By Dan Shine
Voice Columnist
The Malley Murder Mystery
Part IV
By now it was becoming clear that Blanche Douglass was guilty of perjury, as much of her testimony was contradicted by eyewitness accounts to the contrary. When she concluded her testimony at the inquest, she left New Haven, bound for New York. During her testimony, she had given two addresses of residence in New York, and now neither one of them checked out. Some detective work revealed that her actual residence was Lizzie Bundy’s house of ill repute.
Blanche was the weak link in the chain, and it was time to break that link. On August 13, Blanche Douglass was arrested in New York and charged with perjury. She was extradited back to New Haven, where she agreed to cooperate, in order to save her own skin.
Blanche objected to being jailed, so she was put up at the home of Sheriff Peck, which angered West Haveners: Why was a common prostitute being put up in a private home at a cost to the taxpayers of $6.00 per day?
As the inquest dragged on, it was evident that a number of witnesses were now revising their testimony: memories were getting hazy and stories were changing, and it was suspected that the Malley family was engaging in widespread bribery, in order to save their sons.
Speculating over the actual cause of Jennie’s death had become the favorite pastime of West Haveners, who offered a multitude of theories. And the newspapers fueled that speculation; as a result, newspaper sales soared.
On Aug. 15, based upon Blanche’s new testimony, warrants were finally issued for James and Walter Malley, who were placed in cells number 13 and 15 at the New Haven County Jail—with an empty cell in between so that they could not communicate. Jail food did not agree with their palates, so they arranged for food to be brought in from a local restaurant that they favored.
And meanwhile, Professor Russell Chittenden of Yale was quietly going about his analysis of Jennie Cramer’s organs; and the results of these tests would bring a new clarity to all the speculation concerning her cause of death.
The late summer progressed, and each day the front page of the newspaper was evenly divided between the latest news on Jennie Cramer and the latest news on the condition of President Garfield who had been shot and gravely wounded just before Jennie’s death. On the streets, vendors hawked photos and engravings of the principals for a quarter apiece.
West Haven citizens now complained that Savin Rock was being taken over by “toughs” and “libertines,” and was no longer a safe place for families to visit; they often griped about a shortage of police supervision at The Rock.
Meanwhile, the conclusion of the inquest was intentionally delayed as everyone waited impatiently for Professer Chittenden’s long-awaited chemical analysis, which finally arrived. His report stated that he had found eight-tenths of a grain of arsenic distributed throughout the stomach, esophagus, liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, intestines and brain. His conclusion was that Jenny had ingested a fatal amount of arsenic prior to death.
In a decision that took three and one half hours, the inquest jury reached a verdict that stated: “That said Jennie E. Cramer came to her death by poison and violence and that James Malley, Jr. of New Haven, Conn is criminally responsible for her death. We also find that Walter E. Malley, of New Haven, Conn and Blanche Douglass, of New York City are morally responsible for same.” September 3, 1881.
The case would be tried by the Justice Court; proceedings would begin immediately.
To be continued