1836: The Murder of 'The Girl in Green' Helen Jewett

You are listening to one nation under crime, a historical chronological, true crime podcast. Each week we go through our nation's history and discuss one case from each year, starting in 1800. I'm Kayla and I'm Leah, this is it's. It starts with another side of this week. I was going to say, what's up with the sign, man. I mean, I said my Nana and you sad. Why are you upset with, so I've brought you here today to discuss your future with the podcast. Just kidding. I've done your performance review and, and it's fabulous. 

00:00:41

So that star view right at the top, I'm going to go ahead and let everybody know. This is not Leah's last day. It's not Leah's last name. However, let's just get that over with. There will be some themes in this episode that you may not feel comfortable with listening with children under a certain age. Oh, little ears, little ears. If this is a conversation you would like to have with them, by all means, do you? I don't care. However, just F Y I, once we get into the story, there will be heavy conversations that some people may not be ready to have. 

00:01:33

I need to know more about what kind of heavy conversations let's talk about sex. Let's talk about it. You and me let's talk about I'll add all that anyway. So yes, that is a main theme of the week. Weird. We and B, we are not taking a deep dive. Really? We did discuss terminology around sex work before we will discuss like brothels and such in this episode. And our case does take place in a brothel. So there it's unavoidable conversation. 

00:02:15

It needs to be had. So if that's not some just, I just want people to know in case they have a situation that you have to have a conversation that you're not exactly. So anyways, let's, let's let's, we'll just wait, we gotta go. All right. Back to pitch. Perfect. I know soundtrack. Love it. Love it, love it. Alright, totally have a toner for our sources for this week we have, and this is going to tell you exactly who our case is about the Helen Jewett, murder, violence, gender, and sexual Snus in antebellum America. 

00:03:01

Well, there you go. It was a very good, it was very, very in depth and the woman who wrote it, I believe it's Patty Cline. Anyway, she did a fantastic job. And then my NSA agents, favorite murder by Gaslight. So we're going to get to our events in 1836, January 5th, Davy Crockett arrived and knock a dosas, Texas to help with the Texas revolution. February 5th, Henry Roe Campbell built the first four, four oh a steam locomotive tight that will soon become the most common on all railroads of the United States. 

00:03:46

February 23rd, the battle of the Alamo began and the Alamo was under attack for 13 days until March 6th, 1500 to 3000 Mexican soldiers under general, Santa Ana killed 182 to 257. The numbers not quite known Texans, including sorry, William, Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett. It's going to say the new Bowie was in there. He's got a mean tackle though. We know that after last week's episode, especially after stolen, Alden hit him with a cane, February 25th, Samuel Colt patented the first multi-shot revolving cylinder <em></em> which enabled the firearm to be fired multiple times without reloading. 

00:04:45

He mean you fractured the first 34 caliber pistol on March 5th of that year. And it was specifically named the Texas model. It's just interesting Texas model March 2nd, the Republic of Texas declared independence from Mexico in Columbia, March 20, Snoop, March 16th. The next next one is the 27th March 16th. The constitution of the Republic of Texas was approved and legalized slavery because why not utilize? Yep. After we've already gotten a movement. Okay. Anyways, March 27th. 

00:05:25

Now we're two at 20. The first Mormon temple was dedicated in Kirtland, Ohio, April 20th. The territory of Wisconsin was created May 4th. The ancient order of Hibernians what? Yeah, it's an Irish Catholic fraternal organization and it was founded in New York city. Okay. Dan, June 15th, Arkansas officially became the 25th state in the states. Halfway done. Welcome Arkansas. Welcome July 1st, president Andrew Jackson announced to Congress a request by James Smithson of a hundred thousand gold sovereigns, which was to found the Smithsonian institution and Washington DC. 

00:06:18

Very, very good institution. That's one place I'm okay with bones going July 11th, president Andrew Jackson issues. These special sheet I've spent, I don't know how to say, especially circular. He was not assassinated. No. And it was an executive order which required payment for government land to be specifically done in gold and silver. Meaning you can just give me a check or an IOU. It means you got to give me the money, honey. Well, which began the failure of land speculation economy that would lead to the panic of 1837. Oh yeah. 

00:06:59

Well that one good. July 13th, Friday. I dunno. The first us patent number one was done for locomotive wheels after 9,957 unnumbered patents, they officially started named like numbering. This was number one, but there were 9,957 patents. How did they keep track of them? I guess that's why they decided to do that. I don't know. It's just funny. What kind of goobers were running the show before that comment? 

00:07:43

Seriously? I mean, I guess I have this piece of paper. That's it? Alphabetical stars. July 30th, the first English language newspaper was published in Hawaii. September 1st. I've never been there. I want to go. I haven't, I've never been there. I don't know if I have a big desire to go, but I want to go once. I don't know. My friend used to live there. I don't know her mom still does September 1st norms. Sorry. Narcissa Whitman arrived desk Malfoy. His mom's name. Narcissa she arrived in Walla Walla, Washington. 

00:08:27

That's say it again. Walla Walla, Washington. And she was one of the first white more, or they had to put this on her, but she was apparently one of the first white women to settle west of the Rocky mountains. So that was a big deal to get to get. I mean, there's somebody out there. September 25th, Sam Houston was elected as president of the Republic of Texas Wonderware. Houston comes from September 9th, this, okay. This was a bear to figure out how to explain Ralph Waldo. Emerson published his influential essay nature in the United States outlining his beliefs in transcendental realism. 

00:09:16

Do you know what transcendentalism is? I was thinking of George Strait and lyrics. So go ahead. Transcendent Elizabeth Splain. It is a philosophy that spirituality cannot be achieved through reason and rationalism, but through self-reflection and intuition, essentially transcendentalists believe spirituality. Isn't something you can explain. It's something that you feel some beliefs are that humans are all inherently good society and its institutions such as organized. 

00:10:00

Religion and politics are corrupt and humans should strive to be independent. And self-reliant Spieler spirituality should come from the self and not an organized religion. Insight and experience are more important than logic and nature is beautiful and it should be appreciated and it should not be altered by humans. Essentially. We're saying he was a tree hugger. It was it w let me tell you guys, it was not easy to figure out how to explain what this was, because nowhere did it have any like good explanation, like the explanation was terrible and I couldn't figure out what it was meaning. 

00:10:44

So anyways, I had to sort through it. That's essentially what it means. Well, the only, The only reference that I had was George. Strait's all my exes live in Texas. And the line about transcendental meditation. I go there each night. And so the only thing I think of, you know, I was thinking like meditation. I mean, Man, you would mean by spiritual because they've lived in feeling and spiritually. I mean, inside that I'm I was like meditation, you know, that's, that's the only thing that I could think of. So there, yes. Thank you, George Strait, October 12th, 18. Didn't give me much on that. I mean, George, Strait's awesome. 

00:11:26

I mean, there's that? Yes. Okay. October 12th, 18 inches of snow fell in Bridgewater, New York, October 15th, Alexander Twilight became the first. It says specifically African-American. So that's what I went with. Okay. He became the first African-American elected to public office in the Vermont house of representatives. His name was Alexander Twilight. And I just liked that. I do like that Name. I wish we had some snow here. I'm going to be traveling to Maryland by the way, I will be true. 

00:12:10

Now I will have already been to Maryland last week. It's too much to think right now. I know, but yes, you will be going to the place where snow is. Hopefully there will be Snow. Okay. October 24th of the American patent for a phosphorous friction match was filed by. I know was filed by Alonzo Dwight Phillips of Springfield, Massachusetts. So essentially matches. Here we go. December 4th, the wig party held its first national convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, December 7th, Martin van Buren was elected as the eighth president of the United States, December 14th, the Toledo war unofficially ended, which was a result of a boundary dispute between Ohio and Michigan. 

00:13:09

The resolution was passed and the resolution was called the frostbitten convention. So there was a war between Yes, it was a, a boundary dispute between Michigan and it was higher on war the Toledo war. Interesting. So yes, we had a us patent office, but on December 15th it burned down. So that one, so who Cares if it was numbered? Oh gosh, December 20th, a sudden freeze killed many travelers in Illinois, December 23rd, the Georgia female college now known as Wesleyan college was chartered in Macon, Georgia as the first college for women in the United States, nine 11 undated events in 1836. 

00:14:10

We have the American temperance union, which was established. We all know what this, these are the first McDuffy readers were public yet. And those for those who don't know, it's like little reader, like a lot of homeschool. Parents still use them today, but a lot of, a lot of kids will have them in the rooms. Anyways. I remember McGuffey readers. Let's you learn to read from? And the first, gosh, this is another one. Okay. The first printed literature in as Rian, Neo era, Matt Aramaic, yep. 

00:14:51

Was published by Justin Perkins, who was an American Presbyterian missionary. Our births in 1836, January 10th. We have Charles Ingles. He was settler and father of Laura ankles. Water. Oh. Did you love those books or they Were okay. He was a Capricorn. Wait a minute. I'm Hold the fine. It just wasn't my, it wasn't my cup of tea, but I mean, I read all of them. They were good, but I mean, like I wouldn't go back and read them. Oh, You make me so sad. Like I asked my job on this earth. Oh, have you not figured that out? Oh, okay. Sorry. 

00:15:33

I had one of the teachers. It's Also not surprising that that would be your favorite book. It's not my favorite one series, but I did. I loved those books. One of the teachers that taught with mom, she called me half pint. And I had been told by more than one person that I remind them of Melissa Gilbert, especially from when she was on little house on the Prairie. Surprise you though that I would not like something that's like known to be inherently like The little girl. Yeah. Like her dad. 

00:16:13

And I mean, it's like hero and I am even my daddy's my hero still. And I'm 42 years old. I mean, I'm dead inside. So, But I mean, I'm, I will say, I mean, Laura and her paw, you know, she, the worst thing in the world was disappointing. Her dad and still at 42 years old, that is one of the worst things for me is for my daddy to be disappointed with me. And it makes it Easier. Not having one You're so bad, Kayla, you know, I'm dark. 

00:16:55

So I mean, no, I, It, for those who haven't caught up on all the episodes, my dad died when I was really young. It's fine. I, I joke about it to hide my feelings, but she had very dark humor. So I was afraid. That's what you were going to say with a little grin. I was so afraid. That's what you're going to say. You really like this? That's like the side, there's a side that daddy does. And like the well baby, and I'm like, I'm 42 years old. I'm a grown woman, but y'all Can't anyways, I'm just saying, I mean, I'm a grown woman and like, I can still make my decisions and all, but I really want my daddy to be proud of Me. 

00:17:46

Not Shocking. So anyway, you, the books love, love, love. There were good books. I just, they were okay. Anyways. I love to go see like the museum and stuff and everything. Sam good. Oh, Hey. I still love you. I mean, I still love you too, but I'd rather, I'd rather go to Zach Baggins, haunted museum and, and deal in cover The, a big hug. Now then stop talking about that. Move on January 10th, like I said, Charles angles, he was a Capricorn. Anyways, February 9th, Franklin Benjamin Gowan. 

00:18:26

He was the president of the Philadelphia and reading railroad. Do you know how hard it was for me to type reading railroad? Instead of reading rainbow, I was like it in my mind. It was not, it was not. Are you done as being your background as you were talking? Can I not be your background music? No, We please two glasses deep at this point, guys. Shit. You ain't got to go telling all my business it's all Right. Your background music. I have a beautiful voice. 

00:19:07

Some might say angelic, Some, some probably would Keeping your tape. February 9th, Franklin Benjamin Gowan. He was the president of the Philadelphia and reading railroad. And he is identified with the undercover infiltration of the Molly. Maguires mine workers, the saloon keepers, and low-level local political figures. He arranged and tried for multiple acts of violence. These, these groups, yes, this was so confusing. All of those people were tried for multiple acts of violence, including murders and attempted murders of coal, mine operators, foremen and workers and peace officers. 

00:19:57

And he was actually murdered. So he is going to be a case that later he was in Aquarius, February 24th, we have Winslow Homer. He was an American on him. He was an American painter and printmaker, and he was one of the foremost painters in the 19th century. And he is a major figure in American art. Did his paints make him go a little nutso? I don't know, but that ties back to that shop and watching anyways, he has a Pisces, May 27th. Jason Gould was an American railroad magnet and financial specu later, who is generally it, it looked like spectator. 

00:20:39

When I went to read it, I wonder why you drew that out. I was like, he is generally identified as one of the robber barons. And that was apparently a derogatory term applied to those who had a certain amount of, well, it was anyways, his shot, how they got there. Well, his Charlotte, the carpet baggers, maybe like after the civil war, maybe. So I think probably his sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made him one of the wealthiest men of the late 19th century. Gold was an unpopular figure during his life and remains controversial to this day. 

00:21:23

He's a Gemini sounds like a great guy. I mean, solid August 16th, John Pierce was an American professor of chemistry and inventor who participated in the development of the telephone. He's a Leo August 25th, Brett Hart was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction, featuring minors, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California gold rush era Virgo like me and November 8th. 

00:22:05

She's looking at me with that. Look guys, a man who everyone will know simply by his name alone, whose name is everywhere. Especially if you were in a certain section of the store, Milton Bradley, he as an American business magnet game pioneer and high here near he is the one who launched the board game industry. He's a Scorpio. Is he responsible for monopoly? I know of Milt. 

00:22:46

Monopoly was a Milton Bradley. I don't know if he's responsible for it that the first lease, the first game that they made was kind of like checkers, but not really checkers. I hate monopoly with a passion for those who are weird, like me, I don't think it's Milton Bradley. That makes a Weegee board. I don't remember who it is, but I don't think that it's. I think that's Parker brothers think is Parker brothers, but anyways, our deaths in 1836, January 30th, Betsy Ross, I put flag maker maybe. Yeah. Perhaps who knows? March 16 posted allegedly March 16th. 

00:23:30

Nathaniel. I got to say this very clearly bow ditch. Oh yes. Good job. On the day. Yes. He was a mathematician and credited as the founder of Marine. Oh, interesting. June 28th, James Madison, the fourth president of the United States died in September 14th. Aaron Burr, the third vice president of the United States who did not done a dual and murderer of Alexander Hamilton. You will never convince me otherwise. Well, man, he did kill him. And he did anyways, who would try to convince you otherwise just the one that shot him, just making sure everyone's aware. 

00:24:15

So now we're getting into our case for this week and you will kind of see the direction that our case is going. So on April 10th, 1836, Helen Jewitt was found in her bed, brutally murdered, and a man who was a frequent visitor of hers named Richard P. Robinson immediately became the main suspect. The murder trial following the investigation is known as one of the first sex scandals to receive detailed press reporting with the most notable being the New York Herald whom we discussed last week. That's big news. Our case this week takes place in New York city. And we have covered it a couple of times in different cases. 

00:24:57

So we were taking a different route for this portion of the episode this week. Quick question. Do we think that the New York Herald covered it in order to gain notoriety? Because it was a new paper? We'll see. I don't think so. Okay. There's something it'll come up. I was just curious to get back to the page. Yeah. We'll get back to them because a lot of people will see that the title of this episode is called the girl in green, AKA Helen Jewett in the newspapers. They started, they, they were calling her the girl in green. We'll get to why. Okay. So, but that was a name that the newspapers gave her whelming. You have to have a catchy. 

00:25:38

Yeah, it's more anyways. So back in episode 25, titled the Sheriff's mistress, we discussed terminology and why the term prostitute has been changed to sex worker. We went into that extensively. You will see in this case that sex work is a major theme and arguably the cause of the murder. So we're going to go into a brief discussion of kind of what, what the world of sex work was like at this time, we're not going into like incredible deep detail, but we're going to talk about kind of how, kind of what was going on, how popular was this and a couple of interesting things that I didn't know. 

00:26:24

And you'll be shocked by it's fun facts. If you will, maybe fun facts about murder, about sex work anyways, sex work. Yeah. So even better. So we're only going to get into the legality of it, but also the types and locations in the 19th century, it was known that a parlor house brothel catered to an upper class clientele while a Bodhi house had a lower class client home. There were also concert saloons where men could eat, listen to live music, watch a fight. 

00:27:06

They could be catered to by lovely woman in one of the upstairs rooms. We've seen it, had it all on air, right? One stop shop in lower Manhattan alone, just lower Manhattan. There were over 200 brothels, 200 and yes, sex work was illegal under the vagrancy laws. But seeing as the police and city officials were also some of the clients and they were also bribed by the brothel owners, enforcement was limited. Argument was that regulating sex work would be an opposition to the public. 

00:27:46

Good. All right. Then the gold rush began and from the 1840s to 1900, the mining towns attracted gambling saloons and brothels, the Loret ordinance, low risk. This cracks me up. I, so it's the Lorette ordinance of 1857. And it prohibited sex work from being offered on the first floor of buildings in new Orleans, just the first floor, which was interesting because when I mentioned that to my boyfriend, he was like, yeah, that's why a lot of them, when you go like to areas like that, where that's kind of like a prominent thing, like, I don't think that her Mr. 

00:28:33

Clubs anymore, but in areas like that, where there's multiple floors, he said, yeah, that's why it's on the second floor a lot of times while you have to go upstairs. Oh yeah. So I was like, Hmm. All right, wait, how do you know that, sir? He was saying that it made a lot of sense based off of that, because he was like, well, that makes perfect sense. That's why, you know, you see those in different places and they're on the second floor. I was like, actually, that makes sense. Well, there you go. So, you know, let's see the more, you know yes, but even with increasing regulation, sex work continued to gain momentum. And in 1858, it is estimated it circulated $6.3 million, which was more than the shipping and brewing industry combined. 

00:29:36

Whoa. Then during the civil war, army officers encouraged the presence of sex workers to keep morale high. Hello, hookers. That's, that's where the term hookers came from. Right? So because of the U S because of this us military commander, Brigadier general, Robert S Granger legalized sex work in Nashville, Tennessee to try and curb venereal disease among union soldiers. It actually worked. And the VD, which is neuro disease. If anybody doesn't matter, the VD rate fell. 

00:30:18

Some people don't know just saying, I'm not good friends. I can't, I can't say it every single time. So anyways, the rate fell from around 44, 0% to 4% nice due to the legalization. All sex workers had to register to work. And they had regular health checks by a board certified physician. Every two weeks, the cost to actually register was $5 and each check was 50 cents. So they had to actually be checked. And that's why this all was happening. At the same time. Pennsylvania avenue in Washington, DC had been reduced to quote a slum and was called murder bay due to the extensive criminal activity. 

00:31:06

There were a ton of sex workers in the area because they were there to serve the need of general Joseph Hooker's army of the Potomac we discussed. Well, I said, we discussed this and where the term hooker came from in our episode, on the beforehand to the area changed its name to the area, changed its name to the hooker division. And the two blocks between Pennsylvania avenue and Missouri avenue was known as marble alley due to the expensive brothels that took up residence there. Nice. In 1873, Anthony Comstock created the New York society for the suppression of vice. 

00:31:47

This was an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public. Okay. How'd that go for you? Interesting. Comstock's successfully influenced the United States Congress to pass the Comstock law, which made the delivery of obscene lewd or last vicious material. And any information about birth control, illegal, illegal. Hmm. So you could not have any, you could not deliver any obscene material, but you also couldn't give out any information on birth control. 

00:32:28

It was illegal. So thanks for that. I won't start in 1875, Congress passed the page act of 1875 that made illegal to transport women into the United States to be used as sex workers in 1881, the bird cage theater opened in tombstone, Arizona guys. This was an interesting one. It included a brothel in the basement and Fort teen crib like structures suspended from the ceiling called cages, which is how it got its name. 

00:33:11

Oh, ma local men, such as doc holiday, bat Masterson diamond, Jim Brady and George Hurst frequented the bird cage. Your huckleberry around 1890. The term red light district was first recorded in the United States and in a paper from Sandusky, Ohio, actually, for those not aware, another name for the red light district is the pleasure district. This is where generally a wide variety of adult entertainment is available. The name actually comes from the red lights that were used as signs for a brothel, the title for longest running brothel in the United States instead Of Montana. 

00:34:04

It's in Montana. Yes. It belonged to the DeMoss brothers. And it was called the DeMoss brothel in Butte, Montana. Yeah. It was open from 1890 to 1982. Do you know why I need that? Why? Because my Senior, everyone is curious. Yeah. My senior year I went on a mission trip to Butte, Montana. Well, it apparently turned into a museum. I'm a little disappointed. You didn't go anywhere else, kinda on a fine girls trip. 

00:34:47

So Not a place That we would have gone. I mean, I would have when, when it closed, it was described as quote, a rare, intact commentary on social history. So given kind of some of the laws that were, I'm going to have to bring us down for just a few minutes, and there's a reason there is a complete reason for it because I cannot discuss this. We did talk about the page act of 1875 that made it illegal to transport women into the nation for the use of sex work. I cannot bring that up without discussing something extremely important. That is extremely important to me and should be extremely important to everyone. 

00:35:29

Honestly, I want to shed light on it. It's a major issue in the United States and around the world. And that is sex trafficking. Yes, sex trafficking, for those not aware is a form of human trafficking, which involves reproductive slavery or commercial sexual exploitation and is despicable. It also includes the transportation of persons by means of coercion, deception, and or force into exploitive and slavery light conditions. It's commonly associated with organized crime as well, and is despicable. It has been estimated that two thirds of trafficking victims in the United States are us citizens. 

00:36:12

Most victims who were born outside of the United States do come into the United States legally on various visas. But many times once the women are brought in with a visa it's taken from them and they're forced into sex work. The state department estimates that between fifth teen thousand and 50,000 women and girls are trafficked each year in the United States. So in saying this so angry, I want, like I said, I like, I like to shed light on. We, you know, we both do. We like to shed light on social issues that are a major problem that do you need more attention and do you need to be discussed? And with this being said, if this is ever a situation that you are in, does it, these are just a few red flags to look out for. 

00:37:00

If you see someone and you believe that they might be in a position where they are being sexually trafficked, and these are just kind of different things that I, you know, you can see and kind of be like, okay, this is an issue. You know, this, yes, what I'm thinking could be true. If the person seems overly fearful, submissive, tense, or paranoid, if the person is deferring to another before giving any information, if the person has physical injuries or branding such as name tattoos on their face or chest tattoos about money or sex or any inappropriate, you know, phrases, that's not just to say that it's combined with a lot of other things as well, just to say, clothing is inappropriately sexual or inappropriate for the weather. 

00:37:48

I didn't think about that, but inappropriate for the weather. That's, that's a really exploited that, that one I didn't ever think of, but that's yes, five degrees outside and they're in, they're still wearing basically nothing, nothing yet. If a minor is unaccompanied at night or falters in giving any explanation of who they are with and what they are doing, that's a possibility as well. If their identification documents are held by another person, if the person works long or excessive hours, or is always available on demand, if they were overly sexual for their age or the situation, if they're have, if they have multiple phones or multiple social media accounts across different platforms, that's also kind of like a, a red flag signs of unusual wealth without explanation, new jewelry, shoes, phones, without any known forms of income. 

00:38:47

That can also be a way of doing that. And if a person lives in a quote massage business, or if they are not free to come and go as they please, and typically it's not a quote massage business, typically the way they get around it, as they just call it a spa, you cannot say massage, which I learned this from the Jensen and holes, podcast, murder squad, and something else that I'm about to bring up was also something that I read with them. But if they say massage in the name, you legally have to have a massage therapist license. 

00:39:32

Okay. And so they have to have it. If the word spa is specifically the only thing in the name, that is how it can, can be, you know, you can work around this. So, so anyways, just to be, just be on the lookout of that, there was a shooting in last year that was in Georgia, that targeted several places such as that, that it was assumed. I don't know for sure if it was sad, but it was assumed that it was kind of an operation similar to that. So if you believe you have seen or know anyone involved called the national human trafficking hotline at 1 8, 8 8 3 7 3 7 8 8 8, or you can text the word help or info to 2, 3, 3 7 2, 2. 

00:40:28

However, if you believe that the person or persons are in immediate danger, you need to immediately call 9 1 1 and let them know of the situation, because it is very easy for someone who is trafficking someone else to take them. And they will not be recognized again, they can change their hair color. They can do a lot of different things. It's very, you know, they can get them to another location very, very quickly, and you can lose who they are. I mean, you know, it's, it's, it's just something else. However, this is something, if you travel a lot, this is something that everybody needs to do right now. Like right now, there is an app on, I think it's pretty much in every app store now, but it's called traffic like traffic spelled normally with a K at the end and then cam C a M. 

00:41:20

So it's called traffic cam. And the description that was actually on the app said it best. So I'm just gonna read what it says. Traffic cam enables you to help combat sex by uploading photos of hotel rooms. You stay in when you travel traffickers regularly, post photographs of their victims posed in hotel rooms for online advertisement. These photographs are evidence that can be used to find and prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes in order to use these photos. However, investigators must be able to determine where the photos were taken. The purpose of traffic cam is to create a database of hotel room images that an investigator can efficiently search in order to find other images that were taken in the same location or an image that is a part of an investigation, which I never thought of, but it's this app. 

00:42:19

And you literally, all you do is you go in your hotel room, you have to do it in the app. You just go in your hotel room and you do like one sweep of what your hotel room looks like. And then it asks you, you know what hotel this is. And so you put in what hotel it is, and that information is uploaded to a database just to say, like, this is this hotel room. This is what this looks like. And then they, I think they have somebody who kind of like catalogs it and breaks it down. And it's like, what's in the room. What looks because, you know, some will say like, that's a very specific wallpaper, right? What hotel would that have been at? What city are we in? Okay, well, we know there's only one of these hotels in this city. So this person had to have been here, so we need to go. So they, and they've actually been pretty successful in, in, it's been very helpful for a lot of, for a lot of investigations. 

00:43:04

So if you are someone who does travel a lot, please download that app and go in there. And all you do is just go in your hotel room. You do a quick, just little picture, photo sweep of the room, upload it, and you're done. Like, that's all you have to do. And you could, I mean, it truly could save someone's life. So how awesome to be a part of that? I mean, and at the same time, how sad it is that we have to have something like that. Oh, you know, it's, it's despicable. I can't say that enough. There's not a word, no strong, I guess, but I couldn't adequately describe how I feel about it. I just, I exactly, it's savory. It is slavery. 

00:43:44

Oh, it is. And it's it's I just, I don't understand. It is fresh. It's frustrating. It's angering. It is for a lot of people who don't know, you know, y'all do you know that we were in Alabama and there's an interstate that goes from Birmingham to Atlanta. It's called . And it is known as one of the most heavily use, used ways to get someone because Atlanta has an international airport. It's the easiest way to get someone out of the country. So I, 20 they say for a lot of women, like if you're there like be safe, if you stop anywhere, just be aware, like, keep your head on a swivel men to men and, and, you know, anyone can be sex trafficked if they are, you know, enough. 

00:44:32

So it's not just women, even though it is women more likely. Yeah. Primarily, But, but you know, we do understand men and boys can also have that happen to them as well. So it's just to say like, keep your head on a swivel, make sure, you know, just be aware of your surroundings. I mean, but had to just throw that in there, we haven't come across anything kind of close to that. And typically like we did in our episode where we discuss suicide and I put all the information in there, I am going to put all of this information in the show notes. So like I said, just scroll up and the information and the telephone number or the text message number, and the name of the app will be in the show notes. So if, if you see anything, anything like that, you know, one of the best things that I've heard is if you see something, say something it's better to be safe than, sorry, you got me all Wound up in an angry. 

00:45:23

So if you see something say something, but our case today revolves around Helen Jewett, who was actually born Dorcas. Doyenne Dorcas is actually a Bible character dark, but bless it is, yeah. We had two groups on one of my mission trips who was Dorcas in Dora and I was in Dorcas and I was like, so and so we're all dorks. Okay, thanks. She was born in temple Maine. Her family was in the working class and her dad was allegedly a raging alcoholic. Allegedly her mother died when she was young. And at the age of 12, when her father remarried, she was sent out to service. 

00:46:06

Not in the way that you're thinking. Yeah. In other words, I'm the new woman of the house that I'm going to need. Yeah. Get out. So she was sent as a servant to the home of one of the chief justices of the Maine Supreme judicial court, all of this, of course, with an agreement that she could leave when she was 18. Supposedly the family, she went to serve, raised her as more of a child than, you know, as a servant. However, it's also alleged that the judge, she was serving slept with her at the age of 16 or 17 nine. The details of the seduction are not clear, but the act appeared to be consensual. 

00:46:51

I don't know when the story became public, the judge had to do something in though. She was only 17. She was set free. And they said she was 18 to end her service. So she could leave Buying This free the judge from having to take any action against anything. And it allowed her to go away on her own. So Helen immediately took off and moved to Portland. I'm calling her Helen cause everywhere calls her Helen. Like even though that was not her birth name, everywhere calls her Helen. And it's just much easier. And that's what she Preferred to be called. Apparently. Maybe not. 

00:47:34

Oh yeah. Helen, do you? It is the name. She went by when she got to New York city and she started working for Rosina Townsend at an upscale brothel. Oh, this is where just getting us good one. She made her way to Boston and then ended in New York. And that's why I said her name changed in each city, which is why I mentioned that that was her birth name. And then by the time she got to New York city, her name was Helen Jewett, but she was changing it every time she moved. Oh sir. Unsure of why, but she did well, she didn't let the first one. So she changed it. I mean, you know, laughable run. 

00:48:14

I mean, I'd probably change Monica over that too. But anyways, so she started working for Rosina Townson and an upscale brothel. It said that she was more of a courtesan than a common sex worker. So she was more of like an escort. Okay. Which she was Phantom girl. I mean, anyways, her clients included successful lawyers, merchants and politicians who viewed their relationships with her almost as romances with Ron Davis and exchanges of gifts and letters. But her favorite client was a man who went by the name of Frank Rivers. 

00:48:55

This of course wasn't his name? Shocker. But Helen called him pretty Frank due to his strikingly. Good looks. His name was actually Richard P. Robinson. And he was an 18 year old clerk at a local dry goods store. The two started corresponding even when he wasn't there for services, but Richard hated her profession. And soon Helen began to threaten, to humiliate him by telling others that he had been seeing her three days before the murder. Helen sent him a letter trying to reconcile. However, she closed the letter by saying, quote, you have known how I loved do not, oh, do not provoke the experiment of seeing how I can hate, oh, I mean, girl, she just threw that down. 

00:49:52

Do not provoke the experiment of seeing how I can hate. She said, I am not. That is like, that's a line right there. That is. I said what I said. And I said what I said, so don't ask what I said. I mean, I, that is she's. Don't try me. However, Richard was a bit brave and he responded in his letter saying, quote, you are never so foolish as when you threaten me, keep quiet until I come on Saturday night. And then we will see if we can not be better friends here. After he said that in the early mornings of Sunday, April 10th, 1836 for Xena Townson. 

00:50:40

As I said before, she was the brothel owner was awoken by someone banging on her door, through the door. She heard a man's voice asking to be let out of the front door because it was locked. This is all important. It all ties back. So Rosina yelled back, get your woman to let you out. There were nine women who lived in the house and one of the house rules that was that after midnight, the front door would be locked. And this lock was a lock from the inside and outside. So you had to have a key to get out. Gotcha. And everybody that lived there had a key. 

00:51:20

No, there was only one key. Oh. So, so like I said, the rule was that if anybody needed to get out, then they would need to be escorted to the door specifically. It wasn't uncommon for some men to spend the night, but if they ever decided to leave, they wouldn't ever need Rosina because one of the women would let them out. Right. So they wouldn't come to wake her up. This was odd because after the banging on her door, none of the women living there ever slipped into Ruffino's room to get the key. Hm. 

00:52:00

So Rosina fell back asleep and she was entertaining a male visitor of her own who apparently never awoke to any of the commotion. All right. She was woke. It's like a man. I mean, you know, she was awoken again around 3:00 AM. All right. To someone knocking on the outside of the main door. So the front door insinuating that it's still locked. Right. Okay. It was a regular customer who was serviced by Elizabeth Salters Rosina let the man in. And he slinked upstairs to Elizabeth's room and Rosina Lanter no longer saw him. 

00:52:41

But as all of this occurred, she noticed something wasn't quite right. There was a globe lantern sitting on a marble top table in the parlor. And it was lit. This was odd because the lantern had a twin and they both belonged to another room. On the second floor. She walked towards the lantern and installed the door to the garden. Slightly opened the back garden, had a continuous fence around it. That was around eight to 12 feet high, just a little fence. Rosina also had pickets installed at the top to avoid any intruder. 

00:53:22

A few years earlier, Rosina had three men climb over the and barge into the house, yelling at everyone. I'm looking to start a fight. So she put that up there to ensure that no one would come over them, but no one was out in the garden. She went to her room again and sat down, but she grew concerned about the lantern. So she went back to the door. She shut and barred it. Before she headed upstairs to the second floor, she checked Maria Stephens. It was locked as it should've been. Maria had an overnight guest and always locked her door. In these instances of her doors should be locked. 

00:54:02

Ruzena went to the back bedroom on the other side and check the door. It was unlocked. She pushed the door open and smoke came pouring out of the room. Oh, she ran to Caroline Stuart's room, which was on the front corner of the house and yelled fire. Needless to say it wasn't long until the entire house was awake. Help arrived. In the meantime, Caroline and Rosina ran into Helen's room to try and save her and her guest. But what they saw sent them running back out in horror. She did it. Yeah, but it gets worse. The bed was smoldering from the fire and Helen was dead. 

00:54:47

Her green dress had burned off of her. And half of her body was charred to the point that it did not resemble skin. Yeah. There were three gash marks on her head and the bed was reduced to a pool of blood beneath her. It was clear that Helen was murdered in her companion who joined her that night was nowhere to be found once the authorities are there and they were putting out the fire. One noticed a handkerchief under Helen's pillow with a man's name on it. And he put it in his pocket. The police checked the backyard, which seemed the likely escape route. 

00:55:29

Since the front door was locked nearby, the fence was a hatchet. And on the other side, lay a cloak and the coroner's inquest was made. And it was discovered that the murder likely happened after midnight. Helen had been struck three times on the head likely with a hatchet. And based on the position of her body in the bed, she was not expecting it. No signs of a struggle were noted. And when Helen had been knocked out, the murderer set the mattress on fire and left police questioned Rosina Townsend. She recounted the previous night's events. Helen had asked her not to admit one of the men who was a Saturday night regular, that another client would visit her. 

00:56:14

Instead when the man arrived, he covered his face with a cloak, the cloak that was found outside, but Rosina recognized him as one of Helen's longtime clients, Richard P. Robinson. Mm. Earlier that morning police found Richard asleep in his home. They arrested him and rushed him to the scene, which was common at this time, right. Officers were quote, amazed to note his composure and impassivity upon his viewing of Helen's body. Later on Richard said to a neighbor quote, do you think I would blast my brilliant prospects by so ridiculous and act? 

00:56:55

I am a young man of only 19 years of age as of yesterday with most brilliant prospects. Oh, so remember how this is one of the first sex scandals to receive detailed press reporting. Oh dear. Well, this is the type of reporting that came to be known as sensational journalism and the penny press had just started in the murder of Helen made for great entertainment for people to buy a paper, to follow along. Reporters noted scraps of green dress that Helen had on her body as she was brought out. And this is how she received her nickname as the girl in green, any and all tiny bit of information regarding Helen Richard or the murder was published in often the information wasn't very reliable. 

00:57:44

Yeah. As competing newspapers were trying to get their news out. First for more salacious sales, moreover, the reporters were picking sides. They were either sympathizing with Helen and hating Richard, or they were attacking Helen as a seductress who deserved her fate. Okay. The New York Herald, which we discussed last week, which was edited by James Gordon, Bennett Sr provided the most complete coverage of the sensational murder, even though it was extremely biased almost from the beginning and throughout the trial Bennett insisted that Richard was the innocent victim of a vicious conspiracy launched by the police. 

00:58:32

And Hellene has Madam Rosina Townson. He also emphasized the sensational nature of the story and worked to exploit the sexual violent details of Helen's death. Then remember I told you, the New York sun would come back. So the New York sun's readers tend to come from a working class. So they argued that Richard was guilty and that he was able to use money in the influence of wealthy relatives in his employer to buy himself an acquittal. This theory continued to gain traction for many years after many years, some historians even credited Bennett with the first journalistic interview, which was of Rosina Townson. 

00:59:18

Other historians argue that Bennett actually talked to Rosina at all. And that his reported interview with Ruzena was all a hoax. Oh, this case became national news. And for the first time reporters from other cities came to cover a New York city murder trial. Most notably the trial was largely responsible for these changes in approach to sex and scandal coverage by American journalists nationwide. Prior to this case, the coverage of these topics by major newspapers was practically non-existent a movement started in the city with the young men who sympathized with Richard anyways, sympathize with them. 

01:00:10

They said that men should not be subject to threats from sex workers. They expressed their support by wearing black cloaks, similar to the one worn by Richard. I just put in parentheses, real classy guys in protest of their protest, the women wanting to see Helen's killer punished war. Oh dear. I forgot this word was in here. They wore Y beaver caps trimmed with black Cray. 

01:00:56

Totally forgot that that word is on here. I wonder if I wonder wondering, I'm wondering if this white beaver for came from a bipedal tail is beaver because we could be onto something of what happened to our friends. I just want to know if they had matching muffs. That's all I wanted to know. They did. They did. Oh, see episode one guys, if you don't know in more than one way, moving on. 

01:01:39

Gosh, the trial began on June 2nd, 1836 and evidence against Richard was circumstantial and had the easy ability to be countered by the defense. Okay. So wait, they wore black capes before the trial and wore black capes in support of Richard. Yes. Saying that they should not be privy to the threats of sex workers and supportive Richard. Yes. Of Richard. Like he wore yes. Before the trial allegedly. Okay. Continue. Yes. Yes. And I'm just throwing that out there. 

01:02:21

And gosh, and the women were white beaver hats with matching muffs for the woman who was a high paid escort. I mean, this I can't anyways. So like I said, all the evidence was circumstantial and had the easy ability to be countered by the defense. The prosecution was not allowed to enter Richard's diary into evidence. They were only allowed one letter from the volume of incriminating correspondence between Richard and Helen that's crap. 

01:03:00

That's crap. After days of testimony from several witnesses, including Rosina Townson, the judge gave the jury their instructions were they as most stuck with a not guilty verdict because I liked the guy as most of the witnesses or other sex workers. The judge ordered the jury to disregard their testimony because they were on trustworthy because they were nine, nine, what? They were classless citizens in his and I just put in parentheses, people are garbage. 

01:03:49

You know, the jury deliberated for a mere 30 minutes, thirty-three zero Richard Robinson received a verdict of not guilty. He guessed it. Richard's supporters could be heard cheering outside of the courtroom. When the verdict was read. Interestingly, after leaving the courtroom, a friend of Richard's was seen giving an envelope to one of the jurors jury. Well, whether or not Richard killed Helen is still not completely known. 

01:04:32

Although most feelings I'm just saying bylaw. Although most people speculate of course, that he did the personal letters between Helen and Richard became public after the trial. And they undercut some of his claims and showed him to be capable of vicious and deviant sexual behavior. Shocking. The public turned against him, including some who had been his supporters, cheering for him on the day of his verdict. Weirdly, weirdly enough, right after the trial, he moved to Texas two years after the murder, he died of a fever. 

01:05:24

Oh, was it related to VD those around him? When he died, said that on his death bed, he only kept repeating one thing I did. It I'm a Krug. It was her name, Helen Jewett . And that is the story of the crawling green AKA Helen Jewett who never received any justice. And the man who killed her, gosh, was a low down rhino dirty. 

01:06:07

I mean, what else can we say? I mean, I could say a few things, but I mean, anyways, so dang cool. You're not going to find a bipedal tale is beaver on our website, but she could not that kind. And my drag name. I mean, you know what, don't Google that when you're not, when we do have Merck, we're gonna have to, I know we're going to have maps. 

01:06:51

Oh gosh, please let it be a shirt that just says I love a good Muff of, of like an actual hand warmer or sweat shirts. Oh yes. Yup. Yes, we got it. All right. So the brainstorming session, no bipedal tail is beavers on our website, but you can go find it@onenationundercrime.com do not Google tail lists, bipedal beaver. I don't know what you'll find. So we are one nation under crime, anywhere and everywhere. 

01:07:30

Just go find us and give up cannabis. Just keep cropping up on us. That was all right. We got to go Lee, go leave us a five-star review and drop something in about beaver or like we've had enough if you, I mean, if you care to that's that's up to you. So thank you guys are listening to this week's episode of one nation under crime. We're sorry. We will see you here. 

01:08:12

Same time, different crime, different Mo next week. We're going to go blond and remember. All right. And remember there's not always Liberty and justice for all. Especially if you're a bipedal Telus beaver. See you guys next week.