp. 373–76 734:, an iPhone application voiced by 438:the body as belonging to Parkman. 14: 1239:1849 murders in the United States 1173:The Disappearance of Dr. Parkman. 1161:(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991) 1094:Dictionary of American Biography, 667:published a vintage crime novel, 103:George Parkman, "The Pedestrian". 1139:Beth Potier, "Murder at Harvard" 791:Edward Wagenknecht, ed. (1956). 752:by Paul Collins, published 2018. 20: 1207:Professor's Murder Trial Begins 829:Gross Domestic Product deflator 691:In 1991, the British historian 674:The case was dramatized in the 375:(Harvard class of 1800) of the 416:Massachusetts Attorney General 379:presiding. Associate Justices 1: 1187:digs up dirt on 19th century" 1149:Eric Strange, "Shooting Back" 1106:, National Humanities Council 1001:George Parkman Society Murder 810:"What Was the U.S. GDP Then?" 738:, recognized to be the first 583:He signed the death warrant. 414:Leading the prosecution were 86:was used to identify a body. 1244:19th-century American trials 310:After Webster's arrest, the 44:points to the cited document 1275: 617:Copp's Hill Burying Ground 572:The Fall River Weekly News 148: 127:Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 106: 797:. Longmans, Green And Co. 774:Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 711:The Murder of Dr. Parkman 488:beyond a reasonable doubt 459:Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 145:Webster during his trial. 123:Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 1042:, p. 156. New York: 1952 1259:Trials in Massachusetts 1098:Charles Scribner's Sons 544:Massachusetts Ploughman 209:Crime and investigation 157:Harvard Medical College 80:Harvard Medical College 1249:19th century in Boston 1209:, Mass Moments Website 602: 591: 581: 448:Frederick S. Ainsworth 333: 218: 192: 146: 104: 42:so that the hyperlink 1234:1849 in Massachusetts 1212:Webster, John W. and 597: 589: 576: 331: 216: 190: 144: 102: 1012:James, Bill (2011). 901:Journal 35; Globe 40 776:(November 7, 1850). 613:Leverett Street Jail 500:William T. G. Morton 361:Edward Dexter Sohier 191:Ephraim Littlefield. 1038:Richard B. Morris, 831:figures follow the 736:Alexandra McDougall 695:published a book, 688:portraying Webster. 509:malice aforethought 317:John Langdon Sibley 183:Ephraim Littlefield 1214:The Boston Journal 1121:, July–August 2003 658:In popular culture 592: 463:Nathan Cooley Keep 457:On the third day, 431:Harvard Law School 427:George Bemis, Esq. 334: 332:Chief Justice Shaw 219: 193: 151:John White Webster 147: 137:John White Webster 105: 33:shallow references 1185:Murder at Harvard 1183:Monica Collins, " 1171:Robert Sullivan, 1132:Murder at Harvard 1053:Murder at Harvard 722:Murder at Harvard 707:, on the subject. 705:Murder at Harvard 444:Woodbridge Strong 231:James Henry Blake 166:President Everett 90:Main participants 84:forensic evidence 61: 60: 1266: 1164:James W. Stone, 1145:, 3 October 2002 1118:Harvard Magazine 1070: 1066: 1060: 1049: 1043: 1036: 1030: 1029: 1009: 1003: 998: 992: 986: 980: 976: 970: 964: 958: 951: 945: 938: 932: 926: 920: 917: 911: 908: 902: 899: 893: 892: 890: 888: 870: 864: 861: 855: 852: 846: 842: 836: 826: 824: 822: 805: 799: 798: 788: 782: 781: 770: 669:Chopped: A Novel 564:Washington Goode 560:George N. Briggs 539:Evening Bulletin 493:located an image 385:Charles A. Dewey 365:Pliny T. Merrick 78:, a lecturer at 63:1849 murder case 56: 53: 47: 40:edit the article 24: 16: 1274: 1273: 1269: 1268: 1267: 1265: 1264: 1263: 1224: 1223: 1143:Harvard Gazette 1127:, Crime Library 1079: 1074: 1073: 1067: 1063: 1050: 1046: 1037: 1033: 1026: 1011: 1010: 1006: 999: 995: 987: 983: 977: 973: 965: 961: 952: 948: 939: 935: 927: 923: 918: 914: 909: 905: 900: 896: 886: 884: 872: 871: 867: 862: 858: 853: 849: 843: 839: 820: 818: 807: 806: 802: 790: 789: 785: 772: 771: 767: 762: 660: 648:Charles Dickens 644:dental evidence 640: 552: 515:disappearance. 326: 312:Boston Brahmins 211: 185: 153: 139: 111: 97: 92: 64: 57: 51: 48: 37: 25: 12: 11: 5: 1272: 1270: 1262: 1261: 1256: 1251: 1246: 1241: 1236: 1226: 1225: 1222: 1221: 1210: 1204: 1196: 1180: 1169: 1162: 1157:Simon Schama, 1155: 1146: 1136: 1128: 1122: 1110: 1107: 1101: 1091: 1082:George Bemis, 1078: 1075: 1072: 1071: 1061: 1044: 1031: 1024: 1004: 993: 981: 971: 959: 946: 933: 921: 912: 903: 894: 865: 856: 847: 837: 833:MeasuringWorth 827:United States 815:MeasuringWorth 800: 783: 764: 763: 761: 758: 757: 756: 753: 747: 726:Untravel Media 714: 708: 689: 681:Crime Classics 678:radio program 672: 659: 656: 639: 636: 551: 548: 452:Jeffries Wyman 389:Theron Metcalf 338:Daniel Webster 325: 322: 304:Jeffries Wyman 300:copper nitrate 257:Derastus Clapp 210: 207: 184: 181: 161:George F. Hoar 149:Main article: 138: 135: 115:Boston Brahmin 109:George Parkman 107:Main article: 96: 95:George Parkman 93: 91: 88: 72:George Parkman 62: 59: 58: 28: 26: 19: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1271: 1260: 1257: 1255: 1252: 1250: 1247: 1245: 1242: 1240: 1237: 1235: 1232: 1231: 1229: 1219: 1215: 1211: 1208: 1205: 1202: 1201: 1197: 1194: 1193: 1192:Boston Herald 1188: 1186: 1181: 1178: 1174: 1170: 1167: 1163: 1160: 1156: 1154: 1150: 1147: 1144: 1140: 1137: 1134: 1133: 1129: 1126: 1123: 1120: 1119: 1114: 1111: 1108: 1105: 1102: 1099: 1095: 1092: 1089: 1088:Little, Brown 1085: 1081: 1080: 1076: 1065: 1062: 1058: 1054: 1048: 1045: 1041: 1035: 1032: 1027: 1025:9781416552734 1021: 1017: 1016: 1008: 1005: 1002: 997: 994: 990: 985: 982: 975: 972: 968: 963: 960: 956: 950: 947: 943: 937: 934: 930: 925: 922: 916: 913: 907: 904: 898: 895: 883: 879: 875: 869: 866: 860: 857: 851: 848: 841: 838: 834: 830: 817: 816: 811: 804: 801: 796: 795: 787: 784: 779: 775: 769: 766: 759: 754: 751: 748: 745: 744:film festival 741: 737: 733: 732: 727: 723: 720:documentary, 719: 716:Based on the 715: 712: 709: 706: 703:documentary, 702: 698: 694: 690: 687: 683: 682: 677: 673: 670: 666: 662: 661: 657: 655: 651: 649: 645: 637: 635: 633: 629: 625: 620: 618: 614: 610: 605: 601: 596: 588: 584: 580: 575: 573: 569: 565: 561: 557: 556:writ of error 549: 547: 545: 540: 535: 532: 528: 525: 520: 516: 512: 510: 504: 501: 496: 494: 489: 483: 479: 475: 472: 468: 464: 460: 455: 453: 449: 445: 439: 436: 432: 428: 424: 420: 419:John Clifford 417: 412: 409: 407: 403: 399: 395: 390: 386: 382: 378: 374: 369: 366: 362: 357: 355: 351: 345: 343: 339: 330: 323: 321: 318: 313: 308: 305: 301: 296: 292: 288: 286: 280: 278: 277:Jacob Bigelow 273: 269: 265: 261: 258: 253: 252:Boston Harbor 249: 248:Charles River 245: 244:Francis Tukey 239: 237: 232: 226: 224: 215: 208: 206: 203: 198: 189: 182: 180: 178: 173: 171: 167: 162: 158: 152: 143: 136: 134: 132: 128: 124: 120: 116: 110: 101: 94: 89: 87: 85: 81: 77: 73: 69: 55: 45: 41: 35: 34: 29:This article 27: 23: 18: 17: 1217: 1213: 1199: 1190: 1184: 1177:Little Brown 1172: 1165: 1158: 1153:Common-Place 1152: 1142: 1131: 1116: 1093: 1083: 1064: 1056: 1052: 1047: 1039: 1034: 1018:. Scribner. 1014: 1007: 996: 988: 984: 974: 966: 962: 957:, Nov 1 2007 954: 949: 941: 936: 928: 924: 915: 906: 897: 885:. Retrieved 877: 868: 859: 850: 840: 832: 821:November 30, 819:. Retrieved 813: 803: 793: 786: 768: 749: 729: 721: 710: 704: 696: 693:Simon Schama 679: 668: 665:Dale Pollock 652: 641: 630:(or Faial), 624:Boston Globe 623: 621: 606: 603: 598: 593: 582: 577: 571: 553: 543: 538: 536: 533: 529: 521: 517: 513: 505: 497: 484: 480: 476: 456: 440: 434: 413: 410: 381:Samuel Wilde 370: 358: 346: 342:Rufus Choate 335: 309: 297: 293: 289: 281: 274: 270: 266: 262: 240: 227: 223:Thanksgiving 220: 197:Swamp Yankee 194: 174: 154: 112: 76:John Webster 70:businessman 65: 52:January 2024 49: 30: 991:, pp. 501–2 878:www.pbs.org 686:Jay Novello 467:false teeth 373:Lemuel Shaw 352:returned a 170:pyrotechnic 131:Don-Quixote 1228:Categories 1086:. Boston: 1077:References 887:15 October 600:not move. 471:impression 350:grand jury 285:strychnine 236:city clerk 202:dissection 1055:(1971)", 728:designed 574:put it: 550:Execution 354:True Bill 177:Cambridge 1175:Boston: 969:, p. 497 835:series. 423:Governor 246:had the 1179:, 1971. 967:Report. 944:, 1850. 609:Council 524:remains 421:(later 119:top hat 38:Please 1100:, 1936 1090:, 1850 1022:  989:Report 931:, p. 8 929:Report 740:iPhone 638:Legacy 632:Azores 435:Report 402:Berlin 400:, and 394:London 387:, and 68:Boston 66:After 1069:2010. 760:Notes 628:Fayal 568:black 398:Paris 324:Trial 31:uses 1020:ISBN 889:2020 823:2023 566:, a 429:, a 406:jury 363:and 340:and 250:and 882:PBS 845:201 718:PBS 701:PBS 676:CBS 1230:: 1216:, 1189:, 1151:, 1141:, 1115:, 880:. 876:. 812:. 724:, 396:, 383:, 195:A 121:. 1028:. 891:. 825:. 780:. 746:. 54:) 50:( 46:.

Index


shallow references
edit the article
points to the cited document
Boston
George Parkman
John Webster
Harvard Medical College
forensic evidence

George Parkman
Boston Brahmin
top hat
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Don-Quixote

John White Webster
Harvard Medical College
George F. Hoar
President Everett
pyrotechnic
Cambridge

Swamp Yankee
dissection

Thanksgiving
James Henry Blake
city clerk

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