On yesterday’s MFDJ I shared some information about Edward Haight, a 17-year-old child murderer who was executed at Sing Sing prison in 1943. I was curious so I decided to look up Edward’s crimes and, oh boy… what a horrid little monster he was! As you will learn in…
Today’s Foolish Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Edward Haight was one of the most reviled killers to ever sit on death row at Sing-Sing and also the youngest prisoner ever executed in the Electric Chair. Referred to by the Media as “The Ravisher,” Haight generated National Headlines in the Autumn of 1942 at the age of 16. The story unfolded in the city of Bedford in New York, Westchester County. On September 15th, 1942, two young girls, Margaret Lynch (7), and her sister, Helen Lynch (9), were seen getting into a stolen Ford Station Wagon, the last they were ever seen alive. A massive search began for the girls. Police soon located a young woman who said she was driving on the Merritt Parkway earlier that day when she experienced a scary incident with another motorist. A young man driving a Ford Station Wagon forced her over to the side of the road. When she asked him what he wanted, he said, “I want you.” As the suspect tried to assault her, the woman’s dogs in the back seat tried to bite him. The man jumped back in his car and sped away.
The next day, Connecticut State Trooper was driving along a road in Stamford, Connecticut when he observed Edward drive by in a small truck. The Haight family was well-known to police, with many run-in’s with the law there. When Haight was pulled over, police found a gas ration book in his pocket from the stolen Ford Station Wagon. He was taken into custody and soon confessed to the murders. He took the cops to the place they were killed and dumped. Helen’s 9-year-old lifeless body was fished out of the Kensico Reservoir. Margaret’s 7-year-old lifeless form was located in the woods near the reservoir. She had been strangled and suffocated. Edward stated he tried to rape 7-year-old Margaret, and he put a handkerchief in her mouth to keep her from screaming. She fought back, Edward then mutilated her with a large hunting knife. He kept the body in the car, while her sister Helen (9), was tied up in the back of the car, still alive. He cruised back into Bedford to get some food, working up an appetite. He then drove to a deserted wooded area and sexually assaulted Helen. He placed the terrified girl under the car and drove over her several times, killing her. He threw her mangled bloody body off the bridge into the creek and dumped Margaret nearby in the brush, and took off. He abandoned the stolen car in Stamford, Connecticut and walked home.
He was charged with two counts of 1st degree murder and locked up in the Bedford Jail. Haight was talkative with reporters and smiled a lot, showing no remorse. He freely gave out details of the crime. He pleaded “Not Guilty” in White Plains County Court. During the trial, Defense Psychiatrists offered conflicting opinions on the defendant’s sanity. Edward had a wretched upbringing and grew up in a place that resembled a cramped shack on a garbage dump. The teenager smiled and grinned a lot during the trial, twiddling his thumbs. When the prosecutor held up photos of the dead girls, Edward broke out into a laugh. He was found guilty on November 5th, 1942. He was obviously still amused and proud of his brutal crime. When his father came over and tried to talk to him in the court room after sentencing, , Edward shrugged his shoulders and said, “So what?”
He was immediately taken to death row over at Sing-Sing in Ossining, New York, Westchester County. Ironically, his father once served 4 years at Sing-Sing for burglary. Edward maintained bravado and indifference over the next 8 months, gaining 50 pounds on the prison food. Edward told the guards, “I’m not asking for nothing.” He was interviewed on the day of the execution and told reporters…”I was a fool, I don’t know why I did it. I’m pretty sure this is my last day, and I’m only 17!” On July 8th, 1943 he died in the Electric Chair for his crimes. His father was unable to claim the body, so the Prison buried him in a plot of quick lime in nearby Peekskill, New York. He was later moved to the Beverly Hills Cemetery, which was renamed the Rose Hills Cemetery, in Putnam Valley, New York.
Eddie on his way to the electric chair.
Culled from: Find-A-Grave
Ghastly! Parisian Edition
April 12, 1899. Discovery in the Seine, near the Pont De Sèvres, of a woman’s torso concealed in a suitcase.
Click on image to see the uncensored photo.
Culled from: Crime Album Stories