The Murder of Mr. Thompson: The Murder

Shocking Murder in West Hartford:

Julius Thompson Enticed from his House and Murdered in the Road 

THE OBJECT OF THE MURDER A MYSTERY

--THE MURDERER UNKNOWN--

A SUSPICIOUS STRANGER

There’s something about those late 19^th and early 20^th century headlines that really catches the eye. Fantastical headlines like this one stirred the imagination and ensured a reader’s interest. But behind all the adjectives are real stories about people who died in extraordinary or violent ways.

Like most of those I tell, the story of Luther Thompson has been pretty well forgotten. It was indeed mysterious at the time and is still today. Despite the outcome of the hunt for the killers, I think that some doubt still remains as to how he came to his demise.

According to the Hartford Courant, on Saturday, October 20, 1866, at about 7:30 p.m., a man knocked on the door of the Thompson's home (Heirs of Horace Thompson on map) located near the current Sunset Farm area of West Hartford. The man claimed that his wagon had broken down and that he needed assistance fixing it. “Mr. Julius Thompson, a bachelor, about 40 years of age” put on his shoes and headed out to help the man (the newspaper was specific about the shoes and not so much about his name).

The Hartford Times reported that before stepping out, Thompson said, “Mother, that man looks like the fellow that was along here, back and forth, this afternoon, about 3 o’clock.” All three family members had seen a stranger walk up the road by their home and back down that afternoon. Mrs. Thompson recalled looking out the window and described the person as “a short man, with cropped hair, a low crowned hat, and dark clothes.”

Mrs. Thompson and her “16-year-old” daughter Mary began to worry when Thomson hadn't returned by 9 p.m. Mrs. Thompson sent Mary to ask a neighbor if he had seen her brother. She walked down the Talcott Mountain Road to the Farmington Road to the nearest neighbors’ house. After searching for nearly an hour, Henry Barbour and Luke Collins found Thompson's body lying beneath a large willow tree near the corner of the two main roads.

It was apparent that Thompson had been badly beaten and had suffered from a broken skull, which was most likely the death blow. The murder weapon may have been a round stick, or “sand club” (a long, sand-filled cloth or leather weapon), which could explain the bruising and lack of bleeding and cuts. The body was brought into the family’s home, where a doctor examined the remains.

Ironically, the next day, the Courant reported that "The accounts as published in the city papers generally agree on the main points..." while also saying "The man murdered was named Luther G. Thompson." The paper not only got his name wrong, but Luther was only 36 years old, and his "16-year-old" sister was actually 25 years old. It should be noted that the weekly Hartford Times was correct in their initial information, but the story first ran several days after the murder, giving them time to check their facts.

In a depressing twist, several people had ridden by the willow tree that night and noticed the body. One of the riders, Mr. Newton Hart, said that he assumed it was a drunk man passed out in the gutter. A Mr. Spring and his son had actually driven by Thompson before he died, seeing him struggle to rise from the ground and thinking him drunk. If they had stopped, it is possible the father and son could have offered comfort to the dying man. 

Stay tuned for part 2!