Ann Bilansky Episode 2

Join us for episode 2 of our Nightmare Series on Anne Bilansky. On Halloween, join us for your spooky stories from the East Side of St Paul.

Transcript

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Hello neighbor. Welcome to the second episode of Our Nightmare on Ivy Street series on Anne Lansky. My name is Lisa. I'm with the Greater East Side District two Community Council, and I will be your guide on this journey through the darker corners of the east side of St. Paul. Today's episode is part two of our series on Anne Lansky. The black widow who murdered her husband before Minnesota was officially a state and the only woman to receive capital punishment for her crime. Here Ann was an East Side gal when her husband passed, living off of seventh Street near where Phalen Creek meets the Mississippi. If you haven't listened to episode one, pause this episode and take a listen. I'll wait for you. In that episode, we dive into the crime, the court case, the evidence, or shall I say, hearsay. On what got Ann convicted the prison break. And of course, Ann's end at the spot where our courthouse currently stands. But if you're ready to hear about another Ann who has an almost two incredibly similar tale from Fayetteville, North Carolina, sit back, grab a cup of hot cider and your favorite blankie, and come on this journey with me. Our sources for this series are Women Who Kill by Anne Jones, murder in Minnesota by Walter t Trry, the New York Times Justice in Heaven. The trial of Anne Lansky by Matthew Cecil. The trial of Mrs. Anne k Simpson, charged with the murder of her husband. Alexander Simpson. Case file reported by William h. Hay Fayetteville, North Carolina, published in 1851. Fayetteville's Infamous Crimes by Ft. Norton for the Fayetteville Observer, and Fayetteville Forever by Allison Williams for Cityview Magazine and of course my favorite source. And yours, Wikipedia. Alexander Simpson's Day had started off as any other that November in 1849 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Alex was a wealthy carriage shop owner and just finished a dinner prepared by his pretty. But estranged wife Anne that she had made for him and their two borders. As Anne served the coffee, which was the customary way to end the meal, tenant, Samuel Smith grabbed one of the cups, but before he could take a sip, Mrs. Simpson reminded him that the cup he grabbed was for Mr. Simpson. Mr. Simpson preferred his coffee sweeter than the others did. Depending on which story you listen to. Either within a day or within a few days. Alex Simpson was dead. Ann Simpson had left town, and when the coroner performed the autopsy, he found arsenic. Sound familiar? Although we don't know for sure that our two s are one in the same. Enough of the stories are similar that it begs the question is Anne k Simpson and Anne Lansky, the same black widow. Several articles I found did link them together and as the same person. There isn't much information out there about Anne Simpson except some speculation and hearsay. One article linked her as an early girlfriend of Duncan McRay. The McRay family had arrived in North Carolina in 1773 or 1774, and the family has lived in Fayetteville since then for nine generations in fat. The Duncan McRay that had a brief relationship with Anne was considered one of the unlucky brothers because he lost a bunch of money speculating on the railroads and had an unsuccessful run later as governor. Perhaps he was more lucky than he knew for ending their relationship early, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Stories say Anne Carver Simpson was younger than her husband was strikingly beautiful. And love going to the fortune teller in town by the name of Polly Rising. It is said that her father was a high official in a neighborhood county, but I have yet to substantiate that information. She was said to be high strung and prone to shenanigans. One article said she was also in love with someone else other than her husband. Alex had come to Fayetteville from New York a few years earlier and built a successful business. He was in his thirties. And his wife was in her. Yeah, late teens. Remember, this was a different time. So many brides were much younger than their husbands in the 1850s, but typically the brides age was a little older, usually between 21 to 23. The marriage was not a long one, only three years, and the couple did not have any children as two had died shortly after birth and had told the visitors shortly after Alex's demise that the fortune teller. Had foretold, her marriage would be short and that she would go on to marry her first. Love the man. Many thought, including Alex was her lover. Everything came to a head, so to speak, when Alex decided to leave for a month and sent her a ladder. The letter, according to Seamstress and maid, Nancy Register, who lived in the home and testified at the trial, said, Anne, I once thought you love me. But now I have reasons that you love another better than me. For the sake of your friends, you may stay in my house, but you must find your own clothes generous, right? Prepare a bed for me upstairs tomorrow. You can no longer be my wife. Register also testified that Anne herself, said she loved and was at one time engaged to be married to a mystery man, but her friends prevented them from being married. So she married Simpson to get a home and be taken care of. It was shortly after the receipt of the letter that Anne k Simpson went to the pharmacy in Market Square to purchase arsenic to kill rats. And a week or so later, Alex was gone following the autopsy of Alex. A bench warrant for Ann was issued, but encountered a problem serving it. Ann was long gone. Initially they found she went to Charleston, South Carolina. Remember this, we, we will circle back to Charleston and then sailed to Havana, Cuba, where she remained until May of the following year. She returned to Charleston only until she surrendered herself to the sheriff back in Fayetteville in November one year to the date after Alex passed away. Her trial began soon after. The state's theory was that indeed Anne had mixed the arsenic from the drug store into her husband's coffee. Just like at the Lansky trial in Minnesota. This was the first murder case against a woman in Cumberland County. Three doctors that attended him in his final moments as well as the seamstress. Nancy Register were the chief witnesses for the prosecution. The other key witness was the tenant, Samuel Smith. Who worked at Simpson's Carriage Factory and lived in the home. He was the border who almost drank from the sweeter coffee cup, but was quickly as to pass it back to Mr. Simpson because Alex liked his coffee sweeter. A friend of Alex's, Rachel Airy, also testified that when she was alone with Anne following Alex's death, that the young widow was lighthearted and did not grieve. Anne told Rachel that Polly, the fortune teller. Had given her an ominous reading after Alex had struck her one night, and Polly had foretold of all of this happening and that Alex would pass, but she would remarry, and she said this without a tear in her eyes. Once the prosecution rested its case, the defense actually offered no witnesses. They did, however, during their cross-examination of the doctors bring up that Alex wasn't always in good health. He frequently suffered from indigestion and a disease of the lymph nodes. Alex was also very depressed over the demise of his relationship with Anne, who was so beautiful and well bred that perhaps he self-administered the aic. The doctors did admit on the stand they found iodine that Alex had been taking for at least six months before he died. This was to supposedly treat that infection of the lymph nodes. And could have administered the wrong amount as he was self-medicating. Again, so many, so many similarities. The defense attorney stated that he could have also had cholera and questioned the toxicology test for arsenic. His closing argument gave them the option to sustain her life or laid out the other option. On the one hand is the rendition of the verdict of guilty, and the prisoner is remanded to her gloomy and cheerless cell. Then the pronouncement of the dreaded sentence of the law and a definite period is affixed at the limit of her life. Then the terrible suspense, the sad preparation, the appointed hour, her fair neck beared, and circled by a hemp and cord, her delicate frame enveloped in the felon shroud. And the scene closes on the gallows and the gray. Oh, by the way, the defense attorney, Hmm. None other than ex-boyfriend Duncan McRay. Interesting, huh. After the defense rested with that, uh, rather lengthy speech, the jury took only three hours to come back with a verdict. No one expected not guilty. It seemed the thought of hanging a woman, uh, swayed at least one juror. The judge himself said, we could not hang a woman. If we could have just whooped her, we would've found her guilty. Um, I'm not gonna comment on that. Anyway, Ann was free and hightailed it out. Fayetteville rumors persisted for years following the trial that Anne had married again and killed again. A marriage announcement on April 13th, 1852. Noted that on April 4th, Ann Simpson of Fayetteville married Charles Young in Young's, hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. The only other record I found of Charles Young, which I'm sure was a very popular name at that time in Charleston, was a short obituary of a Charles Young who died a few years later suddenly. And untimely, no details. Just suddenly and untimely. We'll never know if Anne had a hand in Charles Young's death. If Charles, or perhaps that mystery other, perhaps it was John Walker was the true love of her life. We'll never know what happened in her months on the run. Where did she go when she went to Charleston, followed by Cuba, and then returned again to Charleston. Did she meet with Charles Young or, or the mystery man? Is the mystery man, John Walker. Did Anne and John devise a plan for her to marry and then bury more husbands to profit off their deaths? Did she figure, heck, I got away with it once. Let's do this again. Or are the stars of Anne Blansky and Anne k Simpson? Just me. Coincidences of two women in unhappy marriages who found drastic measures to end those marriages. What we do know for sure. So a few years later, after Anne k Simpson, married and buried Charles Young in Charleston, Anne Lansky arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota from the South to nurse, her sick nephew John Walker, from a brief illness, and was soon introduced to Stan Lansky, which as we know, didn't end well for Stan or Fran. Here is where I will end our story or stories. For now, thank you for walking with me on this journey through the stories of Anne k Simpson and Anne Lansky. I hope you found them as interesting and compelling as I do. I'll let you know if I ever write that novel. Next week. We'll be rerunning an episode from last year with your spooky East Side stories. We'll pick up again in November with an interview with City Council President Rebecca Necker. About a proposed tree preservation ordinance.. Do you have a spooky tail or a darker historical story from the east side? We wanna hear from you. We also wanna hear what topics you wanna hear about going forward. Send your yarn or topic suggestion to greater East side D two. At gmail.com. That is Greater East Side d2@gmail.com, and we may share it on a future episode of the podcast. Until next time, keep your porch lights on. Listen for bumps in the night, and we will look for you in the darker corners of the east side.