Friday the 13th: Crime of the century
May 13, 2016
In the summer of 1884, a pregnancy led to one of the most famed and heinous acts of murder to ever cross the city limits of Richmond, Virginia. Well respected and known attorney Thomas Cluverius fell in love with his cousin, Lilly Madison that summer. The pair would exchange love letters and rendezvous when possible, which led to a difficult and twisted affair. What happened next, the Friday the 13th crime of the century, not only shocked the city and nation, but also the world.
Cluverius was a groomed lawyer, full of promise, but he was hiding a dark secret. “Tommy seemed like a very sweet innocent guy. He was a Sunday school teacher. He was a lawyer. Soft spoken. He was polite,” said a writer based out of Charlottesville.
On a cold night in March of 1885, witnesses see Lillian and a man walking near Hollywood Cemetary in Richmond. It was Friday the 13th, and was the last night that Lillian Madison was alive.
The next morning, caretakers of the cemetery found the body of a woman floating in the Old City Reservoir, with mud still held tightly in her hands. “She received a blow on the side of the head that may have been enough to kill her,” said Selden Richardson, a historian. Suicide was ruled out.
“There were two sets of footprints. Two different sizes apparently,” continued Richardson. Cluverius was immediately considered as the prime suspect. “The news of this violent murder. The scandal. The pregnant girl. The disgraced young lawyer. I think it hit Richmond really hard.”
Newspapers around the World shared the news of the famed trial, and Thompson compares the case to the fame of the OJ Simpson Trial.
Cluverius denied the allegations, and “..built this façade of innocence and calm,” the historian Richardson said.
During the trial, prosecutors introduced no hard evidence linking Cluverius to the murder, though they did submit a watch key and Lillian’s red shawl found at the crime scene. “Was he there? We don’t know,” said Thompson.
After a lengthy trial, the jury convicted Cluverius and sentenced him to death by hanging on what was argued as purely circumstantial evidence. Cluverius maintained that he was innocent until the day he was put to death.
January 14th, 1887 was the execution attended by hundreds at the jail yard in Shockoe Bottom. People climbed on telephone poles and rooftops to get a visual of the execution. “They wanted to see his face,” said Thompson.
“Tell the people back home I bear them no ill will,” were his last words. The on looking crowd cheered as he was pronounced dead.
Was Cluverius really the killer of his cousin, Lillian? According to several researchers, the evidence can sway opinions both ways. Many residents were happier knowing that the potential killer was better dead than out to possibly strike again.
Evidence of the trial is displayed at the Library of Virginia, 130 years after the Friday the 13th crime by a lawyer in 1885.
Lillian Madison was buried in Oakwood Cemetery of Richmond, VA along with her baby.
Perhaps the most shocking part of the story, Cluverius was buried 50 miles from Richmond and his grave still rests in the back yard of a current resident, at the end of Cedar Lane. See the photograph.
Source: https://wtvr.com/2015/02/13/what-happened-on-friday-the-13th-called-richmonds-crime-of-the-century/
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