On this day, Nov. 29, in 1909, Ocey Snead, the beautiful daughter of the aristocratic Caroline Wardlaw, was found drowned in a bathtub in East Orange, N.J.
Wardlaw and her two sisters, of a once-proud family, were known for wearing all-black dresses and veils over their faces. But the women had fallen into poverty and lived in an empty mansion.
The sisters told police that 24-year-old Ocey committed suicide, but authorities said the evidence pointed to murder, and all three were charged in Snead's death.
Police said Ocey was drugged and drowned for $32,000 in insurance money.
Before the trial, Ocey's Aunt Virginia Wardlaw died of self-induced starvation.
Caroline Wardlaw pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years. Mary Wardlaw, Ocey's other aunt, was cleared.
- Scott McCabe
