Episode 199: Baby Lawrence Noxon (With Jim Overmyer)

Suffer the Little Children

Suffer the Little Children Pod

Social Sciences, True Crime, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 993 Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Lawrence Swift Noxon was born in March 1943. At five months old, he was diagnosed with what we now call Down syndrome. Three weeks later, on September 22, 1943, baby Lawrence died from electrocution under highly suspicious circumstances. His father, John Franklin Noxon Jr., was soon charged with murdering his infant son in what many considered a “mercy killing.”

For this episode, I spoke with author Jim Overmyer, who wrote The Electrocution of Baby Lawrence, the definitive story of Lawrence’s murder and the long, complicated legal proceedings that followed. This is the story of a baby boy who deserved to live a lot longer than he did, and a father who some at the time said wasn’t punished harshly enough for his son’s murder, while others believed that what John did was for the best.

This is the tragic story of baby Lawrence Noxon.

The Electrocution of Baby Lawrence: A Murder that Shook a New England Town by Jim Overmyer on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Electrocution-Baby-Lawrence-Murder-England/dp/1538181290/ref=sr_1_1

Jim’s author website: https://www.jamesovermyer.com/

Jim’s Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/p/James-Overmyer-author-100041727673681/

Jim’s Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B081QRYTRM/about?ccs_id=c7fa7aac-e829-4449-9d6a-e61d26b9b8e0

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast contains descriptions of violence against children and adult language and is not suitable for all audiences.
0:06.9	Listener discretion is advised.
0:25.9	Hi everyone, and welcome to suffer the little children,
0:30.8	the podcast giving voices back to the victims of child abuse murder and their families.
0:37.3	I'm your host, Lane, and this is episode 199, baby Lawrence Knoxon.
0:42.0	Lawrence Swift Knoxon was born in March, 1943.
0:47.4	At five months old, he was diagnosed with what we now call Down syndrome.
0:56.6	Three weeks later, on September 22nd, 1943, baby Lawrence died from electrocution under highly suspicious circumstances.
1:05.4	His father, John Franklin Knoxon Jr., was soon charged with murdering his infant son in what many considered a mercy killing.
1:12.2	For this episode, I spoke with author Jim Overmeyer, who wrote The Electrocution of Baby Lawrence,
1:17.4	the definitive story of Lawrence's murder and the long, complicated legal proceedings that followed.
1:23.7	This is the story of a baby boy who deserved to live a lot longer than he did, and a father who some at the time said wasn't punished harshly enough for his son's murder,
1:28.0	while others believed that what John did was for the best.
1:32.2	This is the tragic story of baby Lawrence Knoxon.
1:36.3	I'll jump right in.
1:38.2	Here's my conversation with author and former court reporter Jim Overmeyer.
1:46.4	I'm Jim Overmeyer. I'm Jim Overmeyer, an author of a few books, the others on sports history.
1:52.3	And I have strayed back to my sort of roots as a courthouse reporter in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
2:00.5	Okay, so that's how you ended up telling the story because it's local.
2:04.3	Yes.
2:05.2	I covered the court in which this happened, not at the same time.
2:08.8	This case goes back to 1943 and 44.
	...

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