In every decade of the twentieth century, there was one sensational murder trial that riveted public attention and at the time was called "the trial of the century." This book tells the story of each murder case and the dramatic trial-and media coverage-that followed. Starting with the murder of famed architect Stanford White in 1906 and ending with the O.J. Simpson trial of 1994, the authors recount ten compelling tales spanning the century. Each is a story of celebrity and sex, prejudice and heartbreak, and all reveal how often the arc of American justice is pushed out of its trajectory by an insatiable media driven to sell copy.The most noteworthy cases are here--including the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, the Sam Sheppard murder trial ("The Fugitive"), the "Helter Skelter" murders of Charles Manson, and the O.J. Simpson murder trial. But some cases that today are lesser known also provide fascinating glimpses into the tenor of the time: the media sensation created by yellow journalist William Randolph Hearst around the murder trial of 1920s movie star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle; the murder of the Scarsdale Diet guru by an elite prep-school headmistress in the 1980s; and more. The authors conclude with an epilogue on the infamous Casey Anthony("tot mom")trial, showing that the twenty-first century is as prone to sensationalism as the last century.This is a fascinating history of true crime, justice gone awry, and the media often at its worst.
1900s—Railroad millionaire Harry K. Thaw kills architect Stanford White in 1906. The trial focuses on whether Thaw was driven insane by White's seduction of Thaw's glamorous young wife, Evelyn Nesbit.
1910s—In Atlanta, Georgia, factory superintendent Leo Frank--a Jew from New York--is falsely accused of thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan's murder and eventually lynched by a rabidly anti-Semitic mob.
1920s—Movie star "Fatty" Arbuckle is tried three times for the death of actress Virginia Rappe during a wild party hosted by Arbuckle in a San Francisco hotel. Though finally acquitted, his career is ruined by the negative publicity.
1930s—Who kidnapped and killed the baby of world-famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife? Though petty criminal Bruno Hauptmann was convicted, questions linger to this day about the identity of the real culprit.
1940s—The murder of New York socialite Patricia Burton Lonergan generates an incredible media frenzy, with more reporters present on the first day of the trial than are assigned to cover the allied invasion of Italy.
1950s—Sam Sheppard, a respected physician in Bay Village, Ohio, is accused of the murder of his wife, sparking intense media coverage and eventually the TV series The Fugitive.
1960s—The heinous murder of student nurses by drifter Richard Speck and the subsequent manhunt, arrest, and trial shocks the nation and receives blanket media coverage.
1970s—Charles Manson's murder of pregnant Hollywood starlet Sharon Tate and friends evokes both horror and fascination, stoked by unprecedented television coverage.
1980s—The murder of the Scarsdale Diet guru, Dr. Herman Tarnower, by an elite prep-school headmistress, Mrs. Jean Harris, triggers a storm of press coverage revealing a vicious love triangle.
1990s—The trial of football star and celebrity O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman creates a media circus like no other, amplified by the new prevalence of 24-hour cable news.
2000s—The trial of Casey Anthony for the 2008 murder of her missing two-year-old demonstrates, among other things, the power of new online media to create a vast Internet echo chamber.
