Harvey Maddox Allender, Convicted Double Murderer at San Quentin
By Brian K. Crawford
EDITOR’S NOTE: Historian Brian K. Crawford’s profile of Harvey Maddox Allender is part of a series inspired by an album of San Quentin State Prison mug shots from the collection of Daniel Sullivan. This album and other materials documenting San Quentin State Prison from circa 1880–1919, were donated by Daniel Sullivan’s grandson Wolly Middleton through the good graces of local philanthropist Jeff Craemer. Daniel Sullivan served for 40 years at San Quentin State Prison in the capacity of Guard, Captain of the Night Watch, Lieutenant of the Yard and ultimately Turn-key. On Sullivan’s retirement in 1919, The Daily News (San Francisco) published a series of articles profiling his career. Sullivan was highly respected not only by fellow prison staff but also by the prisoners under his care. More than once, Sullivan diffused a volatile situation because he had the trust of the prisoners. Notably, Sullivan came to staunchly oppose the death penalty having witnessed the humanity of prisoners, even among a population which included very violent offenders. The photograph album of mugshots is part of the California Room’s Digital Archive.
Walburga Feilner, known as Wally to her friends, was born in Germany on December 7, 1872. When she was fifteen, her father Bartholomäus died. She found work in the home of Walter and Jennie Miller, American philologists then working at the Royal Archaeological Seminary in Leipzig. She cared for the Millers’ two daughters and probably learned English during this period. In 1891, the Millers returned to the United States, bringing their 19-year-old maid Wally with them on the Fürst Bismarck. They arrived in New York on August 8, 1891. Within a year Wally had moved to San Jose and found work, first as a cook in a hotel, then in the home of Mrs. Rosetta McMillan. She had a reputation for intelligence and reliability.
At a dancing school she met a good-looking young man named Harvey Allender, age 30. He had been born in Napa and came from a good family now in Castroville with deep American roots back to the 17th century. Harvey worked as a carpenter in San Jose, living at 73 Grant Street (now under the I-280 freeway). They began seeing each other, and at some point became engaged.
But after a while Wally began to see a dark side to Harvey. She claimed that he “made base proposals” to her and even tried to chloroform her. She broke off the engagement and returned his ring. She wrote to her sister Helene that she had been engaged, but discovered that he was a bad man and broke it off.
But Harvey was obsessed with the young German girl. He followed her around and kept imposing himself on her. She tried to make it clear she wasn’t interested, but he would not give up. Several times he threatened her, and she avoided him whenever they met. He stalked the streets and streetcars until he spotted her and started harassing her again. Once he visited Mrs. Lizzie Aissa, a friend of Wally’s, and wanted her to induce Wally to see him and talk to him, but she refused. Lizzie and Wally were at a ball one evening, and Allender kept crowding against Wally while she was dancing. Mrs. Aissa told him to stop it, and he responded that she should mind her own business if she valued her life. He showed her a pistol, saying that he had secured permission to carry it, as he might need it someday. He became so obsessed and erratic that he lost his job as a carpenter. He got another job delivering ice, but was so unreliable he was on the verge of being fired again.
In 1895 Wally met another man, a 27-year-old Italian named Venanz Crosetti. He had immigrated in 1888 and he and his brother John ran a shop that built wagons and did blacksmithing on Market Street in San Jose. Wally became friends with John and Federica Crosetti and learned Italian to better communicate with the family. Wally and Venanz’ relationship deepened, and they became engaged. They set a date for the wedding in October 1896. Wally’s sister Helene arrived from Germany in July and also found work as a domestic. Helene helped Wally plan for the wedding.
But Harvey wouldn’t leave Wally alone. Seeing her with Crosetti made him furious. In December 1895, Crosetti was awakened in the middle of the night by someone hammering on his door. The visitor claimed to be Fred Schiele, an acquaintance of both Crosetti and Allender. Crosetti said it was late and he was in bed, but Schiele insisted he needed to see him immediately. Crosetti dressed and went out onto the sidewalk to meet him. He was startled to find Harvey Allender there. Allender brandished a thin double-edged stiletto, shouting, “That is for you, if you don’t keep away from that girl!”Allender wrote anonymous letters to Wally’s employer: “Discharge your Sweed [sic] servant or it will be the worse for you.” On several occasions he accosted her on the street and threatened to kill her. In April he sent her a threatening letter: “Girl, prepare to meet your death. Your days are numbered; you are followed day and night, B. Ware (signed) La Mafia.” The letter was decorated with drawings of a skull and crossbones and a coffin. Wally forwarded the letter to Venanz, asking him to take it to Police Chief Kidward. Venanz did so, but the chief told him there was nothing he could do. He advised the young couple to simply avoid Allender. That was difficult to do. The couple liked to go out together on Sunday afternoons, driving the Crosetti brothers’ buggy, riding their bicycles, or just strolling the city streets. But whenever Allender saw them, he would accost them and threaten to kill them both.
The mutual friend, Fred Schiele, was tired of hearing Harvey’s ranting about “that girl and that Dago,” as he called Crosetti. Schiele suggested they get away from San Jose so Harvey could forget her. They went to Southern California for a few months, but when they returned, Harvey’s obsession had not diminished.
Harvey later claimed that Schiele had told him that Crosetti and his brother had acquired revolvers and were planning to kill Harvey. He bought a revolver himself and took to carrying it in his back pocket. Schiele saw it several times, when Harvey would become particularly agitated and would brandish it about in public, shouting about killing the “Dago.”
Sunday, August 9th, 1896, was a beautiful, if hot, day in San Jose. Venanz and his brother John had lunch together around 2. Venanz said he and Wally were going to go for a drive, but John said that he and his wife were taking the buggy to visit Alum Rock. Venanz said in that case they would just go for a walk and take a drive some other Sunday. He hitched up the rig for John and his wife, then walked to the house where Wally lived and worked, at 525 Sixth Street, the home of her employer, Mrs. McMillan.
They strolled back downtown toward St. James Park. They walked along the east side of North Third Street, and had just passed Santa Clara Street. At 3:15 they were opposite the grandiose new fire station, the Empire Engine House, when a bicyclist came up to them. It was Harvey Allender. He jumped off his bike and started shouting at them. Exactly what was said was not recorded. Several witnesses reported hearing raised voices. Wally was clearly furious at him for again spoiling their walk. She rebuked Harvey, shaking her finger in his face.
Harvey reached into his back pocket and pulled out a .38 revolver. Wally screamed when she saw the gun, but Harvey pointed it right in her face and fired, striking her in the throat. She screamed again, staggered a few steps toward a board fence, and collapsed on the sidewalk. Crosetti rushed forward, both hands out, trying to seize the gun. Harvey wheeled around and shot him in the abdomen. He started to walk away, but after a few steps he turned back, walked up to where Wally lay on the ground, bent over her, and fired two more shots into her body. He then stepped out into the street, struck a dramatic, theatrical pose, raised the revolver to his head, and fired. He collapsed to the pavement. Crosetti staggered across the street to the Engine House and collapsed bleeding on the steps. “Boys, I am killed,” he gasped to the firemen, then passed out.
Coroner Secord arrived on the scene within minutes of the shooting. Wally had clearly been killed instantly, and he placed her body in his van and had her transported to the morgue. A police wagon arrived a few minutes later. Crosetti was unconscious but still breathing, so he was lifted into the wagon. Then they turned their attention to the assailant. He was breathing but unresponsive. They laid him beside his victim and rushed to the Receiving Hospital. The doctors attended to Crosetti first, but he died a few minutes after arrival. The bullet had penetrated his liver. Then they turned to Allender. Witnesses said he had shot himself in the head, but there was no apparent wound. His hat brim had a bullet hole in it, but when they removed the hat, his head was unmarked. The doctor instructed the attendants to cut off his clothing so they could search for the wound. Allender then opened his eyes, got up on his elbows and said, “That’s unnecessary. If I’m not hit in the temple I’m not hit any place.” He was hustled back into the police wagon and driven to the county jail.
When they learned that the killer was unhurt, an angry crowd gathered outside the jail, muttering about lynching him. The police transferred him to the city jail, which was considered safer. Allender admitted that it was fear of being lynched that caused him to fake his suicide. He talked freely to the police and reporters. He said he had been engaged to Miss Feilner, but she broke it off. Then a month later, they became engaged again. Then friends talked to her, warning him that Allender was crazy, and she broke up with him again in March 1895.
“Since then she has been going around saying that I had threatened to chloroform, stab or shoot her. She was a good girl and I don’t know why she told such stories. She even went around to the places where I delivered ice and told them the same story. People kept asking me about those threats and my friends joked me about it until my life became miserable. I never made any such threats and didn’t want to be accused of it. I quit my job several days ago, principally on her account.
“I don’t remember all the particulars of the trouble to-day. I was walking south on North [Third] Street and saw Crossetti and Miss Feilner coming toward me. He was leading a wheel and walking by her side. I walked between them and the fence, and then, turning toward her, I asked why she continued to run around and say that I had been trying to kill her. I was excited and don’t remember her answer. Crossetti spoke up and said: ‘Go on; get away. I don’t want any trouble with you.’ I said I did not want any trouble either, but that the talk about me had to stop. We had a few words and then Crossetti jumped and put his hand back as if to get a gun. I got my gun out like a fool and began to shoot.”
Allender’s 64-year-old father Thomas Allender rushed to San Jose when he got the terrible news (Harvey’s mother had died when he was eighteen). Harvey’s handcuffs were removed and he was allowed to meet his father in the chief’s private office. One can only imagine what their interview was like. Thomas hired two excellent attorneys for his son: Henry V. Morehouse and John B. Kerwin.
At that time there was general dissatisfaction among the press and the general public about how long it took to convict and execute criminals. Most felt the law protected criminals too much, and the endless appeals and pleas of insanity just got in the way of justice. Many people — even newspapers — argued that lynching would be both more expeditious and fitting, especially in a clear-cut case like this one. District Attorney Herrington assured the public that there would be no unnecessary delays in prosecuting Allender.
He was as good as his word.
The coroner’s inquest was held the next morning. The wounds of the victims were described. Any of the three bullets in Wally Feilner were considered sufficient to kill her instantly. Witnesses were called who described the long-standing trouble between Allender and the young couple. Several reported they heard Allender make threats against them, and some had seen his gun. There were at least a dozen eyewitnesses to the attack, including Judge Bertram Herrington, who had been chatting with the firemen in front of the firehouse. Not all had seen the beginning of the encounter, but their attention had been drawn by the angry shouting. Others had not seen them until the shots broke the quiet of the peaceful Sunday afternoon.
It didn’t take long for the coroner’s jury to come to a decision: “We find that Venanz Crosetti, a native of Italy, aged 28 years, came to his death August 9, 1896, from the effect of a bullet fired from a 38-caliber pistol, which was held in the hand and fired by one Harvey Allender, and we find that said deceased was willfully, unlawfully and feloniously killed by said Harvey Allender, the same being premeditated and with malice aforethought.” An identical finding was made for Wally.
The inquest was closed at 4:30 and at 5:00 Allender was arraigned for two counts of murder. Allender had no attorney present and said he had nothing to say until he had a lawyer. The examination was set for 11 o’clock the next morning.
The next day huge crowds packed the courtroom. The newspapers noted that most of those crowding into the hot, sweltering courtroom were women. Those who could not get into the room packed the halls, standing on chairs to listen through the open windows. Allender’s father Thomas and his brother William were present.
All the eyewitnesses agreed as to the events of the murders. No one reported seeing Crosetti with a gun or attacking Allender, so there could be no possible claim of self-defense. They all agreed Crosetti was only reaching out for the gun to protect his fiancée. Other witnesses testified to seeing Allender with a gun at various times in the past, or hearing him threaten to kill the lovers, or both. The son of the household where she worked said that Allender had several times been found peering through the windows at Wally as she worked. He walked up and down in front of the house at all hours of the day and night and accosted Wally whenever she went out. He related the story of the attempted chloroform attack. The threatening letter Allender had written was entered into evidence, along with the note Wally had sent to Crosetti with the letter:
April 28, 1896
Dear Venanz:
I received this letter this morning. I send it to you. Will you please go and see [Police Chief] Kidward to-night? With best regards and a kiss, I am,
your true Wally.
P. S. — I am in a hurry.
The evidence was overwhelming. Allender was held to answer before the Superior Court. The justice told him his crime was unbailable and he was remanded to the custody of the sheriff. Through it all Allender appeared calm and unemotional. He listened attentively, answered questions politely, and cooperated with everything he was told to do.
More would-be spectators crowded into the morgue to see the bodies of the victims. This was refused. The bodies were taken to the hall of the Italian Benevolent Society on North Market Street. There the caskets were placed side by side. An immense crowd gathered, and all were allowed to view the faces of the dead.
At 3 o’clock on Tuesday, August 12th, Venanz Crosetti and Walburga Feilner had an elaborate double funeral. A long funeral cortege wound through the city with hundreds in attendance. A chorus sang a hymn that Wally had loved, Lasst mich gehen: Let me go, that I may see Jesus. The lovers were buried side by side in Oak Hill Cemetery. Mourners heaped flowers on their graves.
The preliminary hearing began on Friday, August 21. Allender’s attorneys filed a motion to disallow all testimony from the arraignment, saying that the complaints had not been filed prior to the magistrate committing Allender. This motion caused a commotion among the public and a flurry among the members of the court. The clerk was sent to his office to look for the documents. After a search, they were found safely under lock and key and delivered to the court. The motion was denied.
The court called on Allender to plead. The defendant arose and in a steady tone of voice pleaded not guilty to both charges. The court set the date of the trial for September 14.
In late August Allender complained of extreme neuralgia, or nerve pain. The County Physician was called in to examine him and gave him medicine which seemed to give relief. He stated that, “Allender is in exceeding poor health. He is evidently worrying greatly now as he realizes the awful charge for which he must answer. Medical men state that neuralgia only comes where there is a depleted nerve and physical force or vitality. Allender is doubtless in this condition.” The jailer said the fact that Allender was worrying so much about his fate was further proof that he was sane.
Trial opened on Monday, September 14. Allender looked much better than at the arraignment. His father sat beside him at the defense table. Defense attorney Morehouse asked for a week’s continuance, saying he had been so busy with other cases that he had not prepared adequately. Judge Lorigan denied the request, saying that no legal grounds for continuance had been advanced.
Jury selection began. Morehouse asked each prospective juror if they had any objection to the defense of insanity and rejected them if they did. The jury was all seated that first day.
When the case was called the following day, the court room was packed with humanity. There were many people standing and for a time the bailiffs had some work in trying to keep the aisle way cleared. As a reporter for the San Jose Herald described:
“Allender takes a lively interest in the trial and occasionally makes a suggestion to his attorneys, H. V. Morehouse and John B. Kerwin. His countenance, however, depicts no feeling and he seems dead to all his surroundings. Although he looks healthier than when arraigned, his skin is dark and sallow and his face drawn and haggard. He sits with his head hung down most of the time and apparently sees and hears nothing going on except the trial. He would occasionally glance at the prosecuting attorney or a witness, at times watching the witness closely. But never once was there the slightest expression of any feeling on his face, the testimony apparently falling on deaf ears when the tragedy was described.”
Wally’s sister Helene and Venanz’s brother John sat at the prosecution’s table with District Attorney Herrington. The medical examiner described the wounds on the victims. Wally’s bloodstained clothes were exhibited, and even her preserved heart and lungs were displayed, showing the paths of the bullets.
Fred Schiele gave some of the most damaging testimony. He was a friend of Harvey, Wally, and the Crosettis. He said that on the day of the attack he had been sitting in St. James Park when he encountered Harvey. Allender said he was going to “do up that ‘dago’ and the girl too.” He was waiting in the park to spy on Wally’s sister Helene, who worked nearby, hoping that by following her she would lead him to Wally. Schiele told him to “let the girl alone and come on and take a drink. The woods are full of girls.”
Schiele continued, “Finally we went to the Park Saloon and drank some beer together. He had a small beer and I had a large one, as I am a German. He never drank much. I never saw him drunk. He was sober and seemed to be rational enough at that time. I left him at the corner of Second and St. John Streets. He did the shooting very shortly afterwards”
Schiele saw that Allender had a pistol in his pocket. They walked from the saloon hack to Second Street where Schiele left Allender. The last he saw of Allender he was going south on Second towards Santa Clara Street. Schiele walked down Second Street and heard shots. He rushed in that direction and saw a crowd gathered around the bodies on the street.
Other witnesses testified to seeing Allender threatening and harassing Wally Feilner. One friend said that Allender followed them on several street cars and said that if Wally did not marry Harvey he would kill her. Another friend said Allender had followed herself and Wally into a hotel and made such a scene he had to be asked to leave. He stood out on the street and made threatening gestures at them as they ate.
The prosecution called a number of witnesses who had known Allender in his youth in Salinas. All of them said that Harvey was a quiet and peculiar boy, but they had never suspected that he was insane. After this, the People rested.
The defense attorney Morehouse in his opening statements to the jury said it would be shown that the defendant had all his life been of a moody and melancholy disposition, and that he was not in his right senses when the crime was committed. He asked the jury that, should the defendant be found guilty, it exercise the discretion granted by law and fix the penalty at life imprisonment.
He called for his first witness O. M. Tupper, Allender’s employer. Tupper said that he had had to fire Allender because he thought he was insane. Ten other witnesses testified to the same conclusion. Medical Director Hatch of Agnew’s Insane Asylum was introduced as an expert on insanity. A hypothetical case was stated to him similar to what the defense claims to have proven Allender’s to be. Dr. Hatch was then asked if such a man was sane or insane. The expert replied that such a case as given would not necessarily be insane but that the proof of such a mental condition would raise a doubt as to the man’s sanity. With this the defense rested. The attorneys made their closing arguments, then Judge Lorigan gave the jury their instructions. He told them that in cases involving a plea of insanity, just as with guilt, all men are considered sane until proven otherwise. It is the defendant’s responsibility to prove insanity. The jury retired at 12:25 on Friday, September 18. A reporter for the San Jose Herald reported:
“The crowd had filled the court room soon after 1 o’clock. At 2 o’clock one could scarcely enter the room which was stifling hot. At 2:20 it was announced that the jury had agreed. It required five minutes to clear the way so that the jury could get into the court room. At 2:25 the verdict was handed the bailiff who handed it to Judge Lorigan. He read it over carefully and handed it to the clerk. Amid breathless silence at 2:30 the clerk read:
‘We the jury find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the information.’
This brought a burst of applause from the great crowd. Judge Lorigan sternly reprimanded this and ordered quiet. Allender had been brought in before the jury came in. He sat in his chair the most unconcerned man in the room; his old father seemed heartbroken. Attorney Morehouse was not present. Attorney Kerwin demanded a poll of the jury. All agreed that the verdict as read was this. Judge Lorigan fixed Friday at 10 AM for sentence and the crowd filed out. Allender was taken back to his cell and locked up. He had nothing to say.
Back at the jail, Allender was placed in the cell made famous as that of California bandit Tiburcio Vasquez. The last condemned murderer incarcerated in the cell was Thomas St. Clair, hanged at San Quentin in 1895.
Allender spoke to reporters: “I first met Miss Feilner at Kenney’s dancing-school in the Phelan block,” said he. “After we had been acquainted about six months, and had danced much together, she told me she loved me. She said she took a liking to me the first time she saw me. She said she had intended to go away, but having met me she would remain.”
“After we got going together we had several spats. I don’t want to talk about the girl now, but she used to tell me so many lies about everything and that caused our trouble.
As sure as there is a God, I could not help committing that deed. I was not myself that day. Some power or influence over which I had no control laid hold of my hands, and I cannot say why I was not strong enough to resist it.”
On September 25, Allender was brought back into court for sentencing. His attorney filed a motion claiming that the judge’s instruction to the jury was in error. This was denied. Judge Lorigan then sentenced Allender to be taken to San Quentin and hanged there on December 11th. Again, spontaneous applause broke out in the audience and the judge sternly rebuked them for it.
Allender took the announcement with complete calm. When questioned, he said: “I am guilty and ready to be punished. All I asked was a square deal. When I am hung I will be with the girl and that is what I desire.” A reporter asked, “Aren’t you afraid Crosetti will be there, too?”
“No, Crosetti will not marry her,” he replied.
He was taken to San Quentin on September 29th. On December 1st, his attorneys gave notice of an appeal to the California Supreme Court. The execution was stayed pending the appeal. Six months later, on May 22nd, 1897, the Supreme Court declined to interfere, saying that the judge’s instructions to the jury had been correct under California law.
On June 29th, Allender was brought back to San Jose for re-sentencing. On the ferry trip to San Francisco, Sheriff Lyndon noticed Allender nervously fumbling with his handcuffs. He continued to watch him closely. After boarding the train in San Francisco, Allender got one wrist free. The sheriff startled him by saying: “Allender, I’ll unlock that for you, if you want it off so bad. I have other handcuffs to hold if these will not.” He searched Allender and found a length of wire he had fashioned into a key. He was secured and delivered safely to the jail in San Jose.
Again the courthouse was jammed with spectators. The San Jose Herald reported:
“A pretty girl stood on the court-house steps and looked longingly at the black mass of humanity which blocked Department One to the doors.
‘Are they sentencing Allender?’ she asked. ‘Yes? Oh I should so like to get a look at him.’
‘Do you think I could get through that crowd?’ was her next question. ‘I think he’s just a love of a man. I know what I’ll do. There is a side door, and I’ll slip in that way.’
‘But say,’ she suddenly asked, ‘are there any ladies in there? Maybe they are all up on the front seats. I guess I will slip in anyway.’
She took a peep through the side door nearest the Sheriff’s office, and saw nothing but a seething multitude of masculine male things. She heaved a deep sigh, blew Allender a soft kiss, and sorrowfully retired.
The execution was rescheduled for September 3rd. Allender was allowed to visit with his father, brother, and sister-in-law and make his farewells. By 11:30 he was back on the train to San Quentin.
On August 22nd, Allender and another murderer, Benjamin Hill, were transferred from Murderer’s Row to the death chamber in the old prison factory building, next to the gallows. Hill and Allender talked together and soon became close friends. Hill taught a Bible class on the Row, and Allender attended. On August 27th, a stay of execution was ordered for Hill. When the officers came to take him back to the Row, he asked if he could stay to keep Allender company, and this was allowed.
Allender stated again: “I don’t want any lawyer’s humbuggery. I am ready to suffer. I am content to die when they say I shall.” But his father was still working to save him. He hired attorney Frank T. Shea of San Francisco, who sent a plea to the governor for a commutation of the sentence to life imprisonment. On September 2nd, he filed a writ of habeas corpus in the US Circuit Court. This was promptly refused, and Shea asked leave to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court. He asked for another stay of execution. This was eventually granted, and two days later, Allender and Hill were moved back to the Row. At the hour he was supposed to hang, Allender stood at the top of the long flight of stairs outside the furniture factory and admired the sun shining on the bay.
But on November 2nd, the US Supreme Court denied the appeal. Allender was again brought back to San Jose and was sentenced to hang on December 10th, 1897. Allender thanked his attorneys for their efforts and the sheriff and officers for their kind treatment. He was given some time to say farewell to his father and friends. His father told him to be brave and face death like a man. He then spent time reading the Bible. He was scheduled to leave on the 11:25 train to San Francisco, but the necessary paperwork was not ready, so he was taken to the St. James Hotel for an excellent lunch, which he seemed to relish. He was taken up on the 2:10 train.
On the sixth of December, Allender was again moved to the death chamber. The Convict Prison Band was playing in the exercise yard. When Allender reached the top of the stairs, he paused for a moment to listen to the music. He said to his guard, “The boys are playing my funeral march.”
On the ninth, Allender was visited by the chaplain and the resident priest. He told his death watch that he would die a brave man and would ascend the scaffold without a tremor. Warden Hale sent out more than thirty invitations to various people to witness the hanging. Venanz Crosetti’s brother John was most anxious to see his brother’s murderer hang. He took the train to San Francisco and was just about to board the ferry when he received a telegram from the warden:
San Quentin, December 9: The last request of Allender was that no relative of Crosetti be permitted to witness the execution. Therefore you will please cancel permits sent yesterday.
— W. E. Hale, Warden.
In an interview with a reporter from the San Jose Herald that evening, Allender said:
“I feel fine to-night and have no fears about tomorrow’s work at all. If I was given my choice right now of five years’ imprisonment or the rope to-morrow morning I would prefer to be hanged. I don’t say that in any spirit of bravado, because I feel that there is nothing more for me in life and I am content to go. My Maker will understand me, and I hope to see Wally Feilner in some other world and ask her forgiveness. Though I claim that I have been railroaded to death by the treachery of a man who I thought was my friend, it is too late now to show feelings of anger.
I will die to-morrow with none of my friends about me. My old father and mother wrote yesterday and asked me whether they should come, but I have just sent them word that they had better stay where they are and wish me good-bye in their little home at San Jose. It is better that way, anyhow.
I am guilty of murder and deserve to die, but I would like to say to the public before they swing me off that I am not at heart a murderer or a criminal. The poor young fellow I killed, and the girl I loved and also killed, were victims of a moment’s passion, and I only wish that my death would bring them back to life. The scaffold hasn’t got any terrors for me. I rather welcome it, and when I go up the steps I will feel that I am going home. A man can only die once. My time has come, and I am content.
— Harvey Allender.”
In spite of saying he would sleep well that night, he was awake until 4:30, reading the Bible and lost in his own thoughts.
On the day he was to die, he arose at 6:00 and at 6:30 was given a hearty breakfast. He was given a new suit of clothes: a black coat and vest, gray trousers and white shirt. When he was dressed, one of his guards gave him two carnations Allender’s sister-in-law had sent him, and he fastened them in the buttonhole of his coat, saying: “This is in memory of the poor girl I loved and killed.”
He smoked and chatted with his guards and reporters. He said: “I killed both of them — Crosetti, whom I had nothing against, and Wally, whom I loved with all my heart. That’s the whole thing in a nutshell. I am a murderer, and here I am, ready to die and anxious to get away from it all.”
The Sacramento Daily Union reported the final scene:
“The leave-taking of the murderer was impressive. When Warden Hale went to the death cell to read the death warrant a few minutes before the time set for the execution, Allender, as soon as he learned what was about to be done, said: ‘You needn’t do that. I waive the reading of the warrant.’ He then turned to Captain Edgar and said: ‘Good-by, Captain. I thank you for all the favors you have shown me. I am perfectly resigned to die.’ He shook hands also with Warden Hale and to all the little group of officials and guards said generally: ‘I hope to meet you all on the other side.’
The condemned man then bid the Chaplain farewell, his hands were strapped to his side by the guards and the march to the scaffold commenced.
Chaplain Drahms led the way, followed by the prisoner, who walked quite steadily between the guards. Captain Jamison, the turnkey, and Warden Hale came next, and they were followed by Amos Lunt, the executioner.
At the foot of the gallows the condemned man faltered. His face betrayed no fear, but it seemed as if his limbs would give way under him. He mounted the steps to the scaffold like a drunken man, leaning back heavily on the guards. Their assistance was so firmly rendered that the prisoner’s weakness was hardly apparent to the small crowd of reporters and officials who stood with uncovered heads in front of the gallows.
Upon reaching the gallows Allender paled perceptibly, and when the noose was adjusted he tottered and swayed to such an extent that it was necessary to support him.
‘It is all right,’ he whispered feebly, as the guards straightened his swaying body. Captain Jamison hastily drew the black cap over Allender’s face. Bunt, with both hands grasping the rope, quickly tightened the noose, the condemned man gave a strangling gasp, the trap fell beneath his feet and his body shot downward, rebounding as it struck the end of the rope with a thud that made the gallows rattle.
It was not thirty seconds from the time the condemned man entered the gallows room till his lifeless body was hanging beneath the trap. Immediately after the drop he drew up his legs a couple of times and his chest heaved convulsively for about two minutes and a half.
Drs. Lawlor, Wickman and Jones stood about the swaying body noting the heart beats and in thirteen minutes after the drop announced that all pulsation had ceased. The six and a half foot drop had broken the murderer’s neck and death was instantaneous.
The body was cut down and placed in a casket by Coroner Eden of Marin County, who certified to the causes of death. The remains were then, according to the request of the dead man’s father, shipped to San Jose for interment.
