Thaw Murders Stanford White | 1906-06-26 | The New York Times

Thaw Murders Stanford White From the New York Times, dated June 26, 1906 Thaw Murders Stanford White Shoots Him on the Madison Square Garden Roof About Evelyn Nesbitt He Ruined My Wife, Witness Says He Said Audience in a Panic Chairs and Tables are Overturned in a Wild Scramble for the Exits Harry Kendall Thaw of Pittsburgh, husband of Florence Evelyn Nesbitt, former actress and artist model, shot and killed Stanford White, the architect, on the roof of Madison Square Garden at 11.05 o'clock last night, just as the first performance of the musical comedy Mam's El Champagne was drawing to a close. Thaw, who is a brother of the Countess of Yarmouth and a member of a well-known and wealthy family, left his seat near the stage passed between a number of tables, and, in full view of the players and of scores of persons, shot White through the head. Mr. White was the designer of the building on the roof of which he was killed. He it was who put Ms. Nesbitt, now Mrs. Thaw, on the stage. Thaw, who was in evening clothes, had evidently been waiting for Mr. White's appearance. The latter entered the garden at 10.55 and took a seat at a table five rows from the stage. He rested his chin on his right hand and seemed lost in contemplation. Thaw had a pistol concealed under his coat. His face was deathly white. According to A. L. Bellstone, who sat near, White must have seen Thaw approaching. But he made no move. Thaw placed the pistol almost against the head of the sitting man and fired three shots in quick succession. Body fell to the floor. White's elbow slid from the table. The table crashed over, sending a glass clinking along with a heavier sound. The body then tumbled from the chair. On the stage, one of the characters was singing a song entitled, I Could Love a Million Girls. The refrain seemed to freeze upon his lips. There was dead silence for a second, and then Thaw lifted his pistol over his head, the barrel hanging downward, as if to show the audience that he was not going to harm anyone else. With a firm stride, Thaw started for the exit, holding his pistol as if anxious to have someone take it from his hand. Then came the realization on the part of the audience that the farce had closed with a tragedy. A woman jumped to her feet and screamed. Many persons followed her example, and there was wild excitement. L. Lawrence, the manager of the show, jumped on a table and, above the uproar, commanded the show to go on. Go on playing, he shouted. Bring on that chorus. Girls Too Terrified to Sing The musicians made a feeble effort at gathering their wits and playing the chorus music, but the girls who romped on the stage were paralyzed with horror, and it was impossible to bring the performance to an orderly close. Then the manager shouted for quiet, and he informed the audience that a serious accident had happened and begged the people to move out of the place quietly. In the meanwhile, Thaw had reached the entrance to the elevators. On duty there was fireman Paul Bruden. He took the pistol from Thaw's hand but did not attempt to arrest him. Policeman Deebs of the Tenderloin Station appeared and seized his arm. He deserved it, Thaw said to the policeman. I can prove it. He ruined my life and then deserted the girl. Another witness said the word was wife instead of life. A Woman Kissed Thaw Just as the policeman started into the elevator with Thaw, a woman described as dark-haired and short of stature reached up to him and kissed him on the cheek. This woman, some witnesses declare, was Mrs. Thaw. The crowd was then scrambling wildly for the elevators and stairs. The employees of the Garden who knew Thaw, and nearly all of them did, as he visited the place often, did not seem greatly surprised at the tragedy. When Thaw entered the Garden in the early part of the show, he seemed greatly agitated. He strolled from one part of the place to another and finally took a seat in a little niche near the stage. He was half-hidden from the audience, but could see anyone who might enter. It is believed that he knew just where White would sit and had picked out this place in order to get at him without interference. Henry Rogers of 222 Henry Street was seated at the table next to the one at which White was sitting when he was killed. He says that Thaw fired when the muzzle of his pistol was only a few inches from White's temple. Another witness said that after firing three shots and looking at White as if to be sure that he was stone dead, Thaw uttered a curse and added, You'll never go out.