Henry Close (June 23, 1868 – April 18, 1930), also known as Henry Colin Campbell Close and nicknamed The Torch Murderer, was executed by the State of New Jersey for the murder of Mildred Mowry, whom he met through a personal ad placed with a matrimonial agency.[1] A career criminal and bigamist whose previous crimes were non-violent, Campbell married Mowry in 1929 despite having another wife. Six months after marrying Mowry, Campbell murdered her to collect on a $1,000 investment she owned and burned her corpse.[2][permanent dead link]
Henry Close | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Henry Colin Campbell Close June 23, 1868 |
| Died | April 18, 1930 (aged 61) New Jersey State Prison, Trenton, New Jersey, United States |
| Cause of death | Execution by electrocution |
| Other names | Henry Colin Campbell |
| Criminal charge | First degree murder |
| Penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | Mildred Mowry |
He was also suspected in another, similar murder of Margaret Brown in 1928. Both Mowry and Brown had been shot in the head, had their bodies dumped on the side of a road, and were set on fire.[3]
During his adult life, Campbell worked as a civil engineer and advertising executive and posed as a physician. Using a matchmaking service in Detroit, Michigan, Campbell married several women between 1910 and 1928 although police looking into his life were never able to find any record of divorce actions.[4]
A pair of shoes at the Mowry crime scene were traced to Campbell who subsequently confessed to killing her. He denied killing Brown and never stood trial for her murder. Campbell was executed for Mowry's murder in 1930.
Marriage to Mildred Mowry
editIn 1928, Mildred Mowry, a middle-aged woman whose husband had recently died, used a matrimonial agency; through the agency, she met a 60-year-old doctor known as Richard Campbell. The two married in August 1928. One day after their marriage ceremony, at Campbell's urging, Mowry deposited $1,000 of her life savings into Campbell's bank account. Campbell promptly stated he need to relocate to California for work. Mowry attempted to keep in touch with Campbell through mail, but as Campbell became less frequently responsive, Mowry attempted to find him and located him in Elizabeth, New Jersey.[5]
Murder of Mildred Mowry
editOn February 23, 1929, someone found Mowry's charred remains on the side of the highway. Her killer shot her in the head and set her body on fire after murdering her. Mowry's identity was not confirmed for six weeks, until someone who knew her approached police and stated she had been missing since February. Investigators looked into her life and discovered her recent marriage to Campbell. Investigators posited that Mowry may have been murdered when she discovered Campbell had never left for California and instead relocated elsewhere in New Jersey. On April 11, 1929, authorities arrested Campbell for Mowry's murder.[5]
Trial and conviction
editCampbell went on trial for Mowry's murder in June 1929. On the first day of the trial, June 9, two psychologists testified to Campbell's mental state, both asserting that he was legally sane and could face trial despite being noticeably affected by an addiction to morphine.[6] Campbell's argument in court was that he did not deny shooting Mowry or burning her body, but he could not remember his actions and was therefore not criminally responsible for Mowry's death, meaning that the testimony from the two psychologists undermined Campbell's amnesia-based insanity defense. Furthermore, the prosecutor, Abe J. David, presented Campbell's confession, which Campbell issued shortly after his arrest; in the confession, Campbell confessed to Mildred's murder and stated his motive was to hide evidence of his bigamy.[6]
Campbell's actual wife, Rosalie, testified in his defense; Rosalie stated that Campbell underwent a behavioral change after the couple relocated from Chicago to Maryland, experiencing headaches and weight loss and turning to morphine to address his headaches. She also testified he seemed increasingly nervous and irritable, beginning to carry a gun in the months leading up to Mowry's murder.[6] Campbell testified in his own defense as well. On the stand, he repeated his defense that he could not remember murdering or burning Mowry.[6]
Prosecutors also presented Campbell's matrimonial agency applications as evidence against him, showing that in filling out his applications, Campbell claimed to be in good health and of sound mind. He also listed his preference as "widows with no children," suggesting he had an ulterior motive for using the agencies. In their closing statement, prosecutors cited Campbell's criminal record rife with fraud and forgery convictions and further undermined Campbell's insanity defense, arguing Campbell did not convincingly meet his burden of proof. On June 13, 1929, Campbell's jury convicted him of Mowry's murder with no recommendation of mercy, and the judge sentenced him to death.[7]
Appeals and execution
editOn April 18, 1930, Campbell was executed in the electric chair at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Execute Killer in New Jersey". Athens Messenger. Ohio. April 19, 1930.
- ^ Solimando, Jeff. "Prisoner: Henry Colin Campbell (Close): 'Old Smokey' ignites New Jersey's doll-obsessed 'Torch Murderer'". The Trentonian. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Campbell Takes Stand Today". Danville Bee. Virginia. June 6, 1929.
- ^ "Campbell, Colin," Mind of a Killer, Kozel Multimedia (DVD), 1998.
- ^ a b "Henry Colin Campbell Trial: 1929 - Fit To Plead, Scathing Prosecution Attack". JRank. Archived from the original on 2024-11-24. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ a b c d "Henry Colin Campbell Trial: 1929 - Fit to Plead". JRank. Archived from the original on 2024-11-24. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ a b "Henry Colin Campbell Trial: 1929 - Scathing Prosecution Attack". JRank. Archived from the original on 2024-11-24. Retrieved 2024-11-24.