Linda Wolfe (1) (1932–2020)

This book was way more entertaining than it had any right to be and one of the craziest trials I've ever read.

First, there's William Chapman, a man described by the author as "sluggish, neglectful, boastful and obstinate." He immigrated from the UK, settling in Philadelphia, and opening up a stuttering clinic. He styled himself a "doctor" despite not having a degree and never revealed his method. Then there's Lucretia, his wife. A well-educated schoolteacher from Andalusia, who was already show more 30 when she met William. William was intriguing then. Finding a husband - despite being 10 years older - who respected her intelligence and independence was certainly appealing.

Finally there's Carolino Estradas de Mina. Or was it Celestino? Or was it Don Amalia Gregorio Zarrier? It didn't matter. Lino was a con artist and thief from Havana who reached Philadelphia after escaping prison. Homeless, he appeals to the Chapman's generosity and inserts himself into their household, and into uh...Lucretia. He claims he's the son of the Mexican governor of California!! (not a territory yet), faking letters, and acquaintances.

Charmed, and with promises of a fortune, Lucretia and Lino poison William with arsenic. After the two lovers marry, Lino runs off, taking her good silver and cash with him. Upon investigation, Lucretia realizes she's been duped! What results is a goose chase from Philly to Boston to Baltimore (where he attempted to marry another) to catch Lino, a circus of a trial in Doylestown, and the last public execution in Pennsylvania. The pacing is a little awkward at first because I think the author struggled to introduce Lino's backstory, but I'm glad I stuck with it, because I couldn't put it down! show less

Dr. Chapman worked to cure stammering, creating a method lost to time as he made patients promise to never reveal how he treated them. His wife, Lucretia, was a self-made successful businesswoman, a teacher who founded the first boarding school for girls in Philadelphia. Eventually the Chapmans moved miles outside the city to a large house in order to give the students and their own five children a healthier environment. They had a reputation for giving people in need a place to stay for a show more night or two. It was because a young man named Lino Espos y Mina was directed to their home for free shelter in 1831 that the following events occurred.
Mina was a fraud, a thief and compulsive liar, and likely a sociopath. He was from Cuba, and at twenty-one, had already served more than a year in prison for taking part in robberies with a gang. When he arrived at the Chapmans he had nothing but told them he was the son of a famous Mexican general in San Francisco, he just needed to get in contact with his father in order to get money. This was a story, with many variations, that he told throughout the States, always that he was the son of a rich, powerful man and that anyone who was nice to him now would be rewarded with riches once his father was around. Plenty of trusting people fell for it, but only Lucretia went this far in her gullibility.
Others in the household recognized that Lucretia was increasingly frustrated with her husband, likely bored and angry that the bigger responsibility of their income fell to her while her husband became less ambitious. When the stranger with an exotic appearance and promises of a wealthy family arrived, Lucretia seems to have lost all propriety, fawning over the stranger who was half her age, and a servant reported that she soon was seeing signs that her mistress and the stranger were sleeping together. Lucretia paid for Lino to have new suits, openly doting on him and spending afternoons away from home with him. Within weeks of his arrival, Dr. Chapman was dead and Lucretia and Lino were married just days later. Was the death natural or was Dr. Chapman poisoned? The resulting trials were infamous. show less

Jennifer Levin was found dead in Central Park and the NYPD found their suspect in Robert Chambers. Although they were both raised on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, they ended up on very different paths. Jennifer was a friendly empathetic person who had a bright future ahead of her while Robert was on the fast path to jail. Jennifer ended up dead and Robert ended up exactly where he belonged.


This case was huge when I was growing up in New York. You couldn't see a news program without show more hearing about the Preppie Murder. Wolfe did a wonderful job of telling the story of Jennifer and Robert's lives and how they slowly came to intertwine. Linda Wolfe takes us through Robert's lies and confession and how they played out in court. She also takes on the way the media and those who had an opinion on the case felt that "victim blaming" was the way to go because Jennifer was not a girl that sat there and was quiet. show less

This book of shorts satisfied my appetite for lurid tales of murder, although Linda Wolfe's analysis is superficial.