Short Reads
America’s First Known Sleepwalking Killer
Was the man a victim of circumstance or a clever killer?
They say that “sleep is the cousin of death.” And I suppose as relatives; they have reunions from time to time.
The first-ever case of that union, at least according to American legal history, was in “The Boston Tragedy” of 1846. This was the first of many future cases of sleepwalking-murders.
The Incident
Albert Tirrell was born into a wealthy family from Weymouth, Massachusetts. In his early twenties, he was already married with two kids under his care. But Albert was no family man.
He was a known adulterer and eventually left his family in 1845 for a certain Maria Bickford.
Maria was a sex worker, living in a Boston brothel. She and Albert had a whirlwind romance and became constant companions, living together as husband and wife. Although happy, reports state that the wealthy man and sex worker had quite an unhealthy relationship. Maria even once disclosed to a friend that she relished their quarrels because they had “such a good time making up.”
And most of their arguments stemmed from Maria’s decision to continue her profession, much to Albert’s dislike.
