The Dark & Wicked Case Of Henrietta Robinson

Brief Case

Henrietta was a very mysterious Lady who lived in Troy, NY in the 1850's  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  Music by CO.AG Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwZB4l43iTw&t=105s Music by Myuu -https://www.youtube.com/user/myuuji Music by Kevin Macleod - https://incompetech.com  #HenriettaRobinson #TrueCrime #BriefCase  Sources:- http://reader.library.cornell.edu/docviewer/digital?id=sat:3308#page/6/mode/1up https://www.criminalhistorian.com/death-of-the-veiled-murderess/ http://www.murderbygaslight.com/2012/01/veiled-murderess.html

Transcript

00:07Today we are looking at a case from the mid-19th century, so sit back as we go to the

00:15USA.

00:18Henrietta Robinson lived in Troy, a city that sits on the eastern bank of the Hudson River

00:24in the state of New York. She was a very mysterious lady who resided in a very pleasant cottage

00:31in what was considered a good neighborhood. Also living in her very charming residence

00:36was a maid and an elderly gardener. Locals would often talk about her. They would hear rumors about

00:43where she had come from and why in 1852 she had decided to move to Troy. But Henrietta had never

00:51disclosed to anyone from exactly where she came or why she chose to move to the city.

00:56Most people also questioned if Henrietta Robinson was actually her real name and the general opinion

01:04was but it probably was not. What was known about her was that she was very beautiful and did not

01:11live with a husband or children. She also did not seem to have any friends. Many people considered

01:18it strange that such an elegant and distinguished lady chose to live such an enclosed existence.

01:25Opposite her cottage was a grocery store which was run by a man named Timothy Lanigan.

01:31Above the store was an apartment where Mr Lanigan lived with his family.

01:35The store was well known in the area but in addition to selling the usual items such as bread,

01:42cheese and milk. This store sold alcohol and there was a bar in the adjacent room which Mr Lanigan would

01:49open so people could meet for nights of drinking and dancing. Having a place where people would drink

01:55and make a lot of noise was something that concerned Henrietta. Not only would she feel uncomfortable

02:01that so many people were close to her cottage, she also felt intimidated as they would often stare and

02:07point. She was, after all, a very curious character for the residents of Troy. Henrietta didn't stay in

02:15her cottage all the time. She was sometimes seen in the city. It was rare however that she was approached

02:21by anyone as she was known to be an unpredictable woman who was very quick to take offence. She had

02:28been

02:28known to point the revolver she carried in her bag to anyone who unsettled her, even if the person

02:33concerned had done it unintentionally. On occasions, she had gone to the police station to complain about

02:40a man who lived close to her cottage. She would tell them that they should send someone to guard

02:45her residence. While the police were sympathetic, no officer was ever sent as the man Henrietta complained

02:52about had never attempted to harm her or enter her home. Whenever she went out, it would usually be at

02:59midnight. At this hour she felt less conspicuous, but stories circulated that there had been times

03:06when she had been seen after midnight dressed only in her nightdress and been saved of any embarrassment

03:12by charitable ladies who would cover her with a shawl or a coat and escort her home. These occurrences

03:19also provided much gossip for the locals in the shops and tea houses where Henrietta Robinson was a regular

03:27topic of conversation. Although some sympathy was felt towards Henrietta, the mystery surrounding

03:33her was also in part generated by herself. When different stories emerged about the circumstances

03:40which had led her to live in Troy, she would not deny or confirm them, even though some were very

03:46elaborate. All of this contributed to the fascination that many of the locals had with her. One such story

03:54was that her father was a lord who had banished her from his home. This was often accompanied by the

04:00story that a stepmother had encouraged him to do it. Another story was that she was the daughter of an

04:06Irishman

04:07from Vermont. Conversations would be had each time a new story emerged about her arrival in the city. Some

04:14people would believe one theory, others another, and some thought that none of them to be true. But everyone seemed

04:21to

04:21agree that Henrietta had arrived in Troy to escape from something or someone.

04:30Henrietta's maid would usually do her shopping, and as the Lanigan's store was opposite her home,

04:36many of the items were purchased there. Mr. Lanigan considered her to be a very good customer

04:41and always tried to make sure that Miss Robinson was looked after. He had, however, noticed that whenever

04:48the maid was sent with an order, it would always include quite a large quantity of alcohol.

04:54Beer was her most regular purchase, but she would occasionally buy brandy. Her buying habits didn't

05:00stay secret for very long, and soon everyone in the neighbourhood knew that Miss Robinson liked to have

05:06a drink in the evening. As the rumours spread, a few drinks would soon be embellished, to Miss Robinson

05:12being in a constant state of inebriation. As time passed, she would occasionally leave her property,

05:18and cross the road to join the people who were drinking and dancing at Timothy Lanigan's makeshift

05:23bar. But usually, not too long after arriving, she would start to argue with anyone who she thought

05:30may have been talking about her, or looking at her in a derogatory manner. This would usually end in

05:35Henrietta drawing her revolver and being politely asked to leave the premises. For a while, Henrietta

05:42stopped purchasing her groceries from the store and took her trade elsewhere. But shopping opposite her

05:48home was far more convenient, so she resumed her custom on the morning of Wednesday, May 25th, 1853.

05:56At 6am that morning, she went to buy some strong beer and some soda crackers. Mr. Lanigan was out,

06:05she was served by his wife. Henrietta again went to the store at 11 o'clock, and this time entered

06:11the

06:11bar, where there was a group of men drinking. Mrs. Lanigan observed, but after Miss Robinson arrived,

06:18the men started to get rather noisy, so she asked her to leave, saying that a lady should not be

06:24seen

06:24in the company of so many gentlemen. Reluctantly, Henrietta left, and walked back across the road to her

06:31cottage, but Mrs. Lanigan was surprised to see her again at 1 o'clock. By this time, Mr. Lanigan had

06:37returned, and he was sitting at his table having dinner with his wife and his sister-in-law, named

06:42Catherine Luby. They offered Henrietta the egg and potatoes that had not been eaten, and she happily

06:48sat down at the table. After they had finished, Henrietta asked if she could buy everyone a beer,

06:54as a thank you. It was the middle of the day, and Mrs. Lanigan had to serve customers,

06:59so she declined. But Mr. Lanigan and Miss Luby agreed, and Mr. Lanigan went and fetched the beer.

07:06Henrietta said that it would taste much better if it was sweeter, and requested that he also bring

07:12some sugar. Realising that there was not enough beer to fill their glasses, Mr. Lanigan went back for

07:18the sugar, and more beer. When he returned, Henrietta informed him that she had found some sugar,

07:24and had already put it in the glasses. So Mr. Lanigan topped them up with beer, and the three

07:29of them toasted each other's health, and started to drink. They only drank a glass each, before bidding

07:35each other farewell. Henrietta returned home, and Mr. Lanigan and Miss Luby went back to work.

07:42Soon after, Miss Luby started to feel quite unwell. At 3pm, Mr. Lanigan returned. He was also feeling

07:50very poorly, and went to lie down. For some reason, Miss Robinson went back to the store,

07:56but Mr. Lanigan asked her to leave, and Mrs. Lanigan pushed her out of the door. By now,

08:01his condition was getting worse, so Mrs. Lanigan summoned a doctor. He examined his patient,

08:07but at 7pm that evening, Timothy Lanigan died. Miss Luby was attended by Dr. Adams,

08:15and Dr. Skilton, but despite their best efforts, she died at 5am the following day, Thursday the 26th

08:23of May. An autopsy was performed on both bodies, and it was discovered that they contained large amounts

08:30of arsenic. 40 grams in the body of Mr. Lanigan, and slightly less in the body of his sister-in

08:36-law,

08:36Miss Luby. The police started an investigation. Mrs. Lanigan told the investigators about how Miss

08:43Robinson had come to their home the previous day, and put what she thought was sugar in her husband

08:49and sister-in-law's beer. The police visited the pharmacy close to Miss Robinson's property,

08:54and the chemist confirmed that he had sold her arsenic on three separate occasions during the month of

09:00May. Police also searched her property, and found some arsenic in a box, as well as some placed on the

09:07floors, in the corners of rooms, which was put there to rid her cottage of rodents. But Henrietta did not

09:14admit to being responsible for the deaths of Mr. Lanigan and Miss Luby. She believed the poisonings were

09:19committed by another, possibly by Mrs. Lanigan. She told the police that Mrs. Lanigan had asked her for

09:25a loan of $100, but she refused to lend her the money. Henrietta Robinson was already considered a

09:32strange figure in the city, and the fact that she had been present just before two perfectly healthy

09:38individuals had been taken ill and died, only contributed to the mystery that surrounded her. However, it was

09:45not until February 1854, nine months after the deaths of Mr. Timothy Lanigan and Miss Catherine Luby,

09:53that she was charged with their murders.

09:58Three months later, on the 22nd of May 1854, the trial of Henrietta Robinson began. It had taken a very

10:06long time to bring what many considered to be such a straightforward case to courts, and rumours had

10:13circulated in Troy that someone, or something, was trying to protect her. Henrietta appeared in court,

10:22wearing the most fashionable dresses, and with her face covered by a black veil, which she refused to

10:28remove. When witnesses were called to identify her, she would lift it, but only in the view of the witness.

10:35On the third day of the trial, the judge ordered Henrietta to remove the veil,

10:40or face charges of contempt of court, something she refused to do, and informed her attorneys that she would

10:47rather submit to whatever punishment was required, than to remove her veil. The judge relented,

10:54and she was allowed to wear it throughout the trial. The prosecution presented a solid case.

10:59They had proof that the defendant had purchased arsenic. Witnesses had also seen her argue with Mr.

11:05and Mrs. Lanigan, when she was asked to leave the bar, and others testified that after she took her

11:10trade elsewhere, she only returned to the store on the day of the murders. Henrietta's attorneys told

11:16the court that she had a history of erratic behaviour. She would go out at night, only in her nightdress,

11:23and would often talk like a child, and break down in tears. They said she had absolutely no motive to

11:29commit such a terrible crime, and could only have done so, if she was suffering from temporary insanity.

11:35The prosecution countered this, by informing the court, that on the day in question, May 25th, 1853,

11:44the defendant was drunk, and drunkenness is not insanity, and not a defence against the charge of

11:50murder. When the trial ended, the jury was sent out to deliberate. On their return,

11:56the judge asked them if they found the defendant, guilty, or not guilty. The foreman replied,

12:03guilty. Upon hearing the verdict, Henrietta jumped up, and shouted, shame on you, shame on you judge,

12:12shame on you, there is corruption here, there is corruption in the court. Henrietta Robinson was

12:18found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. She had not been found to be insane, and the jury

12:24considered her totally responsible for her actions. Before sentencing took place, the defence lodged an

12:31appeal, and demanded a retrial. While the legal arguments were considered, Henrietta was sent to

12:37Sing Sing prison. The crime and the trial of Henrietta Robinson had caused somewhat of a sensation in the

12:44press, and newspapers asked if anyone knew the true identity of this beautiful, yet mysterious lady.

12:52One story emerged that her true name was Mrs Campbell, who had owned a drinking house in the

12:58suburbs of Quebec, but had left her husband to live with a cab driver. Another claimed that she was the

13:04daughter of a Dr Robinson from Montreal, who had died nine years earlier in an asylum. A local journalist

13:12wrote that he had been told that her father was a distinguished Irish gentleman who had disinherited

13:18her after she married the son of a steward. All the stories sold newspapers, and kept the residents of

13:25Troy talking about the mysterious Miss Robinson. The request for a new trial was eventually denied,

13:32and on the 14th of June, 1855, Henrietta was brought back to court for sentencing.

13:38The judge insisted she raise her veil, as he informed her that on the 3rd of August she would be

13:44executed for her crimes. As the date approached, Henrietta was visited by a priest who said that

13:51she had made peace with God, but locals in Troy never actually believed that she would be hanged,

13:57as they were still convinced that something or someone would protect her. And just days before her

14:04execution dates, the governor of the state of New York agreed to commute her sentence to life in prison.

14:12Henrietta spent the next 18 years in Sing Sing Prison, before being transferred to the prison in Auburn.

14:18In 1890, she was transferred again to the Matawan Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

14:25When she was in this institution, a woman came forward, who claimed that she had gone to school with

14:31Henrietta. She said that her real name was in fact Charlotte Wood, and that she was one of four

14:37daughters born to a Canadian merchant named William Wood. She said that she was well-educated and a

14:44brilliant linguist. When the story was printed in the Troy Times, the family categorically denied that

14:51the lady in question was their relation. Henrietta Robinson died in prison in May 1905.

14:58She remains as mysterious in death as she was in life, as she took her true identity with her to

15:06the grave.

15:09Hello everyone, and thank you so much for listening. As usual, please leave any feedback or comments you may

15:16have, and I will see you in the next brief case.

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