New York: Final Thoughts on Hazel Drew

Foul Play: A Historical True Crime Podcast

Shane L. Waters, Wendy Cee, Gemma Hoskins

History, True Crime, Society & Culture

4.5 • 992 Ratings

🗓️ 21 September 2022

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

More than a century ago, the body of 20 year old Hazel Drew was found floating in Teal's Pond near the bottom of Taborton Mountain in Sand Lake, New York. An autopsy found that she'd died of blunt head trauma to the back of her head prior to ending up in the pond. Her death was labeled a murder. In the weeks that followed the discovery of her body, many suspects were investigated including among others: her recently widowed, and suicidal, uncle William Taylor who lived nearby; a simple-minded 17 year old farm hand named Frank Smith, who fancied Hazel and his friend Rudolph Gunderman, a charcoal peddler, the two of whom had seen her along Taborton Road, near the pond, shortly before she died; and a pair of unknown men seen by a couple driving by, about the time the murder was supposed to have taken place, at the scene - one waiting in a horse drawn runabout, and the other beating around in the bushes near the pond, as if looking for something! What made Hazel's murder all the more mysterious, was that only a few days prior to it, she'd suddenly, and unexpectedly left her job as a domestic at the home of Professor E.R. Cary in Troy, and nobody knew what her intentions were. Also her luggage had been left - checked at the train station. In the end, all the leads the investigators had ran out. Nobody was ever arrested or charged with the murder, and to this day - Hazel Drew's murder remains unsolved!
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Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much
0:30.0	After discovering Hazel Drew's body, no one could understand who would have wanted
1:00.0	do such a horrible thing to a sweet young lady.
1:03.9	Let's discuss the different suspects that arose after the investigation into her death.
1:11.7	There were many suspects, but none seemed to pan out ultimately.
1:16.6	Hazel's body was found at Teel's pond, close to her uncle's farm.
1:22.6	William Taylor became a suspect in his niece's murder, precisely because of the location
1:28.7	she was found.
1:31.2	Frank Smith was also a suspect in the murder of Hazel Drew.
1:35.9	Frank was a farmhand who knew Hazel personally.
1:39.8	Frank, along with Rudy Gundram, was actually the last person to see Hazel alive.
1:46.0	Frank was described as dim-witted.
1:49.2	He made a trip to Avril Park around midnight the night Hazel was murdered.
1:55.4	To get to Avril Park, you had to travel past Teel's pond, where Hazel was murdered.
2:01.9	It was rumored that Frank had a big crush on Hazel.
2:05.5	Because of this, and how locals described him, he became a prime suspect in the case.
2:12.0	Michael Sawowski became a suspect in the murder of Hazel as well.
2:17.0	Willie, Hazel's younger brother, worked at the Sawowski's farm.
2:22.7	He described to Michael as big, naughty, and not very bright.
2:28.2	He was known to abuse animals.
2:31.9	Michael claimed to be at the farm on the night of the murder, but Michael was supposed
2:36.4	to meet Frank Smith at Avril Park the night of Hazel's murder.
	...

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