Wednesday, 17 March 2021

1909 Kinrade Murder - Part 4

 

“After the first twenty-four hours had passed without any solution of the murder mystery being in sight or any theory advanced that would seem to fit in with the stories which the police had been able to gather of the crime, the public mind began to turn to the inquest as the only means of getting the necessary information on which to base a theory that would hold together. Now the question is will the chief witnesses be in a condition to be examined tomorrow night?’

Hamilton Times.    March  02, 1909.

Tuesday’s Hamilton newspapers which appeared on March 2, 1909, were still very much focused on the shooting death of Ethel Kinrade. The focus was primarily on the condition of her sister:

“Of course, Miss Florence Kinrade will be the chief witness. She has been in a state of hysteria almost ever since the shooting, whenever any reference was made to the deplorable crime, and has been under constant care of the family physician, Dr. James White.

“ ‘I should strongly advise against trying to examine her tomorrow,’ said Dr. White when the Times asked about her condition today. ‘The sight of the crowd in the court room, the officers of the law, and the grim old court would be almost sure to set her off again, and then nothing could be accomplished.’

“Yesterday there was a story around the streets, and it seemed to have reached almost everybody’s lips, that the ordeal was proving too great a mental strain for Miss Kinrade and that she was likely to lose her reason. ‘Nothing of the kind,’ said her physician when asked about it. ‘She becomes hysterical and that is all.’

“Dr. McNichol, Coroner, stated today that the inquest would go on tomorrow night. If medical certificates are produced to show that the necessary witnesses are not in fit physical condition to attend, an adjournment will be granted.”

Hamilton Times March 2, 1909.

The detectives had attempted to gain some useful information from Florence concerning the matter, but their interview did not go well:

“While the detectives were examining Florence Kinrade at her house on Herkimer street, a rather surprising thing occurred. When the officers were questioning the girl about the man who did the shooting, she became quite hysterical, and began to cry, ‘There he is; there he is.’

“A young man who was staying in the house came into the room, and tried to keep her quiet by placing his hand over her mouth. Detective Bleakley pulled his arm away. Miss Kinrade broke down shortly after, and the officers were obliged to leave.

“The incident was very remarkable, and impressed the officers. Of course, her exclamation had no reference whatever to the young man who was then there, but seemed to be directed to some person she saw as in a vision

“After the officers left, she became quite hysterical and her screams could be heard on the streets.”

Hamilton Times . March 2, 1909

All three Hamilton daily newspapers, the Times, the Herald and the Spectator vied intensely with each other concerning the Kinrade case.

The Times on its editorial page had this to say regarding the Herald:

“This unhappy tragedy has given the yellow journalist and the camera fiend the time of their lives, and they have made the most of it. Last night the Hamilton Herald had the following editorial paragraph :’Not sympathy but morbid curiosity drew most of those five thousand people to the KInrade home yesterday to witness the funeral of Miss Kinrade. What satisfaction could be obtained from a view of the coffin and the mourners and the hearse, it is hard to understand.’ Yet, may I ask the ghoul, what satisfaction could be obtained from a view of the coffin, the grave and the mourners and hearse pictured on the front page? It is hard to say.”

Hamilton Times    March 2, 1909.

Reporters constantly were badgering the Hamilton Police about the case, but little hard information was given them, although there seemed to be optimism that the case was well in hand:

“Is the Kinrade murder mystery near a solution?

“There is reason that it is, and the police practically promised this morning that there would be important developments, perhaps in a week. This is a broader admission than they have made at any time since they have taken charge of the case. While they refuse to disclose what they have up their sleeve, they hint that the murder will not remain a mystery long

“Chief Smith, who yesterday afternoon declared very emphatically that he had his own conclusions, that could not be divulged at present, was very optimistic this morning.

“ ‘There will be developments in the case, all right,’ he said, but further than that he declined to discuss it.”

Hamilton Times. March 2, 1909

One theory which had become public concerned Florence Kinrade’s recent stay in the United States, particularly in the state of Virginia:

“A point elaborated upon in a morning paper tells of a quarrel Florence had with her sister about a man in Virginia. Miss Florence could not remember this at first, but told the detectives before they left that there was a man in Virginia from whom she received letters two weeks before Christmas, when she returned home. Ethel did not approve of this man, according to the report. An officer who was present during the examination said it was quite clear that this was nothing more than an ordinary disagreement between sisters over such matters.”

Hamilton Times. March 2, 1909.

While the officer, at least publicly, gave little importance on a quarrel between the sisters, that matter would be brought up later.

As March 2, 1909 came to end, it was fully expected that during the evening  the next day the coroner’s inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Ethel Kinrade would begin. 



 

 

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