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Post by rick62 on Mar 28, 2006 13:15:05 GMT -5
Violet Sharpe was no "shrinking Violet"! One trip to the Archives proved that to me/
there are many photos of her riding a motocycle and a booklet of ribald poems she wrote out in longhand....one most cute is entitled: Why the Engagement was Called Off" a present to his fiancee was supposed to be gloves but was mixed up with knickers. You make up the rest.
Needless to say, Violet was getting around. She was rumored to be having affairs with Septimus Banks, Dwight Jr, Ollie Whateley, Ernie Brinkert, a pharmacist in NYC, and there was a rumored abortion and a marriage in Scotland. She was accompanied by her sister Edna when she came over from Scotland in late 1920s.
She should have taken the 4 interrogations in stride without problem. But she started lying or not remembering right at the outset and was caught up in many minor falsehoods. Thats how she kept getting more and more interviews if only 30 days apart.
it appears she fell apart when Charles jrs body was found on 12th May. After that she was not herself. Although there is speculation she gave away the fact of the Lindberghs staying over at Highfields, by accident, I still dont think this alone would acoount for her putative suicide?
I am suspicious that CAL and Dwight Jr. were present for her death. Either could have easily poisoned her to shut her up. CAL even discovered the glass of water she drank in her room--how helpful that man is.....always getting other people something to drink?
She was runored to meet wth Fisch both at the Temple of Divine Power and at the Manckes luncheonett in New Rochelle NY. Presumably she went with Ollie Whateley to both locations during jan and feb 1932 and never again? the latter trips could easily account for her lying about Ernie the Cab Driver and the fact that she had his Taxi Ticket in her room. I see no reason for Walsh to plant evidence in Violet's room. thats just one more famous LKC excuse to cover and evade the Truth.
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Post by rick62 on Apr 1, 2006 13:14:03 GMT -5
Here is the important question / mystery for us to solve: (put on your thinking caps)
""Why did Violet Sharpe lie about her whereabouts on 1 March 32?? What was she doing that she did not want discovered?""
Suggestions to date:
1. She had had an abortion, but how does that relate to Charlie?
2. She was dating Sepimus Banks, an alcoholic, maybe? So what?
3. She went to the Peanut Grill Road house with 3 streangers? So what?
4. Why did she say she went to the movies with a man named Ernie?
5. She didnt want to get fired? But what for? Getting picked up by a car at work?
6. She did not want to appear like an easy floozy going out to drink with strangers?
7. She had something to hide that she did not want to reveal about herself or Charlie or Betty Gow?
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Post by kathy for rick on Apr 1, 2006 15:19:32 GMT -5
i'm wondering about that trip to the road huose if she left englewood after 8:30 AND WAS HOME AT 11:00 WHATWS THE POINT OF THE DATE. WEREN'T THERE ROAD HOUSES NEARER. ALSO REMEMBER SHE HAD LOADS OF MONEY IN HER BANK ACCOUNT AND SHE SEEMS LIKE A GIRL THAT WANTED TO HAVE FUN. aRTER BILL'S NEW BOOK I'M WONDERING ABOUT DWIGHT,SR AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STAFF ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG WOMEN.
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Post by Rita Witt on Apr 2, 2006 2:32:45 GMT -5
This is what I suspect from the hiring practice and fact no experience required. Experienced house staff would object to being put in the middle or miss-lead. I think theyHopewell and Morrow staff were playing around, and may have run into complications. The complications between Violet and CAL (Elizabeth being CAL's first date) may have been made worse by her being closer to Elizabeth feelings who CAL had shunned for Anne, and perhaps Elizabeth now used Violet to get even.
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Post by rick62 on Apr 2, 2006 14:53:06 GMT -5
Lets take Monday nite 29 Feb for openers. Why did CAL tell many people that he stayed at Next Day Hill? Anne and Charlie are just an hour away by car--whats so interesting about Next Day Hill if it isnt the staff? Neither Betty nor Violet had to account for Monday nite although I think Betty had a date with Red. OK, so Dwight Sr and/or Jr plus CAL were chasing the maids around--what this got to do with Violet lying to Walsh and then committing suicide? If she did commit suicide or did she have some help?
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Post by kathy for ana on Apr 11, 2006 16:45:39 GMT -5
ana, i agree violet seemed sad but i dont think she was particularly harassed by the police. she didn't tell the truth about some simple questions with no appearent reason to lie. also when she was interrogated at one point she wink at hte morrow secretary as she left the room when she was supposedly very upset. she was very strange to say the least.
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joy
New Member
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Post by joy on Apr 20, 2006 11:00:16 GMT -5
I am not sure that I believe Violet Sharpe died because of just police harassment either, personally. However, I don't know too much about her. I wish I knew more. Do you think there is any chance that someone could have murdered her and made it look like a suicide case? That may be really off the wall, I don't know, because like I said I am not sure that I know too much about her.
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Post by rick62 on Apr 20, 2006 19:35:03 GMT -5
Joy...dont worry about thinking outside the box...the reason that this case has lived without closure for 75 years is that everyone thinks they know the answer when they dont. Be creative.
Sure, murder takes means, motive and opportunity. Many individuals at Next Day have means and opportunity: CAL, Betty Gow, Springer the secretary, and Dwight Morrow Jr. But, the road bump is "motive"...sure to protect the hoax or crime but which one? Anyway, YES, someone there at the time could have handed Violet the cyanide as a drink to calm her down? Way down? Its a reasonable possibiley given that Violet looks and acts guilty of something/ but what? Going to a road house in a sports car? Running around wiht strangers? Many blow off her suicide due to an unproven abortion but that too could be the motive for murder. Violet could be party to some plot cooked up on trips to NYC with the Butler Ollie Whateley. They could have met with Isador Fisch, a good candidate for CJ? But we need more evidence to prove crime and motive.
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Post by rick62 on Apr 22, 2006 9:55:46 GMT -5
There are also some interesting facts about Violets sister Emily (and or Edna). She emigrated with Violet into Canada. Violet then headed for NYC and Englewood where she was interviewed by Sepitmus Banks. After being hired, Violet sent for her sister, for whom she found employment with Constance Chilton and Elizabeth Morrow who ran the local Montesoire School. Remember how Betty Morrow, the matriarch, made Charlie Jr. attend in the Fall of 1931 when he was only 18months olde "against the wishes of Anne (the Mom)"? Real nice family relations? Anyway, Edna (Emily) was with Violet when "one of the 2 Ernies" asked her to go out the nite of 1 March 1932 and rode downtowne with him. Soon afterwards, Emily (Edna) applied for a passport and bought her passage home to Scotland. Edna left Englewood and her sister Violet and sailed for home either on April 2nd or May 12th...long before Violets suicide. Violet wrote to her sister in Scotland, saying that "life wasnt worth living" or words to that effect? Edna did not suspect her sister, but the timing of her leave home to England suggests something more? Violet indicated in one letter that she wanted to follow her sister home. [gardner page 108] Not unlike Betty Gow, Violet became ensnared by Charlies absence.
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mairi
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Post by mairi on May 14, 2006 21:35:58 GMT -5
My feeling is, she was somehow envolved. the other reasons seem too lame to me. She seems unnerved from the beginning and seems to come apart worse and worse after the baby wasn't soon returned and then after the body was found. I can't see that she was really harrassed. Why she lied about March 1st, I can't figure. I hope I'm not being too hard on her , but I can't shake my misgivings about her. Forgive me for rather repeating what I mentioned on the other board. I am toying with the possibility (Why Tuesday?) that the original plan may have been for the kidnap to be at Englewood and am putting it together tentatively, with the wrong fitting ladder at Hopewell. No, I have no evidence of why the ladder may have fitted better at Englewood, I am only imagining it was a larger house with perhaps higher rooms/windows. Word (insider) gets to perps and with Whateley handing the baby out in the burlap bag, wiping his prints down, maybe knowing the baby was accidently dropped. Word of that may very well get back to Violet, i.e. baby being dropped and she starts the downhill plunge. You see, I'm trying to brain-storm with my remaining two brain cells. Thanks for bearing with me, Lads and Lassies.
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kathy
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Post by kathy on May 15, 2006 6:27:32 GMT -5
mairi, it does make sense that if the baby died the first night and violet was an insider, then she would have known and been very frightened and upset. I've always thought that who ever the insider(s) were they probably were told the baby would just be away for a few days and would be well cared for. remember that the police the first night thought Betty Gow was "the coolest of the lot" but that was before the baby was found. something I've mentioned here before was that she had a room a Englewood not Hopewell but was kept at hopewell after the kidnapping even though sleeping space was at a premium. I cant figure out the reason she was still there instead of only a car trip away. In fact I wonder about Anne staying there when she could have rested better at englewood, oh well I'm rambling now.
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mairi
Junior Member
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Post by mairi on May 15, 2006 15:10:06 GMT -5
Kathy~ I agree with you that the kidnap was probably planned as a brief transaction. Might Anne staying at Hopewell be where she thought the quickest source of news would come? And perhaps keeping Gow there was in antiscipation of the baby's return being to Hopewell? I think I can relate to sticking tight to the place from which one's child was taken. Just a thought.
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kathy
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Post by kathy on May 15, 2006 17:19:57 GMT -5
mairi, I think you are right about anne staying to be where the news of the bbaby would come. I just think Betty was kept close to the scene and i'm not sure why. the house was so full of people helping with the search and so little room to spare. I'm assuming her clothing, etc were at englewood and she really had no role at hopewell without charlie. could or couldn't mean something i quess.
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mairi
Junior Member
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Post by mairi on Jan 11, 2007 16:45:09 GMT -5
Any thoughts as to why it was that Whateley and Sharpe hung out together At the church and at the restaurant? Then add Fisch to the mix. The owners of the restaurant both said W and S came there together.
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Post by Rita Witt on Jan 11, 2007 17:33:44 GMT -5
Hi Rick, Marie, Leah I think the whole crew of employees knew each other off duty, and would meet at regular meeting places to keep up with the latest as employees often do. The suspicious activity that abounds in this case means that Cal had had directed at least their alibis to coincide, and it appears that Violet's death had the effect of lining all employees up out of fear. There cannot be an innocent reason for Condon and Lindbergh's Morrow's skipping out at convenient times in the court case and possible re-trial by Hoffmann.
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Post by Rita Witt on Jan 22, 2009 10:45:14 GMT -5
I certainly believe she was murdered. Some pleople claim the cyanide was in water she had drank, but if it was could not have been from the polish it was said to have come from, the reason being that all polishing products that had cyanide also had to contain thioglycolic acid a chemical that smells like rotten eggs to keep people from accidently ingesting the poison. The idea being to wash the rotten egg smell from your hands before handling food. If someone wanted to commit suicide a bottle of childrens orange flavored aspirin would do it, why would someone drink rotten eggs, and don't believe she could have retained the rotten egg taste in her stomach and would not have died?
If the water was clear and without odor she drank from, then someone put a more refined expensive cyanide into the water, and it wasn't the polish?
Her body may still be available to do an autopsy to prove which cyanide killed her, and may be a turning point for the case. Recent discovery has made possible even analysis of cremated remains. Lindbergh was violent person, judgeing by the nature of his violent prank, and had been rumored possibly by the same news channel that he fired his gun in the house. That very violent nature may have set the scene for the as yet unexplained real cyanide that was used in her death. The silver polish does not explai how it got into a glass of water or how she was able to drink the foul rotten egg smell of thioglicolate, or to retain that foul agent in her stomach. The unexplained portion of the Violet death-murder can only be explained as a murder.
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