You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm & Mild from

Aaron Manky.

The concierge at Chapagos Sherman House received a complaint the night of October 16, 1913.

The caller said loud noises were coming from Room 1105.

When the concierge arrived at the room, he heard odd sounds, but they didn't seem excessive.

He knocked and called out repeatedly, but no one answered.

Concerned, he called the police.

By the time the detective arrived, the room was silent.

He knocked, but not getting a reply he tried the door.

A finding it unlocked he stepped inside.

The blood was everywhere.

The walls, the ceiling, the floor, the sheer amount of it surprised him.

A man also covered in blood and wearing a woman's kimono style robe stood beside the bed,

calmly puffing away on a cigar.

A woman lace brawled on the bed, her face partially obscured by a bloody handkerchief.

Her throat had been cut from ear to ear.

She'd also been shot twice in the chest.

The man, identified as William J.E. Ellis, confessed to killing his wife Eleanor.

She was a prominent socialite, and he suspected she'd been having an affair.

He told the police that she was the grandest little woman in the world.

She'd begged for her life, but had been in a jealous rage.

For the prosecution, the case was open and shut.

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