Ruth Snyder And The Dumb-Bell Murder Case
DEAD!
1“DEAD!” is the title of the newspaper article that features the historical, very first picture of a woman being executed in the electric chair. The picture was taken by Tom Howard using his smuggled ankle camera that is now held in the Smithsonian Museum. The woman was Ruth Snyder, wife to Albert Snyder whom she murdered with the help of Judd Gray, a man with which she was having an affair with.
2Ruth Snyder was a house wife that lived in Queens Village, Queens, New York. Judd Gray was a corset salesman (MacKeller). In 1927 Ruth Snyder and her lover, Judd Gray, murdered Snyder’s husband, Albert Snyder who was a New York magazine editor (Shahid). Snyder and Gray were convicted in a triangle murder (Cheli). In the trial, it was said that Snyder and Gray strangled Albert Snyder with a picture frame wire and struck him in the head with a window sash weight. (Shahid). The trail was held at the Long Island City Courthouse. The case was nicknamed the “Dumb-bell murder” case and the “Cut Throat” case (MacKeller). Snyder and Gray’s execution was set for January 12, 1928 at the Sing Sing prison in New York (Shahid).
3Before the murder, Ruth Snyder convinced her husband, Albert, to purchase insurance. It was a $48,000 life insurance policy that paid extra if an unexpected act of violence killed the victim. The …show more content…
Hill on June 4, 1888. Ruth Snyder was given a marked grave and was buried in the Woodland Cemetery, Bronx, New York. A victim of the electric chair would become unconscious in less than a second, before any pain could be felt. Twelve witnesses were required to be present at the execution, including two doctors, the prison chaplain, the executioner, seven guards, and the warden. The building that housed the electric chair was called the “death house”. The section where the prisoners spent their last day was called the “dance hall.”
1“DEAD!” is the title of the newspaper article that features the historical, very first picture of a woman being executed in the electric chair. The picture was taken by Tom Howard using his smuggled ankle camera that is now held in the Smithsonian Museum. The woman was Ruth Snyder, wife to Albert Snyder whom she murdered with the help of Judd Gray, a man with which she was having an affair with.
2Ruth Snyder was a house wife that lived in Queens Village, Queens, New York. Judd Gray was a corset salesman (MacKeller). In 1927 Ruth Snyder and her lover, Judd Gray, murdered Snyder’s husband, Albert Snyder who was a New York magazine editor (Shahid). Snyder and Gray were convicted in a triangle murder (Cheli). In the trial, it was said that Snyder and Gray strangled Albert Snyder with a picture frame wire and struck him in the head with a window sash weight. (Shahid). The trail was held at the Long Island City Courthouse. The case was nicknamed the “Dumb-bell murder” case and the “Cut Throat” case (MacKeller). Snyder and Gray’s execution was set for January 12, 1928 at the Sing Sing prison in New York (Shahid).
3Before the murder, Ruth Snyder convinced her husband, Albert, to purchase insurance. It was a $48,000 life insurance policy that paid extra if an unexpected act of violence killed the victim. The …show more content…
Hill on June 4, 1888. Ruth Snyder was given a marked grave and was buried in the Woodland Cemetery, Bronx, New York. A victim of the electric chair would become unconscious in less than a second, before any pain could be felt. Twelve witnesses were required to be present at the execution, including two doctors, the prison chaplain, the executioner, seven guards, and the warden. The building that housed the electric chair was called the “death house”. The section where the prisoners spent their last day was called the “dance hall.”