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{{Short description|Executed American murderer}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2010}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2010}}
{{Infobox criminal
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Martha M. Place
| name = Martha M. Place
| image = Martha Place (cropped).jpg
| image = Martha Place (cropped).jpg
| birth_name = Martha M. Garretson
| birth_name = Martha M. Garretson
| birth_date = September 18, 1849
| birth_date = September 18, 1849
| birth_place = [[Readington Township, New Jersey]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Readington Township, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date|1899|03|20}} (aged 49)
| death_date = {{Death date|1899|03|20}} (aged 49)
| death_place = [[Sing Sing Correctional Facility|Sing Sing Prison]], [[Ossining (village), New York|Ossining, New York]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Sing Sing Correctional Facility|Sing Sing Prison]], [[Ossining (village), New York|Ossining, New York]], U.S.
| conviction = Murder
| conviction = [[First degree murder]]
| conviction_penalty = Death by electrocution
| conviction_penalty = [[Capital punishment|Death]]
| conviction_status = Executed
| conviction_status = [[Executed]]
| spouse = William Place
| spouse = William Place
| death_cause = [[Execution by electrocution]]
}}
}}


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==Background==
==Background==
Born '''Martha "Mattie" Garretson''' on September 18, 1849, in [[Readington Township, New Jersey]], to Ellen (née Wyckoff) and Isaac V. N. Garretson, Martha Place was struck in the head by a sleigh at age 23. Her brother claimed that she never completely recovered and that the accident left her mentally unstable. Martha married widower William Place in 1893. Place had a daughter named Ida from a previous marriage. William married Martha to help him raise his daughter, although it was later rumored that Martha was jealous of Ida. William called the police at least once after his wife threatened to kill Ida.
Martha Place was born '''Martha "Mattie" Garretson''' on September 18, 1849, in [[Readington Township, New Jersey]], to Ellen (née Wyckoff) and Isaac V. N. Garretson. Place was struck in the head by a sleigh at age 23; her brother claimed that she never completely recovered and that the accident left her mentally unstable. Before relocating to New York, Place lived in New Jersey, working as a dressmaker. She married a man named Wesley Savacool and had a son, Ross Savacool. Wesley left the relationship when Ross was three and, finding herself in hardship, Martha gave Ross up for adoption to the Ashenbach family of Newark, who had recently lost a son. They renamed him William.<ref>The Disturbing and Chilling Case of Martha Place</ref>

In 1893 Martha went to work as a housekeeper for a man named William W. Place, at 598 Hancock Street in [[Brooklyn]], whom she would marry later that year.<ref name="Baker">{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=David |title=Women and Capital Punishment in the United States |date=2016 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-4766-2288-0 |pages=369–370}}</ref>

Place had a daughter named Ida from a previous marriage. William married Martha to help him raise his daughter, although it was later rumored that Martha was jealous of Ida. William called the police at least once after his wife threatened to kill Ida.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}


===Murder===
===Murder===
On the evening of February 7, 1898, William Place arrived at his [[Brooklyn, New York]], home and was attacked by Martha, who was wielding an [[axe]]. William escaped and ran for help. When the police arrived, they found Martha Place in critical condition. She was lying on the floor with clothes over her head and gas from burners was escaping into the room. Upstairs they discovered the dead body of 17-year-old Ida Place lying on a bed. Her mouth was bleeding and her eyes disfigured from having [[acid]], which William used in his hobby of photography, thrown in them. The evidence later indicated Ida Place died from [[asphyxiation]]. Martha Place was hospitalized and arrested.<ref>Reports of Cases By New York (State). Court of Appeals, CA Dist Courts of Appeal, New York (State) NY, Harvard University v.157 1899</ref>
On the evening of February 7, 1898, William Place arrived at his [[Brooklyn, New York]], home and was attacked by Martha, who was wielding an [[axe]]. William escaped and ran for help. When the police arrived, they found Martha Place in critical condition. She was lying on the floor with clothes over her head and gas from burners was escaping into the room. Upstairs they discovered the body of 17-year-old Ida Place lying on a bed, blood coming from her mouth. William was an amateur photographer, which involved the use of [[acid]], and the murderer had thrown this acid in Ida's eyes. The evidence later indicated Ida Place died from [[asphyxiation]]. Martha Place was hospitalized and arrested.<ref>Reports of Cases By New York (State). Court of Appeals, CA Dist Courts of Appeal, New York (State) NY, Harvard University v.157 1899</ref>


===Trial===
===Trial===
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Martha Place was buried in the family cemetery plot in [[East Millstone, New Jersey|East Millstone]], [[New Jersey]], without religious observances.
Martha Place was buried in the family cemetery plot in [[East Millstone, New Jersey|East Millstone]], [[New Jersey]], without religious observances.


Although Place was the first woman to die in the electric chair, she was the third to be sentenced to die by this method, the first two being [[serial killer]] [[Lizzie Halliday]] (1894 conviction commuted and sent to an asylum) and [[Maria Barbella]] (sentenced in 1895 and acquitted the next year).<ref>James D. Livingston, Arsenic and Clam Chowder: Murder in Gilded Age New York, SUNY Press - 2012, pages 64-65</ref><ref name="NYT 1st Trial">{{cite news|title=Maria Barbella to Die|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/07/19/106064882.pdf|accessdate=2 August 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=July 19, 1895}}</ref><ref>Lisa Varisco Daigle, Questions of responsibility: the New York press presents the murderess, 1870-1900, Georgia State University - 2002, page 156</ref>
Although Place was the first woman to die in the electric chair, she was the third to be sentenced to die by this method, the first two being [[serial killer]] [[Lizzie Halliday]] (1894 conviction commuted and sent to an asylum) and [[Maria Barbella]] (sentenced in 1895 and acquitted the next year).<ref>James D. Livingston, Arsenic and Clam Chowder: Murder in Gilded Age New York, SUNY Press - 2012, pages 64-65</ref><ref name="NYT 1st Trial">{{cite news|title=Maria Barbella to Die|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/07/19/106064882.pdf|access-date=2 August 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=July 19, 1895}}</ref><ref>Lisa Varisco Daigle, Questions of responsibility: the New York press presents the murderess, 1870-1900, Georgia State University - 2002, page 156</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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[[Category:1898 crimes in the United States]]
[[Category:1898 crimes in the United States]]
[[Category:19th-century executions by New York (state)]]
[[Category:19th-century executions by New York (state)]]
[[Category:19th-century American criminals]]
[[Category:19th-century American women]]
[[Category:19th-century American women]]
[[Category:American murderers of children]]
[[Category:American murderers of children]]
[[Category:American people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:American people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:People executed for murder]]
[[Category:Executed people from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Executed people from New Jersey]]
[[Category:19th-century executions by the United States]]
[[Category:American female murderers]]
[[Category:American female murderers]]
[[Category:American murderers]]
[[Category:American people executed for murder]]
[[Category:American female criminals]]
[[Category:People executed by New York (state) by electric chair]]
[[Category:People executed by New York (state) by electric chair]]
[[Category:Executed American women]]
[[Category:Executed American women]]
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[[Category:People from Readington Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Readington Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:19th-century executions of American people]]
[[Category:19th-century executions of American people]]
[[Category:Filicides in the United States]]
[[Category:Filicides in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Burials in New Jersey]]

Latest revision as of 22:39, 30 December 2023

Martha M. Place
Born
Martha M. Garretson

September 18, 1849
Readington Township, New Jersey, U.S.
Died(1899-03-20)March 20, 1899 (aged 49)
Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, New York, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by electrocution
Criminal statusExecuted
SpouseWilliam Place
Conviction(s)First degree murder
Criminal penaltyDeath

Martha M. Place (September 18, 1849 – March 20, 1899) was an American murderer and the first woman to die in the electric chair. She was executed on March 20, 1899, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility for the murder of her stepdaughter Ida Place.

Background

[edit]

Martha Place was born Martha "Mattie" Garretson on September 18, 1849, in Readington Township, New Jersey, to Ellen (née Wyckoff) and Isaac V. N. Garretson. Place was struck in the head by a sleigh at age 23; her brother claimed that she never completely recovered and that the accident left her mentally unstable. Before relocating to New York, Place lived in New Jersey, working as a dressmaker. She married a man named Wesley Savacool and had a son, Ross Savacool. Wesley left the relationship when Ross was three and, finding herself in hardship, Martha gave Ross up for adoption to the Ashenbach family of Newark, who had recently lost a son. They renamed him William.[1]

In 1893 Martha went to work as a housekeeper for a man named William W. Place, at 598 Hancock Street in Brooklyn, whom she would marry later that year.[2]

Place had a daughter named Ida from a previous marriage. William married Martha to help him raise his daughter, although it was later rumored that Martha was jealous of Ida. William called the police at least once after his wife threatened to kill Ida.[citation needed]

Murder

[edit]

On the evening of February 7, 1898, William Place arrived at his Brooklyn, New York, home and was attacked by Martha, who was wielding an axe. William escaped and ran for help. When the police arrived, they found Martha Place in critical condition. She was lying on the floor with clothes over her head and gas from burners was escaping into the room. Upstairs they discovered the body of 17-year-old Ida Place lying on a bed, blood coming from her mouth. William was an amateur photographer, which involved the use of acid, and the murderer had thrown this acid in Ida's eyes. The evidence later indicated Ida Place died from asphyxiation. Martha Place was hospitalized and arrested.[3]

Trial

[edit]

Place proclaimed her innocence while awaiting trial. One contemporary newspaper report described the defendant in this way:

She is rather tall and spare, with a pale, sharp face. Her nose is long and pointed, her chin sharp and prominent, her lips thin and her forehead retreating. There is something about her face that reminds one of a rat's, and the bright but changeless eyes somehow strengthen the impression.

Martha Place was found guilty of the murder of her stepdaughter Ida and sentenced to death. Her husband was a key witness against her.

Execution

[edit]

The governor of the state of New York, Theodore Roosevelt, was asked to commute Place's death sentence, but he refused. Having never executed a woman in the electric chair, those responsible for carrying out the death warrant devised a new way to place the electrodes upon her, deciding to slit her dress and place the electrode on her ankle. Edwin F. Davis was the executioner. According to the reports of witnesses, she died instantly.

Martha Place was buried in the family cemetery plot in East Millstone, New Jersey, without religious observances.

Although Place was the first woman to die in the electric chair, she was the third to be sentenced to die by this method, the first two being serial killer Lizzie Halliday (1894 conviction commuted and sent to an asylum) and Maria Barbella (sentenced in 1895 and acquitted the next year).[4][5][6]

See also

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martha M. Place.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ The Disturbing and Chilling Case of Martha Place
  2. ^ Baker, David (2016). Women and Capital Punishment in the United States. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 369–370. ISBN 978-1-4766-2288-0.
  3. ^ Reports of Cases By New York (State). Court of Appeals, CA Dist Courts of Appeal, New York (State) NY, Harvard University v.157 1899
  4. ^ James D. Livingston, Arsenic and Clam Chowder: Murder in Gilded Age New York, SUNY Press - 2012, pages 64-65
  5. ^ "Maria Barbella to Die" (PDF). New York Times. July 19, 1895. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  6. ^ Lisa Varisco Daigle, Questions of responsibility: the New York press presents the murderess, 1870-1900, Georgia State University - 2002, page 156

Further reading

[edit]
  • Shipman, Marlin (2002). Penalty Is Death : U.S. Newspaper Coverage of Women's Executions. Columbia, MO, US: University of Missouri Press.
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