Tea Time Crimes

Death Row at Sing Sing: Martha Place

Episode Summary

On the evening of February 7th, 1898, William W. Place returned to his Brooklyn home, only to be brutally attacked by his wife, Martha Place. When police arrive at the scene, they discover that William is not Martha’s only victim. Charged with murder, Martha faces the death penalty in a way no woman has before.

Episode Notes

On the evening of February 7th, 1898, William W. Place returned to his Brooklyn home, only to be brutally attacked by his wife, Martha Place. When police arrive at the scene, they discover that William is not Martha’s only victim. Charged with murder, Martha faces the death penalty in a way no woman has before. 

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233

Tea of the Day: Goodbye Anxiety 

Theme Music by Brad Frank

Sources:

• By Genevieve Carlton | Edited By Kaleena Fraga, “The Gruesome Crimes Of Martha Place, The First Woman To Die In The Electric Chair.” Published May 8, 202, Updated May 10, 2023, https://allthatsinteresting.com/martha-place
• Created by: O'side Native, Added: Dec 2, 2009, Find a Grave Memorial ID: 45028308 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45028308/martha-m.-place
• Arch Trauma Res. 2012 Summer; 1(2): 72–74., Published online 2012 Aug 21, “Ancient Legacy of Cranial Surgery” by Mohammad Ghannaee Arani, Esmaeil Fakharian, and Fahimeh Sarbandi, National Library of Medicine, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3876527/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20French%20physician,mentally%20ill%20people%20(4)
• Find a Grave Memorial ID: 73243661, Created by: Tracy Smart, Added: Jul 12, 2011, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73243661/william-wallace-place
• The World, Tue, Feb 08, 1898, ·Page 1 & 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/3162367/, https://www.newspapers.com/image/3162420/
• The Brooklyn Citizen, Tue, Feb 08, 1898, Page 1,https://www.newspapers.com/image/541863059/
• “The Place Murder Case.” The New York Times, Wed, Feb 09, 1898, Page 5, https://www.newspapers.com/image/20309009/
• “To Defend Mrs. Place.” The Daily Times, Thu, Feb 10, 1898, Page 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/10502565/
• “Mrs. Place Gets Counsel.” The Daily Times, Fri, Feb 11, 1898, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/10502743/
• “Mrs. Martha Place Breaks Down in Jail.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Mon, Feb 14, 1898, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50374778/
• “Place Tragedy Inquest.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Fri, Feb 25, 1898, Page 12, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50375247/
• “For Killing Her Stepdaughter.” The Brooklyn Citizen, Tue, Jul 05, 1898,Page 9, https://www.newspapers.com/image/541896001/
• “The Conditions Were Desperate.” The Brooklyn Citizen, Wed, Jul 06, 1898, Page 9, https://www.newspapers.com/image/541896142/
• “Place Crime Retold.” Times Union, Wed, Jul 06, 1898,Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/555774140/
• “Martha Place Made Threats.” The Brooklyn Citizen, Thu, Jul 07, 1898,Page 10, https://www.newspapers.com/image/541896292/
• “Mrs. Place Denied She Murdered Ida.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Thu, Jul 07, 1898, Page 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50337561/
• “Mrs. Place Denies it.” Times Union, Thu, Jul 07, 1898, Page 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/555774151/
• “Fate of Mrs. Place.” Times Union, Fri, Jul 08, 1898, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/555774160/
• “The Place Verdict Will Be Appealed.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sat, Jul 09, 1898, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50337635/
• “Mrs. Place To Die.” The Daily Times, Tue, Jul 12, 1898,Page 8, https://www.newspapers.com/image/11993145/
• “Mrs. Place’s Sanity Being Examined.” Boston Evening Transcript, Mon, Mar 06, 1899, Page 5, https://www.newspapers.com/image/735448800/
• “Doctors Decide Mrs. Place Sane.” Times Union, Tue, Mar 14, 1899, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/555773859/
• “She Was Sane.” The Buffalo Review, Wed, Mar 15, 1899, Page 5, https://www.newspapers.com/image/354429882/
• “Mrs. Martha Place Must Suffer Death.” Buffalo Courier, Thu, Mar 16, 1899, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/363227588/
• “Mrs. Martha Place Resigned to Her Fate.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Fri, Mar 17, 1899, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50407980/
• “To Her Doom. Mrs. Martha Place Dies in Electric Chair.” The Boston Globe, Mon, Mar 20, 1899, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430734785/
• “Mrs. Place, the first woman to die in the electric chair was executed this morning.” The Buffalo Enquirer, Mon, Mar 20, 1899, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/325653053/
• “William Place Married Again.” The New York Times, Wed, Aug 23, 1899, Page 12, https://www.newspapers.com/image/20317148/
• “Mrs. Martha Place Resigned to Her Fate.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle,Fri, Mar 17, 1899, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50407980/