On This Date in Minnesota History: April 28

April 28, 1882 – One of the most revolting and terrible crimes ever perpetrated occurred in Minneapolis yesterday afternoon, leading to the mob-ruled lynching of the assailant early this morning. Mina, the four-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jason Spear, was the victim of a horrifying assault that has left her near death.

Around 2 p.m. yesterday Mina asked permission to go play in the yard of a neighbor a block away, where she has often played before. He mother gave her permission, and the little girl skipped off.

About an hour later, the neighbor called on Mrs. Spear who discovered her daughter had never made it to her friend’s house. Alarmed, Mrs. Spear went to look for her daughter and inquired of two little boys with whom Mina was in the habit of playing, if they had seen her. They said they had, and that a man had given each of them a nickel and taken them to Mrs. Newell’s store and allowed them to spend it on candy. He would not allow Mina to spend her money, however, but bought her several sticks of candy and asked her if she would like to go with him. The poor little innocent agreed and the last the little boys had seen of her was when she was toddling off with the stranger.

Candy¹

The distressed mother supposed that her daughter had been stolen and the police were notified by phone. By this time several neighbors had started looking for the girl. The little boys, who had been with Mina when the unknown man carried her off, were taken along, and when nearly opposite Central High School a man with a hang-dog look was seen slinking along the street in their direction. Instantly the little boys called out, “That’s the man!” and in another instant the frantic mother was in front of the man demanding her child. The brute at once began insulting her, denying having seen the little girl, and he would probably have gotten away had not Officer Gleason appeared on the scene.

On seeing him, the villain at once broke away from the ladies and dashed across the street with the officer in pursuit. Unfortunately Office Gleason was not aware of the appalling crime that the man had committed, or he would have shot the scoundrel in his tracks. As it was, he was captured and taken down to lock-up. Soon afterward, John Farley, the expressman, was seen storming down the street bearing the missing girl in his arms. He had found her almost insensible near the place where the assault had taken place. A single glance was sufficient to confirm the worst fears of the mother. The little child was carried home and physicians sent for, who think there is little chance of saving her life. It appears that the brute, after enticing Mina away from her friends, carried her to a location where he hid her in a pile of brush and accomplished his hellish designs using a knife to aid him.

The neighborhood was aghast and angry, very angry, about what had happened to one of their innocents. About 1 a.m. today the jail was taken over by a large party of masked men who demanded that the brute be surrendered to them. The sheriff was made prisoner by the mob, but refused to divulge the whereabouts of McManus. The mob then made a thorough search of the jail, breaking open every cell door on the first floor without finding the prisoner. They then ascended to the second floor, repeating the ceremony of breaking open the cell doors until McManus was found. The latter was taken to the house of his victim, where he was fully identified. Without further ceremony the mob took him to a large tree in front of Central High School and hanged him from a limb at 3:15 a.m.

Minneapolis Central High School²

The wretch stoutly maintained his innocence until the rope was around his neck, when he confessed his horrible crime, but said he was drunk. The body was left swinging in mid-air until a few minutes before 8 a.m. when it was cut down by the coroner. Thousands of people visited the scene of the hanging before the body was cut down, and the unanimous verdict was, “Served him right.”

The Tribune; “A Shocking Outrage. The Little Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jason Spear Outraged by a Tramp. The Deed Done in Broad Daylight—The Victim’s Condition—The Terrible Particulars. Captured and Placed in Custody—The Fiend Confesses His Guilt—An Indignant Community. LATER—Indignant Crowds Rally and March on the County Jail. In Complete Possession at 2:30 This Morning—The Corridors Full of Masked Men. Blows of Sledge Hammers Resounding—Breaking in the Iron Doors of the Cells.”; Minneapolis, Minn.; April 28, 1882; p. 7.

New Ulm Weekly Review; “A Terrible Crime Justly Avenged.”; May 3, 1892; p. 2.

St. Charles Union; May 3, 1892; p. 2.

¹http://piedmontcandy.com/

²http://www.startribune.com/central-alums-mark-alma-mater-s-centennial/214178921/

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