The Murder of Mary Stannard | Morbid | Podcast | Forensic Files

hey weirdos I'm Ash and I'm Elena and this is morbid I was just struggling no I am
okay can I can I just talk about myself for a second never never I was going to say this is mermaid instead of morbid
because I went to like a I think it's called a white elephant uh like secret it's not like a secret sand it's like a
white elephant spot um and I got this sexy mermaid uh ornament which I have pictured here wow Drew just put it on
the Christmas tree are we sure we're calling that a sexy mermaid or yeah are we calling a slightly disturbing mermaid
yeah he's sexy look he's ripped he's a sexy mermaid what do you think Michael you guys are never on my side
whatever he's my sexy mermaid in my heart okay I got number one at the white elephant and I actually got to pick that
out of all the gifts yeah well they were Silly gifts so that was the best one in
my opinion yeah I wanted him what a Yankee Swap uh Del light it was great that was it was fantastic I love it I
loved it it was I never done like a silly uh swap before and this one was like the silliest one that I ever did
the silliest of all the swaps yeah my brother-in-law has a new Finland and hi Caroline and Michael um you were looking
off into the distance when you said that and I thought Caroline and Michael just
like materialized next to me I was like right there where are they you don't see them hi are they in
the room with us right now do not see but my brother-in-law they put a bunch of uh his his dog's hair into a bag and
he put like a sewing kit in there and he was like make your own New Finland sweatshirt that's funny Dy there was
like a a half drink bottle of soda that somebody won so yeah I picked the sexy mermaid okay all right quote unquote
sexy Mar SE he's sexy he's sexy so yeah I was going to say this is mermaid like the moral of that story you
might have also been feeling it because of so much talk of the sea that Alena's an aquatico now we all I think you guys
know me by now we're like five years into this um that I hyperfixate and when I hyperfixate I really go hard on my
hyperfixations like John John can feel them coming he like senses it in the air yeah like he feels a vibration and he's
like what you hyper fixating on today no I can feel it for my house sometimes I'm
like oh she's got a new one she's got a new one my latest hyperfixations uh involve the sea Aqua which I've been
I've been moving in that direction for a while ever since swimming against that curtain yeah I mean it's I mean it
started long ago with the Titanic we all got hyperfixated on that for a little bit okay it was like just me no I feel
like everybody had that moment in their childhood like for me second grade there
it was like when you could start reading articles was on the computer in computer
class they would like teach you how to do that and I read a little like article about the Titanic second grade for you
yeah what was last year for you I was like a grown ass adult when we could yeah no it was second grade it was like
a big ass computers yeah mine was when they brought um they called it the big piece and it was like a big piece of the
Titanic Oh my God and we got to go see it and the Museum of Science and we got you could you like could literally like
put your hand I don't think we should have touched it but we did you touched it yeah and it and it had like um one of
the one of the port holes I think they're called like those circular Windows cuz it must have been like a
lower part of the ship was still intact in there oh how old were you did you have representation elementary school
and they just said touch that well we just went in a line and like I would say my representation is not here yeah I
don't know I'm not touching that they they were I mean they were they didn't force us to touch it like they weren
like touch it but I think we just like Titanic like I don't think it was part of the whole thing have you suffered
great misfortunes in your life n I'm good it was I I touched it I was like I'm going to touch that but I'm not
going to go down to the bottom of the sea and touch that that's for sure that's different but it's that that's
where it all begins really is when you should have a healthy respect and fear of the ocean some of us don't get that
but like most of us do and I then all of a sudden I think you're all probably with me cuz I think everyone is you're
on North Sea Tik talk right now oh ABS [ __ ] of course you are y like as soon as that starts I'm
like well I'm watching this till the end weirdly I don't know what the [ __ ] happened I got on North Sea Tik Tok
immediately after my wedding like I just started getting there maybe I I had been
on it so maybe my vibes shifted over to perhaps and then also maybe your phone heard me on North Sea Tik Tok a lot and
it was like she likes that that's probably part of it and then actually I answered my own question on our
honeymoon we were really interested by the boats that coming and going to the point that Drew literally downloaded a
boat tracker onto his phone and I'd be like what's that one what's that one I love that yeah but that's like I got to
know who the who the people that are working in the North Sea are yeah cuz I keep seeing these videos and I'm like
are you all are you okay what happened you must like I feel like that's like when you're like you're in trouble no I
think that that no the that's like they that's their job that no but like you should like you should be in trouble if
you if you have to go to the North Sea like that should be a punishment absolutely that should be a punishment
but these are just like men and women who are like I this is my job the B my the office is swimming next to the
biggest propeller you've ever seen in your life while the sea rages around me and I fix that propeller I can't even
hear that sentence without losing my marbles or like I'm fixing this light underneath the ocean while it rages
around me and drowns me a 100 times and I'm like I got I got to shake one of your hands like I got to just be like
what did you see did you see the one that I got the other day where they were like pushing the biggest ships in like
the whole entire world out to sea for the first time that [ __ ] me yeah you know I don't like the big things watch
structures yeah it stresses me out I think it was the North Sea page put that posted that all right well here we go
now if you guys are listening to this I think I'm now going to make you be on North Sea Tik Tok cuz you're your
devices are going to think they're going to hear me talking about it and they're
going to think that's something you like so I honestly you're welcome because it's a great place to be and you will
find yourself being like yo and the last clip will shock you always it's always going to shock I don't know why that
makes me laugh so hard it usually does so the whole thing shocks me usually it's the first clip for me I'm like I
feel like you should have swapped this to the end but you know what luckily my story is on land today I'm happy about
that luckily but it's not a really lucky story on land it's a pretty terrible one
uh but it's on land so we're out of the sea um we have an we have a little bit of an old timey crime here but my
goodness is there a lot happening here it's old timey Cy this is the murder of Mary Stannard and I looked up the
pronunciation to say it because I thought it was stenard at first but it's Stannard I could see why you would think
that now on the afternoon of September 3rd 1878 22-year-old Mary Stannard left her home
in Madison Connecticut what's up Connecticut hey CT telling her father she was going to go Blackberry picking
because that's very 1800s Connecticut I love that um she said she was going to be back by dark so don't worry about it
and night came and Mary had not returned so her father went out to look for her and eventually found her body by a Creek
in the woods her father found her body yes and it horrifically oh the investigation into her murder
was truly wild I mean wait there's a there's a preacher involved oh there's adultery an elicit Affair oh there's a
possible pregnancy there's all kinds of things so and it remains technically unsolved to this day
allegedly but it doesn't allegedly yeah I mean they're all dead everybody's dead
and also when you hear this you're going to say yeah yeah yeah yeah I could tell
by the by The Gleam in your eye over there that salous is happening this is the most salacious all of this isn't
that such a good word it has a good mouth feel it does have a good mou uh so let's talk about Mary okay Mary
Elizabeth Stannard was born September 3rd I don't know if that sounds familiar to you yeah she she died on her birthday
oh God September 3rd 1856 in Madison Connecticut also we love a Virgo we do love a Virgo I love a Virgo we love
Virgos I have a Virgo Dave a Virgo Caleb's a a Virgo my aunt's a my in my chart I'm sure I do somewhere
uh but Madison itself was a small town of about 1500 residents on the Southeastern coast along the Long Island
Sound uh not a ton is known about her life prior to becoming an adult because it was the 1800s she was living a pretty
by by those standards unremarkable life you know like just a very normal just average life uh but Mary at the time she
was killed Mary was living at home with her father again she was 22 um her father was Charles stenard or no I said
it the way I wanted to say it first standard standard and she was also living with her steps sister Susan Holly
and Mary's 2-year-old son William okay uh there's very little information about Mary's mother but several newer
newspaper articles claim that Mary's quote mother and grandmother were insane oh that's sad uh from the Hartford
current okay now Mary had given birth to a child William mhm uh she was unmarried
and in the 1800s that's already kind of a little little black mark there and she was also
refusing to name the child's father oh okay so there were rumors around town that the father was a married man in a
nearby town and when you find out what happens later you're like uh oh but this meant that Mary was not held in the
highest of social regards yeah but shockingly and this is pretty shocking for this she wasn't a complete Pariah
she was considered a quote unquote Fallen Woman by those who at that time were trying to claim their own [ __ ]
didn't stink uh moral superiority [ __ ] you know was like rampant still is rampant everybody tries to pretend that
their [ __ ] doesn't stink would they want to [ __ ] on someone correct uh but so she
gave birth to what they considered and I hate the term illegitimate child you know because it's like that's a child
but they're pretty legit I see them and although that kind of thing was undesirable especially back then most
most residents actually believed quote in their estimation she had been more sinned against than sinning wow and she
was generally treated fairly surprising with a reasonable amount of respect considering like she wasn't again held
in high social regard but she was not treated shittily like [ __ ] as shitty as you've seen in the we've seen in other
cases where it's like she might as well be like thrown in the river at that point 100% yeah but like many rural
people especially at the time Mary was poor she was uneducated but generally she everybody thought she was very
cheerful she was friendly she was a very hard worker and it was said that she was
quote ready at any time to do any labor no matter how menial that would result in her being able to contribute to the
family fund that herself and child should not become a burden so she's kind of like a boss [ __ ] who's going to work
hard for herself and her family that's what I'm getting she's she's got that and she seems nice she's friendly she's
cheerful you know she had a little oops like situation I don't know if it was a married man that was the rumor and you
know what rumors n and you know what she got William out of it so she seemed happy she was a great mom and she has
like a nice little fam yeah and she had a great dad and stuff and Mom and everything that was going to take care
of her now again had she gone past her 22 years she would have probably gone on to lead a pretty you know fairly average
life like so young unfortunately she had to come and meet Reverend Herbert Hayden in the summer of
1878 I'm going to go out on a limb here he sounds like a douche Herbert Hayden Hayden not interested well let's talk
about him shall we so shall we Herbert Hayden was born in 1850 in Taunton Massachusetts Girl by Mike everyone just
looked at be in the room girl girl bye listen I used to live there I could say that it's true I no longer do but
yeah he was born in Taunton my God my friends used to call me taunt Ash when I would get mad taunt as
oh the Taunton of it all well that's where Herbert Hayden came from yeah that checks but at the time Taunton was
actually a thriving mil toown yeah Taunton was like gorgeous it's pretty wild what became of ton and he you know
Hayden spent or Herbert spent had a very ordinary childhood and a very modest home very normal okay in 1869 he
attended the Providence conference seminary in East Greenwich Rhode Island and around this time Hayden met Rosa
Shaw who was a school teacher from Carver Massachusetts Cava Cava kid Cava right next to Plymouth there you go
Plymouth is in here too I know it is I knew it you know so they fell for each other you know the school teacher the
guy going to you know Seminary Jesus Place Jesus place they fell for each other and the two became engaged and
eventually married in 1971 is that allowed in 1971 1871 100 years later they married I was
like sure sure sure could he even get married though yeah you're like but I don't care I was like cool Back to the
Future he's 150 that's awesome can he actually get married is he Immortal yeah there's certain there's all kinds of
different uh like I think it's certain like certain pastors can get married I think it's all different okay okay
like priests can't different like steps of spiritual leaders not even steps I think it's certain like offshoots like
it depends on your religion it depends on your congregation it depends on your your place so many Logistics yeah
there's a lot of different things and I don't know all of them but I know that this in particular was okay okay um now
according to Herbert Hayden just one year before they were married Rosa lost her mother and her sister to
tuberculosis oh [ __ ] and her doctor predicted Rosa might also succumb to that disease within the year but he
recommended maybe a change of scenery to a less polluted environment just to help
out okay cuz remember they're in ton of course there's tuberculosis in ton so the couple ended up marrying in August
1871 like I said not 1971 you're going to do it again I was 100 years later um in Plymouth Massachusetts yay said let's
go see that rock but they went and returned to East Greenwich so Hayden could continue his education and it was
a good place for Rosa to kind of like chill out for a minute now over the course of two years that followed uh
their marriage Rosa gave birth to two children and while Herbert continued his education uh completing his Seminary
training in the spring of 1873 um he graduated from the conference SE Seminary and then enrolled at Wes I
think it's Wesleyan College in Middle Connecticut yeah totally and Rosa stayed home and raised the kids uh hey really
wanted to complete the program but the workload and his part-time Min like Minister duties essentially became a
little too much for him to handle and he began a long battle with really extreme
fatigue that kind of prevented him from keeping up with his studies like he just
couldn't keep up with it all he was running himself into the ground out of six semesters he only completed about
two semesters worth of work so he really gave up THS down he really gave up quitter now he accepted that he was no
longer going to be able to meet all his responsibilities so he dropped out and in 1875 he accepted a part-time position
preaching on Sundays at the church in West Rocky Hill Connecticut got it that was a small community between Hartford
and Middletown the position at Rocky Hill was supposed to just be like kind of a temporary thing um he intended to
kind of parlay it into something more longterm but this worked for now um cuz it was helping to pay the bills so like
why not and it's in your your line of work that you want to do right right and after one year at Rocky Hills he was
transferred again to Rockland and then transferred again in 1877 this time to replace the minister
at a church in Monroe Connecticut so the position in Monroe was had better pay and it seemed like it could really turn
into something more permanent but there was a problem it was nearly 50 miles from his home in Rockland oh [ __ ] that's
that's a far drive yeah and especially in the 1800 so it made sense for Herbert to spend the majority of his week in
Monroe to kind of handle Church business and you know not have to do that commute
all the time so this left Rosa though at home alone with the kids a lot and again
this position held promise for Herbert's career but it meant Rosa was left alone
and like that's a lot to put on her and it was like five or six days out of the week she was completely alone yeah and
that's putting a lot of distance in between them as a married couple too yeah and she was she was kind of
recovering from like almost having tuberculosis anyway so she's already like kind of dealing with stuff and the
of her mom and sister yeah like she's dealing with grief all that stuff and the Stress and Anxiety were starting to
make her ill at this point and because of this the couple because he had this new job decided that they were going to
hire someone to help her around the house with the kids and so they hired a young woman and this young woman was
Mary Stannard she lived she lived on a farm with her father just a few houses down from the Hayden so it worked out
now by late 1877 Mary had moved into the Hayden's house and was working like five
or six days a week with them like just you know helping with the kids keeping the house like helping with meals and
she was even more necessary to the family when at the end of the year Rosa became pregnant again with their third
child oh wow and although she was very much an indispensable part of the household as far as Rosa was concerned
by by March 1878 several residents of Monroe began noticing that uh although Rosa found her indispensable it seemed
like Herbert really liked Mary it was coming home more often yeah within a few weeks of her being hired on a fulltime
by the Hayden quote there were scandalous stories of meetings in lots and other unfrequented places in the
evening where Herbert and Mary would be alone uhoh it was unconfirmed of course uh but later it kind of was but there
was a popular story shared around town that one evening Hayden took his wife out for an oyster dinner and halfway
through the meal he excused him himself briefly to return home where he was quote guilty of improper intimacy with
Mary before coming back to the restaurant you take your wife out for oysters and then your raggedy ass goes
home to your mistress are you kidding me yeah that was a story around take me on a date to
get oysters which like there's implications there already yeah you know yeah and then you go home because the
aphrodesiac is hdden and you go [ __ ] your mistress what the [ __ ] no the mistress that's taking care of our kids
yes yeah what yeah I'm saying no now and then and then poor Rosa is sitting there
afrodesia acted up yeah's already done with nowhere to go yeah she she should find someone else Herbert sucks now it
also should be said right away that as far as anyone knew the attraction between Mary and Herbert was mutual and
they had a very consensual relationship like it um and again this is shocking for the time few people really thought
bad L of Mary for her participation in the affair and actually when it came to responsibility for the infidelities many
around town noted that Mary and and this might have been part of it I think cuz I
was really shocked to see that everybody wasn't blaming her not because I think they should just blame her but because
that's usually the way it goes especially in the 1800s like it still goes like that now yeah and it's like in
the 1800s it was like you don't even blinking eye it's of course it's her fault but apparently Mary was very
easily influenced by others and was likely very susceptible to Hayden's charms because in fact when it came to
Mary it seems like everyone kind of had a fondness for her because they deemed her quote a very simple and easy- minded
girl okay now that doesn't necessarily mean she was like cognitively you know that like cognitively anything was wrong
here I think it just means that she was like you know innocent she's innocent she kind of grew up uneducated she's not
very worldly yeah and she's very easily influenced and there I think yeah and um so I think
people were like a little easier to for like quicker to forgive her of her social missteps I should say uh but
Herbert Hayden denied the affair with Mary and he maintained his innocence until the day he died you where the [ __ ]
did you go during that uh aphrodesiac dinner so we'll never know what caused their Affair to eventually come to an
end which it did or will we but whatever the case by late spring their romance had died out and when Rosa gave birth to
the couple's third child in August CH remember he was carrying this on while his wife was pregnant yeah that's good
Mary had moved out of the Hayden house and stopped working for them I wonder why we don't know I wonder do you think
Rosa caught wind of something and was like you get the [ __ ] out of here well we'll see okay um she ended up moving in
with Jane Studley near uh in nearby Guilford it was Jane Studley a friend to whom uh Mary first confided this affair
with her okay after two about two weeks of moving into the home Jane noticed that Mary seemed
very despondent she was like super emotional she could be set off a lot easier and it was not typical of Mary
she pregnant and so when Jane asked what's wrong with her Mary broke down and confessed that she and Hayden had
been having an affair and that she had been quote criminally intimate with the Reverend and now believed she was
pregnant I was going to say those emotions criminally intimate criminally intimate that would be a [ __ ] awesome
band name we are criminally intimate like that's [ __ ] great somebody name your Band F please do or good a good
book criminally intimate would be a great book I would pick that up and never put it down listen up book talk
that's your next book criminally intimate you shouldn't tell anybody that I know never mind well you don't really
write smuts I I do not criminally intimate is a smut book yeah and I give credit to smut writers because like I
don't know if I could no I feel I feel right in the face just I know if I could like I'm like good for you man because I
could not it's the inner workings of somebody's mind right there so like shout out to smut authors yeah that's
but but Jane herself had some medical knowledge and uh and she definitely knew I I I'm not sure exactly how like she
had so much medical knowledge but she knew a lot about pregnancy she maybe she was a midwife or knew Midwife had some
kind of interest in it but Jane examined Mary and she said she found quote well recognized signs of
pregnancy um the text that we found this in isn't super specific about it but together the two women did the math and
determined that Mary was about five months pregnant five months yeah and this fell in the time frame that Mary
and Herbert were carrying on an affair damn that's pretty far along yeah so although she was known to be what like I
said earlier people thought of her as a woman of lower than average intellect I say uh Mary knew giving birth to another
child out of wedlock with a married man um a married preacher no less was about as undesirable An Occurrence as she
could imagine like this was definitely not a good thing and Not only would it be a significant and unavoidable source
of Shame at the time and probably alter or really end a lot of her relationships
with family and friends like this was a biggie yeah um but it would also be just
another what she considered undue burden on her father who was ALS also struggling and was trying to keep you
know her and her son afloat so she was feeling like she was becoming an issue which is sad Mary so desperate for a
solution Jane suggested that Mary go to Herbert Hayden to explain the circumstances and ask for his help uh
basically reasoning that he would have to be just as invested in dealing with this as she was like we have to come up
with a solution here you would think and Mary agreed that this was a good idea but before doing that that she sat down
to write a letter to her sister Susan and included in the envelope another letter that was intended to be given to
Herbert Hayden in the letter Mary told her sister Susan about the affair the possible pregnancy and asked that she
give the letter to Herbert Hayden now according to Mary the letter she wrote to Hay him was a similar explanation and
a a request that he take her to New Haven quote for an operation and then to return her to Mrs Studley for any
sickness that might follow okay now Mary mailed the letter to her sister in Rockland and she got it 2 days later but
by then Mary had returned home to her father's house and intercepted her sister before she gave the letter to
Hayden cuz she was like I want to give it to him in person actually okay she just changed your mind yeah now a little
after 1 p.m. on September 3rd 1878 her 22nd birthday oh Mary stard gathered up her tin pil and left the house she told
her father she was going to go to Big Rock about a quarter quarter mile from the house to pick blackberries and she
would be home soon that afternoon the sun went down it was getting darker and Charles Stannard Stannard became
concerned he had she hadn't come back that wasn't like her um and so he set out in the direction of big rock to find
out where she had gone and as he made his way through the brush into the clearing by Big Rock Charles made the
gruesome Discovery Mary was lying on her back with her arms folded neatly across
her chest she had a clean white Bonnet that she was wearing when she left and it was folded neatly beneath her head
and her tin pale was just a few feet away overturned but there was no evidence that any berries had ever been
in it so she didn't even make it there and so Charles ran to her and quickly realized that he was not going to be
able to bring her back Mary's throat had been cut severing the jugular vein kateed AR artery and the larynx oh my
God brutally cut deep she also had a severe head wound there was a hole in her scalp what and there was also a
large bruise on the back of her right hand oh my God so she was brutalized absolutely so Charles freaked out ran to
the nearest home for help that of Francis Mills and the News spread across the village very quickly and before long
a group of men had assembled at the Mills house and they set out for the scene uh they discovered Mary's body in
the woods where Charles had told them in a quick of the area turned up no nothing
else really of note um no instrument of murder no no instrument like because it seems like there was two different
things used like something to cut her throat and probably a blunt instrument that hit her in the skull neither one
was found and because it was nearly completely dark at that point and at this point it had actually started to
rain oh no the men called off the search for the evening and just carried Mary's
body back to the standard home before sending for justice Henry Stone and Dr Rufus matthewson Dr Matthews was the one
who performed the autopsy in his postmortem examination Dr matthewson confirmed that Mary's cause
of death was pretty certainly that wound to her throat yeah he also noted the wound to the right side of the head and
he said quote Jagged and star-shaped and apparently made by a blunt in instrument
truly interesting though was that according to Dr matthus Mary's body showed no signs of pregnancy or of
having been recently pregnant interesting and the state of the body indicated quote an outrage was
not committed upon her so no sexual assault okay so she was not pregnant so this all could have been avoided it's it
sounds like yeah horrifying now a Coroner's inquest was immediately called the following day and it was overseen by
Justice Stone and Dr Matthews um among the first witness called was Francis Mills who was the owner of the home
where Charles uh stanner had run to after discovering Mary's body and uh Mills told the jury that she had been
walking out in the woods earlier with her son around 300 p.m. in the afternoon and heard agonizing shrieks and
recognized the voice of Mary standards but didn't approach the scene and didn't see anything why so you heard agonized
shrieks and you were just like you didn't tell anyone I'm going go about my business like I'm just going to leave
like I like I understand not wanting to like run in the like you know to put your son In Harm's Way and all that
you're not going to tell anyone like hey I heard some [ __ ] in the woods like we
should probably go check that out she really said not my chair not my problem she really did but Mill's testimony led
many in the inquest to speculate that she quote might have been outraged by and this is a quote by a [ __ ] and then
murdered o now Dr Matthew how however dismissed that theory and reminded the jury there was no evidence of sexual
assault she was not outraged quote unquote okay now almost immediately after the body was discovered rumors
started swirling around town about Herbert Hayden's possible connection to this murder MH after all for the past
year there had been a lot of talk about the illicit romance between the two yeah
and then Mary's employment with the Hayden had ended rather abruptly but it was Mary's sister Susan Holly and
Charles Stannard her father who offered the most insightful of testimonies I would say now according to both of them
Reverend Hayden had come to their home around 11:00 a.m. on the morning of the murder bch he was in town and he and
Mary had gone out for a walk when they returned Mary told them both that they had made an appointment to meet later
that afternoon mhm not far from where the body was discovered right additional testimony from Susan and Jane Studley
revealed that Mary had confessed her affair with with Hayden to both of them and that she believed herself to be
pregnant with Herbert Hayden's child now when asked about this Herbert Hayden denied having met with Mary a second
time that day he said he had been out cutting wood all afternoon all by himself and didn't see Mary again until
he and the others went to the woods to retrieve her body what a great Alibi a great Alibi is one that no one can
confirm or totally no one saw me but I was there I was in the woods alone by myself the whole day
secluded just chop chop solude now after hearing two days of testimony hedger Charles stard who or Stannard no
relation by the way Charles Stannard is her father this is head juror Charles Stannard who is not related that's crazy
uh he went to justice HB Wilcox HB Wilcox I have feelings oh I have feelings sorry wait who HB wi the
judge he's the Justice yeah okay and so this head this this head juror requested that an arrest warrant be
issued for Hayden Herbert Hayden duh the the request stunned Justice Wilcox who was a member of Hayden's
church instead girl bye he said he insisted he said he had quote heard Hayden preach a very good sermon it did
not seem possible the minister could be guilty and he would rather sign his own death warrant than that arrest warrant
against Mr Hayden blink blink blink blink blink now luckily against his protests the arrest
warrant was signed that Friday morning and a sheriff because they were like [ __ ] off well also don't you think that
would be like like you know how jurors get dismissed for being uh too close to the case wouldn't you think that would
be a conflict yeah back then I don't think they believed in conflicts I think they were just like huh n n [ __ ] it
Whatever as we'll see because it gets worse I had a feeling um so a sheriff's deputy went out to Madison I don't know
why I said Sheriff Sheriff's deput sorry I don't really know what happened there
a sheriff's deputy went to Madison and placed Herbert Hayden under arrest for the murder of Mary Stannard although the
evidence against Hayden was at this point pretty circumstantial and opinions kind of heavily were influenced by rumor
at this point yeah um belief in his guilt was pretty widespread one repor wrote yeah one reporter wrote the
circumstances of the murder were so overwhelming against the clergymen that surprise was Express that he was not at
once placed in custody and the reporter then wrote of his guilt as the case appears now there can be very little
doubt and it looks as if he was led through fright to commit the crime of murder and yet did it in such in so
bungling a manner as to make it almost impossible for him to escape suspicion and arrest damn so they're like this
[ __ ] idiot like that's what they're saying now the public and at the very least the Press might have been very
confident in Hayden's guilt at the time but far more important in this case was the judge's opinion and in this case the
judge on the case was Justice HB Willcox I had a feeling our friend and also he's
not my friend a friend and staunch advocate of Herbert Hayden's innocence which seems seems fine seems so legit
can we call anyone else literally and go outside and grab the first guy you see and I think that'll be better like come
on the trial began September 10th and was held in the basement of the Madison um town hall and it was a space
described as quote low ceiling stifling dirty room almost a seller why don't they have a courthouse cuz you know the
1800s of all the [ __ ] so judge come over to this basement and let's judge this
man judge H Lind Harrison was acting on behalf of the state while LM hubard the local postmaster was was acting on
behalf of Hayden that's real close to Were Real uh they were Wy back then for real now will Cox again was the
presiding Justice and it should be noted that although he had legal training he had no trial
experience sounds like where are we sounds like this is a well-oiled machine I think it's going to turn out fine yeah
everything will be great so the rumors about Herbert Hayden's affair with Mary went a long way to people drawing
conclusions about his guilt but that wasn't the so or even the most important reason he was arrested actually it was
the testimony from Susan Holly and Charles Stannard regarding Hayden's supposed appointment with Mary on the
day of her murder that was the most suspicious yeah and in her testimony and the fact that he didn't have an alibi
his Alibi was like I was chopping wood alone in the forest right no one can you get me a bear to tell to like you know
corroborate this no no no I can't now uh so in her testimony during the inquest and during the first trial Susan Holly
her her sister explained that after Mary's first visit with Hayden on the day of her murder her sister claimed
that she had told Hayden of the supposed pregnancy so in that first meeting where
they took a walk she had revealed to Herbert Hayden that she was pregnant and he told her not to worry that they would
go to the pharmacy and get a quote unquote quick medicine that would end the pregnancy now further testimony from
other residents confirmed that Hayden had gone to the pharmacy on the morning of the murder and purchased a quantity
of arsenic quick medicine I bet I don't know if I would call it medicine per se now during his testimony Hayden said
well of course I did that my house and barn are overrun with rats I had P purchased the Arsenic to Mi mix with
sugar and kill the rats okay however he insisted he had not yet used the Arsenic
he had used it to kill the rats and as far as he knew it was still in the package in his barn okay so he's like I
didn't even open it and he made sure to say that which I was like that wasn't smart cuz we can figure that out later
now the second piece of compelling evidence was a bloody knife that they discovered during the search of Herbert
Hayden's property did he also use that on the rats F following his arrest authorities searched his home in the
adjacent Barn where they discovered a bloody knife about the size and shape of that which was believed to have made the
wound in Mary's neck like [ __ ] you brought that home the neck the knife was sent to MC white a professor of
pathology at Yale medical school who conducted extensive tests on the blood I love this because it's very 1800s
because it's like it went to Yale University where they they conducted extensive tests on the blood he just
like what he said was I think it's human blood that's so extensive and I didn't just make that up that's a [ __ ] quote
from the New York Times in 1878 that's when he was called to testify Professor white confirmed that it was blood and he
told the prosecuting attorney quote I think it's human blood I have a feeling I just and I'm like I get it it's the
1800s I'm surprised they could tell it was blood and not jelly but like still white explained that he had made a
similar examination of the blood stains found on Mary's Bonnet that that Pure White Bonnet that she worn and those
discovered on a large Stone found near the B and said he quote had no doubt that this
Blood on the stone was human blood so he could definitely tell that that was human blood a few days later Herbert
Hayden's wife Rosa took the stand to testify for the defense come on told the court when her husband went out that
afternoon to chop wood he left the knife in question with her quote to use in peeling pears while he was away here
peel these pairs in the me according to Ros glads human ACC a human pair human and
Professor white is like I'll do some extensive testing and I'll be able to tell you that I too think it might be
human me thinks now according to Rosa Herbert Hayden had cut his finger with that knife a few days prior to the
murder and that likely explained the blood on the blade [ __ ] you were going to use that to cut peirs I know I was
like that's gross that's nasty now additional testimony was provided by the defense's own expert Professor LJ
Sanford who gave extensive testimony regarding the testing process and it all did little to explain the presence of
the blood like how it got there yeah but it was long-winded and complicated enough to raise doubts in in uh
Professor White's testimony yeah so he just confused the jury that was his whole aim he was like science science
science science biology biology biology and the were like ah I don't know what that is and at the same time that
testimony was being given in the court H Lind Harrison lobbied to have Mary's body disinterred and have the wound and
stomach be examined more thoroughly mhm Harrison's request came in light of the fact that not only had the knife been
discovered in the barn and can now be compared to the wound they were like we need to get her back so we can compare
it um but also after the prosecution learned from that Hayden had purchased a large quantity of arsenic poison from
the local pharmacy just days before the murder the defense objected strongly because they were like we can now test
her stomach contents right and the the defense was like No And they were like why though and
they were like he's he's a preacher he can't afford additional legal fees that were going to acrew while the state puts
this hold on the case to exume and examine the body okay and judge Willcox being a friend and having no sympathy or
affinity for the prosecution agreed with the defense and refused to pause the case but he said you can exume her I'm
just not pausing the case so we might find him innocent while you're doing your tests while you figure out like
indubitably that he did this wow yeah wow now so they're not going to pause the case could get to the end of it
before they even get Mary out of the ground and try to make these like literally The Smoking Gun discoveries
right but he's like yeah I don't care nah during the inquest in the first trial a great deal of information came
to light that the prosecution really believed warranted further investigation before any Court could reasonably
determine guilt or innocence they were like we're kind we're having a lot of stuff come up that like you do need to
pause so we can go through all this and this included an like we said an exhumation of Mary's body to examine
stomach contents and that neck wound and as well as several statements and claims
relating to the knife and to Hayden's whereabouts on the Afternoon Of The Murder it was just too much coming out
that was like this is Shady now judge Wilcox however yeah he refused again to adjourn
the case to allow the further investigation and on September 19th 1887 Willcox announced that he had heard
enough he wasn't even going to let it keep going according to Willcox a close friend and defender of the accused
remember bye the prosecution had presented a largely circumstantial case that was easily explained Away by the
defense regarding the knife he Wilcox said quote he himself had at that moment a knife in his pocket which must have
been full of blood resembling human for he had recently killed a dog with it and
a dog's blood resembles that of a human being this man killed a dog and we're listening to this [ __ ] why did he kill
a dog with a knife [ __ ] this guy what the hell [ __ ] this guy judge wiox [ __ ]
you what sitting there being like this guy's fine he's innocent so he's innocent I don't give a [ __ ] I'm not
going to listen to anything also uh I have a knife in my pocket that I [ __ ] murdered a dog with so I could also be a
murderer and it's like why don't we put your ass on trial then what the [ __ ] are
you doing serious killing dogs out here in these streets what the [ __ ] [ __ ] judge will there Supreme Court at this
point well then will can we go somewhere else this court sucks the 1800s of it all but will Cox went on to say that Mrs
Mrs Hayden Rosa Hayden's testimony was further proof of Hayden's innocence because quote he didn't think she would
tell a falsehood to save her husband from The Gallows I don't think like go to bed judge wiox go to
your room shut up it's like are you Kidd this woman won't you don't think she'll
get on the stand and tell a falsehood to save her husband and father of her children Gall father of her three
children whom she needs him to provide for you're you're like ah n who would do that what lies nah she's a religious
woman he's like secret secrets are no fun I don't think she would do that she doesn't like those like what the [ __ ]
what like and everybody and all these men were just sitting there going huh yeah uhhuh absolutely he's like she she
pinky swore to me that she'd tell the whole truth and nothing about the truth we we spit Shook on it yeah she G she
flashed a peace sign and I thought that was pretty great so and you think that's
the worst [ __ ] you've heard the last thing that I'm going to tell you I'm not even there yet but the last thing I will
tell you in this thing is going to blow your [ __ ] mind get out of here get out of girlfriend willox told the crowd
assembled in the courtroom let me say from the testimony no no let me say from the testimony given
that if I were ass sure of heaven and eternal Felicity as I am of this man that this man is Guiltless of the crime
of killing Mary E Stannard I should rest content so he's saying if I was I am more I am more sure that this man is
innocent of this crime than I am that heaven exists wow cool and I would rest content if I was as sure that heaven
exists as I am sure of his innocence and it's like what did this guy what's he got on you like what what the [ __ ]
going on I'm like what what's happening like you see are you two having are you two having an affair with preacher I'm
just will Cox what's happening yeah do you guys get together on the weekend just be honest I don't know I'm just I'm
just wondering I'm asking for a friend cuz he's just like he innocent I love him I mean he's innocent and they're
literally like here's the bloody knife found in his barn no it's not no me too I have bloody knives like it's just like
you are shut up like you're trying to like it's getting real bloody knives everywhere we all got them and it's like
no no no we don't yeah I don't know about this brother he's uh he's wild and with that the charges against Herbert
Hayden were discharged and he was allowed to leave the court a free man what the [ __ ] now at the time of Herbert
Hayden's arrest public opinion was generally that he had killed Mary Stannard and gotten away with it after
being told that she was pregnant that's what everybody thought um the prosecution offered a strong and
compelling case that presented motive her pregnancy in their Affair y means the bloody knife discovered in the barn
his barn y and opportunity the appointment in the woods they had literally laid out motive means and
opportunity clearly for everybody and they had a wealth of damaging testimony to go along with it bit he bought
arsenic that morning the defense on the other hand presented a rebuttal that included basically some murky scientific
jargon that they probably just pulled out of their ass but mostly relied on the assertion that Hayden simply
couldn't have done this because he's a minister and his wife wouldn't lie totally that's literally the case they
rested on no you're not this guy is a minister or preacher and his wife she's so pretty she wouldn't lie yeah that's
it and they were like sounds good and like the prosecution's like we have literally the perfect case so sorry did
the jury even make the decision or did the judge the judge just was like he was just like all done I've heard enough
what was the point ofar him and again well one of those arguments is clearly and objectively much stronger than the
other uh the charges were nonetheless dismissed by a judge who from the very start was convinced of Hayden's
innocence and not only resented even having to preside over this case in the first place but resented the prosecutor
for what he believed was an unjust unjust and [ __ ] up attack on his friend and a beloved preacher of the
town so while the charges against Hayden were dismissed at the time hn Harrison remained convinced of of his guilt and
that's the prosecutor he was like [ __ ] that like I know this is true and he refused to let will Cox's [ __ ]
decision biased decision prevent him from continuing to pursue the case which like good on him he believed that Mary's
statement to her sister about quote quick medicine referred to the Arsenic purchased by Hayden on the morning
morning of the murder agreed and Harrison arranged for Mary's body to be exed he was like [ __ ] that I'm still
going to look I'm going to still do this investigation family deserves to know like without a doubt what happened and
not content to leave the second examination up to the count the county doctor he was like I don't trust anybody
in this [ __ ] place he going to DIY Harrison arranged for the second postmortem examination to be conducted
by pathologist MC white and S SW Johnson the chair of the chemistry Department also from Yale so the two Yale pathology
uh professors he was like I trust them in their examination of the contents of Mary's stomach the pathologist
discovered quote a mass of unabsorbed arsenic which they claimed was quote enough arsenic to kill the whole
community of Rockland oh my God they found the arsenic in her stomach they found all of the arsenic in
her stomach and then he slid her throat as well yep by white and Johnson's estimation there were roughly 50 or 60 G
of arsenic in Mary's stomach but she had likely ingested more and some had already been absorbed prior to her death
oh my God it doesn't take a ton of arsenic to kill an average siiz adult I looked it up in Grand like the FBI is
probably like coming to my door tomorrow they're like hey can you stop in GRS at
the low end of the dosage .14 five grams can be lethal wait and I'm sorry how much was in her 50 or 60 gram and they
believe there was more that had already been absorbed what the [ __ ] that is and
that's on the low end of the do dosage but even one point .145 can be lethal and that is less than only 1/8 of a
teaspoon is a lethal dose holy [ __ ] yeah yeah I am dumb struck right now and it was during the SEC this second
autopsy that another surprising Revelation was made relating to Mary's belief that she was pregnant
although there was still no evidence to suggest that she had recently been pregnant okay during the examination of
her reproductive organs the pathologist discovered several ovarian cysts which they said explained quote had only
mimicked the symptoms of early pregnancy oh so that explained they said that's why she believed she was pregnant it
wasn't her making it up right cuz that that was another thing that was starting to oh she made this [ __ ] up to keep him
to like take him away from his wife and they were like no no she she was experiencing symptoms that at that point
especially mimicked early pregnancy and they weren't how were they to tell like you just go off of symptoms back then
yeah and the argument that she was saying that she was pregnant because she wanted to keep him is stupid because she
literally had written a letter where she was like I don't want to do this I don't
know what to do like I'm going to be shunned like this is not I me to happen leaning more toward I would not like to
do this again now when white and Johnson reported their findings back to Harrison
he took their their report to Superior Court Judge Hitchcock and Culver I was like there's got to be another Court cuz
this one is Jak F I'd like to trade it in they immediately issued a warrant for Haven's arrest again and he was taken
into custody by sheriff's deputies and delivered to a cell at the jail jail house in New Haven the following day
reporters noted that as he was being transported to the jail quote Hayden was as smiling and talkative as on the day
of his trial what the [ __ ] cuz he thought he was like I'm not they're not going to get me cuckoo nut
in between the dismissal of charges and his rearrest Hayden had managed to gain considerable sympathy from the residents
of Monroe particularly those in his congregation yeah of course who viewed him as a victim of an overzealous
prosecutor and after the first trial ended the congregation passed quote resolutions of unqualified and continued
respect for brother Hayden as a man and Minister among other things the resolutions claimed quote his late
arrest was made on the most criminally frivolous grounds and was therefore a great outrage upon him in society at
large and it noted that his arrest was due only to quote Wicked designs of evil men and the resolution closed with a
pledge by the congregation to continue their unconditional emotional and financial support unconditional you say
so this man conned that entire invest congregation into also paying to support him through this murder trial where he
is so [ __ ] guilty it is outrageous he's a dick hole now the general support for Hayden was pretty Broad and the
resolution was specifically kind of signaling that there was a huge shift in what was going
to happen here before it was like pretty broad that everybody was like yeah I think he did and it makes sense like
here's the motive here's the means here's the opportunity they like he might have done this but we don't give a
[ __ ] well and everybody's like no I think you guys are just mean no way it's like's God so and that's because
everybody's now reframing Hayden as a Pious and morally righteous victim in what was essentially described as a
battle between good and evil now are you [ __ ] kidding me where he is good and they are evil for sure and as such
Herbert Hayden entered into a second trial for the murder of Mary Stannard as a kind of uh like folk hero and a victim
of a government system determined to pin a murder on him that he did not commit I
don't know about that why do you have arsenic in your possession and she's got it in her stomach rats you went to get
it that morning I need to know more about this pack I know it's coming back now while Hayden sat in jail awaiting
his second trial Harrison and a small group of investigators continued building their case against him the exam
and second autopsy had not only allowed them to confirm the Arsenic and Mary's stomach but also meant that they could
take a sample so they could compare it to something oo and the problem was however that Hayden claimed he hadn't
seen that packet of arsenic since he purchased it and the initial search of the barn hadn't turned up any arsenic
yeah cuz it was all [ __ ] gone now upon rearrest and remember he said I never even opened that pack he made he I
remember offered up that information that he had never opened that package now upon rearrest they searched the barn
a second time and the Arsenic was located empty only after the defense ended up having to give Specific
Instructions as to where it could be found so it was hidden as well the packet of arsenic from the barn was
turned over to CM white for analysis and was confirmed to be opened and to have the same chemical structure as what was
discovered in Mary's stomach dude come on and it was [ __ ] hidden it was hidden hidden and opened when this man
said I never opened it and it's just sitting in my barn and as the same chemical structure as the kind in Mary
stomach and was [ __ ] 60 Gams missing pretty much so for a variety of reasons unrelated to the case Hayden's trial was
actually delayed repeatedly and nearly a year passed before the second trial even
began in early November 1898 and during the first trial Witnesses for the prosecution like Susan Holly and J you
know um Jane Studley they were all kind of regarded with sympathy because they had just lost a loved one in a very
gruesome way like Charles stanard they were all treated very nicely this time however the public opinion had swayed in
Herbert Hayden's favor remember and the public including the judge and defense attorneys had no sympathy for anyone
that they believed was participating in the persecution of this Minister on the stand and in the Press Witnesses like
Susan Holly and Charles Stannard were belittled in court and portrayed to be ignorant laborers of low intelligence
now wow Herbert Hayden on the other hand was held up of a man of culture and strong moral and religious character
while his wife Rosa was treated as though she were the real victim here having been robbed of her husband for so
long baby he robbed you of him yeah he robbed a woman of her whole [ __ ] life and William of his mother ex exactly and
Charles of his daughter yeah and Susan of sister and as he had done the first time around Harris presented the jury
with a strong case built on scientific evidence and witness testimony science he established they're like science I
don't know her no I don't know her he established the relationship between Hayden and Mary reminded them of the
motive in the case and more importantly gave incredibly compelling evidence that
connected Mary's death to the Arsenic and the knife discovered in Herbert Hayden's Barn right and it was the
scientific evidence that was the Lynch pin of the entire case and Har Harris went out of his way to include expert
testimony from several Pathologists at Yale many of whom recreated their experiments in the courtroom before the
judge and jury just to make it like drive it home unfortunately while such scientific evidence might seem
irrefutable to us now to a 19th century jury in the confusing like in this whole
case witchcraft this confusing stream of jargon and Strang looking lab instruments that were brought in just
confused the hell out of them Y and according to one press report at the time this is wild oh God no quote at one
time during the examination five jurymen who had finished their inspection were reading
newspapers which were spread out before them but no one imagined they were reading reports about the
trial they're just reading newspapers while this is happening come on like yeah you can't make that [ __ ] up even
and it's G to get worse how when it came to the argument from the defense Hayden's loyer Samuel Jones presented
more or less the same case that was presented during the first trial the strong scientific evidence presented by
the prosecution was treated that it was like it was mystical gibberish further muddying the jury's understanding of the
Arsenic analysis he just confused them more and also their defense rested largely on Hayden's supposed strong
moral character and that of his wife and they and then they made sure to say that
the victim and her family were just ignorant par farmers and made poor choices and were poor had poor character
I cannot and remember Herbert cheated on his wife I do remember that but we're we're holding him up as the strong moral
character but of course but like this man is admitting to meeting with Mary to discuss the Fair
impossible pregnancy but they're holding him up as the moral character and just like sanctimonious [ __ ] up here
yes yeah Y in fact during Charles stannard's testimony the defense focused considerable attention on Mary's
illegitimate child William [ __ ] up and E quote unquote illegitimate child and even made attempts to establish that
Mary herself had been born out of wedlock implying that Not only was the witness immoral moral but also couldn't
be trusted that's so [ __ ] up so now they're like Charles how was she were you married when Mary was born maybe
she's an illegitimate child so that makes you [ __ ] gross and we can't trust you anymore it's like what does
that have to do with anything like that's not why we're here and they had no nothing to prove it no basis exactly
so rather than prove his client's innocence Jones just cast suspicions on someone else he just decided to throw it
on someone else Benjamin Stevens a neighbor of the standards who occasionally did work for Charles
Stannard slept at their home sometimes just decided to off Mary unlike the morally righteous and upstanding Herbert
Hayden who was [ __ ] his Nanny behind his wife's back by the way and had hidden arsonic within his possession and
a bloody knife Stevens was a poor farmer who was known to partake in the drink at
times heavily it happens it's the 1800s what come on what the [ __ ] else is there
to do let's get drunk also Stevens had been seen leaving the house just after Mary did on the day of the murder and
had no alibi for the rest of the afternoon that anybody could confirm NE this mother [ __ ] uh Jones also pointed
out that it could have just as easily been Charles Stannard who committed the murder wow that's [ __ ] up quote to
prevent the repetition of the disgrace that had once before Fallen upon the family from the same Source wow saying
from the same Source the same Source Being Mary [ __ ] child that's so [ __ ] up to be clear there was not one
[ __ ] shred of evidence to suggest either of these men had anything to do with Mary's death Jones was just sewing
the seed of Doubt just to [ __ ] with the jury because that's all he had right he
didn't have anything to prove his client was innocent no everything proved his guilt there is not one shred of evidence
besides Rosa sitting on the [ __ ] stand and being like I I love my husband I don't think he'd do that he would not
murder someone yeah I was cutting peaches and it's like that's all he has so his only way of doing this is to just
go those two could have done it like I could you could have done it but like I don't have arsenic in my
possession or a bloody knife [ __ ] what it's wild now after more than two months the trial finally reached closing
arguments on January 13th 1880 Lind Harrison reiterated his case for the jury emphasizing that fearing his
reputation would be ruined should the affair in pregnancy be made public Hayden had a very strong motive to kill
Mary and the weapons used in the murder were found in his [ __ ] home with blood on them quote the experts had
shown that arsenic was found in the brain of the murdered girl and that it must have reached there before death
yeah Harrison reminded the courtroom quote it was also shown that Hayden was the only man who was known to have
arsenic in Rockland that entire day that could have killed an entire [ __ ] Village of people and that he bought it
secretly yeah he secretly bought it and then said it was never opened and then it was and then it was hidden in his
closing arguments on the other side Jones focused on Hayden's supposedly upstanding character and again cast
dispersions on Benjamin Stevens quote if Hayden had killed the girl it was most strange that no blood was found on his
clothing but it was found on a knife in his possession you dumb [ __ ] and also what clothing we don't know what
clothing he was wearing that day he could have gotten rid of them that's the other thing Jones remarked in statement
quote Ben Stevens's denial that he committed the crime should have no weight as he had been contradicted in
material parts of his testimony he is referring to an earlier part of the trial when Steven's testimony was
challenged by a witness for the defense and that's it it wasn't it wasn't like contradicted they challenged it right
with no basis which is the same thing that's happening to your client but with basis the jury deliberated for nearly 4
days before finally reporting that they had become hopelessly deadlocked how the
[ __ ] are you deadlocked 11 jurors were in favor of a quiddle one was a hold out
that was committed to hate and skilt one what certain that they would not reach a verdict if the jury returned
from for further deliberation the judge declared a mistrial and Herbert Hayden walked free no the prosecution briefly
considered retrying the case CU they were like this is [ __ ] up are you guys kidding me but there was exorbitant
costs in two trials alone and the fact that they had already presented most compelling case they
possibly could yeah aside from having like some just omniscient narrator that that could come in and be like hi I was
watching the whole thing and here's what happened they they didn't see a point to
try him a third time they were like he's just going to be allowed to walk free again we're exhausted this family is now
being torn to shreds and now now we've put them through a second trial and now people are blaming her father for like
we're not going to put him through that again no now in both trials the jury weighed what was very clear evidence of
Hayden's guilt and chose instead to absolve him of everything all wrongdoing rather than challenge their beliefs
about class and respectability at the time I want to know about this one jur that was like y'all are wrong well and
while Hayden may have escaped criminal penalties he didn't Escape consequences altogether okay well that's good to hear
following the Declaration of a mistrial Herbert Hayden was stripped of his credentials and banned from preaching
all together oh wow I'm surprised by that sounds to me like people knew what was the truth yeah sounds to me like
after hearing that trial that there was really no denying it what I'm s I'm so surprised by that that the jury was like
no way no no no not at all and now they're like well [ __ ] but then like somebody was like no you [ __ ] this
many people I think were like you clearly did this and you got away with it and like the higher ups within the
church you're not preaching to us anymore like bye so no longer a pillar of the community and held up as this
righteous righteous moral God for all of them he and Rosa moved to New Haven where they lived until his death in 1907
wow now in 19 14 33 years after that second trial the Hartford current interviewed the last Living member of
the jury stop it stop it his name is Horus Perry Horus and he was asked what was your rationale for voting to acquit
Herbert Hayden of the charge cuz was he one of the 11 in I don't think they knew
whether he was one of the 11 but they assumed he was but I think they're just like clearly there was like what was the
r the conversation that day Perry explained my God that throughout the trial Rosa Hayden had been sitting in
front of the jury and was quote a very beautiful young woman as far as the majority of the jury was concerned quote
from the day the trial opened until the last ballot was cast their view had been
how can we convict a man with a beautiful young wife like that and that is the end of the [ __ ]
story how can we convict a man cuz we want to [ __ ] his wife that is the end of that story I'm
going to go run over my microphone really fast I I quit 14 this man this I'm going to go now this
Horus Mr Perry said you want to know why we didn't listen to a shred of the [ __ ] evidence that was presented to
us his wife was hot and she was sitting in front of us what the [ __ ] does that
have to do with anything when I tell you my soul launched into orbit at that moment no this this will be my last
podcast it's been a great are you [ __ ] like bye bye most of the jury wanted to [ __ ] his
wife so we couldn't convict him that is Essen what that man just said no that is
what he what I'm I'm I'm on another I'm on a new level that is what his wife was beautiful so not even
like his wife was so beautiful we thought to ourselves like wow he'd never cheat on her so this is ridiculous that
he'd even be involved with that woman it's like yeah maybe he killed her but like his wife super hot also
wouldn't you think think that's why you would want to convict him so you could step on in there and be like hey
baby Horus shoot your [ __ ] shot convict that how can we convict a man who like that like that's I'm are you
joking me do you do we know what Rosa looked like is there like an artist rendition I don't even know but I'm like
let me see I'll be the [ __ ] judge of that I am just how gorgeous was she the [ __ ]
Marilyn monrose sitting in front of that jury I am are you joking me without words to be
honest no that's I'm telling like that bye that's why I was like just you [ __ ] wait like it you don't think
it's going to get worse how expect me to function for the rest of this day are you kidding me I'm saying the [ __ ] I'm
saying I got I was looking up to see if I could find Rosa it's hard to find she's so beautiful nobody ever took a
photograph of her cuz they were scared oh my god oh I mean there's an artist rendition but I don't know if
this is correct it's got to be like something let's see it I'll be the judge the jury let me see the Executioner it
probably no that's not it's an artist if that you know what thank you so much for listening um on that note we
totally hope that you keep listening and we hope you keep it we not so weird that
you go Google a picture of Rosa in that artist rendition because baby you will have different thoughts than that whole
ass jury goodbye the [Music] [ __ ]

On the afternoon of September 3, 1878, twenty-two-year-old Mary Stannard d left her home in Madison, Connecticut, telling her father she was going blackberry picking and would be back before dark. When night came and Mary hadn’t returned, her father went out to look for her and eventually found her body by a creek in the woods. The investigation into her murder was truly wild and remains TECHNICALLY unsolved.

Thank you to the amazing Dave White of Bring Me The Axe Podcast for research!

References

Bendici, Ray. 2015. "The CT files: the 'unsolved murder of Mary STAN-ard." Cennecticut Magazine, August 23.

Foote, William. 1970. "Mary STAN-ard, she was murdered." Hartford Courant, March 5: 16.

Hartford Courant. 1878. "Hayden re-arrested." Hartford Courant, October 9: 3.

—. 1878. "Strong circumstantial evidence against a clergyman." Hartford Courant, September 7: 2.

—. 1878. "The Madison murder." Hartford Courant, September 6: 3.

Hayden, Herbert. 1880. The Reverend Herbert Hayden: An Autobiography. Hartford, CT: Press of the Plimptron Manufacturing Co.

New York Times. 1878. "A young woman's ruin and death." New York Times, September 6: 1.

—. 1878. "Is Rev. Mr. Hayden guilty." New York Times, September 14: 5.

—. 1879. "Mary STAN-ard's death." New York Times, November 7: 5.

—. 1878. "Mrs. Hayden's testimony." New York Times, September 21: 1.

—. 1880. "The Hayden case: beginning of the closing arguments." New York Times, January 15: 5.

—. 1879. "The long murder trial." New York Times, November 21: 2.

Pearson, Edmund. 1927. "Mary STAN-ard and the Reverend Mr. Hayden." Vanity Fair, March 01.

Unknown author. 1879. Poor Mary STAN-ard: A Full and Thrilling Story of the Circumstances Connected with Her Murder. New Haven: Stafford Printing Company.

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Brief Summary

Mary Stannard's murder reveals societal biases as Reverend Hayden escapes conviction despite strong evidence against him.

Key points

The Murder of Mary Stannard. A chilling tale of a young woman's mysterious death and the scandal surrounding it.
Mary's Affair and Tragic End. Mary's affair with Herbert Hayden leads to her tragic murder, shocking the community.
The Gruesome Discovery. Charles Stannard finds Mary’s body, leading to a frantic search for answers.
The Arrest of Herbert Hayden. Herbert Hayden is arrested for Mary's murder amid swirling rumors and circumstantial evidence.
Rosa's Testimony. Rosa Hayden testifies for her husband, claiming he wouldn't harm anyone. "I don't think she would tell a falsehood to save her husband."
Judge Willcox's Controversial Ruling. Judge Willcox dismisses charges against Hayden, expressing unwavering belief in his innocence. "If I were as sure of heaven as I am of this man’s guilt."

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

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4:58WatchJan 8, 2024

Tension

80/ 100High tension

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