#eventually Charles also lost multiple civil wars and got executed

[rosaluxembae]

I wonder if Quentyn's arc is inspired by The Spanish Match. For those who don't know, Prince Charles (later the First™) and his dad's boyfriend Buckingham (the guy from Three Musketeers) travelled to Spain in secret to try and win the Spanish Infanta (princess) with some big romantic gesture and then basically TL;DR the Spanish told them to fuck off lol

[conradscrime]

Jesse Pomeroy: Massachusetts Youngest Killer

June 28, 2021

Jesse Harding Pomeroy was born on November 29, 1859 in Charlestown, Massachusetts to parents Thomas J. Pomeroy, a veteran of the US Civil War and Ruth Ann Snowman. He was the youngest of two children, he had an older brother named Charles Jefferson Pomeroy. Not much is known about the first years of Jesse’s life. 

Between 1871 and 1872 there were multiple reports that young boys were being lured to remote areas and attacked by an older boy. The attacks were extremely brutal, with the young boys being tied up and beaten with a fist and belt and in at least two of the attacks, the assailant also used a knife. Some of the boys who endured these beatings were physically scarred for the rest of their lives. However, no one was ever arrested for these attacks, though it’s believed the assailant was 11 year old Jesse Pomeroy.

At some In 1872 Jesse, his brother Charles, and their mother Ruth moved to South Boston where Jesse attacked several young boys. Jesse had a hairlip and one of his eyes were completely white, making it easy to identify him. He was eventually arrested and his case was taken to the Juvenile Court judge. Jesse was found guilty and sentenced to attend the State Reform School for Boys in Westborough, Massachusetts until the age of 18 (some sources say until the age of 21). 

In February 1874, 14 year old Jesse was paroled and went back to live with his mother and brother in South Boston. Ruth ran her own dressmaking shop and Charles was selling newspapers at this time.

In March 1874, one month after Jesse returned home on parole, a 10 year old girl from South Boston named Katie (some sources say she went by Mary) Curran went missing. On April 22, 1874 the body of 4 year old Horace Millen was found on the marsh of Dorchester Bay. Horace had been mutilated and nearly decapitated. Though there was no evidence connecting him to the crime, Jesse was immediately looked at has a suspect. 

Katie Curran’s body was found later in the basement of Ruth’s dress shop. Katie’s remains had been concealed in an ash heap. 

On April 24, 1874 Jesse was arrested. When police approached him he was carrying a bloody knife and had mud on his shoes, where his footprint matched the ones at the crime scene of Horace. He was taken to view Horace’s body and asked if he had murdered the 4 year old. He replied, “I suppose I did.” Jesse’s case was taken to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Suffolk County, Boston. The trial started on December 9, 1874. 

On December 10, 1874, Jesse was pronounced guilty and the jury recommended mercy on the account that he was only 14 at the time of the murders. At first it was argued that Jesse should be charged with first-degree murder, however the Attorney General then urged for an alternative charge of murder with extreme atrocity, which meant that it was still a charge of first-degree murder but without premeditation. 

Supposedly Jesse confessed to a total of 27 murders and when police started digging around his old house they found 12 bodies, though there wasn’t much information on this.

Jesse’s attorney, a man named Charles Robinson filed two exceptions which were both overruled in February 1875, at which point in time Jesse was sentenced to death by hanging. 

The Governor, William Gaston, was supposed to sign the death warrant and assign a date for Jesse’s execution, however he refused to comply with this responsibility. It was up to the Massachusetts Governor’s Council to vote on the matter and after. three votes in August 1876, Jesse’s sentence was commuted to life in prison in solitary confinement. The first two votes upheld Jesse’s execution but both times Governor William Gaston refused to sign. 

On September 7, 1876, Jesse was transferred to the State Prison at Charlestown. He was almost 17 years old at this time. During his time in prison Jesse claimed he had taught himself to read in several languages including Hebrew and German. He also spent a lot of time writing poetry and wanted to get it published. He spent time studying law books and trying to challenge his conviction. 

It was known that Jesse tried to attempt to escape prison 10 or 12 times, and handmade tools were often found in his possession. Wardens reported finding rope, steel pens and a drill in Jesse’s cell or on his person. According to reports, Jesse lost one of his eyes while attempting to escape with a gas pipe. A psychiatrist report said that Jesse was extremely determined. 

In 1917 Jesse was able to get privileges that other prisoners who were sentenced to life got. At first Jesse refused, wanting nothing besides getting pardoned. In 1929 his health was failing and he was transferred to Bridgewater Hospital for the Criminally Insane where he died on September 29, 1932 at the age of 72. 

Many moralists at the time believed Jesse’s crimes were sparked from a series called “Dime Novels” which were very popular at the time and often told stories involving blood and immoral lifestyles, though Jesse claimed he had never read those books. 

Jesse Pomeroy is known to have possible 9 or 10 victims and was the youngest person in Massachusetts history to be convicted of first-degree murder.