Wednesday, May 30, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History May 30

May 30, 1907 – Mystery surrounds the death of an unknown woman whose body was taken from Lake Calhoun near the south shore early this evening. Whether the woman committed suicide or was pushed into the water by someone intent on committing murder, the police are unable to say.


Scene of drowning1

Circumstances surrounding the case are very perplexing. The body was found in water only five feet deep. It was still warm when taken from the water by Morgue Keeper Schafer, showing that life had been extinct only a short time.

The body was seen first by Mr. and Mrs. David C. Craig of 38th Street and Sheridan Avenue S., who were out rowing. They saw two hands sticking out of the water and upon further investigation discovered the body of the woman floating half submerged upon her back. They went to shore immediately and notified M. H. Farwell of Sheridan Avenue S., who in turn told police.Because the body was still warm, it is not believed the body was in the water over half an hour when it was discovered. How and when the woman was drowned is a mystery. Some believe that she deliberately waded out until she was in five feet of water and then held her head under water until she was unconscious. Another theory is that she may have been shoved out of a row boat into the water by someone with murderous intentions. Others hold to the theory that she fell out of a boat and was drowned. Of the three theories only the first two are being considered by the police. If the woman fell out of a boat, detectives say that a boat would have been found in the vicinity. As it was there was no sign of an abandoned boat in the neighborhood. The theory that the woman committed suicide by wading out and holding her head under water until she was unconscious is also adopted. The water in which the body was found was not so deep that the woman could not have saved herself had she been so inclined or in a position to do so.

If she was struck on the head before being thrown in she could not have saved herself, say officers. An examination this evening showed no bruises. The shore on the south side of the lake near the place where the body was found is low and hard to reach.

All evening, according to people living nearby, there were many rowboats in the lake. It would have been difficult for anyone to commit suicide without being seen or heard. It is also argued that if the woman was shoved in she would have made an outcry that would have attracted attention. Of course, say detectives, there is a possibility that she was stunned before she entered the water.

The case will be probed to the bottom tomorrow by detectives of the Fifth Precinct assisted by detectives from headquarters.

From the clothes worn by the dead woman it is believed she was in comfortable circumstances. Jewelry valued at about $150 was taken from her person at the morgue. Her clothes are also costly.

She wore a tailor made suit of blue, a red silk petticoat, silk shoes and a blue hat with violet trimmings. The laundry mark on several articles is C 73.

She has dark eyes, dark hair and is stout.

The jewelry taken from the body includes a gold bracelet marked with the letter S; a seal ring marked with the letters S. M. C.; two diamond earrings and a plain gold band ring. Around her neck was a cross. In the hat was a gold-plated hat pin.

A singular condition in connection with the case is that a powder chamois skin that the woman carried was not wet through. The face powder was just as dry as it was when placed there. This shows conclusively, in the minds of the authorities, that the woman could not have been in the water long.

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Woman’s Body Found—Mystery in Case. Dead Woman Discovered in Lake Calhoun. Suicide or Murder—Police in Doubt. Wore Costly Clothes and Had Many Valuable Pieces of Jewelry.”; May 31, 1907; p. 6.

1https://www.minneapolisparks.org/_asset/y28bqa/Calhoun_Bde-Maka-Ska-Harriet-Master-Plan-April-2017.pdf
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May 31, 1907
– The woman whose body was taken from Lake Calhoun near the south shore Tuesday evening has been identified as Mrs. P. J. McCaffery. From facts ascertained yesterday, it is believed that she committed suicide because of a quarrel with her husband and her brother Thursday morning.

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Mrs. P. J. McCaffrey is Calhoun Victim. Circumstances Point to Deliberate Suicide. Brother Doubts Theory—Alleges Foul Play. Mrs. J. G. Bergstrom Last Person to See Despondent Woman Alive.”; June 1, 1907; p. 6.

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