I need that money back that I lent you, Nils Anderson, a Swedish immigrant, told his friend Henry Lorenz. My sisters family cant pay their mortgage and if I dont help them out theyll be out on the street.
This was the era of the Great Depression, when everyone was strapped for cash. Andersons request put Lorenz, a 25-year-old Hartford, Connecticut, picture framer, in a difficult position. He wasnt able to repay the money in a lump sum but he didnt want to default because he was hoping to marry Andersons 18-year-old niece. What was he to do?
The decision he came to was disastrous. He would simply kill his benefactor.
On March 30th, 1930, he said to Anderson: Lets drive to Wethersfield. I can pick up the money from a friend of mine over there.
In Wethersfield, Lorenz stopped the car in front of a house, and pretended to go inside while Anderson waited in the car. When he re-emerged he said, Ive got the money. Ill give it to you when we get back to Hartford. On the return journey he stopped the car, complaining of an annoying rattle. The two men got out to investigate and Lorenz shot his friend at point-blank range.
The bullet passed through Andersons head and shattered the rear window of the car. The killer drove to marshland and dumped the body among reeds, where it was found next day.
Lorenz was an immediate suspect. He was reported to have replaced the rear window of his car, to have sent bloodstained clothes to the laundry, and a car wash reported that the inside of his car was stained with blood.
He fled to Canada but was arrested by the Mounties. Taken back to Connecticut, he was tried, found guilty, and hanged on Tuesday, August 12th, 1930.