This Day in History: 1908-07-18
Mrs. Mary Degroat was reported to have been beaten to death by her husband Stephen. He was said to have come home to their residence back of the Golf Club grounds and have beaten her with a club for no apparent reason. She suffered a fractured skull, two broken arms, scratches, and a broken nose. The husband was apprehended by Constable Shuart of Ramsey and taken to the Hackensack Jail. The paper reported him to have said, “I killed my wife, I deserve the worst.”
At the inquest, however, an entirely different story emerged. Dr. Bouygo of Ridgewood who performed the autopsy testified that there were no marks of violence on her body and that she had died of a brain hemorrhage. Loomis Degroat, Stephen’s brother, and his wife testified that although he had slapped her with his hands on the fatal night he had not used a club. The coroner’s jury said that she had died of the hemorrhage. Degroat was released. (Bristow)