At the end of January 1882, Russell Brown and his drinking buddy, Patrick McGlew, went to Russell's family home at King's Highway and Olive streets in St. Louis, with the intent to hit Russell's grandmother up for money. They ended up strangling the 70-year-old Sarah Dorris and stealing her jewelry. This piece about the crime that appeared in the New York Times reads like the outline of a screenplay.
Naturally the killing created a sensation in St. Louis. It would anywhere. One day the trial was called the "most important murder trial St. Louis has ever known" and the next day, the Times reported on a plea bargain. Russell Brown was said to be the victim of hereditary dypsomania.
Mrs. Dorris was the wife of George Poole Dorris, a former member of the Missouri General Assembly.
Naturally the killing created a sensation in St. Louis. It would anywhere. One day the trial was called the "most important murder trial St. Louis has ever known" and the next day, the Times reported on a plea bargain. Russell Brown was said to be the victim of hereditary dypsomania.
Mrs. Dorris was the wife of George Poole Dorris, a former member of the Missouri General Assembly.