Machinal

The Murder Trial

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In the year 1925, Ruth Snyder was enjoying herself in a cafe when she was introduced by a friend to her future lover. His name was Judd Gray, and the attraction to one another was instantaneous. Ruth was married at the time to Albert Snyder. The couple lived in Queens; Albert was an editor at a magizine, and Ruth was a secretary there as well. They had one daughter together. Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray engaged in a serious affair over the next two years, spending so many nights together at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel that the bellhops knew them by name (Krajicek).

 

As time went on, the couple desired to become more serious and come out of the dark with their affair. Instead of filing for divorce from their spouses, Ruth had a different plan in mind. In 1927, Ruth convinced her husband to purchase a $48,000 life insurance policy that would double in the case of an unexpected, violent death. Ruth persuaded the insurance agent to "sign" the policy for Alfred without his knowing. Therefore Ruth and the agent forged Alfred's signature (Antos). It was a very convenient deal for Ruth.

 

On March 12, 1927, Grey entered the Snyder's residence while the family was out. He hid until Alfred was sleeping, and then he attacked. Grey knocked Alfred on top of the skull with a four pound weight. Albert was not as phased by these blows as Grey had thought he would have been. Albert was not even knocked unconsious by the hits, and he was able to retaliate against the assault. In the end, the violence did not kill Albert, the chlorophorm and strangulation did. The couple needed to cover up what they had done, so they resolved to stage a buglary scene (Krajicek).

 

An investigation quickly began regarding the muder of Alfred Snyder. As detectives were going about their inquiry of Ruth, they noticed Grey's name in both her address book and checkbook. The detective simply mentioned Grey to Ruth and asked if he had confessed. Ruth's shocked gasp gave everything away. Soon after, the pair found themselves being charged with murder (Krajicek).

 

The media surrounding the court case was astounding. Grey and especially Ruth found themselves becoming the center of a media frenzy. As the court case evolved, the public continued to want more.

 

Ruth and Grey both tried to blame the entire murder on the other person, causing them both to be convicted and sentenced to death in the electric chair (Campbell).

 

For the execution, there was a strict policy involing no photographers. However, the world craved a glimpse at what was going to happen at the execution (Campbell). "The New York Daily News knew that the prison was farmiliar with many journalists from their staff, so they hired someone from out of town, Tom Howard, a then-unknown local photagrapher from the Chicago Tribune. Knowing that he would never be aloud in with a camera, Howard strapped a single-use camera to his right ankle and wired a trigger release up his pant leg. Remarkably, he was aloud in. From across the room, Howard pointed his toe at the chair and took but one photo as Snyder took her last breaths" (Campbell). The film was developed that very day and was the front page story for the Daily News with the headline reading, "Dead!" (Campbell). 

 

The photo was a massive shock to people around the world. Snyder was the first woman to be executed in New York in the twentieth century. Never had anyone seen the moment of death from the chair. It is still one of the most famous images in history (Campbell).