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 CHAPTER III.

Story of the Killing That Startled the World.

STANFORD WHITE ASSASSINATED BY CRAZED HUSBAND WHILE ATTENDING THE PLAY—ON ROOF GARDEN OF MADISON SQUARE—THAW WALKED RAPIDLY TO TABLE WHILE GIRLS WERE DANCING—AT LAST NOTE OF SONG HE DREW REVOLVER, LEVELED IT AT WHITE—SAID "YOU HAVE RUINED MY LIFE—YOU MUST DIE"—FIRED THREE TIMES—TWO SHOTS CAUSED DEATH ALMOST INSTANTLY—PANIC IN AUDIENCE AND ON STAGE—BEAUTIFUL WIFE EMBRACED SLAYER—THE ARREST.

The killing of Stanford White by Harry Kendall Thaw, on the roof garden of Madison Square, New York, June 25th, 1906,—just fourteen months after the marriage—startled the world. Millionaires both—the victim a famous architect, the slayer even more famous—the love of a beautiful woman the cause of the crime—is it any wonder the Thaw killing was the greatest sensation in years? It took place just as the musical show, "Mamselle Champagne," was coming to a close.

There was a big crowd on the roof of the garden; a crowd which pretty well filled the floor. Many people noticed a slightly built young man walking backward and forward in front of the stage, among the tables set here and there in an open space in front of the seats.