While the idea of watches and homicide might not usually be connected. Unfortunately, we do live in a world where that is a reality, and no we’re not talking about Rolex robberies in London. We mean wristwatches being used to help solve crimes. Now there’s two main periods, if you will, in which watches have been able to help identify a victim’s murderer. There’s the case of mechanical watches, for a variety of reasons, helping point a finger. And then there’s the more recent examples of smartwatches leading the way.
Going back as far as the 19th century, clocks have been used as evidence in murder trials. There’s the famous trial of Ira Stout who was executed in 1858. This is a peculiar murder case, if there is such a thing. It involved Frederick Douglass, incest, and of course a pocket watch. Ira was born in 1935 and grew up with a father who went to prison for his involvement in a forgery scheme that even reached Canada. The young man also had a younger sister, Sarah. After Ira’s own stint in prison for burglary he moved to Rochester to be with the rest of his family there. His sister, he found, was married already to a man named Charles Littles, an attorney. Now Ira was obviously affection towards his sister, and that was not helped by the fact that she had a troublesome marriage with Charles. Thus, Ira conspired to murder his brother-in-law, failing twice before successfully luring him out to an area near the Genesee River with the help of his sister Sarah. Once there, Ira immediately struck Charles with a mallet in the head, killing him and then tried to dump the body into the river below. It might sound like the perfect 19th century murder, but the body actually got stuck on a ledge where it was in plain sight for anyone to see. So, Ira, forced to climb down and move the body, fell while doing so and broke his arm. His sister then, trying to reach her brother, fell herself broke her wrist! This is how they left a key piece of evidence behind, Ira’s glasses! While that was key for convicting him of the murder, what’s most interesting to us is the allegations that another piece of evidence introduced in the trial was Charles’ pocket watch. The pocket watch was used to indicate the time of the murder as it was stopped at 8:40 pm.
Cover of Ira Stout’s last writings / Credit: Rare Americana
This story garnered national attention at the time not only for the gruesome murder and injury of the two guilty parties at the time, but for the fact that the brother and sister were accused of having an incestuous affair! Stout denied this in his work entitled “The Last Writing of Marion Ira Scott”. He was also fiercely advocated for by Frederick Douglass, who opposed capital punishment and appealed in vain for clemency even reportedly hosting a speaking event in Rochester in an attempt to garner sympathy. Ira’s sister Sarah was also convicted and sentenced to serve 7 years at Sing Sing, from where she was released early.
Rochester’s High Falls on the Genesee River in 1900 / Credit: Vintage Rochester
Another 19th century case of a watch being used to helping give information in a homicide case is that of Joseph Humphrey, who was murder by an unknown person near Yuba City, California in 1867. In this case, his clock figured into determining his time of death – 11pm. Moving on to the 20th century, there’s the 1919 case of a taxi driver being robbed and murdered near Worchester Massachusetts. Again, in this case his watch was left behind by the assailants and used to determine time of death.
Now there’s another, somewhat disturbing case in 1935. There are possibly two different timepieces involved in this case. One account indicates that a pendulum clock in a cabinet was stopped when the perpetrators were looking for money inside, indicating the time of death. Others have no mention of this but one does mention that when one of the alleged killers was caught, he had a watch case that belonged to one of the victims, indicating his guilt.
On April 3rd, 1935, the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Coleman were found in a well on their property in Fredericksburg, Virginia. They were well-known citizens of the community and it is said to have caused great distress. Police officers are said to have immediately suspected a Joe Jackson who was known for trouble and had a criminal record, at the same time reports in newspapers alleged that two black men had been seen at a gas station on the night of the murder, driving Mr. Coleman’s car!
Picture from the Free Lance-Star showing the two accused
Nonetheless, upon hearing rumour of his impending capture, Joe Jackson, 23 years old at the time, turned himself in to the Chief of Police in Fredericksburg. Witnesses eventually came forward alleging to have seen both Joe Jackson and another man, who turned out to be John Shell both getting of at a bus stop earlier in the evening of April 2nd and at the gas station later. This is where both the timing of the murder which was supposedly estimated using the pendulum clock, and the watch case that John Shell was said to have been carrying come into play. Johnson is said to have penned a confession after more questioning that led the police to finding John Shell in New York shortly after. When Shell was arrested, he was carrying a gold watch case that belonged to John Coleman. Despite several petitions by lawyer E.A. Norrell, the two men were ultimately executed in early 1936 by electrocution.
However troubling some of these stories may be, it is worthwhile to note the significance of the various watches and clocks in them. Perhaps a reason to make sure your watch is always on time…In Part II we look at some more recent cases, including the Canadian classic of Albert Johnson Walker and some involving smartwatches!
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
Peck, William F. History of the Police Department of Rochester N.Y. Rochester Police Benevolent Association, 1903, Rochester.
Adams, Cecil. “Murder Time.” City Weekly, December 2nd, 2013, https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/murder-time/Content?oid=2305602.
Murphy, Justin. “This Day in History, Oct. 22: Incest, High Falls murder end in hanging.” Democrat and Chronicle, October 22nd, 2013, https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/history/2013/10/22/oct-22-incest-high-falls-murder-end-in-hanging/3147811/.
“‘The Last Writing’ of Marion Ira Stout.” Rare Americana, https://www.rareamericana.com/pages/books/3728725/copyright-h-sillick-merrill-1835-1858-marion-ira-stout/the-last-writing-of-marion-ira-stout-containing-his-confession-revelations-and-also-his-so-called.
“Death Comes to Hickory Point.” Spotsylvania Memory, July 19th, 2018, http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2018/07/death-comes-to-hickory-point.html.
“Bodies of Murdered Couple Found in Well on Their Farm; Two Negroes Sought as Slayers.” The News Leader, April 4th, 1935.
“Hilliard v. Board of Supervisors.” https://casetext.com/case/hilliard-v-board-of-supervisors.