A Treasury of XXth Century Murder: Compendium II

“While histories may not provide the comfort of clear resolutions, Geary’s research, writing, and graphics assure us that we’ve experienced compelling narratives.”

One should never enjoy murder, mayhem, or chaos, but Rick Geary’s new book A Treasury of XXth Century Murder is a fascinating book about just that—murder, mayhem, and chaos.

Published as a graphic novel, written and illustrated by Geary, it’s hard to put down. The graphics make it a fast read. Even for those who may be familiar with the stories he presents, they are interesting and provide information that may be new to the reader.

Geary starts each history with a set of maps to familiarize the reader with where events occurred. Once that is established, he separates each story into parts.

Massachusetts: In Sacco and Vanzetti, he starts with the crime that was committed on Thursday, April 15, 1920. A robbery and murder. The police investigate and identify who they believe to be the criminals. This takes us to Part II, The Accused. “The prisoners identify themselves as: Bartolomeo Vanzetti . . . and Nicola Sacco . . .“ Here, Geary provides the life stories of these two men. In Part III, The Case for the Commonwealth, Geary takes the reader into the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti. In this part, the reader is exposed to the questionable activities of the justice system of the time.

Part IV delves into the Case for the Defense where Geary introduces the defense attorney, Fred Moore, “. . . an erratic attorney . . .” who “. . . only alienates himself further from the judge, the jury, and even from his clients and their supporters.” Part V is the legal jungle where “Fred Moore initiates a series of appeals . . . on behalf of his clients.” By the time Part VI arrives, the reader knows the outcome. Sacco and Vanzetti were found guilty and executed. But that’s not the end of the story. Their bodies are taken back to Italy, where both men were born, and there they are honored.

New Jersey: In the typical American town of New Brunswick, the population of 33,000 does not expect murder to occur—especially not one to involve a minister and a married woman. And yet the reality is just that. The bodies of a man and woman are discovered “. . . under the crabapple tree” in a forested area. It does not take long to learn the man’s identity, Rev. Edward W. Hall. The woman is not immediately ID’d. But the crime scene is a mess. Unlike today’s crime scenes that are taped off, “ . . . back at [this] crime scene, police have allowed a vast crowd to wander about. They trample about where the bodies lay.” It is not until Part II that Geary discusses the victims. Rev. Hall of the Episcopal church, “In 1911, married Frances Noel Stevens, [from] one of New Brunswick’s most prominent families.” The female victim was identified as Eleanor Reinhart Mills. The marriages of both victims were less than happy. Hall’s in-laws kept close contact with them, while Eleanor’s husband paid little if any attention to his wife. Eleanor sang in the choir, and this gave her close access to Rev. Hall, much to the chagrin of other female parishioners. While many parishioners attended Rev. Hall's funeral, few attended Eleanor’s.

In Part III, Geary discusses the search for evidence by piecing together the victim’s last hours. ”But the investigation begins with a built-in conflict.” Two counties each claim priority in the investigations. In addition, due to the messy crime scenes and various interviews with families, employees, and acquaintances, the police find it difficult to pin down facts.

The case goes nowhere until the investigation springs back to life when the police question four individuals who present information that the police “are able to piece together the events of September 14.” One of these is Raymond Schneider, who accuses one Clifford Hayes, who is arrested. He denies it, and the public believes this to be a miscarriage of justice. Schneider admits to lying. Four years elapse, and the case goes cold again. In Part VI, “The Halls . . . Mills case remains an open one on the books of Sommerset County.” Geary reviews the possibilities and accusations, but the question remains—whodunit?

Hurray for Hollywood!: Geary wraps up this series of 20th century murder, mayhem, and chaos with two unresolved but fascinating stories. And what better place than Hollywood in the 1920s and 1940s?

1922, Hollywood is just opening up to the infant film industry and is primed for scandal. One of the biggest cases was that of William Desmond Taylor, actor, director, and mysterious man. Geary starts the reader with a detailed background of the film industry and how it moved from New York to the outskirts of Los Angeles. He quickly moves into Part II when Taylor’s body is found. As in the previous story, the reader learns that crime scenes are not well protected, and in Hollywood, where movie studios are gaining in power, it does not take much time before the studio heads send personnel to Taylor’s house to gather any compromising information before the police arrive.

The cast of characters is big and well known—stars whom the public loves become even more well-known as their names appear in the press along with the murder. In Part IV, Geary opens up Taylor’s history and his movements from New York to Canada to his final place in Hollywood. Not to mention leaving a wife and child behind to add to his life story. In Part V, suspects come and go, and yet no guilty party surfaces. Another cold case, and this one with each of the suspects each in his or her own grave.

In Geary’s second case of Hollywood murders, he addresses the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia. Certainly, the most grisly event of all. A young woman’s body is discovered in an open field. The police are called, and even the strongest of them “. . .are visibly shaken by what they see.” It does not take long for the reporters to hear the news and arrive with their note pads and cameras, but “Even Aggie Underwood, ace crime reporter for the Herald Express, almost keels over backward upon encountering the scene.” The young woman was “grotesquely posed . . . hideously mutilated . . . and neatly cut in half at the waist . . . ligature marks on the wrists and ankles and around her neck . . . her mouth has been slashed from ear to ear.” The body was finger-printed and almost immediately identified as Elizabeth “Beth” Short.

In Part II, Geary details her life and her desire to become a famous movie star—a desire that did not come true. Waitressing and falling in love occupied her time until Geary details her last days and hours. This is another cold case, as few suspects appear and are discounted.

These stories of XXth Century murder conclude at gravesites. While histories may not provide the comfort of clear resolutions, Geary’s research, writing, and graphics assure us that we’ve experienced compelling narratives. The XXth Century has much more to reveal, and readers can be confident that Rick Geary will continue to share these stories—graphically!