Jenny Cramer was born in the spring of 1860 in New Haven, Connecticut, one of three children of Jacob and Christina Kramer, a hard-working couple who ran a local cigar shop. As a child she was somewhat indulged, and although she attended school, she left at fifteen. Unlike many girls her age in the mid-1870s, she did not go into service or find work; she stayed at home with her parents. By her late teens she had grown into a strikingly attractive young woman, always careful to look her best whenever she went out.
Her mother was acutely aware that her daughter drew the attention of many gentlemen and tried to control who she was seen with, knowing how quickly a young lady’s reputation could be ruined. Locally, Jenny was often called the bell of New Haven. Despite her mother’s efforts, Jenny went out as often as she could, enjoying the attention and the company of the young men who sought her acquaintance. One of her many admirers was James Malley Jr.
, the nephew of Edward Malley, a wealthy dry goods store owner. Jenny met James in 1881, when she was twenty-one. The Kramers’ cigar shop stood across the street from the Malley dry goods store, and soon after that first meeting James became somewhat obsessed with her. He sent her little notes delivered to the cigar shop, but Jenny showed little interest, though she did accept his invitation to accompany him on the occasional walk during the long summer evenings.
She would not go out with James alone. To satisfy her own and her mother’s wishes, their outings were always chaperoned by James’s cousin, Walter Malley, the quiet and unassuming son of the wealthy Edward Malley, who had attended a prestigious school and gone on to Yale without completing his studies. A young woman named Blanche Douglas also joined them. James and Walter said they had met her in New York, that she came from a wealthy Long Island family, and that she would soon be engaged to Walter.
James, however, was becoming ever more besotted with Jenny. He was twenty-three and high-spirited, and everyone in New Haven knew the Malleys were a wealthy family. But Jenny was not about to commit herself to James. Her reputation had never been questioned, and she knew her looks should secure her a good husband from an affluent and influential family.
On the evening of July 23, 1881, Jenny again went out with James, Walter, and Blanche. It was very warm, and she did not return home until the early hours of the morning. Her mother was most displeased and reminded her daughter that it was highly inappropriate for a young lady to return at such an hour, and that she must be careful not to do anything that could undermine her reputation. Jenny explained that it was not her fault: she had been invited to the Malley mansion and had been unable to find a gentleman to escort her home.
Mrs. Kramer believed her daughter now understood she should not put herself in such a position. Less than two weeks later, on the evening of August 3, Jenny went out again and did not return. Her mother was both worried and angry.
Jenny arrived home on the morning of Thursday, August 4, in the company of Blanche Douglas. Blanche told Mrs. Kramer that she had been with Jenny the previous evening and that, due to unfortunate circumstances, they had been obliged to seek shelter in a ladies-only lodging house. Mrs.
Kramer was relieved her Jenny was safe, but she did not believe her daughter should be seen with Miss Douglas, whom she did not consider a worthy companion. She again told Jenny that her behavior was unacceptable and that she must not set a bad example for her sister, who would soon be coming home. Mrs. Kramer became emotional and said that if Jenny could not change her ways, she would have to find somewhere else to live.
She left the room. When she returned, her daughter and Miss Douglas had gone. Early in the morning of Saturday, August 6, a local oysterman named Assahel Curtis was preparing his boat when he saw something lying in the shallows, with the waves breaking over it. He went out to take a closer look and discovered the body of a young woman in a white dress.
He carried her to shore and contacted the authorities. As people gathered on the beach, the police were told that the deceased looked very much like Miss Jenny Cramer, the bell of New Haven. The police presumed the young lady had drowned, possibly by her own hand, thinking she might have been unmarried and with child and, in despair, entered the water. The body was taken to a boathouse, and two doctors were summoned to determine the cause of death.
They had their reservations that she had drowned. A later autopsy concluded that, as there was no water in the lungs or stomach, death by drowning was highly improbable. More sinister still, it was apparent that the young lady had been subjected to a physical attack that had left her without her virtue. The body had been found close to Savin Rock amusement park, a popular local destination.
When the police began making inquiries, witnesses told them that on the evening of Friday, August 5, they had seen a young lady believed to be Miss Jenny Cramer with a gentleman who had a moustache. Eventually, the investigation led to James Malley, his cousin Walter Malley, and their friend Blanche Douglas. The trio told police they had been in Jenny’s company on Wednesday, August 3, but had not seen her since Thursday morning. At the time, Edward Malley had been away on business.
When he returned to find his son and nephew had been interviewed by the authorities, he was concerned and hired a team of lawyers and private detectives. Rumors then emerged that witnesses were being paid to change their stories. Witnesses who had said they saw James, Walter, and Blanche with Jenny on Friday, August 5, suddenly became less sure. An inquest was held.
Blanche Douglas testified that she had been with Jenny, Walter, and James on Wednesday, August 3, at the Malley mansion. She said she began to feel unwell and, instead of returning to her lodging house, stayed in the mansion in the same room as Miss Kramer. After her testimony, Blanche decided to return to New York. The police, however, believed she knew more about what had happened to Miss Kramer than she had disclosed, so they traveled to New York to question her further.
They were surprised to discover she did not live at the address she had given the court, and that she actually worked in a brothel. When they traced her, she told them she had met James and Walter Malley when they had visited the establishment earlier that year. The detectives also discovered her real name was not Blanche Douglas but Anna Kearns. She said she had been married before, that her husband had proven abusive, and that she had left him and changed her name to remain inconspicuous.
She went on to say that after meeting Walter, he had become somewhat infatuated with her, sending her love notes before eventually inviting her to his father’s mansion in New Haven, where she met Miss Kramer. The police reminded her that the Malleys were a very wealthy family with the financial means to hire the best legal team in Connecticut. They told her that if she did not tell them what had happened to Miss Kramer, she might be considered a suspect in a murder. Blanche decided it would be in her best interest to tell the detectives everything she knew.
She said that on the night in July when Jenny had not returned home until the early hours, they had been at a restaurant that also had accommodation. Blanche went to a room with Walter, while James tried to get Jenny to go with him to another room. Blanche could hear Jenny shouting, “Don’t! Don’t!
” On the evening of Wednesday, August 3, they were again all together, this time at the Malley mansion, where they had been drinking. Blanche said James was very keen on Miss Kramer and asked her and Walter to help him get her to spend the night with him. Edward Malley was away, and they had the property to themselves. Blanche went to a room with Walter, and James took Miss Kramer to another room.
Jenny did not go willingly, and Blanche said she heard her screaming. She also said that after she returned to New York, two gentlemen, one of whom she believed to be the brother of Edward Malley, visited her and offered to pay for her travel to Europe until the whole business ended. When asked if she had seen Miss Kramer after Thursday, August 4, she replied that she had not. She was arrested and charged with perjury.
In another strange turn, chemical analysis of Jenny’s organs revealed traces of arsenic. Some young ladies at the time were known to ingest arsenic and rub it on their faces, believing it improved their complexion. But too much arsenic had been found for that explanation to hold; the indications showed a far larger amount must have been ingested before her death. On August 15, James and Walter Malley were arrested for the murder of Miss Jenny Cramer.
While awaiting trial, Walter Malley composed a waltz called “Under the Elms,” which was later published and sold as a sheet music. The trial began on April 25, with all three defendants charged with first-degree murder. Jury selection proved difficult, as everyone in New Haven seemed aware of the case and had already formed opinions. It was agreed the body should be exhumed for a complete autopsy to determine how much arsenic had been ingested.
The defense claimed Jenny, like many young ladies in the late nineteenth century, swallowed small amounts of the substance and rubbed it on her face to improve her complexion. The second autopsy found very little arsenic in her bones, discounting the defense’s theory. The newspapers covered the case daily. The story of the son and nephew of one of the area’s richest families accused of murder, along with a lady friend they had met in a brothel, fascinated the public.
A booklet describing the case was published and had to be reprinted when all copies sold, though it was believed the Malley family had purchased most of them. All three defendants pleaded not guilty and said they had not seen Miss Kramer after Thursday, August 4. Prosecution witnesses who had told police, and in some cases testified at the inquest, that they had seen the three with Jenny on the 4th and 5th suddenly believed they may have been mistaken. A lady who lived near Elliott House said she had seen all three defendants with Miss Kramer on the Thursday.
Another witness said he had seen both Miss Douglas and Miss Kramer taking refreshment together on the Thursday evening. The defense called its own medical expert, who tried to discredit the autopsy report. He disputed the finding that Jenny had been assaulted before her death and said the amount of arsenic found indicated she had used it far more often than had been suggested. The defense attorney argued that suicide could not be ruled out, and that among all the scientific evidence, the possibility she had simply drowned had been very much overlooked.
They also stated that if she had died from arsenic poisoning, no evidence suggested the defendants had given it to her. On June 30, 1882, the jury was sent out to deliberate. The judge instructed them they must decide whether James Malley, Walter Malley, and Blanche Douglas had killed Miss Jenny Cramer by poisoning her with arsenic. He reiterated that they were not on trial for anything else.
With witness testimonies contradictory and much of the evidence circumstantial, it took the jury just one hour to return a verdict of not guilty. Jenny’s father, Jacob Kramer, was traumatized by the loss of his daughter and so aggrieved by what he considered a failure of the justice system that he took his own life before the trial ended. The loss also devastated his wife, Christina, who died by hanging in July 1891. After the trial, the Malleys remained largely unaffected.
They threw a large party to celebrate the verdict, which was widely criticized by the press and the public. Many in New Haven believed James and Walter had gotten away with murder. Despite this, Edward Malley’s business continued to do well, closing only a hundred years later, in 1980. Walter Malley and Blanche Douglas stayed in contact, and he eventually married a woman named Anna Madden, whom many believed to have been Blanche Douglas.
The circumstances that led to the death of Jenny Cramer were never resolved, and to this day the manner of her death has never been determined.