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The infamous 1872 trial where an attorney's defense strategy shocked Gilded Age America
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Please remember to subscribe and hit the bell icon as well as leave a like and a comment for more videos every week!
Brief Case is a True Crime Channel focusing on old or lost cases that have been forgotten to history. If you have any recommendations for future cases that you would like to bring to light, feel free to reach out to me to: briefcaseuk@gmail.com
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Music by Kevin Macleod - https://incompetech.com
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NewsTranscript
00:07Today we are going to look at a case from the second part of the 19th century, so sit back
00:13as we go to the USA.
00:18In 1871, Jamestown in New York was a growing industrial town in Chautauqua County, situated
00:25next to Chautauqua Lake. It was a busy community of workshops, mills, foundries and small businesses,
00:32and people often arrived there looking for work and opportunity.
00:35At the western edge of Jamestown stood a brewery operated by a man named Charles Marlow,
00:40a German immigrant who had owned and managed the establishment for about two years.
00:44He lived there with his wife Augusta, their two children, and Mr. Marlow's mother-in-law,
00:50Mrs. Julia Rotman. There was one full-time employee at the brewery, a young Polish worker
00:55named Ballanty Benkowski. He spoke very little English, but understood some German.
01:01There were also two part-time workers who helped whenever needed. The brewery was a popular place
01:06in Jamestown, and Mr. Marlow had established a reputation as a hard-working and industrious man.
01:12Everyone knew, however, that he was heavily in debt. Despite the brewery's apparent success,
01:17the cost of establishing and maintaining the business had placed Mr. Marlow under constant
01:22financial strain. Creditors called regularly, payments were often delayed, and there were
01:27rumours that the enterprise, prosperous as it appeared from the outside, survived only through
01:32borrowed money and Mr. Marlow's determination to keep it afloat. While Mr. Marlow struggled to keep
01:38his business running, in August 1871, a man named William Backman arrived in Jamestown,
01:44telling people that he was looking for land and property. He had travelled from Toledo in Ohio,
01:49and was pointed in the direction of a man named Louis Donner, who had a house for sale by the
01:53lake.
01:54He also spoke to Christian Schmitz, who wanted to sell his farm. Mr. Backman seemed to intrigue the
02:00residents of Jamestown, and there were rumours about the amount of money he was carrying.
02:04Some claimed it to be $1,400, while others said that they heard him say that it was $6,000.
02:10On Tuesday the 15th of August 1871, Mr. Backman visited the brewery around lunchtime,
02:16and struck up a conversation in German with Mr. Marlow. The two men appeared to get on well.
02:22Both were hard-working immigrants, accustomed to long hours of labour, and far from their homeland.
02:28Before long, Mr. Marlow invited him to stay at the brewery house for the night.
02:32Mr. Backman accepted the offer, but explained that he had some business to attend to first.
02:38At around 11 o'clock that evening, he returned, and Mr. Marlow escorted him to a room,
02:43opposite the one that was occupied by his worker, Ballanty Benkowski.
02:49The next morning, August the 16th, Ballanty Benkowski rose at around 5am,
02:54and Mr. Backman awoke shortly afterwards. Both men went downstairs and had a glass of beer,
03:00before Mr. Backman departed.
03:02Once he had gone, Mr. Marlow spoke to his worker about him. He said that although the man had claimed
03:07to possess a large amount of money, he was not convinced that he actually had any money at all,
03:12so would go to the centre of Jamestown to find out whether anyone knew anything about him,
03:16or could confirm the truth of his story.
03:19Charles Marlow then loaded beer kegs onto a wagon, and left.
03:23However, strangely, at around 11am, he returned to the brewery, accompanied by William Backman.
03:29The two men entered the brewery together. Mr. Backman removed his coat and hat,
03:34and placed them on a bench, before carrying them into the drinking room.
03:37There the men poured beer and talked. Ballanty Benkowski went outside to continue his work.
03:43When he returned a short time later, he noticed that all the doors were open,
03:48including the trap door leading to the cellar.
03:50As he moved towards it, he heard the voices of Mr. Marlow and Mr. Backman,
03:55and he also noticed that on the table was Mr. Backman's hat,
03:58and two partly filled glasses of beer.
04:01Mr. Benkowski then went outside again to chop up wood.
04:04When he came back inside, he saw that nothing had changed.
04:08The coats and hats remained where they had been,
04:10and the voices were still coming from the cellar.
04:12He thought no more of it, and went outside again.
04:16When he returned for a third time, everything was silent.
04:19He thought this a bit strange,
04:21but then he heard what he thought was the sound of a gun being fired.
04:25This made him quite frightened,
04:26so he quickly went back outside, and stayed there for a while.
04:30Eventually, he calmed himself, and went back to the brewery,
04:33where he saw Mr. Charles Marlow emerge from the cellar,
04:36and noticed that he had blood smeared across his forehead,
04:39and spots of blood on his boots and shirts.
04:42Before Balanty Benkowski could speak,
04:44a customer arrived to buy some beer,
04:46so Mr. Marlow went to the cellar and brought up a large keg.
04:50Trying to be helpful, Balanty offered to wash it,
04:53but Mr. Marlow told him that there was no need as he could do it himself.
04:56Everyone then went to the dining room, where Mrs. Marlow had served dinner.
05:01However, on this day, Mr. Marlow barely ate.
05:03He seemed agitated, as if something was bothering him.
05:07When Augusta Marlow asked him why he was not eating,
05:10he replied that he had eaten a sausage earlier and was not hungry.
05:14After food, Mr. Marlow instructed his worker to gather wood,
05:17and said that he was going to clean the beer barrels.
05:20Afterwards, he went into the brew house,
05:23but the heat inside was almost unbearable.
05:25A large fire burned beneath the boiler inside the brick furnace arch,
05:30and the kettle stood nearly full.
05:32The air was so hot, that it was difficult to remain there for long.
05:36Balanty asked Mr. Marlow why the fire was so intense,
05:39but he received no reply.
05:42The following day, Balanty started with his duties,
05:46by going to the cellar, but he noticed that it smelt of blood.
05:49Remembering what Mr. Marlow had said about William Backman the previous morning,
05:53he started to become suspicious.
05:55So once Mr. Marlow left to go into Jamestown,
05:58he began searching the premises himself.
06:01He discovered a paper collar, a bloodstained towel fragment,
06:05and a piece of cheese wrapped in paper,
06:07something he remembered seeing William Backman with.
06:10In another part of the cellar,
06:11he found bloodstains on the floor,
06:13that appeared to show a body had been dragged across the room.
06:16Convinced a murder had taken place,
06:19and now very frightened,
06:20he decided to leave the employment of Mr. Marlow.
06:23At dinner, he told him that he was leaving.
06:26He gave little explanation,
06:28and tried to remain calm,
06:29though his manner made it clear that he wished to go as quickly as possible.
06:33Mr. Marlow questioned him as to why he was leaving so abruptly,
06:36and asked if he had seen anything.
06:38Balanty replied that he had not,
06:40then took his belongings,
06:42and left the premises.
06:44He walked into the town of Worksburg,
06:46where he stayed that night,
06:47and the following day he boarded a train to Dunkirk.
06:50In Dunkirk, there were many Polish immigrants,
06:53who had travelled to North America in search of work,
06:55and when Balanty came across some,
06:57he spoke about what he believed he had discovered at the brewery,
07:00and described the bloodstains and other items he had found in the cellar.
07:04News of his suspicions spread rapidly through the Polish community,
07:08and police soon brought him in for questioning.
07:10He told them about everything that he had seen,
07:13and on the 19th of August, 1871,
07:16Charles H. Marlow was arrested on suspicion of murder.
07:21Investigators and local officials searched the brewery.
07:24In the ashes of the furnace,
07:26they discovered charred human remains,
07:28including fragments of bone,
07:30and part of a human arm with an elbow intact.
07:33In the cellar in the ice house,
07:35detectives found blood trails across the floor,
07:38and stains that suggested a bleeding body had been dragged through the rooms.
07:41In a beer barrel, they found ashes,
07:44and after a closer inspection,
07:46discovered more remains.
07:48Pieces of skull, finger bones,
07:51toe bones,
07:5215 human teeth,
07:53shoe nails,
07:54vest buttons,
07:55a vest buckle,
07:56and two ivory shirt studs.
07:59Now believing that William Backman had been murdered,
08:02an inquest began.
08:03A coroner's jury was quickly assembled,
08:05and the jurors visited the brewery to examine the scene,
08:08and view what the police had discovered there.
08:10When they returned to the coroner's court,
08:12Ballanty Bankowski gave testimony.
08:15His English was very limited,
08:17so he did so through an interpreter.
08:19He told how Mr. Backman had visited the brewery on the 15th of August,
08:23stayed the night,
08:25spoken at length to Mr. Marlowe,
08:26and then was never seen again.
08:28He also told of how he went to the cellar,
08:31found blood stains,
08:32and of the intense fire that burned in the brew house.
08:35Doctors confirmed that the bones found at the scene were human.
08:38However, on the advice of Mr. Marlowe's attorney,
08:41neither he or his wife gave evidence.
08:43When the inquest finished,
08:45the jury concluded that William Backman had been murdered on the 16th of August, 1871,
08:51at around one o'clock in the afternoon.
08:53They believed that Charles Marlowe had shot and killed him,
08:56and that Augusta Marlowe had acted as an accomplice.
08:59The formal indictment against the couple, however,
09:01was extraordinarily broad,
09:03and reflected the uncertainty surrounding the victim's final moments,
09:07and the condition in which the remains had been discovered.
09:10Prosecutors alleged that death may have been caused by shooting,
09:14stabbing,
09:14blows from a hammer,
09:15wounds inflicted by an axe,
09:17burning,
09:18or several other violent means.
09:20These indictments were not uncommon in 19th century murder cases,
09:24when medical evidence could not always conclusively establish a single cause of death.
09:28By listing numerous possible methods,
09:31the prosecution ensured that the charge would remain valid,
09:34regardless of which injuries,
09:36had ultimately proved to be fatal.
09:38However, despite these findings,
09:40many Jamestown residents did not believe that Mr. and Mrs. Marlowe
09:44were responsible for the death of Mr. Backman.
09:48After the evidence was reviewed,
09:50the case against Mrs. Marlowe was dropped,
09:52and the trial of her husband,
09:54Charles Marlowe,
09:55began on the 20th of September, 1871.
09:58He pleaded not guilty.
10:00The state's primary witness was Ballanty Benkowski,
10:03who, like at the coroner's inquest,
10:05testified through an interpreter.
10:07He stated that Mr. Backman had visited the brewery on the 15th of August,
10:11and that Mr. Marlowe had mentioned the man was carrying a large sum of money.
10:15He said that the following day,
10:17he thought that he heard a gunshot coming from the cellar,
10:19and not long afterwards,
10:21saw blood upon Mr. Marlowe's face.
10:23He then said that he went into the cellar,
10:26where he saw the floors had been washed,
10:27but there were bloodstains on the stones,
10:29and there was also a towel with blood marks on it.
10:33He said that when he went to the brew room,
10:35the furnace was very hot,
10:36and that it smelt very strange.
10:38The prosecution also introduced testimony from Mr. Marlowe's neighbours,
10:42all of who recalled thick black smoke and foul odours
10:45coming from the brewery on the 16th of August.
10:48Professor Armstrong testified that chemical analysis
10:51conducted on the stains and materials recovered from the brewery
10:54indicated the presence of human blood.
10:56His evidence was regarded as particularly important,
10:59as it provided scientific support for the prosecution's claim
11:03that a violent killing had taken place on the premises.
11:06However, at the time,
11:07forensic science was still developing,
11:09and it was not scientifically possible
11:11to reliably distinguish between human and animal bloodstains.
11:15Nevertheless,
11:16the testimony carried considerable weight with the jury,
11:19who viewed the findings as a strong confirmation
11:21that the brewery had been the scene of a brutal crime.
11:24By this stage,
11:25the case against Charles Marlowe appeared overwhelming.
11:28The prosecution had presented suspicious behaviour,
11:31physical evidence had been recovered from the brewery cellar,
11:34witnessed testimonies from Ballanty Benkowski
11:36and the professor,
11:38claiming that human blood had been found at the scene.
11:40Taken together,
11:42the evidence painted an increasingly damaging picture
11:44that was going to be difficult for the defence to explain away.
11:47However,
11:49Charles Lockwood,
11:50the defence attorney for Mr. Marlowe,
11:52then produced a dramatic reversal in the proceedings.
11:56He stood up in court,
11:58and to the shock of the prosecution,
12:00and everyone in the gallery,
12:02admitted that the remains found in the furnace
12:04were those of William Backman.
12:06However,
12:06he denied that Charles Marlowe had committed murder.
12:09He started by arguing that with the cellar trapdoor shut,
12:13a gunshot could not be distinguished
12:15from the sound of striking a beer keg.
12:17He then told the courts,
12:19that Mr. Marlowe had returned to Jamestown that afternoon,
12:22and did not have sufficient time to kill a man,
12:24or to burn a body.
12:26Then Mr. Lockwood stunned the courtroom.
12:28He said that Mr. Backman came to his death
12:31at the hands of Mrs. Julia Ortman.
12:33Once everyone in court had regained their composure,
12:36he said that William Backman
12:38was not nearly as wealthy as he claimed,
12:40and that when he was on his own with Mrs. Augusta Marlowe,
12:42he attacked her,
12:43threw her to the floor,
12:45and began choking her.
12:46Hearing the struggles,
12:48Mrs. Marlowe's mother,
12:49Mrs. Julia Ortman,
12:51rushed to help her daughter,
12:52but unable to separate them,
12:54she seized a hammer,
12:55and struck Mr. Backman in the temple.
12:57Looking straight at the jury,
12:59Mr. Lockwood then said,
13:01that Mr. Backman fell to the floor,
13:03and when the two ladies looked at him,
13:05they realized that he was dead.
13:06The courtroom was silent for a few moments,
13:09before Mrs. Julia Ortman was called to the witness stand.
13:12Through an interpreter,
13:14she repeated the story told by Mr. Lockwood,
13:16and added that after the killing,
13:18she and her daughter had carried the body to the furnace,
13:21and burned it to conceal the death.
13:23She insisted that her son-in-law knew nothing about the killing until after his arrest.
13:27The defense hoped that this testimony would discredit Ballanty Benkowski,
13:32and present an alternative explanation for the death.
13:35The trial lasted for a week,
13:37before the prosecution and defense gave their closing arguments,
13:40and the judge summed up the case.
13:42The jury were then sent out to consider the verdict.
13:45However, despite much deliberation,
13:47they were unable to agree.
13:49Six jurors favored conviction,
13:51and six acquittal.
13:52A mistrial was declared,
13:53and Charles Marlowe was returned to jail.
13:57A second trial opened in January 1872.
14:01Much of the evidence mirrored the first trial,
14:03though prosecutors presented the details more thoroughly.
14:07Mrs. Julia Ortman's confession,
14:08that had previously shocked the courtroom,
14:10was scrutinized,
14:11and it soon became apparent that the old woman's story was a deliberate falsehood,
14:16conceived and carried out for the purpose of clearing her son-in-law's name.
14:19This time the jury only deliberated for three and a half hours,
14:23before returning a verdict of guilty,
14:25and the judge sentenced Charles Marlowe to death.
14:28When he heard the verdict and the sentence,
14:31he exhibited no visible emotion.
14:33Instead, he retained the same stern appearance which had marked him throughout the trial.
14:37His wife, however,
14:39who had been seated very close to him,
14:41burst into tears.
14:42She was not the only one to do so.
14:44Many women who had been sitting in the gallery also started to cry.
14:48Charles Marlowe was then taken to Mayville Prison to await his execution.
14:53While there, he remained very much in the public eye.
14:56During his imprisonment,
14:58he attempted to escape by trying to saw through the bars of his cell window,
15:02with two small saws.
15:03The attempt was discovered before he could make any real progress,
15:07and when prison officers investigated how the Tawls had entered the jail,
15:11they concluded that they had been concealed in the heels of a pair of slippers
15:14Mrs. Augusta Marlowe had delivered to her husband.
15:16Following the discovery of the escape attempts,
15:19prison authorities tightened their watch over Mr. Marlowe
15:22and transferred him to another cell,
15:24where he was kept under far stricter supervision.
15:27Public interest in the case only intensified,
15:30as the date fixed for his execution drew closer,
15:33and it seemed certain that he would soon be led to the gallows.
15:36Then, on the very eve of his scheduled hanging,
15:38a dramatic reprieve arrived.
15:40It emerged that one of the jurors at the second trial,
15:43a man named Sebastian Loren,
15:45had already formed the opinion that Mr. Marlowe was guilty
15:48before the proceedings had even begun.
15:50His defence team immediately sought to secure another trial,
15:54but on the 11th of June,
15:55the matter came before the Supreme Court,
15:57where the conviction and sentence were upheld.
16:00A new execution date was fixed for the 2nd of August.
16:04Mr. Marlowe continued to deny responsibility
16:06for William Backman's disappearance,
16:08but on the 1st of August,
16:10the eve of his execution,
16:12he finally gave a full account of the killing.
16:14He said that the two men had spent time drinking together in the brewery,
16:18before he persuaded Mr. Backman to accompany him to the cellar.
16:21He said that he added strychnine to a glass of beer,
16:24and handed it to him.
16:26He said that although the poison caused severe convulsions,
16:29Mr. Backman did not die immediately,
16:31so he seized an iron bar,
16:33and struck him repeatedly on the head.
16:34He said that after the murder,
16:37he dismembered the body,
16:38and put the pieces into the brewery furnace.
16:40He admitted that Augusta Marlowe knew what had happened,
16:43and that she later assisted him in removing and scattering the ashes.
16:47This confession confirmed what the police had already suspected,
16:50that Mr. Marlowe had killed Mr. Backman
16:52to rob him of the money he was carrying.
16:54In a somewhat chilling last remark,
16:57Mr. Marlowe said that he would have also murdered Balanty Bankowski,
17:00if he had realised that any suspicion had fallen upon him.
17:03When Charles Marlowe was led out to the gallows,
17:06there were so many spectators,
17:08that the sheriff instructed those at the front to kneel,
17:11in order that people further back might see the proceedings.
17:14At ten minutes past twelve,
17:16on Friday the 2nd of August 1872,
17:19Charles Marlowe was hanged.
17:21He left behind his wife Augusta,
17:23and their two young children,
17:25a boy of six,
17:26and a little girl aged three.
17:28Mrs. Marlowe was not able to keep the brewery going,
17:31so accompanied by her children and her mother,
17:33she left Jamestown,
17:34and went to live at Parker's Landing in Pennsylvania.
17:39Hello everyone,
17:40and thank you so much for listening.
17:42As usual,
17:43please leave any comments or feedback you may have,
17:46and I hope to see you all again,
17:48in the next,
17:49brief,
17:50case.
17:51Thank you so much for listening.
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