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Did you see it, darlings?????? Well, you should have!!!!!!! Last night, Investigation Discovery unveiled its new program, "A Crime To Remember," kicking off with what was, back in 1965, the first big true crime case I remember--Alice Crimmins!!!!!!!!!
You have heard about Alice on here, before. But seeing it dramatized last night, and so well, really brought the whole thing home! The sexy sleazy sick atmosphere of Kew Gardens, Queens, in the 1960s was brilliantly recreated. And, again, with the Kitty Genovese case only sixteen months past, this gave Kew Gardens, let alone Queens, a less than sterling reputation.
But you have to hand it to actress Airen DeLa Mater, who went for the gold as Alice, playing it as though she were Meryl Streep giving one of her great, sterling performances. When she fainted into the officer's arms, at the sight of her dead child, Missy, in the park, it was the highlight of the show! Even Meryl would have been impressed.
Miss DeLaMater played Alice for what she was--a real gum chewin,' toreador pants wearin,' roundheels tramp!!!!!!!!! She wanted those kids out of the way, because they got in the way of her life style. Just like Susan Smith, and Casey Anthony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only, things were tougher on Alice, because back then, if a woman being a mother was anything less than June Cleaver, she was regarded as unfit! I kid you not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alice eventually did twelve years, finally released in 1977! She has gone on to live in relative obscurity. She married Anthony Grace, a contractor she had been seeing, prior to her divorce from Ed Crimmins, (Anthony Grace, I mean!!!!!!) whom many felt had been her accomplice. They stayed married till he died in 1998!
I personally believe Alice did it! Not just because she was a tramp, and a narcissist, but because too many questions have remained unanswered. Even her supporters never bother to hypothesize who or how. And then--
If Missy had been strangled, where were the ligature marks?
When released, why did not Alice make a national effort to
clear herself, or find who actually killed those children?
Why didn't ex-husband Eddie do the same thing? They
were his children, too!
Where were the Burkes (Alice's parents) and the
Crimmins (Eddie's) when all this was going on?
Why has nothing been heard from them?
I loved the female narrator with the faux Queens accent. Was she trying to be
Alice's neighbor, Sophie Earominski?????? I just LOVE Sophie! She certainly had the goods on Alice, and, if she were still alive, I would love to talk to her!
As I would to Alice. Interesting the segment was titled "Go Ask Alice," after the famous lyric from Grace Slick's "White Rabbit," and the famous drug diary book and movie, which later turned out to be bogus.
As bogus as Alice's innocence! How fitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not even Grace Slick worked as a cheap cocktail waitress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
55 comments:
Mr Grace died in 1998, not 1988.
Thanks so much, Lisa! I fixed the date!
While interesting questions, I think this goes into a bit more detail, than the show did.
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/06/did-she-or-didnt-she-the-case-of-alice-crimmins-47-years-later-susan-amper-femme-fatale-crime-scene-just-plain-awful
Why so many exclamation points? It's like you're yelling. Hard to read.
It sounds like you're new to the
blog. Welcome. I use the exclamatons
as a gimmick. This post is four years old;
in recent times, I have been using them less!
My son was born in 1965 and I lived in a Garden Apartment in Queens from DAY ! I knew she did it...Why was there no mention of her Champion, Jimmy Breslin? Why didn't they mention that Alice's mother was set to go to their divorce hearing and testify for Jimmy and publicly label her daughter an unfit mother. I also remember hearing Jimmy was her pimp and that Alice was at the Johnson 1964 Democrat convention in Atlantic City. I also remember her first story that she walked the dog and then went to sleep - never checking on her kids. Also if you look at the window it would be impossible for someone to crawl in and escape with two children without a neighbor hearing or seeing anything. I lived in a garden apartment and if my neighbor sneezed or coughed I heard it. There was always someone awake somewhere staring out of a window!
I am sorry she got out - she should have died in prison!
Grandma Bonnie,
Thank you for your comments
and info. I am with you all
the way. And I agree with
you about the windows, having
known people myself who
lived in garden apartments.
Secrets are not easily kept, there.
You know what is said about Karma
being a bitch? I believe Alice will
still get hers!
The case against her was quite confused as you'll find if you read my article on it that is in my ebook "Suffer Little Children" at BuzzwordBooks.com
She DID in fact want to clear her name after being paroled and appealed but was turned down and the court ruled she could appeal no further. Even if innocent, she realized it was hopeless and faded into obscurity.
I'm not championing Alice as she MAY have been guilty but the proof beyond a reasonable doubt really wasn't there. It's quite possible the kids were the victims of a predatory pedophile.
Sophie died a few years ago. Alice is 80 years old.
Denise,
Thanks for alerting me to
your article which I will
read. I agree doubt is
the operative word here.
Alice was convicted for
killing her daughter. So,
there must have been proof
enough.
The boy's perp was never proven.
You are right it could have been
a predatory pedophile, but my question
there would be, then why weren't other
children harmed? Or were they, and it
just went unnoticed at the time, because
of all the focus on Alice.
Obviously I don't champion her, either,
but I will say this--she and her case
continue to fascinate.
Thanks for sharing!
She actually served about 4 years before her parole in 1977. She was released from parole supervision in 1993.
Denise,
I did not know about Sophie, thanks!
Also, I was not aware she was on parole
supervision, at all! Thanks again!
If you read my article, you'll see that the legal situation was very snarled. She was convicted of manslaughter in Missy's death & had it overturned. At re-trial, convicted of 1st degree murder of her son and manslaughter of Missy. Both convictions were overturned and then the manslaughter conviction was reinstated.
It's possible the pedophile murderer just took off from the area after the crime or died or was hospitalized or incarcerated for other reasons. Indeed, the publicity after the bodies were discovered could have led that person to realize he should head for another state or even out of the country.
The pedophile wouldn't have to be a stranger. Given the way Alice lived, one of her multitude of boyfriends might have had a yen for the little ones and come back to her place for her kids instead of her.
I find Sophie Earomirski a VERY dubious witness as her story seemed to both solidify and grow w/time. I also find it hard to believe she heard the people talking fr/the distance she saw them.
There was more to Alice than being sexy. She was an effective and efficient decretary. As Ken Gross writes, "She could type with speed and file w/care." But years of fine secretarial work hasn't got the sensationalistic tone of "ex-cocktail waitress."
Denise, Darling!
Alice was cheap merchandise. So being
a cocktail waitress was perfect for her.
Had she been a secretary she should have
learned that profession's cardinal rule--
"Her pad is to write in, and not spend the
night in!"
She was a cocktail waitress for 6 months, an efficient secretary for years.
Denise,
I believe you. But...once a cocktail waitress,
always a cocktail waitress, and there goes
the reputation!
Have you read the article in "Suffer Little Children"?
Denise,
Actually, I did read it yesterday.
While there is always room for doubt--
especially concerning the boy--I hold
Alice responsible for the daughter's
death. Oh, by the way, some secretaries,
no matter how efficient, can be tramps,
too!
Is it likely you might read other stories in Suffer Little Children?
What did you think of the way I handled the Crimmins story?
Denise,
Yes, the other stories would interest
me, so I expect to read them, in time.
As for how you handled Alice, I give
you points for objectivity. While you
did not champion Alice, you do not demonize
her, as I have.
I was 9, living in Central Jersey, when the
case happened. It made an impression on me.
Which is probably where my stance comes from.
Whatever one thinks about Alice, she is an
enigma who refuses to be defined.
I looked up time served: 39 months, 3 years and 3 months.
Denise,
Just what is the point?
Even if--and I only say if--
she only murdered the daughter
that should have gotten her
LWOP.
Just clarifying facts.
Denise,
Point taken. But how,
especially back then, could
get such a lenient sentence
for murdering a child, let
alone her own.
She didn't get a lenient sentence for murdering her child. At the 2nd trial, she was convicted of murder in Eddie Jr.'s death and manslaughter in Missy's death. She was sentenced to life in prison. Higher courts overturned both convictions. Then another court upheld the overturning of the murder conviction for Eddie but reinstated the manslaughter conviction for Missy. The time served was not for murder but for manslaughter.
Denise,
Sounds like things were bungled--
the investigation which could not
find to convict her for the boy's
death, and only manslaughter for
Missy? Alice should be in prison
right now!
Things WERE bungled. I pointed it out in the article. No pictures taken of the window from the inside. The supposed manicotti box wasn't saved or photographed.
IF Alice Crimsons was guilty -- & I[m far fr/convinced of her guilt -- she served an appropriate sentence. The prosecution argued that she strangled Missy in momentary anger -- not meaning to, which would make it manslaughter. However, the theory was that SOMEONE ELSE killed little Eddie Jr. and that individual has never even been charged, THAT would be the true injustice in the case.
Denise,
I concede Eddie may have been
killed by someone else. But that
needs proof, to eliminate Alice.
Meanwhile, Miss Roundheels Crimmins,
that tramp is holing up in Florida
bars with another piece of garbage,
Casey Anthony! At least Susan Smith
got the punishment she deserved.
Why don't you read another story and share your thoughts?
You make too much of her being a "roundheels." Like many people, she went through a phase of sexual adventuring. Heck, that was past by her 2nd trial. She was Tony Grace's lady by then.
Denise,
Alice lived in a neighborhood and time
when ever woman was expected to be, so to
speak, June Cleaver. Her sexual adventuring
as you call it made the community look down
on her!
And this is precisely why many people think she was convicted because of prejudice when the evidence was weak. As a gay man, you should certainly be familiar with prejudice.
Denise,
Oh, I agree with you that prejudice is what
Alice was convicted on. But did she tone herself
down? No way!
The difference with gay men is that, wrong or not
they stayed in the closet. Alice was out, when she
should have been in. Meaning, in just several years,
the sexual revolution would have been in full swing
and Alice's lifestyle would not have been the problem
it was then. But you can't escape the fact two children
were murdered. Tramp or no tramp, Alice has to be held
accountable. Her sluttiness did not add to her favorability.
Low class trash always gets what is coming to them!
When she got out of prison, she was no longer Miss Roundheels Crimmins but Mrs. Good Wife Grace.
Denise,
She can't shake her identity, no
matter how hard she tries. She knows
exactly who and what she is, and
what she did!
Cheap tramp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To Grandma Bonnie: I did much research into this case. The Crimmins kids had a habit of sitting on the windowsill and waving a passersby. It would have been easy enough for the kids to have been enticed out of the window. They could have crawled over the dresser to the outside. Of course, Det. Gerard Piering's story of an undisturbed layer of dust would be false but it could have been since he took no photograph to prove what he said he saw.
Although there was a hook and eye latch on their door, it's always possible Mrs. Crimmins just forgot to latch it that night and someone came in through the front door -- which had a faulty lock -- while she was deeply asleep.
I'm not saying Alice Crimmins was for-sure innocent as I don't know that. She COULD have been guilty. However, I believe if you read the story I wrote that is in "Suffer Little Children" at BuzzwordBooks.com, you'll see there was room for reasonable doubt.
Denise,
What is reasonable doubt
to you may not be for
others; hence, my stand
on Alice.
Have you dipped into any of my other stories in "Suffer Little Children"?
I tried to point out to Grandma Bonnie that THIS doesn't mean Alice was guilty:
"Also if you look at the window it would be impossible for someone to crawl in and escape with two children without a neighbor hearing or seeing anything. I lived in a garden apartment and if my neighbor sneezed or coughed I heard it. There was always someone awake somewhere staring out of a window!"
I personally agree that it's unlikely an adult shimmied into the room and then shimmied out w/the kids. It is more likely that the children were enticed out through the window. Being children, they may even have gone out on their own as an adventure -- and run into someone who preyed instead of protected.
Raving Queen, why don't you devote one of your blogs to "Suffer Little Children"?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Denise,
I have to confess I have some back up topics,
waiting to be written, and that is one of them.
But I am still in the corner that Alice is guilty,
so I don't know what you would think.
Answer me this--if Alice was NOT guilty, or cared about
who did kill those children, why did she not pursue this,
once she got out. Many would have!
Firstly, I'm not 100% convinced of her innocence. My position is that she was never proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. There is a strong possibility that she was innocent but I can't say I'm sure of it.
I think the fact that, after she was paroled -- w/her freedom no longer at stake -- she appealed and tried for a new trial is actually a point in her favor. She still wanted vindication and was willing to endure the stress of yet another trial to get it. However, when the appeal was rejected and the courts ruled she could not appeal further, she realized vindication was not possible. She also realized that if the police with all their resources were unable to find the real murderer, there was little possibility of that murderer being found by any private detective she might hire. Finally, after so many years in the public eye, she may have craved privacy and wanted to get on with her life.
Denise,
I have no doubt she craved
privacy, and, honestly I cannot
blame her. But she made no effort
to find her children. And she is
not talking. I will read your
piece, and see what I can say
about it.
Denise--
I just Googled the work you've mentioned.
It was referenced a lot, but where/how can
I read the actual text?
BuzzwordBooks.com
"Suffer Little Children" costs only $3. It has that article and several others
In a movie or novel, the wrongly suspected person will often find the real murderer. In real life, we can't expect that. Alice Crimmins isn't a detective but a secretary/housewife. She can't turn herself into a 1-woman FBI. Hiring a private detective isn't apt to be fruitful as even the most competent private detective lacks the resources of the government.
Another reason for her silence is that those who sympathize w/her tend to do so fr/a feminist viewpoint and Crimmins just doesn't identify w/that movement as she prefers an old-fashioned man-dominant, women-serves sort of thing.
Denise,
Thanks for the info. I will order the
book and read it, and report back on here.
Granted, Alice was not a detective. But that
doesn't mean she couldn't have called for help.
And I agree, she was not a feminist, or any
member of a social movement, but that whas her
choice. Alice was not victimized by the feminist
movement, she just chose not to be a part of it.
There is a sense in which feminism -- without meaning to -- DID victimize Alice Crimmins. The late '60s-early 70s was a period in which there was a great deal of concern about gender roles and particularly about the demands made by many women to not be confined by expectations based on gender. This anxiety about gender roles fed into a sense that Alice Crimmins, because of her flagrant promiscuity, was a "woman in rebellion" and may have led people to regard her with suspicion. Some people may have slotted her into the "women's libber" category even though it didn't fit her comfortably as an individual. For one thing, "women's libbers" were often anti-make-up whereas Crimmins clung obsessively to her heavy make-up.
Crimmins was in fact asked about "women's liberation" because people had made that connection. She said, "Oh, I'm for equal pay for equal work but not for all the far-out things. I don't hate men. I believe women are put on this earth to serve men. A man should be dominant. I believe in women's liberation but not at the price of my femininity."
There is an irony in that Crimmins was not feminist but the feminist movement was probably to some degree responsible for the public hostility toward her.
Denise,
Is your book available in hard copy?
I found the chapter on Sylvia Likkens
online, and read it, discovering I
knew the case through ID "Deadly Women."
I don't have accessibility to ebooks.
Now I want to read the book, esp the
part about Alice.
Unfortunately, it is only in ebook form. However, if you really want to read it, you can put $3 in my PayPal through Janatrude@aol.com, then email me at that same email, and I'll mail the manuscript to you in both the body of the reply email and as an attachment.
I must ask for a modest payment because I'm severely disabled, can't hold down a regular job, and am in the process of being evicted fr/my room. Every penny counts.
Denise,
I am so sorry about your circumstances.
I have had bad experiences with Pay Pal, but
I will see what I can do.
I hope things work out for you.
Put that $3 in & I'll be more than happy to email "Suffer Little Children." I'm enjoying some of your columns on other matters.
Please change "Rachel Heath" to Denise Noe. I am acquainted w/Rachel but never intended to write under my friend's name.
Denise,
I gladly would, but I went over
this, and I did not see the name
"Rachel Heath." Give me
specifics, and I will fix it.
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