A suspected murderer aboard the Lusitania defended by Conan Doyle Pt. 1
Mischief on the ocean liners Pt. 6
This week we’re trying something new and are offering a video supplement along with Char’s post. In the video, Char and I discuss life aboard the Lusitania. Check it out! -SZB
On January 2nd, 1909, a German born Jewish man named Oscar Joseph Leschziner was arrested after his voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York, New York, aboard the Cunard liner Lusitania. At the time of this journey, he was going by the name Oscar Slater. Prior to his voyage, he had been living in Glasgow, Scotland. Slater was traveling second class aboard the liner along with his female companion, Andrée Antoine.
Two United States Deputy Marshals, two Central Office detectives, and two detectives of the Pinkerton agency boarded the Lusitania from a vessel. They were looking for Slater with the description of a man 5 foot 7 inches, thirty-five years old with a crooked nose. When apprehended Slater became noticeably pale. Initially denying his identity, he eventually admitted that he was the man they were looking for.
After his female companion was taken to Ellis Island for investigation by immigration authorities, Slater was taken to the other side of the liner for questioning about the fact that he was traveling under an alias, Otto Sands. Slater explained that he went by this name in America due to the fact that he was wanted as witness for the shooting of a pugilist named Curly and did not want any trouble.
Slater, a man who claimed to be a dentist and diamond trader but in reality was a known gambler, was then informed that he was wanted in Glasgow, Scotland, for the murder of an elderly woman named Marion Gilchrist. Both Slater and his wife insisted during questioning that they had no idea who this woman was.
Marion Gilchrist was a single elderly woman who had inherited a large sum of money and was known to be eccentric and guarded. She often spoke of her belief that she would be robbed and had a very secure entry to her home that required her to be able to see who was at the door before the person would be able to enter. She even had an agreement with a family named Adams, who lived in the flat below her, that if she were to be robbed she would knock on the floor to alert them.
Oscar Slater had no known connection with Gilchrist, but because it was made known to police that he had been pawning a diamond brooch, he became the suspect due to the fact that it was reported by Gilchrist’s servant that a diamond brooch had gone missing during the murder. It was determined that the brooch that Slater had pawned was in circulation at the pawn shop five days prior to the murder and that it did not meet the description of the one owned by Gilchrist, but these facts were conveniently ignored by the Glasgow police who decided that Slater was their suspect.
In next week’s we will look closer at the murder and the evidence, or lack thereof, against Slater.
Sources:
https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Case_of_Oscar_Slater
https://www.policemuseum.org.uk/crime-casebook/interesting-cases/murder-of-marion-gilchrist-1908/
“Murder suspect on the Lusitania,” The New York Times, January 3, 1909, p.16.
Fox, M., & Forbes, P. (2018). Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer. Random House Audio.
This one is going to be fun, I cant wait to talk more next week. Please have patience with me on the speaking, I am more of a writer and this part is new to me but I will get more accustomed and I think the conversations can be interesting.
hooked!