In keeping with that grand old Strange Company tradition of holiday-themed disaster and mayhem, this week we will look at one Fourth of July that was made infamous by the mysterious death of a young woman.
17-year-old Alice Crispell was a native of Lake Township, Pennsylvania. Newspapers of the time had little to say about her life or personality. She seems to have been a pleasant, thoroughly ordinary girl who, in normal circumstances, would have attracted little public attention, for either good or bad.
On the evening of July 4, 1913, Crispell went to Harvey’s Lake, a popular local summer resort, to meet a young miner from Wilkes-Barre, Herbert Johns. The pair had some beer at the Oneonta Hotel, and at about 11:30 (according to Johns’ later account) they parted.
When Alice failed to return home, her family was not initially alarmed. The week before, Alice had gone to visit a married sister who lived in Wilkes-Barre, and it was assumed she had merely extended her visit. For her part, this sister, Mrs. Martha Holcomb, thought Alice had returned home.
On the morning of July 7, a baggageman named George Casterline was driving around the lake when he saw something floating near the shore. When he looked more closely, he realized it was a woman’s body, and the sheriff and coroner were called in. The mystery of Alice Crispell’s whereabouts had finally been solved.
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| "Philadelphia Inquirer," July 13, 1913, via Newspapers.com |
The body was badly decomposed, and had most likely been in the water since soon after Alice was last seen alive. Several marks were found on the body and left temple, which might have been caused by a fall. There were scratches on one hand that the coroner thought might have been teeth marks. That was the only sign of a possible struggle. There was no indication of sexual assault. Alice’s clothing was intact except for her hat, which was found on the shore only a few feet away from where her corpse was discovered.
The police had little to work with. On the night of the 4th, a couple heard what they thought might have been a scream for help, but they were so accustomed to hearing cries and shouts around the lake that they paid little attention at the time.
Operating on the theory that “the boyfriend always does it,” Herbert Johns was arrested on the afternoon that Alice’s body was discovered. He vigorously denied having any role in her death.
The story Johns told the police was simple and consistent. On the afternoon of July 4th, Alice came to his house for dinner. Afterwards, they went to Harvey’s Lake, accompanied by Mrs. Holcomb, Johns’ sister Clara, and two friends of his, Henry Williams and a baker named Elcher. They were all at the Oneonta until 10 p.m., when everyone left for home except Johns and Alice. At 11:30, the pair walked down the road from the Oneonta, pausing near a boat house to chat. Several people they knew, including Alice’s close friend and neighbor Stella Oney, walked by and spoke to them. Ten minutes later, Johns left for home, assuming that Alice would catch up with Oney.
Oney told police that she had indeed talked to Alice and Johns near the boat house. Both seemed to her to be in very good spirits. She had asked Alice if she was heading home, and when Alice replied “not right away,” Oney went on her way.
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| 1915 postcard showing the boat house where Crispell was last seen alive |
The case against Johns was remarkably weak. Literally all the prosecution had was the fact that he was the last known person to see Alice alive. Herbert, who had been “keeping company” with Alice for about a year, had no known motive to harm her. As far as anyone could tell, their relationship was a perfectly happy one. Johns was a well-liked young man with an excellent reputation. It was said that Alice was subject to fainting spells and “fits,” plus there was no question that she had been drinking a good deal of beer on the night of her death, to the point where she was visibly intoxicated. To many, it seemed highly likely that her drowning was nothing more than a tragic, fatal accident.
During the investigation, much was made of a letter that Johns wrote to Alice on the morning of July 5th. It was, as a reporter commented, “either the handiwork of an innocent man or of the most accomplished of criminals.” The letter had a natural, casual tone, showing no indication that he knew Alice, whom he addressed as “darling,” was anything other than alive and well.
Despite her seeming cheerfulness on the night she died, some theorized that Alice had committed suicide. Letters to friends indicated that she was often melancholy, and that she occasionally feared that Johns was reluctant to marry her. She had a difficult relationship with her father, William Crispell, who sternly disapproved of her fondness for clubs and parties. (During one quarrel over Alice’s lifestyle, Mr. Crispell had pointed a gun at her!) Her father had seen her drinking at the Oneonta, and he later admitted that the sight had “disgusted” him. Might her unease at being “caught” by Mr. Crispell increased whatever inner depression she may have felt?
Or could someone other than Johns have killed her? There were rumors suggesting that William Crispell, angered with what he saw as his daughter’s “wayward” habits, may have, in a sudden fit of rage, pushed Alice into the lake. Letters between Alice and Johns indicated that William Crispell occasionally beat her, and that Johns was afraid to go near her house “for fear the old man will shoot me.”
Given the vague and inconclusive nature of the evidence presented to the Coroner’s Jury, it is small wonder that the jurors gave a verdict that was vague and inconclusive. They stated that Johns had no part in Alice’s death, and it was highly unlikely that she had killed herself, but “a crime has been committed.”
Several weeks after Alice died, the Crispells received a postcard which had been sent from New Rochelle, New York. It read, “Bert is innocent. I killed Alice because of her love for Johns. A.N.” “A.N.” was never identified. Was this written by a murderer with a bad conscience, or--as seems much more likely--one of those depraved practical jokers who always seem to turn up in highly-publicized crime cases?
That enigmatic postcard proved to be the last word on the Crispell Mystery. Although Alice’s death is still a well-remembered part of local history, all anyone can say is that late on the night of July 4th, the unfortunate girl drowned in Harvey’s Lake. What we’ll never know is why she drowned.
[Note: I have no idea why the inquest jury downplayed the "accident" theory, as that seems to me the most obvious explanation for the tragedy. It was a dark night, and Alice had been drinking. I imagine it would have been very easy for her to take a bad step and...*splash*]
