A Mysterious Crime Scene

/ Kimberly

For today’s post, I looked for an appropriately creepy event that occurred on a Friday the 13th to cover, but I didn’t see anything that suited me.

I did find something good for you though!

In 2012, the former New York City police department renovated their headquarters and, in the process, a series of forgotten photos of 1910s crime scenes were found, unattached to any case folders. With no context for any of them, we’re left to wonder about these crimes.

I chose one of the more mysterious pictures to share with you.

from the UK’s Mirror

I tried to find the crime by searching the newspaper database but it was a lost cause. Even when I confined my search to New York City in the 1910s and searched “murdered man found behind the bar,” over 1,500 results came up. Yikes!

With only the picture to go on, what do we know about this place? It was pre-Prohibition New York City. A large poster on the back wall for the U.S. Navy begins with Your Country Needs You! and a second poster is visible in the mirror. so I’m guessing this was after we entered the Great War between 1917-1919. The murdered man may have been the bartender or someone could have dragged his body behind the bar. He’s got light hair and looks to have been shot on the right side of the head.

I’d guess the bar was open and operating at the time of the murder because of the used glasses on the bar and several washcloths lying around.  Interestingly, the cash register is visible and is closed.  The only other clue I see is the the note stuck on the mirror behind the bar. It looks out of place in this neat establishment and may have been left by the killer.  It features a giant pocket watch that obscures some of the text. The bottom line plainly reads TRUST NO MORE.

I created a bigger close-up to read all of the text.

I couldn’t make out all of the words, but here’s what I think it says:

My Friend Did Come

__ Did Trust Him

My Friend and L___

His Customs, to Lose My Friend

I ____ My S___ so I’ve Resolved to

TRUST NO MORE.

 

And that’s all that’s left of this long-ago crime.

What do you make of it?

6 thoughts on “A Mysterious Crime Scene”

  1. I studied the photo before reading the entire Post. I noticed the same items that caught Kimberly’s interest. Not sure it is the quality of the photo that creates the illusion or is it what I perceive it to be . . . the bar top and lower shelf look dirty or dusty. The sink appears to have water in it and that, along with the towel hanging over the edge of the counter, likely means the deceased was washing glasses when he was murdered.

    The poster hanging on the mirror frame was placed there intentionally, likely by the murderer(s). The pocket watch must have significance. Could the watch have been purposely stopped at the exact time the victim was murdered? That would align with the closing words on the poster, “Trust No More.”

    The number of alcohol bottles behind the bar compared to a modern bar is very limited, and there is no evidence of a beer tap. Could this have been a “private club” not open to the general public? That thought is based on the small flags on top of the cash register. At least one flag looks like that of another country. In the early 1900s there were many private clubs and bars for specific groups of immigrants to gather and talk in their native language.

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    • Good detective work! I think you are right about it being a private club. Specifically a German club. I can’t make it out but I’m sure the sign on the back wall is written in German. Maybe that was why the shooting happened. Even with those Navy posters telling people to join up, it was a German club and the U.S. was at war with Germany. Maybe suspected of dual loyalties or something like that.

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    • That’s really good, Jax! I believe you may be right. The only part I’m not sure about is the pocket watch. Is it part of the poster, or a real watch? If it’s a real watch, I’d guess it’s a mob hit.

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