American Sherlock
Page 34
“I’ll get you all”: Block, The Wizard of Berkeley, 170.
paraffin wax: Trial transcript of People vs. Colwell (p. 16), “Colwell” folder, carton 70, folder 1–3, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“These ridges”: Block, The Wizard of Berkeley, 165.
“The riflings are made by”: Ibid., 173.
“Caught image on ground glass in focus circa 140mm”: Notes on experiments, “Colwell” folder, carton 70, folder 1–3, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“There were four panels on this bullet”: Trial transcript of People vs. Colwell (pp. 17–19), “Colwell” folder, carton 70, folder 1–3, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“They match up line for line”: Ibid., 20.
“Will you compute three-eighths of an inch?”: Ibid., 40.
“Absolutely a physical impossibility”: Ibid., 56–57.
“I just wanted to know how”: Ibid., 60.
“I had four hours”: Ibid., 88.
“His answer was that I couldn’t”: Letter from Heinrich to Crossman, March 29, 1926, box 26, folder 6–10, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“I noticed some of the jurymen”: Ibid.
“Now, if Your Honor please”: Trial transcript of People vs. Colwell (pp. 105–7) “Colwell” folder, carton 70, folder 1–3, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“I found that, in working with this microscope”: Ibid., 105.
“I’d like to see him actually shoot that picture”: Block, The Wizard of Berkeley, 177–79.
A commercial photographer was summoned: Trial transcript of People vs. Colwell, “Colwell” folder, carton 70, folder 1–3, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“The committee agrees that”: National Research Council, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States, 154–55.
Firearms pioneer Calvin Goddard: “Calvin H. Goddard,” Criminal Justice Law International, https://criminaljusticelawintl.blog/criminal-justice-law-top-tens-2/top-10-contributors-modern-criminal-justice/calvin-h-goddard [inactive].
“I have myself added a comparison”: Letter from Heinrich to Crossman, April 30, 1926, box 26, folder 6–10, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“Happy birthday, old top”: Letter from Heinrich to Kaiser, December 26, 1926, box 1, John Boynton Kaiser Papers.
“I get my greatest joy in life out of my family”: Letter from Heinrich to Kaiser, May 16, 1927, box 1, John Boynton Kaiser Papers.
“I have been too busy”: Letter from Heinrich to Crossman, November 5, 1929, box 26, folder 6–10, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“I am returning several book lists”: Letter from Heinrich to Kaiser, September 14, 1928, box 1, John Boynton Kaiser Papers.
“Each had to be shoved through”: Letter from Heinrich to Crossman, August 28, 1929, box 26, folder 6–10, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“Perhaps I was a little sentimental about it”: Letter from Heinrich to Crossman, August 28, 1929, box 26, folder 6–10, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“I shall be with you in spirit”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, January 14, 1932, 89–44, box 23, file 179, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“If you don’t pay attention”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, July 25, 1932, 89–44, box 23, file 179, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“I cannot avoid feeling somewhat uneasy”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, July 5, 1932, 89–44, box 23, file 179, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“Your grandfather was creative”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, July 18, 1932, 89–44, box 23, file 179, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“I must overcome the fear complex”: Letter from Heinrich to Vollmer, December 23, 1929, box 15, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“I am persistently and continually beset”: Letter from Heinrich to Bennett F. Davenport, May 18, 1924, box 26, folder 12, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
In 1929, a disastrous string of events: Smithsonian National Museum of American History; “Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression,” Independence Hall Association.
“It would cost investors $30 billion”: “The Economics of World War I,” NBER Digest (January 2005).
Wickersham Report: “Wickersham Report on Police,” American Journal of Police Science 2, no. 4 (July–August 1931): 337–48.
Goddard was soon offered funding: Details about Northwestern and competition from letter from ibid.
“egotist of the first order”: Letter from Heinrich to Crossman, June 12, 1929, box 26, folder 6–10, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“The chapters have a surplus of fact”: Review of Crime’s Nemesis, 84–44, box 10, file 91, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“Their tendency to over-emphasize”: Letter from Heinrich to Crossman, September 20, 1926, box 26, folder 6–10, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“I do not entirely agree with your assertion”: Ibid.
He spent months recovering from acute colitis: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, September 6, 1932, 89–44, box 23, file 179, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
and saddened from missing his twentieth wedding anniversary: Letter from Heinrich to Kaiser, September 14, 1928, box 1, John Boynton Kaiser Papers.
CHAPTER 11
A note about Allene Lamson’s cause of death: I’ve concluded that she died by hitting her head on the sink; I reached this conclusion after reviewing all the pathology reports, appellant statements, and trial transcripts. I examined everything in Heinrich’s case files, including his field notes and details about his experiments. I consulted with several experts in the field. That being said—it still might have been murder, as you’ll see at the end of Chapter 11.
She squirmed in her chair: “Lamson Case Is Continued for Ten Days,” Healdsburg Tribune (CA), June 5, 1933; as well as several press photos featuring the little girl from the arraignment hearing; scenes also from various photos from the International News Photos agency on the day of the arraignment.
“I’ve just been figuring expenses”: Letter from Theodore to Heinrich, February 2, 1932, box 27, folder 25–26, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
“I fear you are still”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, January 16, 1933, 89–44, box 23, file 179, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“Say to Mort that”: Letter from Heinrich to Marion, May 12, 1932, 89–44, box 23, file 179, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
Inside his home laboratory: “Clippings, articles, publications” in Lamson Murder Case Collection.
a how-to manual for calculating: Simplified Blood Chemistry as Practiced with the Ettman Blood Chemistry Set comes from a catalogue of Heinrich’s books at UC Berkeley.
joint forensic tests: Supreme Court of the State of California, 188–96.
Proescher’s background: Stephen J. Morewitz and Mark L. Goldstein, Handbook of Forensic Sociology and Psychology (New York: Springer, 2014); Frederick Proescher, “A Remarkable Case of Carcinoma of the Gall Bladder,” JAMA 48, no. 6 (1907): 481–83; 1940 California census confirms 1878 birth in Germany, https://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/California/Frederick-Proescher_2ghgfj.
Stains inside nurse’s closet and David’s work shirt: Supreme Court of the State of California, 188–90.
they were spots of varnish: ibid., 204–5.
Items in the bonfire: ibid., 204–23.
“I made more than one test”: ibid., 188, 196–97.
“Dr. Proescher took the sample and cut off about”: ibid., 197–98.
“Leucomalachite Green test”: “Leucomalachite Green Presumptive Test for Blood,” National Forensic Science Technology Center, https://static.training.nij.gov/lab-manual/Linked%20Documents/Protocols/pdi_lab_pro_2.18.pdf.
Oscar’s theory of body positioning: Supreme Court of the State of California, 33–34.
spots of arterial blood: Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 34.
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�Measurements in a direct line from the point”: Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 34.
No blood cast-off and other results from experiments: “Experiment Summary,” dated June 20, 1933, in the “Lamson” folder, carton 71, folder 31–41, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
Definition of hemolyzed blood: Mark Okuda and Frank H. Stephenson, A Hands-On Introduction to Forensic Science: Cracking the Case (New York: Routledge, 2019), 94.
Even newspaper writers: “Battle of Scientists Centers Around Dave,” Oakland Post-Enquirer, September 5, 1933; “Heinrich Applies Benzedine Test on Floor,” San Francisco Call Bulletin, June 24, 1933.
“Heinrich, a noted criminologist”: Associated Press of San Francisco, August 28, 1933.
“nationally known criminologist and ace witness”: “Blood Tests Disputed in Lamson Trial,” Arizona Republic, September 9, 1933.
“For years I have been enchained”: Letter from Heinrich to Kaiser, October 9, 1922, box 28, folder 14, Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers.
DA swings the pipe: Supreme Court of the State of California, 306.
The affair with the nursemaid: Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 16–17, 91–92; “Husband to Face Murder Charge in Campus Mystery,” Fresno Bee (CA), June 1, 1933.
“I know nothing of her private affairs”: “Girl to Take Stand in Effort to Save Life of Stanford Man,” Oakland Tribune, August 21, 1933.
Sara Kelley and David collaborated: Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 17–22; Supreme Court of the State of California, 248–52.
“Everyone knows that if the husband starts to go”: Ibid., 252.
There were other theories from the district attorney: “Discord in Lamson Home,” Oakland Tribune, August 31, 1933.
David demanded sex: Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 82; Supreme Court of the State of California, 167.
Almost twenty years earlier: Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 14; “Accused Man’s Mother Tells Story of Boyhood Fun Tragedy in Which Son Was Absolved,” Santa Cruz Evening News (CA), June 5, 1933.
“Mother’s Day with silk hose”: “No Hint of Trouble in Home Told by Journal,” Oakland Tribune, June 11, 1933.
“Suddenly the betrothal was broken”: “Romance of Mrs. Lamson Well Known,” Oakland Tribune, June 3, 1933.
“The benzidine test was negative”: Supreme Court of the State of California, 224–26.
He noticed a disturbing pattern: Ibid., 245–46.
“Heinrich is meticulous of speech”: “Lamson Jury Casts One Ballot—to See Movie,” Oakland Tribune, September 1, 1933.
“I understand English”: Ibid.
“Do you doubt my integrity?”: Ibid.
“One knock would crush the skull”: Supreme Court of the State of California, 413.
“What was your wife’s position in the tub”: “Lamson Tells Own Story,” Oakland Tribune, September 7, 1933.
“The injuries are typical of what we call”: “Blood Tests Disputed in Lamson Trial,” Arizona Republic, September 9, 1933.
“Do you say it is impossible that those wounds”: Supreme Court of the State of California, 302.
“When blood is charred completely”: “Blood Tests Disputed in Lamson Trial.”
“Doctor, did you perform an experiment at the Lamson cottage”: Supreme Court of the State of California, 266–67.
“The only way to prove it would be to kill someone”: “Judge Halts Attempt of Dr. Heinrich,” Madera Daily Tribune (CA), September 12, 1933.
Heinrich can’t testify to blood spatter: Supreme Court of the State of California, 286.
Oscar had sliced an artery: “Ask Mr. Heinrich,” True Detective, August 1944, 111.
“We are not going to let this man walk off to go out of here”: Supreme Court of the State of California, 313.
“Why, you couldn’t fracture”: Ibid., 307.
Nelle Clemence was anxious: “Sketches of Jurors Given,” Oakland Tribune, September 16, 1933; “Fate of David A. Lamson Rests in Hands of These Men and Women,” Oakland Tribune, August 25, 1933.
Details about David Lamson’s jury deliberations: Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 91–92; “Lamson Convicted Himself—Juror,” Healdsburg Tribune (CA), September 18, 1933; “Sentence to Death Tuesday,” Nevada State Journal, September 18, 1933; “2 Lamson Jurors Served on Jury in Matlock Case,” Oakland Tribune, September 18, 1933.
“One can imagine”: “Five Women, Seven Men to Try Case,” Oakland Tribune, August 25, 1933.
“My mind was made up almost a week before”: “Lamson Convicted Himself—Juror.”
Juror tampering allegations: “Attorneys to Impeach Lamson Jury,” Oakland Tribune, September 23, 1933.
flipped through newspapers during a picnic: “Attorneys to Impeach Lamson Jury.”
“You know what happened”: Ibid.
Joe Matlock had been convicted of gunning down: “The Holdout in the Matlock Case,” Mercury News (San Jose, CA), May 26, 2012.
After the meal: Oakland Tribune, September 23, 1933.
George Peterson’s misconduct: Supreme Court of the State of California, 589–607.
Jury experiments: Ibid., 585–89; Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 91–93.
“There was evidence of attempts to wash out the blood”: “Trial Errors, Jury’s Misconduct Charged in Lamson’s Plea,” San Jose Evening News (CA), September 23, 1933.
“I know David Lamson is guilty”: Supreme Court of the State of California, 571–81.
“We are in for a critical winter”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, November 4, 1933, 89–44, box 23, file 180, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“The steady drain”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, November 1, 1934, 89–44, box 23, file 180, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“A good wife during such a period”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, December 10, 1934, 89–44, box 23, file 180, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
“Please do not allow”: Letter from Heinrich to Theodore, May 21, 1935, 89–44, box 23, file 180, Theodore Heinrich Collection.
The scene was appalling: “Lawyers Swap Punches in Lamson Hearing Row,” Los Angeles Times, September 26, 1933; “Lamson Hearing Marked by Genuine Fist Fight Between Two Attorneys,” Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA), September 25, 1933.
Details about affidavits: “Trial Errors, Jury’s Misconduct Charged in Lamson’s Plea”; Supreme Court of the State of California, 431–608.
“I was always convinced of Lamson’s innocence”: “Irregularities in Lamson Jury Said Cause for Retrial,” Santa Cruz Evening News (CA), September 23, 1933.
“Are you calling me a perjurer?”: “Lawyers Stage Fist Fight at Lamson Hearing,” Mercury Herald (San Jose, CA), September 26, 1933.
“the most shocking, the most hideous verdict”: “Trial Errors, Jury’s Misconduct Charged in Lamson’s Plea.”
“Don’t worry, everything”: “Lamson Hearing Marked by Genuine Fist Fight Between Two Attorneys.”
Details about hearing for death sentence: “‘I’m Innocent,’ Lamson Asserts as Judge Sets Execution Date,” Mercury Herald (San Jose, CA), September 27, 1933.
“My boy doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve”: “Dave Didn’t Kill Allene, Says Mother,” Oakland Tribune, October 1, 1933.
had petitioned to adopt the little girl: “Conviction of Lamson Fails Dash Composure Open Fight for Child,” Madera Daily Tribune (CA), September 18, 1933.
“Allene [when she was alive] asked me to take care of little”: “Lamson’s Mother Tells of His Life with Allene as Proof of Innocence,” Oakland Tribune, October 1, 1933.
“The verdict means nothing to me”: “Justice Miscarried, Heinrich Declares,” Oakland Tribune, September 18, 1933.
“Any intelligent person”: “Lamson Held Guiltless by Vollmer,”
Oakland Tribune, February 12, 1934.
Details about Lamson’s trip to San Quentin: “Lamson Placed in ‘Death Row,’” San Bernardino Daily Sun, October 7, 1933; “Prison Concessions Granted to Lamson,” San Bernardino Daily Sun, October 8, 1933.
Custody battle: “Custody of Lamson Baby Fight Delayed,” Madera Daily Tribune (CA), October 24, 1933.
“It exemplifies the frightful potentialities”: Russell and Winters, The Case of David Lamson, 16.
Supreme Court decision: Supreme Court of California statement PEOPLE v. LAMSON.
“We brought into our chambers the wash basin”: “Lamson Foresees Freedom Within Month, Daughter Still Unaware that Mother Is Dead,” Oakland Tribune, October 14, 1934.
“She still believes that her mother has”: Ibid.
“We have never changed our opinion”: “Highlights in Lamson Case from Tragedy Until Today,” Oakland Tribune, October 14, 1934.
denied the request and ordered a new trial: “Lamson to Get New Trial on Charge of Murdering His Wife,” Healdsburg Tribune (CA), December 7, 1934.
“I’m so happy”: “David Lamson Back in Santa Clara Co. Jail,” Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA), November 15, 1934.
“When I passed this way before”: “Lamson to Learn Fate,” Oakland Tribune, November 15, 1934.
Homecoming dinner: Ibid.
thirty thousand people a year died: “Ordeal Is Ended for David Lamson,” Oakland Tribune, May 15, 1950.
“McKenzie immediately—and by no means silently”: Ibid.
replica bathroom: “Bathtub, Girl Assist Lamson,” Petaluma Argus-Courier (CA), April 12, 1935.
The jury deadlocked 9–3: “Jury Deadlocked,” Daily News (NY), March 24, 1936.
Heinrich’s experiments: “Expert Heard: Lamson Fall Tests Cited,” Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1935.
“They say that when a high-velocity bullet”: “Accused Tells of Reactions to Jury’s Death Decree in Wife’s Death,” Pittsburgh Press, July 8, 1935.
his book was published: “Lamson Writes of Men in Death Row Where He Lived,” Missoulian (MT), September 20, 1935.
“The frog at the bottom of the well thinks”: Lamson, We Who Are About to Die, x–xi.