Episode 628: The Murder of Nancy Evans Titterton

Summary

Podcast Summary: Morbid - Episode 628: The Murder of Nancy Evans Titterton

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Introduction

In Episode 628 of Morbid, hosted by Ash and Elena, the duo delves into the chilling true crime case of Nancy Evans Titterton. Set against the backdrop of 1930s New York City, this episode meticulously unpacks the life, tragic death, and subsequent investigation surrounding Nancy, a rising literary figure whose promising career was abruptly cut short by a brutal murder.

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Nancy Evans Titterton: A Promising Literary Career

Nancy Violet Evans was born in 1903 in Dayton, Ohio, demonstrating an early passion for reading and writing. Graduating high school in 1920, she pursued an English degree at Antioch College, where she excelled, earning multiple writing awards. Upon returning to Dayton in 1924, Nancy briefly worked in a factory before running a small bookshop. Seeking greater opportunities, she relocated to New York City, immersing herself in the literary scene.

In New York, Nancy secured a job as a bookseller at Lord and Taylor in Greenwich Village while actively writing book reviews for various newspapers. Her dedication paid off in 1935 when Story magazine published her short story, I Shall Decline My Head, earning her acclaim and a contract for her first novel with Story Press.

“Nancy was not flashy in any way. She'd rather discuss a new book than anything else,” Ash notes [08:57], highlighting Nancy's humble and bookish nature.

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Life in Beekman Place and The Tragic Night

In 1929, Nancy married Lewis Titterton, a distinguished British academic and assistant editor at Atlantic Monthly. The couple moved to Beekman Place, East Manhattan—a location that would later become infamous for a series of unrelated murders.

On the morning of April 10, 1936, Good Friday, Lewis left for work and reached home in the morning to discover Nancy had received a mysterious letter. Later that day, amid normal deliveries to their apartment, the first signs of tragedy emerged. A maid heard a desperate call for the building’s handyman, Dudley, but dismissed it as routine maintenance issues. That afternoon, an upholsterer named Theodore Krueger and his assistant, John Fiorenza, delivered a loveseat to the Titterton residence. Upon entering, Krueger noticed Nancy lying nude in the bathtub, strangled with her own pajamas and housecoat.

“Nancy was laying face down in the tub. She was nude, except for a white slip around her waist and the pink pajama top and house coat that had been tied around her neck,” Ash describes [16:25].

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The Investigation: Clues and Forensic Breakthroughs

Detectives arrived swiftly, finding no signs of struggle in the living areas, suggesting Nancy knew her attacker. However, evidence in the bedroom hinted at an assault, with disarray and torn clothing indicating a violent confrontation. Medical Examiner Thomas Gonzalez discovered that Nancy was still alive when placed in the tub, causing her death by asphyxiation [17:20].

Key clues included:

• A 12-inch cord underneath Nancy’s body, presumed to bind her wrists.
• An unidentified fingerprint on the bathroom tub.
• A fountain pen found on the bedroom floor.

“The strangulation caused a hemorrhage of the larynx and three slight internal hemorrhages of the scalp,” Ash reports [24:12].

Initial suspects included four painters working in the building, but alibis ruled them out. A significant lead emerged from Countess Alice Hoyos, a neighbor who reported multiple suspicious ringings of her door by an unknown man disguised to sound different each time, with the last call occurring hours before Nancy’s murder [23:07].

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Tracing the Cord: Linking Fiorenza to the Crime

Forensic advancements of the time, particularly in fingerprinting using silver nitrate, were pivotal yet time-consuming. The breakthrough came when Dr. Alexander Getler, a biochemist with the NYPD, re-examined the crime scene and discovered an unusual horse hair on Nancy's bedspread [42:18]. This hair matched those from the loveseat delivered that morning, linking the crime to Theodore Krueger's upholstery shop.

Detectives traced the cord to Hanover Cordage Company in York, Pennsylvania, narrowing the suspect pool to individuals associated with Theodore Krueger's shop. Despite extensive interviews ruling out Krueger himself, suspicion fell on his assistant, John Fiorenza, who had a troubling criminal history and exhibited extreme social isolation [36:25].

“John Fiorenza was described as a 'personality deviate who would have difficulty in learning to refrain from illegal acts from time to time,'” Ash explains [38:30].

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Confession and Trial: Fiorenza's Downfall

Under 24-hour surveillance, Fiorenza's alibi unraveled when it was revealed he couldn’t have met his probation officer on Good Friday. Confronted with mounting evidence, including his confession after 16 hours of interrogation, Fiorenza disclosed his motives and actions on that fateful day [47:32].

“With Nancy gagged, he started ripping off her clothes in a frenzy. He strangled her with her pajamas and housecoat,” Ash recounts [48:48].

Despite initial disbelief from those who knew him, the evidence was overwhelming. The prosecution presented a compelling case, while Fiorenza’s defense struggled to counteract his detailed confession. Psychiatric testimonies attempted to paint Fiorenza as mentally unstable, but opposing expert witnesses affirmed his awareness and intent [57:59].

After a grueling trial, the jury found Fiorenza guilty of first-degree murder and rape [63:10]. Despite appeals and his assertion of insanity, Fiorenza was sentenced to death and executed in January 1937 [66:17].

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Conclusion: Reflections on Justice and Investigation

Ash and Elena reflect on the dedication and meticulous work of the 65 detectives involved in solving Nancy’s murder. “Science played a deciding role in the solution,” Ash emphasizes [55:46]. The case stands as a testament to early forensic science and relentless investigative efforts, ultimately bringing justice to a senseless crime.

“It's an incredibly tragic case, but very interesting on the investigation side,” Elena concludes [68:09], underscoring the impact of effective police work in unraveling such complex mysteries.

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Notable Quotes

• Ash on Nancy’s character: “Nancy was not flashy in any way. She'd rather discuss a new book than anything else.” [08:57]
• Ash describing the crime scene: “Nancy was laying face down in the tub. She was nude, except for a white slip around her waist and the pink pajama top and house coat that had been tied around her neck.” [16:25]
• Ash on forensic findings: “The strangulation caused a hemorrhage of the larynx and three slight internal hemorrhages of the scalp.” [24:12]
• Ash on Fiorenza’s confession: “With Nancy gagged, he started ripping off her clothes in a frenzy. He strangled her with her pajamas and housecoat.” [48:48]
• Reflection on investigation: “Science played a deciding role in the solution.” [55:46]

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Final Thoughts

Episode 628 of Morbid offers a gripping narrative of Nancy Evans Titterton’s life and untimely death, blending historical context with the suspense of a true crime investigation. Through detailed storytelling and insightful commentary, Ash and Elena illuminate the complexities of early forensic methods and the human elements intertwined in the pursuit of justice.

Transcript

[Ash]

Hey, weirdos. Before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about a place where the darkness never ends. Wondery. It's like stepping into a haunted mansion where the floorboards creak. With ad free episodes. And early access to new episodes lurks around every corner. So come join us if you dare. Morbid is available one week early and ad free only on Wondery. You can join Wondery in the Wondery app or in Apple podcasts or Spotify.

[Elena]

You're listening to a morbid network podcast.

[Ash]

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[Elena]

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[Ash]

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[Elena]

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[Ash]

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[Elena]

Featuring Patrick Gibson. Christ. Later, special guest star Sarah Michelle Geller. With Patrick Densie and Michael C. Hall. As Dexter's in your voice. I wasn't born a killer. I was made. Dexter Original sin. New series now streaming on the Paramount plus with Showtime plan. Go to paramountplus.com to try it. Free terms apply.

[Ash]

Hey, weirdos. I'm Ash.

[Elena]

And I'm Elena.

[Ash]

And this is morbid.

[Elena]

And I'm sick.

[Ash]

She's like, very loop. Did you take dayquil today?

[Elena]

No.

[Ash]

You didn't take anything?

[Elena]

I didn't.

[Ash]

You're so loopy today.

[Elena]

No, I'm just. I'm raw dog in the day.

[Ash]

Whoa. Settle down, brother. It's been very funny up in the pod lab today. It's been a good. We're a good time gals today. We are Mikey included.

[Elena]

Mikey is part of the good time gals.

[Ash]

What's up with you? How's your. What day is this coming out?

[Elena]

Like, what's going on?

[Ash]

I think this comes out, like, after Thanksgiving.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So, like, how was your Thanksgiving?

[Elena]

It was great. You were there?

[Ash]

Yeah, I was. I was just looking for things to.

[Elena]

Chat about and I'm just being a dick. You douche.

[Ash]

We just Screaming. I was like, fuck you.

[Elena]

We just turn off the mic. Just an hour of silence.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

Thanksgiving was great.

[Ash]

Yeah. I liked it. You great cook.

[Elena]

Thanks.

[Ash]

You bet.

[Elena]

I hope you guys ate all kinds of delicious things.

[Ash]

I forgot to take leftovers. And then you went away for a weekend.

[Elena]

I know.

[Ash]

And I didn't get to go out. We were all supposed to go away and do, like, this fun little family thing, and I couldn't because my cat was sick. My little Frankie was sick. And it turns out it was very scary. You guys, if your cat has ever passed a stone and you think that somebody's been murdered in your house, same I. The amount of blood that I was finding just in various spots throughout my house, I was like, oh, my God, that sounds terrifying. It was so scary. And we knew that Franklin, like, wasn't feeling well because he gets super cuddly when he doesn't feel well. So we took him to the vet, and it turns out he passed one stone. But unfortunately, my man still has one to pass.

[Elena]

So he's out here.

[Ash]

Yeah, but they sent his, like, cultures to Italy or something.

[Elena]

That's fancy as hell.

[Ash]

I know. And the. The cultures came back, and they didn't have bacteria, so that's. That's my cat's health for you. He's okay, and I love him so much. Thank you.

[Elena]

We love Frankie.

[Ash]

Frankie forever. You and Franklin have a spiritual connection.

[Elena]

We really do.

[Ash]

No, you do. And Franklin doesn't like very many people. No.

[Elena]

That's what makes me feel so good.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

He love you because he'll come up and snuggle me on my lap.

[Ash]

Yeah. And he's not snuggly with just anybody. No. Like, even Drew, he's, like, sometimes snuggly with. But most of the time, it just me but me.

[Elena]

Always.

[Ash]

Always. I know.

[Elena]

Always me and Frankie for life. It's getting to the end of the day.

[Ash]

It's getting to the end of the day. And we're goofy.

[Elena]

We're goofy, Luffy.

[Ash]

We're not going to be goofy for long, though, because I do actually have a very sad case today.

[Elena]

That's why we're getting it out now.

[Ash]

Yes, exactly. We had to get it out of our systems. You feel. You feel ungoofied?

[Elena]

I believe I do. I. By the way, I just have a cold. I don't have Covid or anything, in.

[Ash]

Case you guys are wondering.

[Elena]

Yeah, I just, like, I don't have a. Yeah, I'm not, like, out here spreading Covid dash.

[Ash]

Can you imagine if she did that?

[Elena]

To me, that'd be shitty as hell.

[Ash]

Again.

[Elena]

It would be shitty as hell.

[Ash]

Your book tour gave us Covid. And then.

[Elena]

I know.

[Ash]

And then, and then, and then.

[Elena]

But no, it's just a cold. It's one of those kids are back to school. I get all the delicious germs that come floating in here. I just take. I just eat them up.

[Ash]

The most wonderful time of the year. But you did determine that you actually did eat the germs up.

[Elena]

I think I did. Oh, yeah. Cause I determined my kids, like, they're not sick. Knock on wood.

[Ash]

They're just carriers.

[Elena]

They're just carrier pigeons here. Bringing it into me. When we have, like, lots of after school activities that we have to, like, go in different directions to, I will like, have to be like, eating, you know, kind of quick and on the go, so if they don't finish something, I'll just, like, quickly eat it up.

[Ash]

Of course, whatever.

[Elena]

They've been finished, scoop that up just to. Just to like, get some fuel for the next thing. Yeah, that's probably what happened.

[Ash]

Yeah, they're gross, nasty saliva germs around. That's why I faded up. They're always trying to drink out of my water bottle and like, get the fuck away from Titi's stuff.

[Elena]

It's true.

[Ash]

Do not touch Titi's water bottle.

[Elena]

She doesn't.

[Ash]

I don't say that. Can you imagine?

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

I would never. But I'm saying the other day at dance class, I was like, no, no, no. This is a grown up drink. Because I'm drinking like, it's like Armor colostrum. So I'm like, you guys probably shouldn't drink that. But I was like, oh, fuck everybody. All the other moms probably thought that.

[Elena]

I said that you had, like, wine in your tumbler.

[Ash]

I'm just sipping on the scissor.

[Elena]

But dance class, like, this is a grownup drink. They're like, what?

[Ash]

They're like, wow, T.T.

[Elena]

Yeah. You're crazy.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

So I'm all. Any parents or people taking care of little kids out there? My. My thoughts are with you at this difficult time, which is school during the winter and fall. It's rough, but we're good.

[Ash]

It's. You're good. But it's only the start of the season.

[Elena]

I know. Hopefully I'm building some immunity. I'm on vitamins.

[Ash]

Yeah. Take some emergency.

[Elena]

Yeah, we love an emergency moment.

[Ash]

I do too. Yeah.

[Elena]

Some liquid iv.

[Ash]

Liquid iv. Of course. A sponsor.

[Elena]

Hell yeah.

[Ash]

The colostrum I'm taking is great. 10 out of 10 recommend not a doctor, but.

[Elena]

And that's health and wellness with me.

[Ash]

Being sick and me not being sick. So let's get into it today, brothers. I have an older case, but it's. You know how we always are. Like, we do the older cases because the way that they solve it is always, like, so interesting.

[Elena]

Yes.

[Ash]

This case in particular, the way they solve this case is actually wild. Like, it took some. It took some serious detective work, and it took somebody going back to the scene to find something that really even, like, drove it home further. Oh, I love the dedication.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So we're going to be talking today about the murder of Nancy Evans Titterton. And I just want to say she sounds like she was, like, so cool and just like, sweet.

[Elena]

Poor Nancy.

[Ash]

I feel bad because she just had her career, like, really start to take off when she was really, like, climbing the ladder in the right direction. And this, this crime, all crime is obviously pretty senseless. But this one specifically was so senseless. So let's get into it. So Nancy Violet Evans was born in 1903 in Dayton, Ohio, to Frank and Stephanie Evans. From a very young, young age, she took a strong interest in reading. And. And after she graduated from high school in 1920, she decided she was going to get her degree in English at Antioch College. She crushed it there. She won multiple awards for her writing. And once she graduated from college in 1924, she went back home to Dayton. She worked briefly in a factory, but then moved on to run a small bookshop, but then decided she wanted a little bit more for herself. So she moved to the Big Apple, New York City. And she decided there she was going to pursue a literary career.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Yeah, I'm just rolling with it. Literary punches. So when she got to New York, Nancy rented a small apartment in Greenwich Village, and she found a job as a bookseller at Lord and Taylor. Which is funny to think about Lord and Taylor selling books.

[Elena]

I know.

[Ash]

But in her spare time, she focused on making connections in the literary world. She wrote book reviews for a bunch of New York newspapers, just writing anywhere she could.

[Elena]

That's awesome.

[Ash]

Really trying to get her name out there. And the work of writing book reviews back then wasn't really glamorous, but she did it so that it would keep her connected to her passion. And after a few years, she was offered a job at Double Doubleday Books, which was one of the most prominent names in publishing at the time. And there she was instrumental in building the company's nascent but increasingly popular crime club. Series. Oh, which was a true crime series.

[Elena]

That's pretty cool.

[Ash]

Yeah.

So she had an interest in that. One friend later told reporters the principal thing about Nancy was that she was not flashy in any way. She'd rather discuss a new book, I think, than anything. She wasn't interested in politics or parties or clothes, as most women are. So in 1927, Nancy met Lewis Titterton, a British man who also loved literature and writing just as much as she did. Lewis Titterton had been a star academic at Harvard and at Cambridge university. Very educated man. He studied middle Eastern languages there before he took a job as the assistant editor at Atlantic monthly, which was a really, really impressive achievement for somebody who was still in his 20s. The job at Atlantic opened doors for him in the literary world, and within a few years, he moved on to a position as associate editor at the macmillan company, one of the biggest names in publishing as well. And like Nancy, he also spent his spare time writing book reviews.

[Elena]

Huh.

[Ash]

Which you just think of the two of. And they're a good couple. Don't worry.

[Elena]

You just think, please tell me I can like them.

[Ash]

Yeah, just like sitting at home writing book reviews together. Like, that's just such a cozy life I felt they were living. They dated for two years, and then they got married in October of 1929 in a small ceremony at the little church around the corner, famous landmark in New York City. And not long after their wedding, they moved to the Beekman Place apartments on the east side of Manhattan. Now, in a few. In the few years that followed, Beekman Place would actually gain quite some notoriety for a series of unconnected murders beginning in 1935, when Vera Stretz murdered her boyfriend. And then that was followed by Nancy Titterton's murder six months later in 1936. And finally, the murder of Veronica Gideon in 1937, which we actually just recently covered. So. Interesting.

[Elena]

Jeez.

[Ash]

Yeah. You just wonder, like, what school she was in that place.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

In a tragically ironic twist, actually, just after moving into Beekman, Nancy wrote to a friend about how much she loved her new place. She said, I'm so glad to get out of Hell's Kitchen. Even though we had bars on the window, I never felt safe there. Nothing could happen to anyone on Beekman Place.

[Elena]

Oh, no.

[Ash]

Which very much could.

[Elena]

Oh, no.

[Ash]

But Nancy and Lewis had a lot of good years before tragedy visited Beekman Place. By then, Lewis had accepted a new job as the chief of the script division at NBC radio. And for somebody who Spent his entire professional life focused on literature and language. This new position was difficult, but as Harold Schechter wrote, Lewis was, quote, intent on elevating the cultural quality of radio programming. It's like really heady people, you know.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

At the time. At the same time, Nancy had made a major transition of her own. She actually left her job at Doubleday to focus on her own writing full time. At first, her success was pretty slow to come. She published a few stories and various literary magazines, but she was really struggling to find her home as an author. Then in 1935, Story magazine, which was a prestigious journal known for launching some of the biggest authors of the day, they offered to publish her short story called I Shall Decline My Head. It was a story about a, quote, old man adrift in dreams of the past. So the story actually caught the attention of some major players in the publishing world and some of them called her a writer of exceptional literary merit.

[Elena]

Oh, that would be amazing to hear.

[Ash]

Yeah, absolutely. So after that, Nancy was offered a contract for her first novel, which was published by Story Press, a new publishing imprint of Story magazine. She was really, she had just really found, like, big success.

[Elena]

Yes, seriously.

[Ash]

But unfortunately it was short lived. On the morning of April 10th, which was Good Friday, 1936, Lewis finished his breakfast around eight in the morning and left to head into his office just a short time later. When he arrived, he found what he described as an amusing letter from a friend. So a little after 9am he called Nancy to tell her about the letter. This was the first of two calls that Nancy got that morning. The other call came from her friend Georgia Mansbridge. She spoke with Georgia for a few minutes and then hung up around 10:15am she and Georgia made dinner plans for that night. And Georgia later told reporters, I feel sure no one was in her apartment when we spoke. Now, nobody heard anything from Nancy until about 11:30 in the morning when Oneita Smith Head, a maid in the apartment just below the Tittertons actually heard somebody in the building yell, dudley, Dudley. Dudley. And then the voice suddenly went quiet. Dudley Mings was the building's handyman. So whoever this was was presumably calling out for him. According to author Harold Schechter, there was an urgency to the cry. But since the tenants routinely shouted for Mings whenever a toilet overflowed, a ceiling light blew or a sash window wouldn't open, the maid disregarded the cry, just thinking it was nothing more than that.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Which you can understand.

[Elena]

Yeah, of course.

[Ash]

So a short time later, a delivery boy from A local dry cleaner also arrived at Beekman Place. He had a dress for Nancy, and he was under the impression that she would be home. But after ringing the bell several times and getting no answer, he left. Just was going to deliver the dress at a different time.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

At 4:15pm Another delivery arrived. This time, it was an upholster, Theodore Krueger, and his assistant, John Fiorenza. They were there to deliver a love seat that Nancy had had reupholstered. And after climbing the four flights of stairs, they were surprised to find that the Titterton's front door was actually open slightly.

[Elena]

Oh, that must be so ominous.

[Ash]

Yeah. Krueger knocked on the door loudly and didn't get any response. But he assumed that maybe they left the door open for him so he could deliver on the seat. Like they knew this delivery was coming. So the two men entered, and they set the sofa down. Krueger left the bill on the seat, and he intended to call later. But as they were making their way downstairs to leave, he realized that he didn't have their phone number, so he wasn't going to be able to call them and make good on this. So he went back up to the apartment to get the number before he and his assistant left. He later told the police, I found the phone in the bedroom and took the number. And as he was turning to leave, Krueger noticed that the bathroom light was on and that the door was slightly open. So he went over and knocked, which pushed the door open just even wider. Standing in the doorway, he could see a woman's nude leg hanging over the side of the tub. So he called out to her loudly, but there was no sign of movement. Now, even more concerned, he inched closer to the tub, and he looked inside. And he later said, my knees began shaking and I felt sick. I shouted to Johnny, my God, something's happened to the missus. Call the police. So Krueger's assistant did as he was told. And despite having not been in the bathroom at the time or having been told what his boss had discovered, he told the officer on the other end, there's a woman tied up in the bathtub.

[Elena]

That's suspicious, huh?

[Ash]

That's weird.

[Elena]

Yep.

[Ash]

So homicide detectives arrived at the apartment a few minutes later, and they confirmed what Firenza had claimed on the phone. Nancy was laying face down in the tub. She was nude, except for a white slip around her waist and the pink pajama top and house coat that had been tied around her neck and used to strangle her.

[Elena]

That's awful.

[Ash]

There was really no sign of a struggle in the apartment, so detectives concluded that she had to have known her attacker and most likely let him involuntarily.

[Elena]

That's even worse.

[Ash]

Based on the state of disarray in the bedroom, they assumed that some kind of assault had occurred there. The clothing that Nancy had been wearing that morning was strewn about the room and it looked actually like it had been ripped from her body. So there was evidence of a struggle for sure. Examining the body, the medical examiner, Thomas Gonzalez found ligature marks around her wrist and surmised that Nancy had been bound and most likely sexually assaulted before her pajamas were double knotted around her neck and she was dumped in the bathtub.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Just thinking of her pajamas being used to strangle her. So dark. But the most chilling information from the medical examiner was his determination that Nancy was still alive when her attacker put her body in the tub.

[Elena]

Oh, that's awful.

[Ash]

And she eventually died there from asphyxiation. Oh yeah.

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[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And then in the bathroom, they did discover a fingerprint on the tub. And in the bedroom they found a fountain pen on the floor. Just all the clues that they could have possibly found. While technicians continued to process the apartment, Detectives fanned out around the building, just trying to talk to potential witnesses and any neighbors who may have heard something. The first person they talked to was obviously Nancy's husband, Lewis. He actually arrived at the apartment about an hour after police had started their investigation, and he hadn't been told about his wife's death yet. So he just walked into this.

[Elena]

Oh, that's awful.

[Ash]

And he was shocked to find countless detectives and police in his apartment when he got home.

[Elena]

Imagine showing up to that.

[Ash]

Yeah, he actually. When he heard what happened, he collapsed.

[Elena]

Oh, that breaks my heart.

[Ash]

Yeah, it's very sad. And given his horrified and very devastated response to what had happened, he really seemed like an unlikely suspect. But they did confirm his alibi as well, and it checked out. So he had nothing to do with this. The others, who were initial but not very strong suspects, Included four painters who had been working in the building that day. And actually, theirs were among the fingerprints that had been discovered in the apartment. But since they were working in the apartment in the days leading up to this, that obviously made sense.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But they also had alibis that were checked into, and they were ruled out as suspects.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Other than the maid in the apartment below, none of the neighbors actually heard any noises coming from the apartment that morning. And one neighbor told a reporter, my collie is a very nervous dog. If there had been any great disturbance, I'm sure he would have barked.

[Elena]

Oh, so there you go.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And I believe that.

[Ash]

Yeah. There was, however, another strange occurrence relayed by countess Alice Hoyos, who lived in the apartment two floors beneath the titters.

[Elena]

Countess.

[Ash]

The Countess.

[Elena]

Oh, shit.

[Ash]

And because she's a countess, I just refer to her as the Countess.

[Elena]

The Countess.

[Ash]

According to the Countess, and this is really freaky, an unknown man had rung the bell at her apartment multiple times in the days before the murder. And she said each time, it was like he was trying to disguise his voice so he sounded like somebody different each time he did this.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

And she told detectives each incident went the same way. She said the buzzer would ring, she would answer it, and then the man would say, I'm looking for miss. And then he would mumble a name.

[Elena]

What?

[Ash]

But like that, not actually come out.

[Elena]

And say any name, Hoping somebody would open the door to be like, who are you looking for?

[Ash]

Yes, exactly. So, obviously, these freaked her out. These. These calls freaked her out because she was sure, like you just said, they were a ruse to get her to open the door so she actually Tried to get a good look at the man before he walked away. She told detectives he was young, wore good clothing, and seemed to be attempting to hide his face. And she told them that the last time the man rang the bell was actually just a few hours before Nancy was murdered.

[Elena]

Oh, yeah, that's haunting.

[Ash]

It is. So the following day, the medical examiner, Dr. Gonzalez, released his autopsy report, which confirmed, among other things, unfortunately, that Nancy had been sexually assaulted. And the cause of death was listed as ligature strangulation. Oh, yeah. The report also stated that, quote, the strangulation caused a hemorrhage of the larynx and three slight internal hemorrhages of the scalp. Wow. So this was a violent assault.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So the time of death was listed between 11 and 11:30am and that was based on the fact that rigor mortis had, quote, become virtually complete by the time that Gonzalez made his preliminary examination, around 5:30pm okay. And this more or less corresponded with what the downstairs maid said. She told police that she heard those screams coming from the apartment, and scratching and bruising on Nancy's hands and arms suggested that she actually had tried very hard to fight off her attacker. In their statement to the press, a spokesperson for the NYPD appeared optimistic. He told reporters, there are a lot of things that haven't been developed yet. The research detectives have taken something to the laboratories for further examination or making a thorough search, but we won't be able to get any real basis for investigation until final reports from them. Now, despite the optimistic tone, the truth was that they really didn't have a lot of evidence to work with, and they had almost zero leads other than the short length of cord found with the body, which was pretty unremarkable. The only other significant clue was that unidentified fingerprint in the bathroom. Now, at that time, police forensic departments were actually just starting to work with a new fingerprinting process. They would use silver nitrate to lift prints from surfaces like fabric and porous materials.

[Elena]

Oh, interesting.

[Ash]

Yeah, right. But the system was new, and it was going to take a lot of time, so investigators had to be patient with that. So while investigators waited on science to provide any leads, the press seized upon the story of yet another murder in Beekman Place. Author Harold Schechter wrote that the killing occurred one week to the day after Vera Stretz's acquittal only added to its lurid appeal. Of course, now, she was somebody who lived in the apartment, Vera Stretz, and she had been accused of murdering her lover in a jealous rage. But she was actually acquitted after she testified for hours on the stand that her murder had been committed in self defense. The Daily Mirror was among the press who reported the story in a very crude manner. They quote, and this is awful. They, quote, presented the gruesome sex killing as a five panel comic strip, complete with graphic drawings of the corpse and a fedora wearing detective bearing a marked resemblance to Dick Tracy.

[Elena]

Are you fucking kidding me? They made a graphic novel out of the crime scene.

[Ash]

They made a literal comic strip, a five panel comic strip. Like, you gotta be tapped. Damn, you gotta be tapped to do that.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

And just to publish that and be like, yeah, this is a good. This is a good choice.

[Elena]

The amount of people that that went through to approve that is astronomical.

[Ash]

Zero. Zero integrity.

[Elena]

And nobody was like, this is in bad taste.

[Ash]

Yeah, I don't know how that got through. Other papers, particularly the tabloids, focused on Nancy's, quote, owlishly solemn, bookish demeanor and claimed that she, quote, liked to parade around her apartment in a negligee even when delivery boys and workmen were present.

[Elena]

Oh, shut the fuck up.

[Ash]

Number one, even if she did, that's her fucking prerogative. She's in her own home. And number two. Oh, were you there? Did you know that? Exactly, like, fuck off.

[Elena]

Ew.

[Ash]

And actually that's incorrect. She was wearing pajamas which she was strangled with.

[Elena]

So that's awful.

[Ash]

Nice try.

[Elena]

She can do whatever the she wants.

[Ash]

It's again, it's her fucking apartment. But the more reputable outlets like the New York Times focused on the scientific aspects of the investigation, drawing comparisons to other recent cases where science actually played a critical role in catching the killers. Like Richard Hoptman, who was found responsible for the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder. A New York Times reporter wrote, test tubes bubbled, microscope experts bent over slides, and a group of police researchmen pondered possibly important notes yesterday. Fields of science almost ignored heretofore were entered yesterday. And some of the methods of scientific investigation suggested in the Huptman case have been resorted to. I just love how they used to talk.

[Elena]

I was just gonna say I love the heretofore of it all.

[Ash]

Heretofore. Yeah, that's a fun. That's got a nice mouth feel.

[Elena]

It does.

[Ash]

Heretofore, heretofore. Now, within days, the tabloids had resorted to sensational tactics like hiring psychic mediums to comment on the identity of the killer. In a Daily Mirror article a few days after the murder, the paper quote, Ms. Myra Kingsley, prominent astrologist, as claiming that the crime was due to the conjunction of the planet Mars, the war God, with the sun in the eighth house, which signifies death. She also consulted Nancy's chart and deduced, quote, the murderer was an older man and that he either came from or has gone to a distance since the crime was committed.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Which. It's like, there's a time and a place for astrology, and I just don't feel like it's here.

[Elena]

I don't. I don't think it's here, and I.

[Ash]

Don'T know what somebody's chart can tell you about the person that murdered them.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

I don't know about that. Like, I know your chart can tell you a lot about you.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And, you know, maybe when you're gonna die, but I. It just feels inappropriate.

[Elena]

Yeah. This just. Especially with how everybody else is treating it. Like, let's not.

[Ash]

Yeah. And it's like, it'd be one thing if, like, you know, for some reason, her husband wanted to consult with an astrologist about this, but it's a tackle.

[Elena]

To just take it upon yourself is really wild.

[Ash]

Yeah. But she wasn't the only one. The mirror were not alone in their tacky, sensational journalism. The New York Post, not wanting to be outdone, consulted their own astrologer, Belle Bart, and she claimed, murderer is German or English, has a light complexion, takes drugs or drinks, met Ms. Titterton in the fall of 1935, and escaped from Beekman Place in a southwesterly direction again.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

I don't know how astrology would tell you that.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Astrology is not going to tell you how and where this man escaped to. Like, that doesn't make any sense.

[Elena]

No.

[Ash]

Meanwhile, actual detectives focused on the few pieces of evidence that they did have in the case. And the biggest piece among them was the length of cord found in the bathtub. Unlike a traditional rope that you would expect to find in a case like this, this cord was thin, and it looked like the kind of cord found on the blinds in the Titterton apartment.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

But all of the cords in the apartment blinds appeared to be intact, so it wasn't from them. But given the length, a little over 12 inches, it seemed unrealistic that it would have bound Nancy's hands for very long. So detectives theorized that it had to have come from a longer piece of rope.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

And if that was the case, they believed, quote, the killer, intent on removing all physical evidence, had sliced off the rope and carried it away with him. However, in his rush to get away, he must have missed the shorter Piece concealed under Nancy's body.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

And they were correct.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Now, Nancy's funeral service was held on April 13th and attended by over 200 people.

[Elena]

Wow. That's telling.

[Ash]

That's very telling. That same day, investigators released another statement to the press, this time to address the growing number of rumors in the press that Nancy had been having an affair and was murdered by her lover.

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

Which was just completely untrue.

[Elena]

Seriously.

[Ash]

Assistant chief inspector John Lyon said, we are satisfied now that Mrs. Titterton voluntarily admitted the man. This does not mean, however, that he was a lover or a close friend. It may have been a salesperson or a repairman of some sort, Someone who made a casual call.

[Elena]

That's the thing. It doesn't need to be salacious.

[Ash]

Just because she let somebody in, it doesn't mean they were involved with each other romantically.

[Elena]

Exactly.

[Ash]

Investigators felt confident that they were zeroing in on the type of man who had murdered Nancy. But days after her body was discovered, they were still no closer to identifying a suspect. The fingerprints that they pulled from the fabrics on the ligature were too degraded to be of use, and the skin fragments found under Nancy's nails were equally useless. Unfortunately, by midweek, the list of potential suspects had narrowed even further as Nancy's friends and family were all cleared one after the other. By the end of the week, investigators had run down pretty much all of their leads and finally admitted publicly that despite the full time efforts of 65 detectives on the case, they were at a loss.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

That is so. That would be devastating to hear.

[Ash]

Yeah. Especially as her family, her husband. Like, I can't imagine. All attempts to trace the manufacturing of the cord used to bind Nancy's hands had proved fruitless. But still, the cord remained one of the only viable clues in the case. And finally, on April 17th, detectives got a break in the case when a representative from the Hanover cordage company in York, Pennsylvania, contacted them to confirm that that cord was one of many created in their own factory.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Which is like. That's crazy.

[Elena]

That is crazy.

[Ash]

According to the representative from the company, the cord contained istli, which is a fiber nearly unique to their product, which led them to believe that it was one of theirs. And they also mentioned that it was commonly used in furniture upholstery.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

Huh.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

They gave detectives a complete list of their distributors, and investigators started tracking the various shipments from the distributors to see if any cordage had made its way to service people in or around Manhattan. After combing through a very large number of records Detectives finally traced a shipment to a New York City distributor who had among their clients Theodore Kruger in upholsterer on the Upper east side and the man who had discovered Nancy's body. Remember? Ah, because remember she was getting a delivery from an upholster on the morning of her murder. Detectives had actually interviewed Kruger extensively and he had been ruled out as a suspect. They were able to confirm that he had been in the shop on the morning of the murder. His assistant, John Fiorenza, on the other hand, had not been ruled out. And as they started looking into Fiorenza's background, they learned that not only did he have a lengthy criminal history, but also a significant psychiatric report that described him as, among other things, a quote, personality deviate who would have difficulty in learning to refrain from illegal acts from time to time. Oh, I also love that.

[Elena]

It's scary.

[Ash]

It's from time to time.

[Elena]

Yeah, Just every now and then.

[Ash]

Sometimes he's gonna have a hard time referring from illegal.

[Elena]

He's good.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

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[Ash]

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[Ash]

The more detectives learned about John Fiorenza, the more convinced they became that he was the most likely killer amongst their suspects. He was described as a, quote, grade school dropout with a dull, normal IQ and a face fixed in a perpetual smirk.

[Elena]

I love the dull, normal iq.

[Ash]

They're dull and normal.

[Elena]

Like, so boring way to have a normal iq.

[Ash]

Boring.

[Elena]

So fucking boring dull.

[Ash]

I loved. I love that describing something as dull Just hits.

[Elena]

It does hit.

[Ash]

You're so dull.

[Elena]

That word just has like a.

[Ash]

It really does.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But it seemed that he just really didn't have a lot going for him.

[Elena]

No, there's really nothing that sets him apart.

[Ash]

Yeah. Never really had. At the time of the murder, he was a 24 year old apprentice living with his mother and her second husband in Brooklyn. And he was, quote, withdrawn to the point of extreme social isolation, which is scary.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

His stepfather told a reporter, and this is crazy, that, quote, Johnny had only spoken to him no more than seven times in the past 11 years.

[Elena]

What?

[Ash]

His stepdad, whom he lived with, had spoken to him no more than seven times in 11 years.

[Elena]

Holy shit.

[Ash]

Like what?

[Elena]

When you said extreme. Extreme, you meant extreme. Yeah, that's like a. That's like agoraphobia, isn't it? Something akin to that. That I would.

[Ash]

I mean. Yeah, maybe.

[Elena]

Is there something, you know, adjacent to that?

[Ash]

Yeah, probably. Like he left the house, but it was like a. It was like a social agor.

[Elena]

It was just like. Yeah, like extreme.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Whoa. Like that's just like I. Like I'm a quiet person.

[Ash]

Yeah. You would consider yourself an introvert.

[Elena]

Yeah, I consider myself an introvert and that is mind boggling to me.

[Ash]

Well, because you're living in the same home as somebody. Like, you don't even that. And you're living in New York, so presumably you're living in an apartment and you don't just like exchange pleasantries in the morning.

[Elena]

That's the thing. I'm like, what's going on there?

[Ash]

I'm also like, what did you say in those seven times?

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

Yeah, he also, it was said that he hadn't started dating until a few years earlier. And he's 24, so of course that's a bit unusual. But he had started seeing his girlfriend, Pauline D'Antonio and he was planning to marry her in the fall. Actually, they were engaged.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Yeah. But his criminal history went back more than a decade and his first arrest happened when he was 12 years old.

[Elena]

I mean, that's not great.

[Ash]

That's not great.

[Elena]

That's not a good start.

[Ash]

No. He had stolen a bicycle. And since then he had just been in and out of trouble with the law on a regular basis. For the most part, the crimes that he committed were petty. They were like thefts. But there was a grand larceny charge for stealing musical instruments from a store.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

And during one of his periods of incarceration, he was examined by a prison psychiatrist who described him as a quote Neurotic type of personality deviate with him. The wish is father to the thought and leads quickly to action without consideration or foresight.

[Elena]

Interesting.

[Ash]

Yeah. More simply put, he was the type of person who acted very impulsively and based on what he wanted in the moment without any kind of consideration for consequences.

[Elena]

I.

[Ash]

And this, the psychiatrist believed, was supported by his many brazen crimes, including stealing cars in the middle of the day in full view of crowds of people. But just because he wanted to take them for a joyride.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

But would literally just like break into a car and take it.

[Elena]

It's like, whatever.

[Ash]

And just didn't give a shit.

[Elena]

It's mine.

[Ash]

Yeah. Now, despite John's criminal history and dull personality.

[Elena]

So dull.

[Ash]

So dull. Theodore Kruger had taken pity on John and hired him, like we said, as an upholstery assistant three years earlier. Upholstery was a skill that John had actually learned during one of his prison stays. For the most part, his job was just to sweep up the studio, keep the front windows clean, help out with deliveries. But occasionally, Kruger had him assist with more complicated tasks. As far as Kruger was concerned, John was, quote, good natured, but not very quick witted. And his criminal record, which Krueger described as being over little things, had kept John from finding success.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Kruger thought that John seemed determined to better his life, though, and he found that to be an admirable quality. So he took a chance on him.

[Elena]

Which I get that.

[Ash]

Yeah. And Krueger seems like a nice guy.

[Elena]

Yeah. Seems like an admirable quality. Yeah.

[Ash]

If somebody is showing like they really are. Yeah, exactly. In fact, the morning that they were to deliver the loveseat to Nancy Titterton's apartment, John had arrived a few hours late to work, telling his boss that he had been at an appointment with his probation officer. So that's interesting.

[Elena]

I was gonna say probation officer.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But, you know, still, he's checking in with his probation office. So Krueger's like, he's doing the right thing. He's being a good kid.

[Elena]

Like, he's doing what he needs to do.

[Ash]

Yeah. He's trying to better himself.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Now, although they had traced the cord back to Krueger's shop, and they were pretty confident that they had found their killer, at this point, investigators knew that the cord alone was not going to be able to hold him for very long, and especially not on a murder charge. After all, that particular cord had been shipped to many upholstery shops. And they couldn't be sure if it definitely Came from Theodore Kruger's shop.

[Elena]

So this was all like, very tenuous.

[Ash]

Yeah, very tenuous. So rather than arrest him, John was placed under 24 hour surveillance while detectives and forensic experts desperately searched for any additional evidence that would lead to a conviction. Now, after one week of investigation, the Titterton apartment had been thoroughly searched, and it really seemed unlikely that any new evidence was going to be discovered. But just in case, on April 20, Dr. Alexander Getler, a biochemist who was working with the NYPD, went back to the Beekman Place apartments in hope of finding anything new. Now, he had been the one actually to discover the isley contained within the cord and eventually traced its origin. So without him like this, all, you'd.

[Elena]

Be nowhere near this.

[Ash]

It never would have happened. And if anybody was gonna find something that somebody had missed, it was gonna be this guy at the apartment. He was combing over Nancy's bedspread with a high powered mint magnifying glass when he discovered one single hair that the other technicians had missed. A single hair.

[Elena]

This guy for life.

[Ash]

No, honestly, it makes me think of Spencer Reed. It makes me think of Spencer from Criminal Minds. Yes, absolutely. I just picture him, like, going over it with, like, a high powered glass.

[Elena]

Yes.

[Ash]

Now, later, he described the hair as white and, quote, strangely stiff. He said it certainly was not human. Now, after examining the hair under a microscope, he determined that it was horse hair, which was the kind typically used by upholsterers.

[Elena]

Oh, I didn't even think of that.

[Ash]

Yep. Now, aware that the Tittersons had. Titterton. Excuse me. Had their love seat delivered on the morning of the murder, Getler took a sample of the horse hair from the love seat and compared it to the one that he discovered on the bed. And the two were a match. So that hair that was found on Nancy's bed was a match to the love seat that had been delivered that morning.

[Elena]

Shit.

[Ash]

Now, given that the hair came from the love seat, it didn't seem unreasonable that one of the hairs made its way to another location in the apartment. But that loveseat hadn't been delivered until after Nancy was killed. Which meant that the only way it could have gotten mixed up on the bed clothes or the bedspread was if the killer had it on him when he sexually assaulted Nancy on the bed.

[Elena]

Oh, God.

[Ash]

Yeah. And this was precisely the piece of evidence that detectives needed to break that case wide open.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

So they went back to Theodore Kruger, who was absolutely shocked to learn that his assistant was even a suspect. He told detectives that John Fiorenza was a, quote, perfect gentleman and assured him, quote, there was never anything about him that was bad. He said, why, I've even seen him take the meat out of his sandwich for lunch and give it to our dog.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

Which is very sweet, but, like, okay. Murderers are nice to animals sometimes.

[Elena]

I was just gonna say, okay, so we're trying to make a connection here, that if you feed a dog, you couldn't possibly murdered a human being.

[Ash]

No, Never.

[Elena]

Got it.

[Ash]

Theodore seems very naive.

[Elena]

I was just gonna say that. That just seems like. But that's such a nice thing to do. Give a dog your sandwich meat.

[Ash]

It is.

[Elena]

How could you be that nice?

[Ash]

But doesn mean that you didn't murder somebody.

[Elena]

It's true. I feel that that's very he. Because you can tell it, like, he was not wanting to accept.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

What was in front of him.

[Ash]

And I feel bad, too, because, I mean, that would make you doubt any kind of confidence you have in anybody.

[Elena]

Of course it would.

[Ash]

You're like, I took a chance on this guy. I really thought he was, you know, wanting to better himself. And, I mean, had he not given him a chance, Nancy would still be alive. Technically. Possibly.

[Elena]

Well, in a sense.

[Ash]

So you just think constantly, like, of what the fuck?

[Elena]

And that's the thing. Like, I can't imagine what it feels like to have interacted and found yourself, like, enjoying the company of a person who murders someone. Like, that must be hard to reconcile.

[Ash]

Absolutely.

[Elena]

It has nothing to do with you.

[Ash]

No, absolutely not. In fact, in case you're out there.

[Elena]

And that happened to you, like, you probably don't. Don't think it has anything to do with you.

[Ash]

No. You're a better person than most of us.

[Elena]

You should be able to trust people who are showing you that they're bettering themselves.

[Ash]

Exactly. And like we said, he. He was putting.

[Elena]

Outwardly he was putting it out.

[Ash]

Illusions that he was bettering himself. And Theodore confirmed to detectives that it was true that John had been late to work on the morning of the murder. But he said it was only because he had his weekly appointment with his probation officer. He's like, he's doing the right thing now. Firenza's alibi. The probation appointment was the last piece of the puzzle that detectives needed to knock down before they could arrest him. Fortunately, that proved a lot easier than they could have expected. Like I said, the Friday that Nancy was murdered was good Friday, and John's probation officer, a very strict Catholic, had taken that day off. So there was no way John met with his probation Officer. Wow. Exactly. What. So then why was he late?

[Elena]

Wow, wow, wow.

[Ash]

All the. The way this case came together, like I said at the beginning, like, that's why these old timey cases are so intriguing to us, because it's not. Oh, his DNA was found at the crime scene.

[Elena]

Or they saw him on a camera.

[Ash]

Yeah, they saw him on a camera. This is like old fashioned, Detective.

[Elena]

This is like, you have to go talk to this person. You find out from this person that this person wasn't working that day. So this person's story doesn't line up right. Like, and the fact that it lined up that way, that it was Good Friday and so like, it happened to be the day that he, a strict Catholic, took off.

[Ash]

Yeah, that.

[Elena]

That's like crazy.

[Ash]

That's crazy. And like the guy who went. The investigator who went back and found the hair that nobody else had found. And it was this one just. I mean, picture one strand of horse hair. Like, that's like a small hair. It's like finding a dog hair on your bed.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But just finding that back then and then going back and saying, oh, that's from the. The furniture that was reupholstered.

[Elena]

Like, it's unbelievable.

[Ash]

It really is. So with the newly discovered evidence in hand and John's alibi disproven, detectives moved quickly to arrest their suspect. And at first, John denied having anything to do with the murder. He insisted he was innocent. But after more than 16 hours of relentless interrogation, he asked to speak to Commissioner Louisville and Valentine. And he told the commissioner, give me a cigarette and I'll tell you all I know.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

All for just a cigarette. Wow. According to his confession, John had gone to the Titterton's apartment on April 9, the day before the murder, to pick up the love seat with Theodore Kruger. And as soon as he saw Nancy, he said, the idea came to me of doing what I did to her afterward.

[Elena]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[Ash]

As far as he could tell, Nancy was a slight woman, just about a hundred pounds. She. He said she seemed gentle and soft spoken, so he was pretty sure she wouldn't put up much of a fight, which he was wrong about, because she.

[Elena]

Did fuck that guy.

[Ash]

And the next morning, he called Kruger to say he'd be late. And then he grabbed the 52 inch length of cord he'd taken from the upholstery studio the day before and made his way to the Titterton apartment. When he arrived there, he rang the bell and Nancy released the door to let him in because she knew who he was yeah, upstairs. He told her he'd come about the love seat, and he wanted to know where she wanted it. He said just to get her in there. I asked her, didn't she want the love seat in the bedroom? And the question prompted her to go to the bedroom to see if maybe she'd like the furniture in there. And Fiorenza followed her. Once they were in the bedroom, Trigger warning. This is pretty graphic. He attacked Nancy and grabbed, quote, whatever it was she had in her hand and stuffed it in her mouth so she couldn't yell anymore.

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

Which is why nobody heard anything.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

With Nancy gagged, he started ripping off her clothes in a frenzy. And then he sexually assaulted her. He said from time to time, when she started to scream, as the gag worked loose, I throttled her with my hands.

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

And just said, has this. Like he's recounting a TV show that he watched.

[Elena]

What a animal.

[Ash]

Yeah. Truly. When he was done, he grabbed the pajamas and the dressing coat from the floor, knotted them together, and used that clothing to strangle Nancy. Which is like, I am. How do you. How do you go from, like. Like grand larceny, stealing cars, to murdering, raping and murdering a woman this brutally?

[Elena]

It's. It's inconceivable, but when you look at this guy, he looks like such a little piece of shit.

[Ash]

He sure does.

[Elena]

Like, he's got it right on his face. He does look dull.

[Ash]

He's got a dull, stupid, perpetual smirk. And that's the perfect way to describe it. It's not a smile. It's a smirk.

[Elena]

It's a little shit eating smirk. That's. Yeah.

[Ash]

At first he said he thought about filling the tub to make it look like Nancy died by accident, Which. Which I'm like, that wouldn't have worked because you strangled her and assaulted her, but. Okay.

[Elena]

But cool.

[Ash]

But he couldn't find the plug, so he left her face down to strangle.

[Elena]

Oh, God.

[Ash]

Before he left, he got a knife from the kitchen and cut the cord that he used to bind her hands, assuming that he had taken it all with him when he left. But he's dull, so he didn't. He managed to get out of the apartment, he said, without being seen, tossed the cord in a public trash can, and then stepped into a drugstore to call his boss and say he'd be a little later than he thought because he was, you know, meeting with his probation officer, doing the right thing, cleaning up the dog.

[Elena]

Such a good guy.

[Ash]

Such a good guy. Gives meat to dogs.

[Elena]

Fuck that guy.

[Ash]

When he finally got back to the shop a little before noon, the two men finished fixing Nancy's love seat. So he's sitting there fixing her love seat, knowing full well that she's dead in a bathtub.

[Elena]

Holy shit.

[Ash]

And then they loaded it onto the truck and headed for Beekman Place. Wow. When they asked why he had done what he did, he seemed just as confused and said, she wasn't my type. If I saw her on the street, I wouldn't give her a second look. You just to be addicted, literally. I don't know. I wouldn't have given her a second glance, but I guess I just felt like it that day.

[Elena]

Oh, excuse me.

[Ash]

Go yourself.

[Elena]

Cool. Yeah.

[Ash]

The arrest did come as a shock to those who knew him personally. His girlfriend Pauline, refused to believe that he'd committed the murder or was even capable of such a crime. Which you gotta believe when he confesses that he did it. But also, yeah, I can understand not thinking that somebody you love is capable of that.

[Elena]

No, of course.

[Ash]

And she told a group of reporters assembled outside her apartment, he did not do it. They're telling lies about him. He did not confess. He would not have confessed to such a thing. He will be back. And we will be married in September.

[Elena]

Babe, here's the thing. If that is the case, like, if that. If he has been implicated in this, something's awry.

[Ash]

Something is awry for sure.

[Elena]

So me, don't be so sure that you're gonna get married in September, because it's like, I don't know if he's a great guy.

[Ash]

Probably not. You know, if he's implicated in this, most likely not. Obviously, we see cases where false confessions happen and yada, yada. Yeah, this exactly is not one of those.

[Elena]

And I just like, he has a eating grin. You got to be careful of those ones.

[Ash]

Yeah. Honestly, good for her that she now. And this is sad, obviously. John's mother was similarly stunned. She told reporters, Johnny was a good boy. He had a girl. They were going to be married. Like murderers do sometimes get married. Theodore Krueger echoed the disbelief, telling reporters, he was a nice boy. I always thought, why? I remember when he saw the body, he said to me, this must be the work of a maniac.

[Elena]

That. And that's the other thing. It's like, we can look at it from this side and be like, no, like, he did it. Come on.

[Ash]

But these people were spending every day with him.

[Elena]

Exactly. These people were actually getting to know him and had. Again, there's so many people in my life that if something like this happened, I'd be like, what? No, you know what I mean? Like, I can't think of one person that I'd be like, oh, yeah, probably.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

You really shouldn't have someone in your life if you think that.

[Ash]

His mom, his girlfriend, and somebody he worked every single day with. And I can't imagine working with somebody, discovering a body with someone and having that experience and then finding out they did it. Finding out that they did it and reacted in the moment like, so. So normally, like, yeah, like organically. Yeah. Like, oh, this must be the work of a maniac. Meanwhile, he's the maniac.

[Elena]

No, that would be really. Yeah, like, that would fuck you up.

[Ash]

That would fuck you up for a long time. Definitely.

[Elena]

Why get all your holiday decorations delivered through Instacart? Because maybe you only bought two wreaths but have 12 windows. Or maybe your toddler got very eager with the Advent calendar. Or maybe the inflatable snowman didn't make it through the snowstorm. Or maybe the twinkle lights aren't twinkling. Whatever the reason, this season, Instacart's here for hosts and their whole holiday haul. Get decorations from the Home Depot, CVS and more through Instacart and enjoy free delivery on your first three orders. Service fees and terms apply.

[Ash]

Now. Despite their disbelief, John was arraigned the following day on charges of rape and first degree murder, which again, he confessed to the crime. After the arraignment, he accompanied detectives back to the Titterton apartment where he reenacted the crime and also retraced his escape route. With a full confession and now very strong evidence, the assistant prosecutor predicted a very speedy trial and announced he would take the case to the grand jury, to a grand jury in the coming days. The judge at the arraignment, magistrate, I think it's Aurelio, commended the police and the prosecutor's office for their efficiency and skill. He said this case proves that no crime can be hidden from effective police work. As a citizen of this city, I feel extremely proud of the work done by the police.

[Elena]

Honestly, they deserve that praise because this was really good police work.

[Ash]

Incredible. Yeah. In his statement to the press, Commissioner Valentine, quote, did not conceal his satisfaction of the unraveling of a mystery the press and even several of his own detectives had deemed unsolvable. And look where they were now. He noted that not only was this the biggest murder investigation in New York history to that point, but he also emphasized the fact that it wouldn't have been solved without the Dedication of more than 65 police officers and, quote, the help of their technical research lab in Brooklyn and of the city toxicology laboratory. While detectives on the case were relentless in the pursuit of Nancy's killer, quote, science, Valentine told reporters, quote, played a deciding role in the solution.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Which I knew you would love.

[Elena]

I love that. It was science.

[Ash]

Science.

[Elena]

It was.

[Ash]

With the killer caught, the DA William Dodge assured residents and reporters that he had every intention of moving quickly to secure his indictment and conviction. Just three days after the arrest, Firenze's case went to a grand jury on April 25. And after reviewing the evidence and listening to the testimony from eight witnesses, an indictment for first degree murder was returned in less than half an hour.

[Elena]

Whoa.

[Ash]

Despite the hearing, Firenze's attorneys, quote, brought strong intimations that they would seek to have him declared insane and would assail the method with which his confession was obtained.

[Elena]

Please.

[Ash]

Yeah, ridiculous. They insisted, despite the fact that he confessed multiple times to rape and murder, that he actually had nothing to do with the crime and had actually been coerced into a confession.

[Elena]

I doubt it.

[Ash]

Yeah, me too. True to their word, though, the district Attorney's office moved very quickly, surprisingly quick. And John's trial started May 20, just a little over a month after the murder occurred. Anticipating that Firenza's team would go for an insanity plea, Dodge's office enlisted at least four highly regarded psychiatrists to argue otherwise. But to their surprise, Firenze's lawyer, Henry Klobber, made a big a different claim and again asserted that his client had nothing to do with the murder. He told the jury a fiend was on the loose, and it was not this defendant who murdered Mrs. Chitterton. As he pointed over to his client, according to the defense, another woman had been attacked in the area days before Nancy. And they intended to show that it was the same attacker and not John Fiorenza who was responsible for the murder.

[Elena]

It's a good tactic.

[Ash]

Like, that's cool. Why did he confess multiple times? Klobber's claim certainly wouldn't have been the first time a defense lawyer had attempted to pin the blame on just a mysterious, unnamed person. Of course, but the problem was that he had no evidence to support his claim. And once the jury heard Fiore Ed's full and very convincing confession read aloud in court, he changed strategies and started building that insanity defense.

[Elena]

I love that. He was like, ah, I knew I was missing something. It was evidence.

[Ash]

Yeah, my bad, my bad. And just to be safe, his cross examination of the detectives who Took the confession, indicated that he was ready to challenge it on the grounds of coercion.

[Elena]

I think that's all he's got.

[Ash]

He's playing a dirty game.

[Elena]

That's all he's got.

[Ash]

Exactly. Much to the surprise of the prosecution, though. While their previous defense didn't appear to be working out, Clobber and the rest of the defense team just seemed to be keeping all their options open and juggling several arguments at once.

[Elena]

Yeah, you gotta hedge your betcha.

[Ash]

Not a great plan though, to go for everything all at the same time.

[Elena]

Probably not, but when you got nothing, you gotta work with everything, you know?

[Ash]

Exactly. Exactly. The insanity police seemed the best bet, but they still called John's mother to the stand.

[Elena]

Oop.

[Ash]

Who testified that contrary to the confession, her son hadn't left the house until a little before 11am on the morning of the murder, which would have made it impossible for him to have committed the murder and still made it to work by 12:30pm hmm. Which it's like. Yeah, timelines are a little rough and I don't think we should rely on his mom's version of events.

[Elena]

Unfortunately, if anyone's gonna lie for you, it's gonna be your mom.

[Ash]

It's your mom. In support of their insanity defense, Clubber also called John's stepfather, Ignazi Kupani, to testify to John's unusual behavior going back many years.

[Elena]

Like he didn't speak to him for 11 years, basically.

[Ash]

Exactly. In addition to hardly ever speaking at home, his stepfather told the court, he, quote, used to sit down all the time in the rocking chair with his head between his hands. When this happened, he would look up and he would say, who's calling? And we would say, no one's calling. We hear nothing.

[Elena]

That's strange.

[Ash]

It is. And his stepfather also got down from the stand and demonstrated some of John's other unusual behaviors. He said he also had a tendency to, quote, catch something or someone invisible who was following or calling him.

[Elena]

That's weird. It's weird and it's very, like, specific.

[Ash]

It's very. It is very specific. And I believe maybe it happened like, interesting. I don't know. Other family members, including John's aunt, gave additional testimony in support of what his stepfather had told the court. But a lot of this testimony was undermined during cross examination by the da, William Dodge, who clearly established that no matter how strange John's behavior might have been, it couldn't have been too severe because he managed to hold down a full time job and a romantic relationship for several years.

[Elena]

That's that's exactly what I was thinking is like, yeah, I'm. That was very specific what he was saying. So, like, there could absolutely be truth to that. But it's just being weird.

[Ash]

That's the thing.

[Elena]

Like, it's not. That's not. To me, I'm not like, wow, he's insane. It's like, no, he seems just strange. He seems a little weird.

[Ash]

Exactly.

[Elena]

But not weird enough that he's not fully functioning in society. And it's like, if you're fully functioning, holding down a job, having a romantic relationship, then you know what you're doing.

[Ash]

Yeah. Like, you know, you're aware of the.

[Elena]

Consequences of your actions.

[Ash]

Right. Exactly. Exactly. So finally, klobber called on Dr. Albert Crane, and this is where it all went wrong. Albert Crane was a psychiatrist from Staten island who had examined John. According to Crane, John was a, quote, dementia precocks case with a split mentality, incapable of realizing the nature and quality of his acts. Of course, the question of his sanity wasn't the issue so much as whether he knew what he was doing was wrong at the time. And that was something Crane couldn't deny.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

On cross examination, Dodge asked the psychiatrist, quote, if he made a confession to the police and was then asked by an assistant district attorney to state the facts again, and he refused on the grounds that it would be used against him. Would you say that he knew or did not know the nature or quality of his acts? Boom.

[Elena]

Someone that could, like, just. Can you answer that quick question, please?

[Ash]

Yeah, could you just let me know? Could you remind me if that. That.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

If that works out with your top notch lawyering. Now Crane, who's literally sitting on the stand and knew that this is exactly what had happened in the case and had also sworn to tell the truth, had no choice but to undermine his own previous testimony. He replied, I would say that he was keenly aware of the nature and quality of his behavior at that time. Oh, no.

[Elena]

So I could not stop there. I'd be like, so why did you say he was. Wait a second.

[Ash]

So why'd you say that?

[Elena]

Exactly? Explain to me.

[Ash]

Imagine as a psychiatrist, sitting on that stand and trying. You're a witness for the defense.

[Elena]

Eek.

[Ash]

And then the DA gets you that easily.

[Elena]

Well, and it's like you just said some bullshit, like you just laid down.

[Ash]

Some bull and then had to sit up there and undermine your own.

[Elena]

Yeah, they just untie that with one finger.

[Ash]

Yeah. Also, it's giving L words. It is.

[Elena]

That's a. That's a Like mic drop moment, truly.

[Ash]

Now, the insanity claim was even further weakened when Dodge called on four of his own psychiatric expert witnesses, all of whom testified that whether or not he experienced symptoms of mental illness, John Fiorenza knew that rape and murder were wrong, and that is why he went to great lengths to cover up his crimes.

[Elena]

Exactly.

[Ash]

Both sides, clearly. Both sides. Yeah. Clearly both sides rested their cases on May 27, and at 3:30pm the jury retired for deliberation. However, after 11 hours, the jury remained deadlocked, primarily over whether or not Fiorenza was insane when he committed the crime.

[Elena]

Guys, he wasn't.

[Ash]

If he was, they would have had the option of sending him to the. To a state hospital for the rest of his life. But if he was deemed sane and found guilty, he would most likely receive the death penalty, which I can understand why they were having a hard time with that. Like having that decision on your own heart and.

[Elena]

Yeah, because of their conscience.

[Ash]

Right. But finally, after nearly 20 hours of deliberation, they did side with the prosecution, and they found John Fiorenza guilty of the murder and rape of Nancy Titterton.

[Elena]

I agree with that.

[Ash]

He seemed pretty unfazed by the verdict, but those close to him were outraged. His father stood up and shouted, it's not fair. He's crazy. He should not go to the chair. They should lock him up. Which you can understand. Yeah.

[Elena]

And honestly, I agree.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

In that sense.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Where it's like. Yeah, that's hard. It's like. Because I.

[Ash]

That's his family. They know.

[Elena]

I don't think he should be going to the death penalty because I don't really think it's. You know, we've already discussed how we feel about that, but it's like. So I feel like he's got to be locked up.

[Ash]

Yeah, I agree.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But. On June 6, 1936, John Fiorenza appeared before the Court of General Sessions for sentencing, and he was formally sentenced to die in the electric chair.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

At the hearing, his attorney continued to push his insanity defense, telling reporters, he doesn't even know what all this is about. He was more anxious to know when I can visit him in the death house. Which is sad in. In some sense, you know.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Under New York law, though, a guilty verdict in a death penalty case automatically triggers an appeal. But like in the initial trial, the appeals process moved quickly. Not surprisingly, John's attorney insisted that although his client had killed Nancy, he had only done so because of what his psychiatrist referred to as a mental confusion.

[Elena]

I don't think so.

[Ash]

I don't think so either.

[Elena]

I don't see this.

[Ash]

I think he's possibly mentally ill, but I think he knew what he was doing was wrong.

[Elena]

He tried to cover it up.

[Ash]

He went to her house the day before, decided that he wanted to kill her, came back prepared to kill her, raped and killed her, and then disposed of evidence.

[Elena]

Exactly. And then later lied about it.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And made a. At the scene. He said, oh, a maniac must have done that. That shows you he knew exactly what he had done.

[Ash]

He continued to cover.

[Elena]

That's why I can't, like, while I'm not, like, a fan of the death penalty, it's like, I don't think, like, the. He's crazy, but. No, No, I don't think he has.

[Ash]

I think he should spend the rest of his life in jail.

[Elena]

Yeah. I think he's, like, in. Like, in the negative connotation, a weirdo.

[Ash]

Yeah. He's disturbed, and I think he needs.

[Elena]

To go to jail forever.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

But that's it. Like, I don't think he's insane. I don't think there's this. This whole confusion that they're claiming, I think is highly exaggerated.

[Ash]

There was also multiple. If you rape somebody before you kill them, there's multiple times at which you can stop.

[Elena]

Exactly.

[Ash]

Before you kill them. And he didn't. So I.

[Elena]

He went further and further.

[Ash]

Exactly.

[Elena]

He even said when she tried to scream, he would throttle her to stop her, which tells you that he didn't want to be caught. And he knew he was doing something bad and he did something awful to make sure it was covered up.

[Ash]

Exactly.

[Elena]

So fuck this guy.

[Ash]

Exactly. Thank you.

[Elena]

And now all of a sudden, I'm like, fuck that.

[Ash]

Okay. It's the part where his family talks about.

[Elena]

Yeah, you feel bad for him.

[Ash]

You feel bad for his family.

[Elena]

A family of a monster who, you know, seemingly has nothing to do with what they've done. It's like, that's a whole different. I. I do feel bad for them.

[Ash]

Yeah. You have to, like, you know, they are victims, too, in this whole thing, for sure. Arguing in favor of upholding the death penalty, though William Dodge insisted this man is a potential maniac. There is no reason for the state of New York to be cheated of the law, of the enforcement of the law by the pretense of insanity, which I kind of agree with. Although, again, don't agree with the death penalty.

[Elena]

Yeah. But I think he is. He's a maniac is a great way to describe him.

[Ash]

Yeah. He's a danger to society. Exactly. He's a. Literally. Yeah, he.

[Elena]

He called it in his own way. He maniac did that. He knows what he is and it's like he. He should be kept away from society for sure.

[Ash]

Completely agree. Ultimately, his appeal was denied and on January 22, 1937, he was executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison. Just prior to his death, he exclaimed, you don't know all I've been through in this place. I don't know why they don't give me a chance.

[Elena]

I know.

[Ash]

Because you raped and murdered somebody. Pick me.

[Elena]

I know. Yeah, we all know you did something terrible.

[Ash]

Like, God, you can't get a chance.

[Elena]

Give me a chance. Can. Can you give Nancy a chance?

[Ash]

No, you can't.

[Elena]

No, you can't.

[Ash]

Because.

[Elena]

Raped and murdered her.

[Ash]

Exactly.

[Elena]

And then tried to cover it up and lie about it. So you John.

[Ash]

Such a wild case from start to finish though. And it is the. The key star here is the. The detective work. Like, yes, for the. It's early 1930s and they had all this advanced. Not advanced, but at the time, very advanced fingerprint technology and just the dedication of people who went back to the scene. Yeah. I found the. The investigation part of this so interesting.

[Elena]

Oh, I think it's amazing. Like what an. What an amazing case like in. When on the police side of it.

[Ash]

And what a sad, tragic sense on.

[Elena]

The crime side of it. Like, Nancy, you just feel like, holy shit.

[Ash]

Like, yeah, she was just getting her off the ground and she's just having a delivery.

[Elena]

She's just home. We all get deliveries all the time. Let someone come into your home and plop down a piece of furniture and you hope they're not there for various reasons.

[Ash]

Like it's.

[Elena]

That's awful.

[Ash]

I know. When her poor husband too, like, oh, it's stumbling home to that.

[Elena]

Yeah, that's awful.

[Ash]

Very, very tragic case.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But very, very interesting on the investigation. Yeah, like, for sure. But with all that being said, we hope you keep listening and we hope you, Keith. But not so weird that when you deliver something to somebody's house, you decide that you're gonna rape and murder them because ew, that's really fucking terrible. And you should stop yourself from doing things like that.

[Elena]

Bye. Don't be a dick.

[Ash]

Self control is important. Sa if you like morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcast Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.

[Lindsey Graham]

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US History. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Christa McAuliffe into space aboard the space shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts. But less than two minutes after liftoff, the Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster. Follow American Scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondry. You can join Wondry in the Wondry App app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial today.