Today in History - April 3: Killer gets away with murder after police forget to ask her one simple question
Updated . First published at
Beulah Annan shot her lover Harry Kalsted on April 3, 1924, triggering one of the most high-profile murder trials in Chicago history.
Annan was grilled by police over the death, in which she admitted to shooting Kalsted.
She said the pair had got into a heated argument before both of them rushed to grab the gun.
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Beulah Annan shot her lover but was acquitted of murder. Wikipedia
She got her hands on the revolver first.
Frightened that her neighbours had heard the gunshot, she put on a jazz record.
She eventually called her husband, who called the police when he got home.
At no point during the interrogation did detectives remember to ask Annan why she shot Kalsted.
That oversight proved problematic for the government case, with prosecutors unable to get their story straight on the motive.
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Beulah Annan's murder trial drew attention from all over America. Wikipedia
The case resulted in an acquittal.
Annan's husband stayed by her side during her trial, before breaking up afterwards.
Her next marriage lasted just three months.
She died four years later of tuberculosis, aged 28.
The case inspired a play, then a silent film, which was adapted into a musical, which was adapted into a movie, Chicago.
The 2002 film won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
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