Murder victim. One of four members of a prominent local white family slain by a mentally disturbed man of color, the 1846 killings of John Van Nest and his household was one of the most sensational crimes of the era, raising legal and social issues still debated today. During the landmark trial which followed, their accused murderer was represented by future U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, who argued that the defendant was not guilty by reason of insanity, one of the earliest uses of this plea. Victim John Van Nest, age 41, had been fatally stabbed along with his pregnant wife, his 2-year-old son, and his elderly widowed mother-in-law, Phebe Wyckoff, on March 12, 1846, when an alleged horse theft by William Freeman turned violent. The couple and their toddler died of their wounds that day; Mrs. Wyckoff two days later. The defendant in the case was a freed slave from Auburn, a partially deaf man of African and Native American descent with a troubled past, including extreme abuse in childhood, prior imprisonment, and a brain-damaging accident. Although the "Insanity" plea failed and Freeman was sentenced to be hanged, defense lawyer Seward succeeded in winning him a new trial. The condemned man died of tuberculosis in prison, however, while awaiting his new day in court. The three Van Nests were buried beneath an unusual triple headstone: a low, horizontal slab "Cut by Reed & Clark of Auburn, NY" which describes the tragic circumstances of their deaths; the fourth victim, Mrs. Wyckoff, was interred nearby.
Murder victim. One of four members of a prominent local white family slain by a mentally disturbed man of color, the 1846 killings of John Van Nest and his household was one of the most sensational crimes of the era, raising legal and social issues still debated today. During the landmark trial which followed, their accused murderer was represented by future U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, who argued that the defendant was not guilty by reason of insanity, one of the earliest uses of this plea. Victim John Van Nest, age 41, had been fatally stabbed along with his pregnant wife, his 2-year-old son, and his elderly widowed mother-in-law, Phebe Wyckoff, on March 12, 1846, when an alleged horse theft by William Freeman turned violent. The couple and their toddler died of their wounds that day; Mrs. Wyckoff two days later. The defendant in the case was a freed slave from Auburn, a partially deaf man of African and Native American descent with a troubled past, including extreme abuse in childhood, prior imprisonment, and a brain-damaging accident. Although the "Insanity" plea failed and Freeman was sentenced to be hanged, defense lawyer Seward succeeded in winning him a new trial. The condemned man died of tuberculosis in prison, however, while awaiting his new day in court. The three Van Nests were buried beneath an unusual triple headstone: a low, horizontal slab "Cut by Reed & Clark of Auburn, NY" which describes the tragic circumstances of their deaths; the fourth victim, Mrs. Wyckoff, was interred nearby.
Bio by: Nikita Barlow
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