Murder of the Century.

• Author: Rothenberg, Robert S.

The O.J. Simpson case was far from being the first murder and trial to electrify the nation. Ninety years ago, when eccentric millionaire Harry K. Thaw gunned down famed architect Stanford White at the rooftop theater atop New York's Madison Square Garden, the tabloid press labeled it "the murder of the century." The ensuing media frenzy over Thaw's accusations that White had drugged and seduced beautiful showgirl Evelyn Nesbit when she was 16, three years before she married Thaw, were reported around the globe.

Through newspaper headlines, still photographs, motion pictures, and live simulations, this video details the lifestyles of the three principle characters, the murder, and the two ensuing trials. The first, with Thaw claiming to be innocent based on "the unwritten law" over White's violation of Nesbit, resulted in a hung jury. The second saw Thaw acquitted on...