Murder Mysteries of Old New York: Books 1 thru 10

By Angelique LaFontaine

This is a collection of 10 stories inspired by real murders that took place in old New York. The details behind the murders, in almost all cases, left the city wondering what happened. Over 100 years later, these crimes remain unsolved to this day. Sit back and enjoy, because maybe this is what really happened.
1892 - The Murder on Hester Street
1900 - The Portand Avenue Killer
1843 - The Flames of Staten Island
1873 - Blood in the Water Closet
1902 – What Lies in the Hotel Empire
1878 – The Woman of Silver Lake
1871 – The Doctor of Second Avenue
1891- East River Hotel Murder
1856 – Death on Broadway Avenue
1897 – The Body Spread Through Out

• Language: English
• Publisher: Angelique LaFontaine
• Release date: Jan 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463045824

Angelique LaFontaine

My name is Angelique LaFontaine. I was born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin and live in the country about an hour outside of Dallas, TX. I am employed as a Mechanical Engineer but spend much of my time painting and writing I have been building my work collection for the last 15 years and it includes paintings, sketches, poetry compilations, novels, digital short stories and much more. I do not limit my writing to one specific genre but I tend to lean more toward fiction fantasy. I love the idea of not having boundaries when writing. If you can think it, in my story, it could happen. In 2008, I released my first poetry compilation. This collection was entitled Walking Before You Run. It is a collection of 75 poems that I've written over the years. In 2010 I released Sandstone and Mirrors: The Crossover. I have many more books and short stories that I am preparing to release. Besides writing, I love to paint and sketch. I enjoy working with acrylic mainly but from time to time, work with other mediums. Currently my work is being displayed in the Little Elm Library in Little Elm TX. It has been rotated throughout different locations in the Dallas area. Please see my website at www.AngeliqueArtWork.com for any updates.

Book preview

Murder Mysteries of Old New York

Books 1 thru 10

by

Angelique LaFontaine

Copyright 2019 Angelique LaFontaine

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Table of Contents

1892 - The Murder on Hester Street

1900 - The Portand Avenue Killer

1843 - The Flames of Staten Island

1873 - Blood in the Water Closet

1902 – What Lies in the Hotel Empire

1878 – The Woman of Silver Lake

1871 – The Doctor of Second Avenue

1891- East River Hotel Murder

1856 – Death on Broadway Avenue

1897 – The Body Spread Through Out

1892 - The Murder on Hester Street

It was a cool Friday in New York. September 30, 1892 yielded a cool crisp day in the metropolitan city known affectionately as The City of Dreams. On this particular day though, Frank Paulsen would decidedly only view it as a city of nightmares.

Frank was a small time carpenter who was a veteran of the American Civil War. He entered into the Army as a private in 1862 and when he emerged in 1865, he was equipped with experiences many would never know or understand. He was also greeted and embraced by his sweetheart prior to leaving, Abigail.

Frank was a young private who like all new enlistees, thought that his valor and bravery would single handedly lend aid to stop the south from attempting to secede from the Union. He, like many other before him and many more that came after him, found out that a warm body with a pulse and trigger finger was the greatest asset an army could have.

In the end though, Paulsen managed to emerge without injury or loss of appendage. He immediately began working as an apprentice for a local carpenter in Brooklyn, New York.

He and Abigail were forced to live in a rented room initially. But that was a short while. Abigail insisted that they needed their own home before they could start a family. With the prospects of family in the near future, at age 25, the couple was finally able to get their own home.

In the Spring of 1867, Abigail and Frank moved into a modest home in a reasonable part of town. The house had 2 bedrooms, a family area, a front room, a kitchen and formal dining. Abigail was enamored with her new dwelling. She finally felt that the choice she made to marry Frank was providing a lifestyle that she wanted. Although nearly all of Frank’s money was invested in the purchase, he was still happy to do it, he felt good making his wife happy. He wasn’t overly concerned though. Frank was moving up in the carpentry world and had advanced from apprenticeship to partnership in the small privately owned company he was working for. He knew that it would only be a couple more years of real hard work and then he and Abigail could finally start the family that they had been talking about for so long.

Abigail worked hard to make their new house their home. She found pieces of furniture that she took great care in refinishing. Possessing some seamstress skills of her own, she made the drapery in the home out of left over pieces of fabric she was able to acquire from an upholstery shop that had no further use for the fabric. Both Abigail and Frank worked so hard at building their life together. Neither could wait to be perfectly positioned to welcome into the new world the first edition of hopefully many to their family.

After the first year of living in their home, Frank and Abigail aggressively started trying to start their family. Although both were in good health, their efforts remained unrewarded. The couple tried many home remedies that were rumored to encourage fertility. They tried different positions, locations, times of day and times of the month. The couple tried relentlessly for the next 3 years. Both, in anger and resentment, blamed the other. In 1871, after numerous visits to their doctor and other doctors, the couple was finally willing to concede that perhaps God had different plans for them. Frank, who was 29 years old at that time, had a hard time understanding why he and his wife couldn’t seem to produce a family. Abigail was 7 years younger than he which made her in her prime years of child bearing.

When all of the anger subsided, the couple agreed to stop blaming each other and resenting each other and simply ask for guidance from God.

In that time, Frank had become somewhat distant and since he had been eager to advance himself in the carpentry trade, would often times go into the city and spend the night or even a couple of nights to drum up business for himself. Frank’s ambition, since having a family seemed to no longer be in the cards for the moment, was immersed into his business affairs and moving away from the small carpentry business into him developing his own business. Not wanting to step on the toes of the owner that literally guided Frank along the path of success, Frank looked for new customers away from the Brooklyn area.

Frank didn’t know exactly how Abigail spent her days while he was gone but the next few months she became increasingly distant herself. She often seemed indifferent as to whether or not Frank came home from his business trips at all. He assumed that she herself found distraction in the social circles of their area. With different discussions from his friends, his assumptions were often times verified. Abigail had in fact been seen on frequent occasions, joining in on the festivities of many social functions, parties, theatrical shows etc. Frank was never told that his wife was attending these events with a man escorting her but Frank did begin to have his suspicions. There wasn’t anything that he could specifically pin point where his suspicions were coming from exactly; it was just a feeling that he had.

On Wednesday, September 28 1892, Frank left his home in Brooklyn to head into New York where he had meetings set up with numerous business men; these men included bankers, lawyers, and restaurant owners; the restaurants were all owned and located in a small portion of the Italian district of New York.

The meeting agendas were to discuss some carpentry opportunities within some small but swanky restaurants that were collectively owned by some of the men in the group; these men, after being propositioned by Frank weeks earlier, awarded him their time for Frank to present his skills to the group and bid on the contract for all of the work in all of the restaurants. The contract duration would be approximately 2 years’ worth of work but the return would net him far more than 2 years’ worth of work.

Acting as his own salesman, Frank essentially paved the way for the series of events and how his delivery to all of these men with very deep pockets would take place. His intent was to have the meetings, the last one being in the middle of afternoon on Friday, September 30th. If all was to go well, and a business deal was found, he intended on splurging his money towards hosting a dinner at a fancy restaurant with his new business associates and then head home Saturday morning the next day to share the great news with Abigail.

Wednesday morning, Frank headed off to New York. He was hopeful and excited and nervous all at the same time. He knew that he had the skills that these companies needed, but he had to convince them that even though he would take longer because he was a single man outfit, the quality wouldn’t be diminished. He also added that one of the benefits to having a smaller outfit, meant that things could be changed mid-stream without greatly affecting other pieces of the project that may be worked on simultaneously. Frank also pointed out and used to his advantage, how his own sweat, hard work and natural talent in the woodworking craft sky-rocketed him into the role that he currently found himself in.

He sold the men, at least on the surface it appeared he sold them, on the idea that what his hard work and God given talent would guarantee that a larger carpentering agency just couldn’t provide was wood work that couldn’t be duplicated, emulated, or commercialized into mainstream sales. He guaranteed them all that if they entrusted their work into his capable hands, the initial cost would be slightly higher in his bidding but, because of the quality of work he can provide, the beauty that their restaurants would be graced with, over time, would transition them from small restaurants into city modernisms that would be talked about and the focal points of visitors for years to come.

After the final meeting on Thursday, Frank strolled the streets for a while before he found his way back to Hester Street; Frank was confident that he was going to be awarded the job. He walked into the front room of the large residence that had been converted into a lodging establishment. The front room was a common room that was set up with tables for eating and enjoying cocktails from a small variety of spirits offered there.

The lady of the house, whom he never did