Jennie Bosschieter

Jennie Bosschieter (1883–1900) is a woman who was raped and murdered in Paterson, New Jersey, on October 19, 1900.[1] She was an early victim of the date rape drug chloral hydrate which caused her death. Her death received national news coverage and was described as "one of the most revolting [crimes] ever committed in New Jersey."

Early life

Martijntje "Jennie" Bosschieter was born on 21 April 1883 in the village of Melissant in the Netherlands. She was second daughter of Johannis "John" Bosschieter (1846-1929) and his second wife Dina Kaslander Bosschieter (1861-1953). Jennie had seven siblings: Susan, Gabriel, Joseph, John, Cora, Martin, and Lena. And three half-siblings: Aart, Leonard, and Aggie. When Jennie was seven years old her family left the Netherlands for America. They settled in Paterson, New Jersey around 1890. At the time of her murder she lived with her parents at 155 East Fifth Street in the Riverside section, and worked at the Paterson Ribbon Company on Vreeland Avenue.

Murder

Jennie left home on October 18, 1900, at 8:10 pm to go on an errand to the drug store, where she met Walter C. McAlister and William A. Death (pronounced "Deeth"). She had previously dated Death but he married another woman. McAlister, Death and two others drank with her in a private party room in Saal's saloon at the corner of River Street and Bridge Street. Her first drink may have been a Manhattan, then she drank an absinthe frappe, and then she had two glasses of Great Western sparkling wine. She was given two or three doses of chloral hydrate in her sparkling wine by McAlister. They took her in a carriage to a secluded area, raped her, and she died from an overdose of the drug. They dumped the body on the ground and her head hit a rock.

Her body was found lying a short distance from the Wagaraw bridge (now known as the Lincoln Ave. Bridge) on the Bergen County, New Jersey side of the Passaic River in Columbia Heights section what is now Fair Lawn, between 5:30 and 6:15 am. The discovery was made by Marinus Gary on his way to work. Her head rested on a jagged rock, and there was a fracture of her skull near the base of her brain. The damage to her skull was postmortem. The description of her body at discovery was made in an article in the Trenton Times dated October 20, 1900 "She lay as though asleep. She was stretched out on her back, he hands lying at her side, palms downward and fingers relaxed. One leg crossed the other at the ankle. Her dress was not disturbed and was stretched at full length." The Coroner estimated the time of death to have been two to three hours before discovery.

An article in the Newark Daily Advocate dated January 29, 1901 described the account of a night hackman (or carriage driver) named Sculthorpe who came forward to police and gave them a break in the case. According to the report, Sculthorpe told police that on October 19 he was called to Saal's saloon and that at midnight, four men carried an unconscious girl from the saloon to his coach. Sculthorpe says he then drove out to a road house, which was closed. Sculthorpe said he then started back towards Paterson. Somewhere on the road the girl was taken from the hack and "ill treated".

George J. Kerr, Walter C. McAlister, Andrew J. Campbell, and William A. Death were indicted for her murder and arraigned on November 17, 1900 before Judge Dixon. All four men pled not guilty. The trial was set for January 14 of the following year. Walter C. McAlister, Andrew J. Campbell, and William A. Death were found guilty of murder in the second degree for her killing and sentenced to thirty years imprisonment at hard labor. George J. Kerr, who pled "non vult contendere" to the charge of rape was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment at hard labor. All four sentences were the maximum the law would allow.

At the trial the defense attorneys tried to blame her death on the absinthe and not the overdose of chloral hydrate. The jury rejected that the death was from the absinthe and that the murder was premeditated.

In January 1902 Walter McAlister's attempt at pardon was denied by the New Jersey Board of Pardons.

Legacy

Jennie's murder received national press coverage for months after her death. There was a possible copycat crime on March 12, 1901 with Mary Paige drugged, raped and found severely ill. Paige did recover. Three boys were convicted of assault and served brief sentences.

Attackers

Newspapers at the time made clear that the attackers were not "wild boys" but were instead "old enough to know the meaning of consequences". They were described as "men of families well known and respected in Paterson."

  • George J. Kerr, was the son of Hugh Kerr (c. 1840 – 1901), brother of Judge John F. Kerr, and brother-in-law of Mayor of Paterson John Hinchliffe. He was married with grown daughters at the time of the attack. He pled non vult contendere and served 11 years and nine days of a 15-year sentence.[2]
  • Walter C. McAlister, put the chloral hydrate in her drink and was sentenced to 30 years in January 1901. He was a junior partner in a silk firm.
  • Andrew J. Campbell (born 1875). He served 15 years of his 30-year sentence.[3]
  • William A. Death, served in the Spanish–American War and was married a few weeks before the attack. He was sentenced to 30 years for his role in the murder.

Others
  • Marinus Gary, who found the body, worked for Alyea Brothers feed mill
  • Augustus Sculthorp, the carriage driver
  • Vroom, the coroner
  • Graul, chief of police
  • Christopher Saal, owner of the saloon
  • Judge Dixon, the Judge who heard the trial of the four men accused of murdering Jennie Bosschieter
  • Joseph Bosschieter (b.1884), Jennie's brother who was born in the Netherlands
  • Susan Bosschieter (b.1881), Jennie's sister who was born in the Netherlands

Further reading
  • New York Times; January 9, 1901. Within an Hour Jury Is Selected to Try the First Case. McAlister, Campbell, and Death Listen Nonchalantly to Testimony of the Victim's Family and Witnesses of the Crime. Separate Trial for Kerr. McAllister's Plea for a Review Denied. The first case taken up by Judge Dixon in the Supreme Court today was the application of George J. Kerr for a separate trial on the indictment charging him with assaulting and murdering Jennie Bosschieter, and of Walter C. McAllister for removal of the indictment to the Supreme Court, to the end that it may be reviewed and quashed ...
  • New York Times; January 15, 1901. Paterson, New Jersey; January 14, 1901. The trial of three of the four men who are accused of the murder of Jennie Bosschteter was begun in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, in the old Court House, in Main Street, today. The three men – Walter McAlister, Andrew Campbell, and William Death – who are the persons most concerned in the progress and outcome of the ...
  • New York Times; January 20, 1901. Paterson, New Jersey; January 19, 1901. The verdict in the Bosschieter case was the principal topic of conversation here today. In every shop, in every public place, the fate of Walter J. McAlister, Andrew J. Campbell, and William A. Death was discussed. So far as could be judged from a general expression of opinion, the verdict pleased.
  • New York Times; April 22, 1907. Bosschieter Convict Seeks Pardon.
  • New York Times; May 30, 1908. Bosschieter Slayer Seeks Pardon.
  • "Attacked by the Gang". New York Daily News. October 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-29. On a mild October evening in 1900, a pretty teenager named Jennie Bosschieter walked to a drugstore from her home in Paterson, N.J., to fetch baby powder for an infant niece.

References
  1. "Factory Girl Found Dead. Skull Fractured and the Paterson Police Think She Was Murdered" (PDF). New York Times. October 21, 1900. Retrieved 2007-08-21. Paterson, New Jersey; October 20, 1900. The body of Jennie Bosschieter was found lying a short distance from the Wagaran bridge, on the Bergen side of the Paterson River at 5:30 o'clock this morning. The discovery was made by two milkmen. The head of the girl rested upon a jagged rock, and there was a fracture of the skull near the base of the brain.
  2. "George Kerr Leaves Prison After Eleven Years Punishment" (PDF). New York Times. February 10, 1912. Retrieved 2007-08-21. After having served eleven years and nine days of a 15-year sentence for his part in the murder of Jennie Bosschieter of Paterson, George J. Kerr was discharged from State prison at midnight to-night. His companions, Andrew J. Campbell, William A. Death, and Walter McAllister, will not finish their time until 1921.
  3. "Andrew Campbell Paroled After 15 Years in Jail" (PDF). New York Times. April 17, 1913. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
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