In the summer of 1907, New York City was gripped by fear. Newspapers warned of a spreading “crime wave,” police chased leads that went nowhere, and parents worried every time their daughters stepped outside.
Reports of assaults, attempted abductions, and unsolved murders filled the headlines, creating an atmosphere of panic that seemed to grow with each passing day.
Against this backdrop came one of the most alarming stories yet. A young woman was found nearly strangled in a vacant apartment after a brutal attack. A little girl narrowly escaped death at the hands of another assailant…