Great American Crime Stories

by Bill Bowers

  The next event was when he was caught, with Johnny Irving, in a store in this city in 1879, and was sent to prison for three years and nine months. This sentence was at once followed by two years for robbing houses in Reading, and again on August 2, 1836. he was given six years for another burglary. His last sentence was ten months, Imposed on June 22, 1892, for robbery, and after his release on April 22, 1893, he was lost sight of until he gave himself up to Coroner Ashbridge.

  A Woman’s Money and Jewels.

  At the time of her disappearance the woman wore jewelry worth $2.000, and had in the bosom of her dress four $1,000 government bonds. When they moved to the Eleventh street house, in 1879, Logue had secreted seven of these $1,000 bonds under the carpet of the stairway, telling no one but Cutaiar where they were. When he returned, he found that Cutaiar had stolen one of the bonds and sold it to Drexels for $1,045. Of this money, he gave $1,000 to Sallie E. Camp, who afterwards became his wife: but upon Logue’s threats, he got the money back and returned it to him. Cutaiar and his wife lived at the house for a year after Johanna’s disappearance, when foul odor coming from under the kitchen floor, made the woman so sick that they were compelled to move away. After that the house had numerous tenants up to the time of the discovery of the skull.

  The warrant for Cutaiar’s arrest was sworn out by Logue on April 6th of this year, and six days later he was taken into custody. Then search was made for Eckert, the journeyman, and at first it seemed like a hopeless hunt. The police of every city were put on the trail to no avail; but finally Detective Geyer found him in a barber shop on Houston street, New York, where for a long time he had been shaving from twenty to thirty Metropolitan policemen a week. Fricke was found in Philadelphia. His mind soon after became unhinged from fright, and it became necessary to send him to the insane department of the Philadelphia Hospital. After he had been sent there, it was found that by some strange fate, the superintendent of the ward in which he was lodged was Alphonzo Cutaiar, stepson of the accused murderer, and Fricke was hurriedly transferred to another ward. The former owner of the house 1248 North Eleventh street, where Cutaiar’s first shop was, committed suicide some time ago, and Coroner Ashbridge has become almost prostrated from the arduous labor of tracing out the numerous clues.

  Cutaiar’s Confession.

  After Cutaiar’s arrest, several attempts were made to extort a confession from him, and he narrated a number of detailed stories of the crime, naming Logue as the perpetrator; but eventually he broke down, and on April 17 he told the true story. He said that when the woman signified her intention of returning to New York she was intoxicated, and he induced her to wait until he could accompany her to the station. He took her up stairs and made her get into the bed, with her clothes on. Then, he avers, to prevent her from getting away before he could go with her, he bound her hand and foot. This was at seven o’clock in the evening. Four hours later he found her lying on her face, with her head under the bolster, smothered to death in an evident attempt to break her bonds.

  The next day he buried the body under the kitchen floor. He admitted having taken her jewels. but denied any knowledge of the $1,000 bonds which she was said to have in her bosom. The original story told by Logue was borne out in every detail by the investigations of the coroner and the detective; but they further found that Cutaiar had for some years been pursuing a crooked career. He had robbed many persons for whom he had worked, including the Prudential Insurance Company, upon whom he tried to work a bogus claim, and had stolen large quantities of gold and silver from various places, melted it down and sold it. With these facts in view, his story of the woman being accidentally smothered is generally discredited, and it is believed he deliberately murdered her.

  *****

  Jimmy Logue is Dead

  Man Who Stole Fortunes Dies on an Almshouse Cot. Repented Of His Many Sins. Was Comforted by the Priest Summoned to His Death Bed. Story of His Long Career in Crime.

  Worn out by excesses and years of confinement resulting from his long career in crime, Jimmy Logue, who is believed to have stolen more money than any other thief of his time, died on an Almshouse cot at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon, unattended by any relative or friend except the physician and the nurse. He sought religious consolation before he died and repented of his sins, but his fear of death was pathetic.

  He retained consciousness to the last. the death rattle in his throat being heard just after he had asked to be propped up in bed. The nurse arranged the pillows as comfortably as she could have done for a respected millionaire.. The aged criminal thanked her with a glance, but never spoke again. He was old in crime, but although he appeared like a man of 80, his age was only 62 years.

  Sent to the Almshouse.

  On July 19 of this year Jimmy Logue, friendless and penniless, appeared at the detectives’ room in the City Hall and asked that he be sent somewhere where he could live in peace and forget his old companions and misdeeds.

  Police Surgeon Andrews sent him to the almshouse, but in a few weeks he tired of the society of “bums” and even called on Mayor Ashbridge to secure his influence in getting him transferred to the hospital. He afterward entered the House of Industry, Seventy-third street and Paschal avenue, but returned to the almshouse on September 28 to die. He was then a very sick man. He was threatened with pneumonia, but it yielded to treatment, and not until Tuesday evening was death believed to be near.

  Oedema of the lungs set in. His breathing was labored. and at his request Father McElhone, of St. James the Greater Roman Catholic Church, was summoned.

  “I have been a terrible sinner.” moaned the aged thief. “You must have done some good in your life, Jimmy, or you wouldn’t be repentant now.” replied the priest. “Do all you can to save me,” was the response, and after the prayer the dying man seemed easier.

  From some peculiar system of ethics Logue imagined that burglary was a more serious sin than theft, and he frequently protested that he never was a burglar, but always a sneak-thief. “I began at 17 years of age,” he said to Dr. C. M. Bumstead. his physician. “It was born in me. I couldn’t help it.”

  He related with some glee about how he stole two watermelons at Decatur. Ill., where the doctor lived, but he never spoke without bitterness of the murder of his Wife. “That scoundrel, Cutaiar, did that on February 22, 1869,” he frequently asserted. The discovery of his wife’s skeleton under the steps of his house a few years ago, and the subsequent trial and conviction of his stepson, Cutaiar, is still fresh in the public mind.

  A few days ago a well-dressed elderly woman, whom no one knew, called to see Jimmy Logue, but it is not known whether he has either relative or friend to bury him. If not his emaciated body may go to the Anatomical Board, and the peculiarity of his make-up be a subject of study and levity for medical students.

  [It is estimated that he at one time] had a fortune estimated from $300,000 up, all of it other people’s money. His career in crime includes more than 20 years in the penitentiary, and comprises some of the most startling and skillful robberies known to the history of crime. He was one of the most adroit and yet one of the most cowardly and sneaking thieves in the country. The plan of operations he first adopted was to enter an unoccupied house in a row and thence by the roof he would enter the dwelling that he purposed attacking, coming through the trap generally when the family was at supper. His aptness displayed itself best in his ability in discovering where large sums of money were to he obtained. Of late years safe breaking had been his forte.

  He was born in Philadelphia. In 1870 he was captured in Fridenberg’s pawn-broking establishment with “Curly” Harris, but they managed to make their escape. He was connected with the robbery of the Catholic. Beneficial Saving Fund, at Twelfth and Chestnut streets, where a large amount of cash and securities were stolen. He was also in the attempted robbery of the Southwark Bank, and had a hand in the famous raid on the Kensington Bank.

>   In May, 1871, on the day when the Germans, by a grand parade, celebrated the ending of their countrymen’s war against the French, James Logue. John Jenkins, Jr., and James Hanley went uptown to rob the National Security Bank, at Seventh street and Girard avenue, while the watchman—a German—was away looking at the procession.

  A policeman took it into his head to arrest Logue as a suspicious character. The others took fright, and all were arrested. While at the Central station he was permitted to go into the Rogues’ Gallery. He jumped from the second-story window, but fell on an iron railing and, although badly injured, was still able to run, but was finally captured by a citizen as he fell over a dry goods box in Tower Hall. He was sentenced by Judge Finletter to 7 years and 6 months for a robbery in which it afterward appeared he had no part.

  Wedding Tour to Prison.

  While in the Court House dock he was married to a second wife, Joanna Gantz, and his wedding journey was the trip to Cherry Hill, unaccompanied by his bride. The skeleton of the unhappy bride was the one found years afterward.

  When Logue was released he next turned up as a suspicious character down in Chester, where he was arrested and quickly released. He made his way to Washington, and played his favorite game of sneaking through a roof trap.

  His victim in this case was Naval Constructor Isaiah Hanscombe, and his booty amounted to $75,000. While trying to dispose on Third street of some of the stolen securities Tom Bartlett was arrested, and the Washington authorities issued a requisition for him. With the proceeds of the robbery Logue dressed his wife Joanna very handsomely and even decorated her with diamonds. With these gains he also purchased for $3300 a house on Eleventh street, above Girard avenue.

  It is claimed that a part of the money was deposited in a bank, and that Jimmy’s latter day poverty was due to his inability to remember the name of the bank.

  Sources

  1. The Colt-Adams Affair (1841)

  The New York Tombs: Its Secrets and Its Mysteries. Being a History of Noted Criminals, with Narratives of Their Crimes, as gathered by Charles Sutton, Warden of the Prison, edited by James B. Mix and Samuel Anderson Mackeever, A. Roman & Co., San Francisco, 1874, Ch. VI, pp. 64–80.

  2. Dr. Valorous P. Coolidge

  Remarkable Trials of All Countries, With the Evidence and Speeches of Counsel, Court Scenes, Incidents, &c. Compiled from Official Sources. Volume II, pp. 425–429. S. S. Peloubet & Co., Law Book Publishers, 1882.

  3. The Bloody Benders Family

  “Devilish Deeds” May 15, 1873 & “The Devil’s Kitchen; Further Particulars of the Butcher Bender’s Den,” May 22, 1873, The Weekly Kansas Chief, Troy, Kansas.

  4. The Lamana Kidnapping and the New Orleans Black Hand

  “Black Hand Kills Kidnapped Child,” The Washington Herald, Washington, D. C., June 24, 1907, pp. 1 & 3.

  5. The Murder of Grace Mae Brown

  “People vs. Gillette,” trial/appeal transcript.

  6. The Mansfield Walworth Parricide

  The Walworth Parricide: A Full Account of the Astounding Murder of Mansfield T. Walworth by His Son, Frank H. Walworth, with the Trial and Conviction of the Parricide and His Sentence For Life to the State Penitentiary at Sing Sing, Thomas O’Kane, Publishers, 130 Nassau Street, New York, 1873.

  7. Laura Bullion and the Wild Bunch

  “Stolen Bank Notes Representing $7,000 in Satchel Of Bandit’s Woman Companion,” November 7, 1901; and “Laura Bullion Relates Her Career Among the Outlaws,” November 8, 1901. Both from the The St. Louis Republic.

  8. Henrietta Robinson, the Veiled Murderess

  Life in Sing Sing State Prison, as Seen in a Twelve Years’ Chaplaincy, by John Luckey, Ch. XXIII & XXIV, pp. 309–337. N. Tibbals & Co., No. 118 Nassau Street, 1860.

  9. The Mountain Meadows Massacre

  Roughing It, Ch. XVII & Appendix B, Mark Twain, American Publishing Company, Hartford, Connecticut, 1872; and Recollections of the Mountain Meadow Massacre by B.G. Parker, Fred. W. Reed, Printer, Plano, California, 1901.

  10. Rachel Wall, Pirate (1789)

  “Life, Last Words and dying confession, of Rachel Wall, who, with William Smith and William Dunogan, were executed at Boston, on Thursday, October 8, 1789, for high-way robbery.” Boston-gaol, Wednesday evening, October 7, 1789. Printed broadside.

  Paper regarding “Legislation in regard to Highway Robbery in Massachusetts,” pp. 178–190. In Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Second Series – Vol. XIX, published by the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, March 1905.

  11. Madame Delphine LaLaurie, New Orleans Monster

  New Orleans As it Was. Episodes of Louisiana Life, by Henry C. Castellanos, A.M., LL. B., 2nd edition, 1905. The L. Graham Co., Ltd., Publishers, Perdido Street, New Orleans. Ch. IV., “A Tale of Slavery Times,” pp. 52–62.

  12. The Beadle Family Murder-Suicide

  “A narrative of the life of William Beadle, of Wethersfield, in the state of Connecticut. Containing I. The particulars of the ‘horrid massacre’ of himself and family. II. Extracts from the Rev. Mr. Marsh’s sermon at the funeral of his wife and children,” publ. Bavil Webster, Hartford, Conn., 1783.

  13. The Antoine Probst Ax Murders (1866)

  “Confession of Eight Murders,” The Anglo-American Times, June 2, 1866, p. 4.

  The Life, Confession, and Atrocious Crimes of Antoine Probst, The Murderer of The Deering [sic] Family. To which is Added a Graphic Account of Many of the most Horrible and Mysterious Murders Committed in this and other Countries. Philadelphia: Barclay & Co., 1866, p. 63.

  The Philadelphia Police, Past and Present, written and published by Howard O. Sprogle, 1887. Ch. XIX, pp. 656–657.

  14. Slobbery Jim & the Daybreak Gang (1850s)

  The New York Tombs: Its Secrets and Its Mysteries. Being a History of Noted Criminals, with Narratives of Their Crimes, as gathered by Charles Sutton, Warden of the Prison, edited by James B. Mix and Samuel Anderson Mackeever, A. Roman & Co., San Francisco, 1874; Ch. XXXV, pp. 64–80.

  15. Abraham Lincoln’s Remarkable Case (1841)

  “A Remarkable Case of Arrest for Murder” by Abraham Lincoln, published in the Quincy Whig, Quincy, Ill., April 15, 1846.

  16. Harry T. Hayward, the “Minneapolis Svengali” (1895)

  “Life, Crimes, Dying Confession and Execution of the Celebrated Minneapolis Criminal; other Interesting Chapters on the Greatest Psychological Problem of the Century.” Calhoun Publishing Co., Minneapolis, Minn. 1896. Copyright, 1895–6, by E. H. Goodsell, J.T. Mannix and Frank T. Moody, Chs. XVI–XVIII & XXI.

  17. Belle Sorenson Gunness, Serial Killer (Declared Dead, 1908)

  Celebrated Criminal Cases of America by Thomas Samuel Duke, Captain of Police, San Francisco. Published with Approval of the Honorable Board of Police Commissioners, San Francisco. James H. Barry Company, San Francisco, 1910.

  “Scenes at the Indiana Murder Farm,” The Times Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, June 01, 1908.

  18. Brothers Felipe Nerio Espinosa & José Vivian

  “The Story of Dead Man’s Canon and of the Espinosas,” Henry Priest, The Colorado Magazine, Published by the State Historical Society of Colorado, Denver, 1930. Vol. VIII, pp. 34–38.

  19. The Loomis Gang

  “History of the Loomis Gang” by Amos Cummings for the New York Sun, 1877. (The story was also picked up by several other upstate journals.)

  20. Jimmy Logue and Alphonso Cutaiar (1850–1880s)

  “Strange Story of Crime: Philadelphia Detectives Unravel a Mystery,” Baltimore American, Monday Morning, April 29, 1895, Baltimore, MD.

  “Jimmy Logue Is Dead,” The Philadelphia Record, October 5, 1899, Philadelphia, PA.

  Acknowledgments

  Regardless whose name appears on the cover, every book is a collaborative effort involving many hands, and this litt
le volume is no exception. My heartfelt thanks:

  To Keith Wallman at Lyons Press, who has guided this project with professionalism, patience, and good humor.

  To production editor Lynn Zelem, for her excellent work and invaluable help.

  To my former colleague, longtime friend, and editor and writer par excellence Tom McCarthy, for valuable help and advice.

  A special thanks to Cindi Pietrzyk and her sharp eyes.

  To Nick Lyons, for first opening the doors into the wonderful world of publishing. If not for Nick, none of this would ever have happened.

  And last but certainly not least, to Eileen, without whom none of this would have been possible.

  About the Editor

  Bill Bowers is a freelance writer and editor. He lives in rural New England with his wife and longtime collaborator, Eileen Bowers.